SFX Printing: A Hands-On Experience

April 29, 2010

Have you ever wondered what it takes to achieve the high-end special effects apparel decorating looks that you see at retail? From discharge and dips to sprays and foil, adding just a little bit of creativity can take your shop’s decorating capabilities to the next level.

I recently attended a two-day workshop co-sponsored by Atlas Screen Supply and Shockwaves Promotional Apparel that helped take the mystique out of several SFX techniques. More than 30 screen printers from throughout the country gathered at Shockwaves’ Arlington Heights, Ill., headquarters, where they experienced first-hand just how simple it can be to turn an average design into something special. Facilitated by Greg Gaardbo, owner/creative director, Shockwaves, and Charlie Taublieb, Taublieb Consulting, the hands-on event focused on properly using discharge inks, water-based inks, dips and sprays as the foundation for additional garment embellishment.

“Discharge ink is an ideal building block to any multimedia design,” Gaardbo says. “You can take something a little bit boring and turn it into a rock-star design just by being creative. For example, by using discharge ink — whether you are dipping, spraying or printing the garment — you can give a shirt an all-over printed look that you can further embellish with foil, stones, studs or flock. By offering something truly innovative, you can sell smaller runs at higher profit margins, making your shop distinct from your competitors and more profitable overall,” he adds.

Workshop attendees participated in the actual creation of six distinct shirts using discharge and regular water-based inks with dipping and spraying techniques, and later finished with embellishments such as foil and heat-applied stones. Insight was offered on the proper equipment, attachments, supplies and chemistry needed for each step of each process.

From taking a paintbrush and splattering dots on a shirt to twisting and spraying a garment for a tie-dye spiral look, each finished item had a unique look. Attendees even tackled table printing to give garments the look of being all-over printed, and those shirts were later embellished with a touch of foil.

Gaardbo and Taublieb stressed that planning and salesmanship comes into play when marketing and selling these individual garments. “Multimedia designs — particularly those created using discharge ink — are full of surprises,” Gaardbo says. “Each one is distinct even though they all have similar looks and that can be a selling point. Just be sure and do the appropriate testing on each technique you approach as everything from the pigment in the shirt’s original dyeing process to the humidity in your shop can affect the discharge process.”

For more insight into Gaardbo’s special effects techniques, check out the SFX cover story in the July/August issue of Impressions. Also, Atlas Screen Supply and Shockwaves Promotional Apparel will host a second two-day workshop early this summer. The event will cover beginning screen printing and production basics for both manual and automatic presses, teaching attendees how to avoid costly errors and increase production. For details, specific dates and registration information, visit atlasscreensupply.net. — M.D.



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