Equipment Zone Debuts Veloci-Jet DTG Printer

July 6, 2009

Equipment Zone, Fair Lawn, N.J., has introduced the Veloci-Jet, a new digital direct-to-garment printer. According to the company, it is one of the fastest inkjet-to-garment printers on the market, printing a full-size design on a light shirt in about one minute.

The printer has an oversized bed — 13" x 24" — that accommodates a wide variety of textile substrates, including everything form T-shirts and sweatshirts to towels and mouse pads. Shirt boards are easy to swap out, allowing an operator to load one shirt board while another is printing.

Veloci-Jet comes with the EZ Pro bulk ink system. An adjustable ink shelf and wide hoses ensure the printhead gets the optimal amount of ink, and bottles can be refilled even with the printer in operation.

It prints white shirts in one pass and darks in two. It also features an automatic height adjustment sensor that prevents the printhead from touching a garment when it encounters bumps or folds. Printhead height adjustment is electronic, and the machine ships with and a software RIP — EZ Artist 2.0 — which ensures that prints are color accurate and detailed. Users can print directly from Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Other software features remove backgrounds from images to increase image resolution and optimize print quality.

A complete package is priced at $16,000, and includes everything from inks and pretreatment sprayer to on-site installation and training, along with an 18-month parts and labor warranty.

Hirsch Video Demonstrates Oversize Shirt Printing
A new video from Hirsch Intl. shows how to print oversize designs on the Mimaki inkjet garment printer the company distributes. To see the video, visit hirschinternational.com . Click on “Direct To Garment Printer” and search the right navigation bar for available videos.
September 28, 2009

Diversifying Your Customer Base  
Learn to evaluate and adjust your mix of clientele for optimum profitability and stability.
While the economic lows that many American markets have been experiencing for the past year are certainly painful, they’re also nothing new. Historically, the tide of business success continually ebbs and flows, with one market experiencing a rush of good fortune while another watches its revenue all but dry up. This cyclical nature of business is precisely why decorators must have a diverse customer base that allows them to weather slowdowns — or even meltdowns — in parts of the economy.
September 02, 2009

Decorators Open Up on DTG Workflow, Profits
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Since its introduction to the decorated apparel industry several years ago, direct-to-garment printing has been heralded as a game-changer — a disruptive technology that would dramatically change the way shops conduct business. It would allow decorators to tackle small orders, suppliers said. It would let shops offer personalization and print photographs with amazing detail, they promised. And it would dramatically reduce set-up time, they’ve claimed.
September 01, 2009

Corel Announces Winners of International Design Contest
Corel Corp., Ottawa, recently announced the winners of the CorelDRAW International Design Contest, which drew submissions from users in more than 60 countries. Junior Souza of Brazil won first place in the Fashion/Textile category. Impressions Senior Editor Terry Murphy was among the international panel of judges for the competition.
August 10, 2009 - Source: Nielsen Business Media

Tunes Lead Teen/Tween Trends
Music — bands and celebrity performers — is influencing the graphics, styling and colors that teens and pre-teens want to wear.
If you’re ever wondering how to tap in to the teen and tween (pre-teen) market, the evidence is all around you. The apparel worn on TV, in magazines and on the Internet by rock stars, actors, models and other celebrities is going to give you the greatest clues about what teens want in decorated apparel.
July 31, 2009