Decorate Performance Apparel With Heat-Applied Graphics

A three-color CAD-printed design done on a digital printer-cutter can deliver a dynamic embellishment to highly stretchy performancewear substrates, such as this cold-weather running team jersey.

There’s no doubt that your customers are asking for performancewear. The market is on the rise and experts expect the performance and technical textiles sector to increase 18% to 20% during the next four to six years. To capitalize on this increase and get your piece of the current market, you need to know how to decorate these fabrics.

Choose a Method
There are four common methods of custom decoration for performancewear: screen printing, screen printed heat transfers, sublimation (direct-to-garment or via transfer) and CAD-cut technology.

For the purpose of this article we will be focusing on customizing all colors, varieties and constructions of performancewear, and we’re choosing to focus on CAD, which can handle all types of substrates.

The other processes have their strengths in certain applications. Sublimation can produce striking full-color prints, but only on light-colored garments made of all polyester or a high poly-content blend. Screen printing (direct or via transfer) is the most cost effective for large-volume runs of repetitive designs, and that’s a less practical approach to performancewear jobs of 48 pieces and less, which are common in any shop with team clients.

Thus, we will focus on CAD technology for customizing performance apparel. CAD-cut (computer aided design) is used generically to describe making custom heat transfers out of rolls of vinyl and other material by using a vinyl cutter — or combined digital printer/cutter — a process that was transferred to apparel decoration from the sign business. CADCUT is a trademark of STAHLS ID Direct, which manufactures transfer materials, as well as cutters and cutter/printers. (Editor’s note: The author is an executive at Stahls’ CAD-CUT, where he developed his expertise in this area.)

Types of Performancewear
For the purpose of this article, we will deal with two basic performancewear constructions: loose-fit and compression.

It’s important to know the differences between these types of performance apparel and what the differences mean to decorators.

Compression wear fits snug to the body and is worn by athletes to help to prevent muscle pulls and strains. The whole benefit of compression wear is that the garment stretches and recovers, and it also helps protect muscles during athletic activity. Compression garments also provide a slight edge when it comes to moisture wicking, as the garment presses against the skin and pulls more moisture away as it is released. These reasons make compression garments the choice base layer fabric of athletes in many sports.

All sales projections expect this type of garment to continue to gain momentum in the team marketplace. 

Loose-fit performancewear is just what it sounds like; garments that fit loosely on the body and can be compared to a T-shirt in look, but not in performance. Loose-fit apparel has many performance advantages over standard cotton garments. Loose-fit’s popularity grows as an alternative to a T-shirt for daily wear, an option for athletes, or an alternative to a classic polo shirt for casual wear. 

Decorating Challenges
• Adhesion: The most basic question to answer before selecting a decoration option is whether or not it will adequately adhere to the fabric you are working with and be durable?

• Dye migration: Polyester-based performance fabrics may release dyes that will migrate through your embellishment. Do you have the right combination of garment and embellishment to prevent this from happening?

• Stretch and recovery: Most performance fabrics stretch. Will your embellishment technique stretch without cracking and recover to its original form without warping?

• Effect on moisture-wicking: Is a decorating technology affecting the moisture-wicking of the garment? What is the tradeoff, and how important is it to your customer?

• Melting: If your embellishment technique requires heat, will the garment be adversely affected by the heat?

• Reaction to water or extreme temperatures: Is the garment going to be worn in any extreme conditions or under water?  If so, how will your embellishment react?

Understanding CAD
There are two basic CAD techniques. The best choice for a particular job is not necessarily dictated by the fabric type, but rather the design type or, more specifically, the number of colors intended for the embellishment. For one-color jobs, decorators select CAD-cutting. For multi-color or four-color process embellishments, the logical choice is what we refer to as CAD-printing — or print and cut. 

CAD-cutting workflow
• Select a roll of heat-applied film in the color that you want the embellishment.

• Load the roll into a vinyl cutter.

• Send a vector version of the graphic from the design software to the vinyl cutter.

• The machine cuts the design in mirror image.

• Weed away the excess film, which leaves your design pre-spaced on a mylar backing.

• Place design on the garment of choice and heat press it for the recommended time and temperature.

• Peel the mylar backing.

CAD-printing workflow

• Select a roll of heat-applied print/cut material and load it into your solvent-based printer/cutter.

• Send a multicolor graphic designed in conjunction with vector cut lines to your printer/cutter.

• The printer/cutter prints the design in the positive image and then cuts it.

• Weed away excess film, which leaves your design pre-spaced on a mylar or paper backing.

• Place a clear, heat-resistant masking material on top of the design to lift the image up in pre-spaced registration.

• Place this on your garment and heat press.

If you are not familiar with the processes enough to understand the written description, visit joshellsworth.com to view a video demonstration produced specifically to support this article. You’ll see both types of CAD technology used on both compression and loose-fit performancewear, as well as other video tutorials..

CAD Materials Toolbox
The next thing to grasp is that there are various materials within each technology. Some of these materials have been developed to address the decoration challenges that performance fabrics pose. It’s important to understand that selecting the right type of CAD material can make the difference between a top-notch product and one that fails.

• Adhesion: Performance apparel is comprised of synthetic fabrics. In almost all cases you are dealing with 100% polyester, a poly/spandex blend or a nylon/spandex blend.  Take a look at the fabric composition of your garment, then consult with an expert at your supplier to make sure the CAD material is compatible with the fabric. You also might ask if the combination of your fabric type and the recommended CAD style has been put through laundering cycles and how long it is guaranteed to last. A good combo should be able to last 50-plus washings.

• Dye Migration: If — and only if — a garment contains polyester, be aware of dye migration. If a polyester garment is darker or equal to the color of the embellishment, then there is a risk of dye migration. An example of dye migration is when you apply white lettering to a red polyester garment, and the lettering eventually turns pink. The red dye from the poly fabric has migrated into the lettering.

Dye migration is not a problem unique to CAD technology; it can ruin screen printed decoration and other methods as well. To combat dye migration, the first thing you have to know is whether the garments for a particular job are prone to this problem. The simplest test is decorating one sample, or an inconspicuous area of one garment, with a small dot. Let it sit for 48 hours to see if dye migrates.

To accelerate the test, throw the garment in the dryer or place it on the windshield of a hot car. Be aware that not all garments will migrate right away, so don’t make the mistake of decorating an entire order of team uniforms, sending them out the door and then having them come back in a few days. To avoid this, roll the cost of one test garment into the total cost of goods sold.

Now to the good news — CAD material manufacturers have created materials that will completely block migration — even better than low-bleed inks in screen printing. 

If the dye in the garment you are decorating for a specific job is prone to migrate, buy the right material to address the problem. Dye-blocking material is slightly more expensive, and often a bit thicker when it comes to feel on the garment. For this reason, I recommend testing a standard style first.

Another option, at least for compression garment jobs, is to buy nylon garments rather than polyester; dyed nylon does not migrate.

Stretch and Recovery
Performancewear stretches, especially the compression style that includes Lycra spandex, and that makes these garments tougher to decorate. To be honest, most decorators are afraid to try. If you’ve ever seen a compression garment screen printed, the print often cracks because it wasn’t printed properly.

The same goes for CAD materials.  When shopping for a CAD material for stretch fabric, look for one that stretches without cracking. It also is important to make sure the material recovers after stretching to prevent the garment from looking warped. CAD materials will have different levels of stretchiness. What is acceptable may vary based on how tightly the garment is being worn and how much it will stretch. 

Don’t Interfere with Moisture Wicking
All vinyl transfer decoration will affect moisture-wicking capabilities of a garment on areas it directly covers. Sublimation enthusiasts would say that is why sublimation is ideal for performancewear —it lets the garment breathe. Frankly, any type of decoration other than sublimation is going to affect the garment’s ability to wick moisture in those areas.

Sublimation is not the answer, however, when a customer’s job calls for a dark garment or a nylon-based fabric. This is where your understanding of how to coach the customer comes into play.

Showcase samples that limit the size or coverage area of the CAD material. The worst thing you can do is take a nice moisture-wicking garment and place a big, patch-like design on the front or back.

Coach the customer into an understated design (left or center chest) or one with open areas (like text or numbering) to allow maximum breathability.  If you take a look at any of the retail brands that offer customization, you’ll see they select the lightest-weight CAD material and limit the coverage of the design. 

Watch Temperature and Dwell Time to Avoid Melting
Some of these garment styles are sensitive to heat. It’s your job to source a vinyl transfer material that applies at a low temperature and a short dwell time to reduce the amount of heat that the fabric receives.

There are CAD materials that can be applied at 285°F at five-second intervals. If you have a CAD material that was engineered primarily for cotton and applies at 340°F for 15 to 20 seconds, you might want to consider another option.

Water and Extreme Temperatures
Performance fabrics are worn in all types of conditions. Whether going down the ski slope, on a soldier coming in contact with high heat or in the depths of the ocean on a scuba diver — your embellishment is going to be expected to perform just like the garment to which it’s applied. Consult with the experts at your supplier to make sure the material can stand up to the task at hand without becoming brittle, melting or losing color.

So are you afraid of decorating performance apparel? Will you do a job of 12, 24 or 48 pieces? How about just six pieces — or maybe just one shirt? Many decorators purposely avoid these technical fabrics, especially in the quantities described.

Embracing a technology that meets the challenges of all performance apparel styles and plugging yourself into the right experts will allow you an edge. This edge can yield an entirely new profit center for your business in 2010. The time for performance apparel is now. 

Visit joshellsworth.com to watch a video of this process in action and other heat-applied decoration demos.

Josh Ellsworth, sales manager of Stahls’ CAD-CUT Direct, has been in the industry for 10 years. He has implemented apparel customization solutions in some of the largest U.S. manufacturers. Josh speaks regularly at ISS shows and continues his educational efforts through his Web site, joshellsworth.com. For more information or to comment on this article, e-mail Josh at josh@cadcutdirect.com.