Performance apparel manufacturers are rolling out new options that not only keep wearers cool, clean and dry, but also are suitable for everyday use.
Enough was enough for Kevin Plank. In 1995, Plank, then-special teams captain of the University of Maryland football team, decided he had grown tired of repeatedly changing his soaking-wet cotton T-shirts during games.
November 01, 2008
Follow these tips to make 10 bold graphics from one piece of art.
Multitasking your graphics is an excellent way to add value to a design collection. With a little imagination, you can wring a lot of mileage from one good vector image. In this article, I'll demonstrate how to take one vector design and use it creatively to print 10 distinct garments.
November 01, 2008
Learn how to add profits to your shop with this handy and relatively inexpensive piece of equipment.
To say that you can build existing business around a vinyl cutter is to put it mildly. In fact, my first business, What's Your Sign, was based entirely on a vinyl cutter. The key to expanding your shop's profits with a cutter is to understand the vast capabilities the machine offers — and how you can translate those offerings into new product sales.
November 01, 2008
Unleash the power of combining continuous tone raster images and scalable vector art — and do it so the file produces great separations.
Have you always wondered how to combine the raster separations of Adobe Photoshop with clean vector images and output them in a single file through Adobe Illustrator? In most screen print art departments, it is commonplace practice to utilize both raster- and vector-based art programs.
November 01, 2008
Effective marketing unlocks the profit in eco-friendly products and processes; here's how.
The worldwide "greening" of industries is not a passing trend, as social responsibility has become a mainstay in conducting business these days. Companies in the decorated apparel industry are doing their homework to properly educate and deliver green products and an eco-friendly philosophy to customers. But effectively marketing green products presents unique challenges for apparel decorators, so it pays to learn some green marketing lessons from the big boys.
October 01, 2008
This married couple's steady success proves that any decorator can become green certified and survive.
Steve and Bonnie Melgoza, owners of Livermore, Calif.-based Goza Gear, are propelled by a simple goal — to change the world, one T-shirt at a time — and they've instituted green initiatives to work toward it.
October 01, 2008
The traditional screen printing shop can be filled with the unpleasant odors from cleaners and solvents derived from petroleum products. Handled safely and disposed of properly, these chemicals have been important tools for screen printers for many decades.
October 01, 2008
Specialty detailing, functional features and washes give wholesale wovens advantages that rival those at retail.
The old saying, "You can't please everybody," doesn't apply to woven shirts in the wholesale apparel market. Today's wovens manufacturers offer an array of styles, fits and performance qualities to suit even the pickiest of customers. Specifically, in the corporate realm, these wholesale manufacturers have added specialty detailing that will allow custom decorators to give retail wovens a run for their money.
October 01, 2008
Follow these tips when shopping for equipment and software tools for your art department team.
If you're thinking about adding an art department to your business — or if you're just considering upgrading your existing one to make it current — you may be wondering where to begin. What kind of equipment do you really need? What kind of pens, pencils and brushes should you buy? What size computer and which software programs?
October 01, 2008
A step-by-step tour of how a screen is prepared using the computer-to-screen imaging method.
Converting traditional screen imaging procedures to a computer-to-screen (CTS) system will deliver dramatic time savings and increased quality.
October 01, 2008
What you do after completing a screen print order impacts how smoothly the next job goes.
In the post-press phase of screen printing, as throughout the production cycle, efficiency is your primary goal — and having set procedures in place is key to achieving it. By laying out the steps that must be taken, you’ll speed up the process and help ensure that everything is done properly. Also, your entire staff will be on the same page regarding what needs to be done next and how to do it.
September 03, 2008
When sourcing DTG printers, refer to this list.
September 01, 2008
What to ask when shopping for a DTG machine.
September 01, 2008
Soft-shell construction, year-round usability and high-tech features top 2008 trends for jackets and outerwear.
Technological advancements are flourishing across many industries. Apple just released its second-generation iPhone, and Philips recently demonstrated a 3-D television that doesn't require viewers to wear plastic anaglyphic glasses. Even apparel is becoming more and more futuristic. Workout gear featuring heart rate monitoring and motion sensors is now in stores, and "smart clothes" that fend off insects and mask cigarette smoke are in the pipeline.
September 01, 2008
The key to obtaining bright prints on dark-colored garments is through the proper use of a white underbase. However, it's not necessary to have an absolutely white underbase to achieve a high-opaque print. The underlay's job is to block some of the garment's color and provide a foundation for the overprint colors.
September 01, 2008
What comes to mind when you hear the word "fleece?" In today's fleecewear market, you should be picturing sleek, full-zip hoodies instead of bulky, oversized sweat shirts. The fashion-forward looks that infiltrated the T-shirt market a couple of years ago have overtaken the fleecewear niche. Now, manufacturers are producing fleece collections to target fashion-conscious consumers who not only want to stay warm, but look good doing so.
August 01, 2008
Once a popular street or hip-hop item, the hoodie has now infiltrated all markets. "It started out as a more rugged, street look, but now, a lot of retail designers have been buying it," says Morey Mayeri, president of Royal Apparel, New York. "Distressed and vintage looks are probably the hottest treatments that people are doing to our hoodies. You can do an enzyme wash or a stone wash. There are so many ways to make it look worn." Edge grinding has been popular, he adds, but it's more for the designer market.
August 01, 2008
Understanding the cultural influences on tweens, teens and all that falls between.
Any adult raising an adolescent can tell you it's tough to get a good read sometimes. And with nearly 54 million U.S. children ages 8 to 19, marketers targeting these lucrative consumers have the same problem: How do they attract this tween and teen demographic?
August 01, 2008
Learn how to determine the proper features and scale your needs to run and grow your business.
There was a time at the beginning of every new apparel decorating business when the owner could recite by heart the details of every order in house — sizes, colors, styles, design particulars, due date and total sale amount to the penny — along with details about the event or client for which the garments were printed.
August 01, 2008
These growth strategies can help take your decorating business to the next level.
Whether you're a new decorator looking to launch a business or a seasoned veteran who intends to expand your shop, you have something in common with countless other business people: You want to grow your company. Achieving this goal can take many forms, but one proven path for growth is to add new capabilities.
August 01, 2008
Understanding your options can help you choose the right white ink for the job.
Screen printers have searched high and low for the perfect white ink. The truth is, good traditional screen printers can choose among a variety of white inks from each of the manufacturers, and each will work great if used for the appropriate purpose and under the right conditions.
July 29, 2008
Childrenswear vendors are mirroring top trends in adult apparel such as fashion-forward colors, super-fine fabrics and larger-spec sizing.
Gone are the days when wholesale apparel vendors stocked only a few basic, unisex kids' styles to satisfy customer demand. That won't fly with today's parent, who expects children's garments to be as synced to top retail trends as his or her own clothing. "The childrenswear market is definitely changing from basic wear to more stylish, trendy outfits [that] mirror adult styles," says Amit Gupta, vice president of MONAG, Victor, N.Y.
July 01, 2008
The slow economy may not be as bad for decorators as for other industries, but any economic downturn will affect some businesses more than others. Here's how you can make the best of the situation.
The Mandarin Chinese character for crisis, wïi j¥ (Figure A), looks similar to the Chinese character for opportunity, or j¥ huay (Figure B). This similarity, in addition to other factors I'll leave to the linguistic experts to argue over, has led to the mistaken notion that in Chinese culture, a crisis is regarded not merely as a danger but also as an opportunity.
July 01, 2008
Impressions survey shows industry focused on growth and expansion despite the spate of bad economic news.
Despite the dark clouds looming over the U.S. economy at the start of the year, apparel decorators and promotional consultants responding to the 2008 Impressions Decorated Apparel Universe Study were largely upbeat and focused on the strategies required to sustain and grow their companies.
July 01, 2008
Nothing slows down sampling, approvals and production more than bad artwork. Often the problem starts with the client; here's some tips to save them from themselves.
Decorators are presented with poor-quality artwork on a regular basis and asked to put it on a shirt. Examples can range from a bitmapped image created in Microsoft Word to a dark, fuzzy photo of a child with glowing red eyes. Many customers have no understanding of what resolution is and why you can't use their 72-dpi photo.
July 01, 2008
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