Off the Cuff: Selling to Religious Organizations: Part 1 of 2
In our industry we decorate a massive assortment of items by a broad variety of technologies. Then we distribute what we produce to virtually every economic sector in every nook and cranny of society.
September 14, 2009

How to Apply Foil
Editor’s note: In the following pages, the authors take you step-by-step through the process of adding foil to your T-shirt artwork. First, they detail how to incorporate foil into the workflow of an automatic press. The process differs significantly for printers using a manual press, so the authors also detail how to apply foil when printing with a manual screen printing press.
September 04, 2009

Foil Adds Sparkle and Margin 
While getting started printing with foil will be a trial-and-error process, here are some tips to reduce the learning curve. 
When we get an order at our shop, it’s not uncommon to hear an employee exclaim, “Foiled again!” That’s because as many as 15% of our orders involve some kind of foil printing, making the process somewhat of a specialty for our shop — Forward Printing, Oakland, Calif.
September 03, 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

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

The Lighter Side of Fleece
Even in a down economy, fleece buyers will find lighter weights among basics and a healthy dose of fashion and color.
As consumers tighten their belts, fleece remains popular and decorators should look to vendor lines with lighter weight fabrics making value-added changes to basics, as well as and some fashion-forward styles and sizzling colors.
July 31, 2009

Add Dimension To Enhance Clip Art
Learn how to turn stock art from ordinary to interesting using a few simple techniques to add dimension and details.
Clip art is a handy tool that allows apparel decorators to minimize the cost of artwork while still offering high-quality, professional- looking work. It also enables a decorator who might not be a trained graphic artist to produce a quality design quickly when time is of the essence.
July 31, 2009

Tagless Printing Offers Speed, Savings and Personalization
Decorators can apply custom tagless label information via any of three production technologies.
I’m the first to admit that I am one of those people who tears out the sewn-in neck label as soon as I buy a T-shirt. And I’m obviously not the only one who does so, because T-shirt manufacturers have heard the message loud and clear. Many garments from vendors big and small have gone tagless. The information normally on a tag is still right there inside the neck of the shirts — it’s just either screen printed or a heat-applied transfer.
July 31, 2009