Hummelstown Print House is the product of a lifetime of entrepreneurial grit and a serious commitment to high-quality design. The business started initially as a way to provide swag for youth hockey tournaments. It’s since grown into a 16,000-square-foot print shop that serves schools, local events, and small businesses across Central Pennsylvania and beyond.
Changing Careers
Owner John Hrabovsky initially began working with custom apparel after a career as a flight nurse and an early entrepreneurial background, including running an ice cream business.
During his nursing years, John and a colleague co-developed a medical documentation software solution. Eventually, John was able to sell that software and help bankroll some early stages of his entrepreneurial journey.
He founded Travel Champs, a profitable sports travel company that focused mainly on hockey tournaments.
Over time, John realized that rather than outsourcing the apparel and accessories the teams needed, printing the gear themselves would save time, resources, and help keep a tighter focus on quality control.
Learning the Craft
Starting in 2018, John and his team refined their screen-printing craft to the point where they could begin to expand their offerings. The business began taking on print jobs from new customers under the TC Apparel name; however, the overall look and branding of the company were limiting its growth.
“There was a lot of confusion in the marketplace because of our graphic with the trophy cup,“ he explains. “People would say, ‘Don’t you sell t-shirts, not trophies?’”
John’s team decided the best way to grow the decorated apparel arm of the business was to give it its own identity. In 2022, the company started operating as Hummelstown Print House, effectively differentiating it from the travel hockey side of the business.
Since then, the momentum has been explosive.
Growth and Expansion
As the Hummlestown Print House began to establish its name in the region, order volume and production increased rapidly. Eventually, the 2,800-square-foot building no longer suited the business’s size, and John and his team moved into a significantly larger, 16,000-square-foot facility.
Today, the company runs a hefty lineup of equipment and decorating services, including:
- Three automatic screen-printing presses
- DTG printing equipment
- Full embroidery department
- Dedicated design workstations
- A creative team empowered to experiment and push boundaries
With this expansion came new workflows, additional employees, and a significantly increased number of orders. For John and his team, having the right systems in place was crucial to ensuring that they stayed efficient and streamlined in this new phase.
Scaling Smarter with Printavo, InkSoft, and GraphicsFlow
As their volume increased, managing orders, art approvals, scheduling, and online stores required more than spreadsheets and whiteboards, as well as disparate software systems.
John shopped around for software and eventually decided to implement Printavo, followed by InkSoft and GraphicsFlow.
“Since we transitioned, we’ve never looked back,” he states.
Today, Hummelstown Print House uses the full Inktavo suite for:
Printavo
- Power Scheduler for capacity planning
- Job assignments across three auto presses
- Forecasting sales and production needs
- Workflows aligned across 23 employees
- Visibility on one consolidated shift
“Power Scheduler helps set the tone for production,” says John. “It definitely helped our workflow and allowed us to scale up.”
InkSoft Stores
- Several hundred profitable online stores
- Frequent business with local school programs
- Organizations needing single-piece fulfillment
- Heat transfer and DTF jobs integrated into store orders
GraphicsFlow
- Better artwork organization
- Improved collaboration between the design team and customers
- Consistent, speedy art approval process
Combined, these tools support the shop’s rapid growth. The business has experienced an increase in annual revenue from $1 million to $2 million over the past three years, with continued year-over-year growth of 18–20%.
A Creative Department Built on Trust
John’s leadership style is simple: hire talented people and let them shine.
“I give my team a lot of freedom and flexibility to be creative,” John adds. “ I trust them to do the right thing.”
Designers handle everything from bar and restaurant branding to festival merch to retro or distressed styles for automotive clients. Tyler, their lead designer and screen printer, focuses a weekly design day to focus on art and separations.
Part of Hummelstown’s creativity also comes in thinking outside the box with customer orders.
“We do customer-supplied garments, small lots, and have no minimums,” John explains. “We just price accordingly.”
That customer-forward approach, backed by bold, original artwork, is a big reason why the company won the 2025 Inktavo Design & Creative Award.
Profitability, People, and Continued Creativity
“We were fortunate that we’re paying the bills, third quarter kicked in, and now we’re just off to the races,” John says. “Now we’re looking at reinvesting back in equipment, in people, and normalizing salaries.”
With Hummelstown moving full steam ahead, John notes that the team can focus on continuing to exceed customer expectations in creativity and design and find new ways to consistently produce high-quality, custom-branded merchandise.
Most importantly, the team at Hummelstown Print House plans to maintain the creative focus that put the shop on the map.
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