The booth with
a line down the aisle
Live screen printing 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.
How it works
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.
ExploreOccasions
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
On the floor
Real Chicago-ready setups
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.
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