The booth with
a line down the
aisle
Live event printing — DTF, screen, hat bars, embroidery — for McCormick Place trade shows and Chicago corporate events. Put a working press in your booth and watch the foot traffic turn into a queue.
Run of show · 01–04
Four steps from booking
to fresh prints
Tell us about it
Send your Chicago date, venue, and headcount. We reply within 24 hours with an itemized quote.
We dial in the art
You send a logo or idea; we proof it and prep screens or transfers before the event.
We roll in & set up
Presses, ink, blanks, tables, and crew arrive and set up around your run-of-show.
We print it live
Guests pick, watch, and walk away wearing custom merch — about two minutes a shirt.
Live stations
Ways we print
live in Chicago
Pick one station or stack a few — apparel, headwear, and hard goods, all made in front of your guests.
Live Screen Printing
Real presses, real ink, pulled in front of your guests — the classic that started it all.
ExploreLive DTF Printing
Full-color, photo-real transfers pressed on the spot — no screens, no color limits.
ExploreLive Hat Bar
Guests pick a cap, you press a patch — a build-your-own hat station that's pure activation gold.
ExploreLive Embroidery
Premium, stitched-on-site monograms and logos — the upscale finish for any event.
ExplorePromo & Hard Goods
Totes, drinkware, and hard goods customized on site — beyond apparel.
ExploreShow-floor schematic
A 10×10 booth,
fully spec'd
Here's exactly what we roll into your Chicago footprint. One station fits a 10×10 ft booth and two standard 120V circuits — stack more for bigger headcounts.
Occasions
Chicago events we
print live for
Corporate Events & ConferencesKickoffs, summits, and holiday parties.See how →
Trade Shows & ExposThe booth with a line down the aisle.See how →
Brand Activations & Pop-UpsAn experience guests film and keep.See how →
Festivals & ConcertsHigh-volume merch, printed on the spot.See how →
Weddings & Private PartiesFavors your guests actually wear home.See how →
Why live
Merch is forgettable.
Watching it get made isn't.
A pile of pre-printed shirts on a table is swag. A press turning out a custom shirt while you watch is an experience — and the shirt that comes off it is one your Chicago guests actually keep and wear.
- A real activity, not a giveaway table — guests do something
- A content engine — the press is what everyone films
- Print-on-demand — only what guests want, in their size
- Your brand, all over the event by the end of the night
By the numbers
The rig, spec'd
Field log · recent runs
Real Chicago-ready setups
A sample of what comes off the platen at a typical Chicago event. See the photos in the full gallery.
Across Chicago
We print where
Chicago gathers
From The Loop to River North, we set up at the venues your events already use — and travel anywhere across Chicagoland.
- McCormick Place
- Navy Pier — Festival Hall
- theMART
- United Center
- Morgan Manufacturing
- Salesforce Tower / Wolf Point
Questions
Good to know
Most Chicago events land between $5K and $15K all-in. The big levers are guest count, printing hours, garments, and setup. Your quote covers crew, presses, garments, setup and teardown, and every print — one itemized number, sent within 24 hours.
Each press turns out up to 60 shirts per hour, and our standard setup runs two presses with two printers — so a typical event clears 100+ shirts per hour at full tilt. A single shirt takes about two minutes.
Roughly a 10×10 ft footprint per station and two standard 120V circuits for the flash dryers. We bring the presses, ink, garments, tables, and crew. Indoors or outdoors both work.
Two to four weeks is comfortable for most events. We keep gear staged and have turned Chicago events around in under a week, so if your date is soon, ask anyway.
No — we also run live DTF, a live hat bar, embroidery, and hard goods like totes and drinkware. Most events run a core tee plus one upgrade station.
Chicagoland events handled end to end — travel and drayage folded into one clear number. We're based in Fullerton, CA and bring everything to your venue.
Yes — live printing for conventions and trade shows is a specialty of ours in Chicago. Our on-site crew handles live printing in Chicago right at your booth or venue, printing custom shirts, hats, and merch for attendees in real time — turning event swag into a draw that keeps your brand visible long after the show.
Our Chicago event merch printing covers everything for printing for events on-site: crew, presses and equipment, garments, setup and teardown, and every live print — shirts, hats, totes, and more. From corporate activations and sponsor events to private parties, we handle custom printing at events end to end with one itemized quote.
We bring on-site live event printing to Chicago venues of every size — from McCormick Place, the United Center, Soldier Field, Navy Pier, and Wintrust Arena to hotel ballrooms and private event spaces. Our mobile crew sets up and prints custom apparel, hats, and merch live at conventions, corporate events, festivals, and brand activations across Chicago, including The Loop, River North, West Loop, and Fulton Market.
Start your Chicago quote
Tell us about
your Chicago event
Give us your show, booth size, and dates. We'll spec a live-printing setup that fits your Chicago footprint and send an itemized quote within 24 hours.
- Itemized quote within 24 hours — crew, gear, garments, every print, one number
- We bring the presses, ink, blanks, tables, and trained printers
- Chicagoland events handled end to end — travel and drayage folded into one clear number
Prefer a human right now?
(562) 614-4800 ·
contact@merchtroop.com