One very popular item we often find ourselves customising, is the trusty tote bag. We are based in Shoreditch, east London – and in this area you can’t walk two minutes down the road without seeing one dash past you. Londoners love them. That’s why they make such great promotional items, merch and give-aways. For high volume orders, getting your tote bags screen printed would be your best bet and they will last super well. For more of a promotional ‘hand out’ bag, totes that are digitally Direct to Garment printed are a fantastic option.

Here’s an example of a DTG printed canvas tote…

We printed these natural canvas tote bags the other week for the Courtauld Institute Of Art, they were designed by Bullet Creative. These were digitally Direct to Garment printed and as you can see, this particular print technique has handled reproducing this “painting style” image really well. Even though canvas tote bags often do have a slight texture to them, DTG printing can still adhere to this particular surface very nicely, with the full colour artwork not suffering at all.

If you have any questions about any of our printing techniques, drop us a line at: sales@iconprinting.com or give us a ring on 0207 183 8431. For more info on Digital Direct to Garment printing on t-shirts and tote bags take a look at our website.

We’ve noticed that this awesome “Half Empty/Half Full” tote bag is currently doing the internet rounds. And rightly so! What a clever idea…

These totes are by Lazy Oaf, who are known for their very cool, bright, pop graphic T-shirts, reversible sweats and accessories collections. The company is driven by illustration, graphics, drawing, and fueled by tea (apparently). The creative label started in 2001 – as a range of hand screen printed tees sold at a market stall in East London. All sorts of Lazy Oaf is now available in over 150 stockists worldwide. They’re now based in Shoreditch, London – which is where we are located too.

Come chat to us if you have smart little idea you’d like to see on some tees or totes, we even offer artworking services too!

email: sales@iconprinting.com
phone: 0207 183 8431

Last year, bimonthly visual culture and design magazine Print, invited 12 leading visual artists to choose a cause they would like to support and create a design for tote bags that would then be sold on MyDesignShop.com. One hundred percent of the profits from these bags went to the causes chosen by the artists.

The artists included in this project were:
Spin for Bone Cancer Research UK
Laurent Fetis for The World Wildlife Fund
James Joyce for Save the Children
Geoff McFetridge for Gabriella Charter School
Atélier Telescopique for Fondation de France
Sawdust for the British Heart Foundation

One design we found resonated with us in particular was created by Atélier Telescopique for Fondation de France. This organisation helps individuals and companies who wish to be involved in philanthropy by enabling them to create their own foundations under its aegis. They set up action programs in many areas – including education, medical and scientific research, culture, and the environment.

The tote bag design concept –

“This design is directly inspired by the tote-bag material. We called this model ‘Wild Canvas,’ and we chose to use an embroidery technique to print the pattern on the canvas. We do not really know why, but the tiger is certainly one of the most re-produced patterns on embroidered canvas! This tiger is a symbol for the environment and ecology.”

It’s nice see a concept for an embroidery based tote, as opposed to a typical screen print. Both these processes are just as impactful, but embroidery often denotes a slightly more professional, corporate feel.

If you’d like information on any of the print processes we offer or have any questions about custom tshirt printing, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
email: sales@iconprinting.com
phone: 0207 183 8431

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