Festival Merch Printing / Field Notes / The festival merch tent planning guide
Field notes
The festival merch tent planning guide
Everything to lock down before load-in so the presses fire the minute doors open.
A great merch tent looks effortless from the outside — guests pick, the press fires, they walk off wearing it. Behind that, a handful of logistics decide whether the line flows or stalls. Here's the checklist we walk every festival organizer through before we commit a station plan.
Power
Heat presses pull real amperage. A single press station generally lives on a dedicated 20-amp circuit; stack multiple presses and you need to plan the drops with your production team or a generator. Tell us early what power you can provide at the tent location so we bring the right distribution and don't trip a breaker mid-set.
Footprint
A single-press station fits comfortably in a 10x10 with room for a blank wall and a pick line; a multi-press setup with a hat bar wants a 10x20 or larger. Leave queue space in front that doesn't spill into a walkway — the line is part of the show, but it can't block egress.
Staffing for the peak
Staff for your busiest hour, not the daily average. The crush comes right before and after the big sets. That means enough operators to keep presses running and a runner to manage the queue and hand off finished pieces. One press turns 40–70 pieces an hour; size the crew to your peak gate.
Blanks and sizes
Decide your color story and size curve early. We stock Bella+Canvas 3001 tees, Gildan fleece, Richardson 112 caps, and totes, running XS through 3XL so no one hears "sold out in your size." If you're supplying your own blanks, get them to us before load-in.
Artwork lead time
Send print-ready files ahead of the show and flag any live drops or exclusives you're planning. Live DTF means we can add designs on the fly, but staging the transfers in advance keeps the line fast on day one.
Load-in and teardown
Give us a load-in window that lets the crew set up and dial in the presses before doors — timing and pressure get tested on scrap first so every guest piece lands the same. We break down clean and haul out our own gear.
When you've got these mapped, send them over and we'll turn the checklist into a firm station plan. See also what drives the quote.
Book the tent
Turn the checklist into a plan.
Send your power, footprint, and gate details and we'll spec the tent, crew, and blanks around them.
Prefer to talk it through? Call (562) 614-4800 or email contact@merchtroop.com.