Industry Insights with Printing United Alliance and ASI

This week, we welcome two prominent industry leaders, Dave Leskusky, President of Printing United Alliance, and Tim Andrews, President & CEO of ASI, to discuss the future of their organizations and the industry as a whole. We’ll explore their outlook for 2025, the ongoing partnership between Printing United Alliance and ASI, and how this collaboration is shaping the future of decorators and promotional product suppliers. Plus, we’ll dive into exciting updates, including the newly launched ASI ESP+ Stores e-commerce solution and the Printing United Alliance’s Promo Impressions e-newsletter. Don’t miss the conversation about the 2026 ASI Distributor Marketplace at PRINTING United Expo in Las Vegas, an innovative “show within a show” that’s set to redefine the industry landscape. Tune in for valuable insights and actionable updates to stay ahead in your business!

Our regular listeners know this, but 2 Regular Guys are all about garment decorating, a bit of fun, and no rants, lectures, or selling. 2 Regular Guys was not created for our employers but for our industry. Since February 2013, The 2 Regular Guys have been the first and the most listened-to garment decorating industry podcast on this planet! We are humbled by all of you tuning in each week. We work hard to bring you information that will improve your business and our industry. Take a look at our incredible weekly guest list, and you’ll understand where this industry goes for news, interviews, and the heartbeat of garment decorating. Thanks for listening!

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News

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Dad Joke

Aaron: I have a fear of speed bumps, but I am slowly getting over them.

Printing United Alliance and ASI

Welcome back to the show Dave Leskusky, President of Printing United Alliance and Tim Andrews, President & CEO of ASI. Thank you both for spending some time with me today.

I got to talk to you both briefly back in November. But for anyone who missed that or just as a recap, can you both tell us a little about you and your organization?

Tim, I’d like to start with you…

Dave, how about you?

Tim, being an apparel podcast, some of our Regulators might not be as familiar with ASI as they will be after this. But I’d like to start off talking a bit about the promotional products industry. In a blog you wrote recently you noted that the “industry achieved a new sales record in 2024”. What is your outlook for 2025 for  the promo products industry, and why?

Dave, lets talk Printing in 2025 for a moment. Your research team at Napco highlighted some details at last year’s Vegas event about the print industry in their State of the Industry report. A stat that stood out to me was “68.8% of respondents have diversified beyond their primary printing segment.” So far in 2025 what are you all seeing as highlights or innovations we can expect in 2025.

Tim, speaking of innovations I read that ASI recently launched the ESP+ Stores e-commerce solution.Tell us about that and how apparel decorators might be interested in learning more.

https://programs.asicentral.com/stores?&utm_campaign=stores_press_release

Dave, as you all see your members diversify, this partnership here seems to have led to some diversification for you all as well. What can you tell us about ‘Promo Impressions’ e-newsletter. Does this bring printing and promotional products closer together, and what content can subscribers expect?

Tim we talked a little about this last time, but lets discuss again, how does ASI’s partnership with Printing United Alliance benefit the #Regulators, and how can they take advantage of the synergies between promotional products and printing?

Now up to 3 podcast episodes of ConvergenceCorner from ASI’s Christopher Ruvo and Brendan Menapace

Just launched a new monthly video podcast called Branding Together hosted jointly by ASI’s Theresa Hegel and Apparelist’s Cassie Green exploring opportunities for their respective audiences, with the 1st episode exploring “Five big things print and promo should know about each other.”

https://members.asicentral.com/news/podcast/branding-together/resolving-to-highlight-the-converging-worlds-of-print-promo-decoration/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf3SbdFe29I&t=2s 

Both of your organizations emphasize the importance of sustainability. Can you discuss any specific sustainability initiatives or goals ASI and PRINTING United Alliance have set for 2025 and how members are being encouraged to participate?

Tim- what upcoming events or initiatives from ASI in 2025 should our listeners be paying attention to, especially those in the garment and promotional product space?

The big reason we were so excited to bring you guys in back in November was the announcement about the ‘Show within a Show’ concept for the ASI Distributor Marketplace at PRINTING United Expo 2026 in Las Vegas. Can you give us an update on how that’s shaping up and why it’s important for the industry?

Dave Leskusky  President Printing United Alliance  dleskusky@napco.com

Tim Andrews  President & CEO ASI  tandrews@asicentral.com 

ASI Shows and Events:

https://www.asishow.com/

The Secret Sauce

We serve up bite-sized tips for our #regulators to instantly spice up their decorated apparel business. Just like the perfect wing sauce, these quick tips can transform your business experience, adding flavor and depth to your operations. Each video in this playlist is a nugget of wisdom, carefully selected for its potential to bring immediate value to your work. So, whether you’re a seasoned pro or just getting started in the decorated apparel industry, dip into our ‘Secret Sauce’ for insights that can help you soar.

OTHER EVENTS

• Small Business Saturdays – Saturdays at Noon Central Time and then available to watch any time.
• Rising Tide Talks! – Wednesdays at 5 PM Central Time and then available to watch any time.
• Master of Success Inner Circle – Bi-Weekly Mastermind Groups on top of the industry-leading business training.
• Complete Screen Printing Business Course with Atlas Screen Supply in Chicago March 15-16.
• Complete Screen Printing Business Course with Workhorse Products in Phoenix, AZ, February 1-2
• The Take-up with Erich Campbell – Fridays at 2:30 Mountain Time
• Demystifying Next Level Digitizing Online Training from Erich Campbell
• Understanding Emblems  Learn from Erich Campbell about digitizing for patches.

Trade Shows

• Impressions Expo Long Beach, CA – January 23-25, 2025
• DAX Kansas City KCI Expo Center, Kansas City, MO – February 21-22, 2025
  • Fast Track Your Success: Halve The Time to Achieve Your Goals – February 21, 2025 at 2 PM
  • How To Master Pricing: Pricing For Profit – February 22, 2025 at 12:30 PM
• Graphics Pro Expo Irving, TX – March 6-8, 2025
• Impressions Expo Atlantic City, NJ – March 20-22, 2025
• Summit of Success – April 10-12, 2025 | Coteau des Prairies Lodge | North Dakota
• DAX Nashville Farm Bureau Expo Center, Lebanon, TN – May 9-10, 2025
• DAX Chicago Schaumburg Convention Center, Schaumburg, IL – May 30-31, 2025
• Graphics Pro Expo Indianapolis, IN – June 19-21, 2025
• DAX Twin Cities Hilton Doubletree, Bloomington, MN – August 1-2, 2025
• Graphics Pro Expo Long Beach, CA – August 21-23, 2025
  All dates and events are subject to change