San Diego, California
The Ledger
1 August 2026
A plain-language guide to the three decoration methods that cover almost everything, and how to tell which one your artwork and your order actually want.
Made-to-order merch has a real December cutoff, and working backward from Christmas through shipping, production and design approval puts it earlier than most people assume.
The honest arithmetic of running merch yourself, from platform fees and blanks to the hours nobody invoices for, and what the managed alternative actually pays.
Fully managed is a phrase everyone uses and few itemize, so here is the whole list of what we do, the one thing left for the client, and the answer to the 20 percent objection.
