Impressions - April 2016 - 51

Heat-pressed vinyl
is a viable option for
decorating fitness
garments if the design
is simple enough to
weed and prep.

and stretch, garment decorating
area and garment composition.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SAMPLES

Fabric Composition
Before decorating an unfamiliar fitness garment, get samples and measure the

With fitness apparel, the fabric
components can sometimes be hard
to determine. To avoid discouraging sales, manufacturers often
fail to include certain compositional elements if they are
not above a percentage.
For performance purposes, a
stretchy T-shirt or pants may
have significant Lycra or spandex
content, but this also can have
an effect on final printing. It
always is a good idea to discuss the decorating method with
the supplier if you are testing a new product to ensure
there a re no surprises
during production.
Challenges to watch out for
th at a re related to fitness
apparel fabrics include:
1. Heat-sensitive fabrics and
threads in seams or stitching
may become distorted or brittle
when run through a dryer or
heat pressed.
2. Synthetic threads in fabrics
may resist inks and printing adhesion, or need an ink
catalyst to be washfast. These
include nylon and some sealcoated fabrics.
3. Ultra-thin or mesh-weave
fabrics may bleed under a print,
causing ink to transfer from
the platen to other garments.
4. Garment dye lots may sublimate into ink or other parts
of a garment during curing or
heat pressing.

print area, test for heat sensitivity and gauge how it fits your equipment. This way
you can avoid things like:
1. Seams that will smudge or distort a print.
2. Loose lining that will move during printing, thus shifting registration.
3. Zippers that may pop a screen, bump a squeegee or burn the fabric from
a flash cure.
4. Garment ties that can flip into the print area and burn, melt or distort the print.

5. An inconsistent surface can
cause a print to appear broken,
spotty or washed out. This
also can happen if a garment
is too absorbent and the ink
is too thin.
Combat all these issues by
getting clear manufacturing
specs from the supplier. Also,
get extra garments and take
additional time to test the
decoration method on the fabric prior to final production.
Fabric Stretch
With fitted garments, some decorators debate whether to decorate
the garment in a stretched state
and let the print compress, or
decorate it unstretched and risk
print distortion when the garment
is worn. This issue can be complicated if the garment is made of a
large-ribbed fabric because the
print also is likely to crack when
stretched. Ink modifiers will

add a certain amount of stretch,
but they also will sometimes
reduce opacity. Testin g is
necessary to ensure the right
garment performance.
A popular solution - and one
of the better options for custom
compression appa rel a n d
synthetic fabrics - is to use
heat-pressed vinyl. This will
provide better adhesion a nd
decoration sta bility during
stretching, and also can be
a lightweight solution that
doesn't a ffect the feel of
the fitted apparel. The main
concern with using this style
of decoration is whether the
design is simple enough to weed
and prep for it to make sense.
Another popula r option is
sublimation, which requires
a polyester-blended or coated
fabric to properly transfer the
dye. If the order makes sense
for this style of decoration and
the artwork is suitable, the
APRIL 2016

P.51
Impressions - April 2016

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