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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Decorators on Impressions’ annual list of top-volume shops prove that an economic downturn doesn’t necessarily mean a slump in production, sales volume or mindset.
As America’s collective business community continues to struggle with the longest recession since the Great Depression (though not near the same magnitude), stories of resilient companies — such as Impressions’ 2009 Top-Volume Shops — offer a beacon of light during this overcast time. Though the largest companies can be the hardest to fall in weakening economies, this hasn’t been the case with our industry’s top shops. That these big players remain securely at the top of their game may have a little to do with luck, but probably a lot more to do with resourcefulness and well-earned reputations.
July 01, 2009
Kidswear is trending more than ever toward adult and juniors styles, even as the majority of the market remains tried-and-true basics.
Oooh, baby! Today’s kids are sporting some decidedly progressive, adult-driven apparel, including sun dresses with Affliction-style heraldry designs, diapers decorated with abstract sublimated designs, vintage-wash fabrics and organic cotton one-piece body suits. These fashion-forward offerings are part of a bumper crop of products from industry suppliers, who continue to unveil new twists for tots, even as classic kidswear items retain their perennial popularity.
July 01, 2009
Give your clients’ orders a fashion edge with big designs and trendy placements.
Following the trends in retail, custom apparel decorating shops can expand their product mixes and bottom lines by offering garments with allover embellishment and oversized designs in unorthodox placements. There are numerous production methods to achieve this end, from fitting your screen printing press with oversized pallets and screens, to mastering certain techniques of digital printing. The method with perhaps the lowest cost of entry and one that’s easy to manage is buying (or printing) oversized transfers.
July 01, 2009
The unconventional is definitely at the heart of the urban Chii Clothing Culture collection, produced by Culture Studio Screen Printing & Embroidery. The Chicago-based decoration house specializes in allover and discharge printing, and processes including foil and texture inks. In January 2005, Rich Santo, president of Culture Studio, launched the Chii Clothing Culture line, which showcases all of Culture Studio’s specialties and is designed especially for fashion-forward young adults. A self-proclaimed lifestyle line, Chii — pronounced “sh-i” — emphasizes tradition, culture and respect, according to the brand’s Web site, chiiclothing.com.
July 01, 2009
Beginner's luck has its place in the apparel graphics industry. Veterans can tell great stories about beginners who happened on our shores and made a big pile of money — fast. But for every such tale, there are scores of others where entrepreneurs' dreams of success were dashed upon the rocks of conventional wisdom, wrong assumptions, poorly researched solutions, shopworn strategies and poor execution.
May 22, 2009
Despite tough economic conditions, the ladieswear category continues to perform surprisingly well, thanks in part to new fabrics, details and colors.
While the ongoing recession may have prompted suppliers to narrow their product offerings a bit, that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of stylish, new options this year in ladieswear. See-through sheers, eco-friendly cottons, red-hot layered looks, deep V-necks, bright colors like apricot orange and lime green, and standby styles like baby ribs are giving decorators plenty of alluring choices. Eye-catching looks inspired by retail are in abundance.
May 01, 2009
Learn how the right software can pump up profit potential for your apparel decoration business.
If knowledge truly is power, then no other tool gives you absolute power over your business like information management software.
May 01, 2009
Here's how to assemble a board that can work wonders for your business.
When you think of a board of directors, you probably think of a big-time, publicly traded company full of Wall Street bigwigs. However, a board of directors is a proven concept that actually works for companies of any size, providing business owners unbiased insight and suggestions that can have a positive impact on the bottom line.
April 01, 2009
Use this overview to pick the best method for your shop.
There are about as many ways to number athletic team uniforms as there are teams in the ever-expanding playoffs of professional sports — in other words, lots. But you have to know which decoration process works best in various situations. With that in mind, here's an in-depth look at the six main ways to number uniforms, as well as the pros and cons of each process.
April 01, 2009
As the landscape continues to change, here's a look at what's being worn and how it's being decorated.
In these daunting economic times, even team sports are feeling the crunch. While it's true that participation remains healthy, the dollars-per-player spent on decorated apparel has dropped along with consumers' disposable income. "The numbers that people are spending [on team sports decorated apparel] are dropping," says Keith Ritschard, owner of RSB Activewear, Argyle, Wis. "[For example], screen printing nowadays is preferred more than it used to be [when it comes to] basketball designs. The economy has hit everybody and it gets more dramatic as you move down the line. Schools are not resistant to the changes."
April 01, 2009
Many team uniforms are made from polyester materials, which can pose decorating challenges for screen printers. Polyester has a tendency to bleed dyes because it contains a larger percentage of man-made fibers, which don't absorb dyes as well as natural fibers do.
April 01, 2009
Mark Clewell, sales manager for Vastex Intl. Inc., Allentown, Pa., explains how a vacuum pallet enables manual press owners to offer a wider range of products.
March 16, 2009
Multimedia decoration on caps can return high margins.
The tough economy challenges all decorators, but those who print or embroider hats may have a little advantage over the competition. The price point for caps — which varies by style and brand, of course — is lower in general than for many other types of garments that customers may pass on this year due to budget restraints. Multimedia-decorated caps can fill that gap for you and your customer.
March 01, 2009
Auctions can offer some great deals if you know what you're doing, but don't get caught in the trap of buying something simply because it's cheap.
The ongoing recession seems to have practically everyone refocused on frugality, doggedly searching for ways to get the best deals on anything and everything they purchase. Screen printers are no different, seeking bargain-bin pricing on top-notch equipment and supplies. And what's one of the best places for dollar-conscious decorators to find these killer deals? An auction.
March 01, 2009
It's more important than ever to have and adhere to a marketing plan; here's how to stay on track without spending a lot.
Screen printing in a rough economy can be fun and frightening at the same time. Existing clients who have been loyal for years may start to shop around and squeeze prices. In a recession, customers tend to look for less-expensive decorating options than they had ordered in the past. So jobs that may have been embroidered jackets last year could be spot color screen printed T-shirts this year. That can keep the shop buzzing, but the owner needs to make sure there is enough margin built into the jobs that do come through to keep the doors open.
March 01, 2009
A primer on what you need to know to get the right dryer and use it correctly.
When screen printers began using plastisol inks in the late '50s, they found they needed a heat source that would cure screen printed prints on finished garments. Don Petrey was an early innovator with Flexible Products Co. and he helped pioneer the process by developing a screen printable plastisol ink for Russell Athletics. Don printed this new plastisol formulation and cured the printed athletic jerseys in an industrial gas oven.
March 01, 2009
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