I confess. I'm touchy feely.

That is to say, I will touch anything you put in my sight. At shows, to be clear. For years, I've collected T-shirts or printables from attending print and textile shows. When returning from the last Fespa in Hamburg, I brought home five T-shirts.

For my collection? No, to prove a point. Four ended up in the bin - one washing cycle was all it took to ruin both a T-shirt and the print technology it was supposed to show. And believe me, I use a delicate cycle, the good detergent and I am the queen of ironing. (It's my thing.) You may have seen this statement elsewhere. It's true - this is me.

And I must insist. If you're showing your field of expertise and the excellent print quality, why do you use inferior substrate material to show it on? Four out of five did not hold their own, regardless of detergent usage. A pity, not to mention a missed opportunity for your technology.

Why settle for less? Your customers won't. In Dutch we say "buying cheap will cost you more in the long run." In this case, a long-term customer. Can you truly afford that?

Things that did make the cut?

- A fair price for the perfect sublimation print of a teacher's farewell box. Last-minute picture, help with the design AND a killer deadline? For that kind of service, I don't mind the price. (Which was still fair enough. Thanks Printermezzo.)

- The good tradeshow mug - lucky to have some of my favourite industry ladies at the Sawgrass booth where the team was nice enough to immortalize the moment. (it has survived no less than 30 dishwasher cycles up to now, no matter which detergent I throw at it. Now that's impressive!)

- My Willie Nelson shirt from drupa 2016. Willie takes me through the good, the bad and the ugly. (aka nap time, sick time and gym time) He holds his own, keeps his print and folds seamlessly. Printing technology? I think Epson US, but correct me if I'm wrong.

- The unicorn shirt - the one Fespa survivor. Perfect pink, perfect unicorn and perfect #5yo sustainability. The family hearts, this one's a keeper! Who printed it? Alas, the brochure did not survive laundry day. Let me know if it's yours, happy to acredit!

- My love/hate shirt. I stood guard for 30 minutes, fending off the 10 high school students at the Kornit Digital booth at the Sign Kortrijk 2016 show for this one. And for just cause. Excellent fabric quality for a matching print. It's been worn, washed, ironed and we still fit perfectly. (This pic dates from last weekend's ironing session. It's been washed and ironed at least 15 times over the last 1,5 years.)

And last but not least. I finally took that screen printing course, thanks to Bobbinhood. Back to the printing roots with some inky fingers - what's the point of coming clean if you can't get a little dirty first? A pop-up store in my hometown set up a screen printing workshop. And again - quality prevails. Same ink, same template and it's the substrate that made the difference. Inferior linnen - smudgy. Good quality cotton - screen newbie print perfect first attempt. Love the ink, smell and the old skill - in with the old, out with the standardisation. Took the workshop, bought the gear, I'm hooked! Stay tuned for more. (My Instagram is @mayastaels)

The thing is, print is all about tactility. Don't go cheap if that's not what you're selling. Quality will prevail.