Impressions - May 2016 - 23

INNOVATION: APPAREL DECORATING
Finding the Buzz

Envision Tees' Tom
Rauen says innovation
is helping decorators
to meet demands of
customers who "place
an order and want
it yesterday."

fails [with direct-to-screen], your whole shop is down instead
of an easy part to fix if you were doing something with an
automatic or manual (press)."
There also has been significant improvement in DTG
technology recently.
"The quality of direct-to-garment [printing], which has
been getting a lot more consistent, is getting real comparable
to screen printing now," Rauen says.
Indeed, when DTG was introduced, many believed
that it would quickly replace screen printing - something that hasn't actually happened, but its capabilities are
consistently improving.
"I've always thought direct-to-garment is the wave of the
future," Gaardbo says. "I want screen printing in a box. The
images are just unbelievable."
Screen-printing inks have become more advanced as well;
whether it's silicone or water-based, environmentally friendly inks,
decorators now can do a lot more than was previously possible.
"[Silicone ink] has been on the market for a couple years
now," Jamnicky says. "It allows a softer, stretchy, more doable print on some fabrics that were really difficult to print
on before. It's not easy, but it is significantly easier. And it's a
different product that wasn't available before."
Today's innovative ink systems have made printing
on traditionally problematic fabrics, such as polyester,
less painstaking.
"In the past we used to have certain inks - like waterbased inks - that we could not print on polyester fabric,"
Gruninger says. "Now, we have black blocker underbases where

One of the keys to success in apparel decorating is
staying abreast of trends and techniques customers
may crave. Successful decorators agree that attending
trade shows is the best way to see the latest and
greatest technology the industry has to offer,
which can sometimes lead to cutting-edge ideas and
spark innovation.
For new decorators, trade shows can be a great
way to learn and ask questions, but even seasoned
decorators stand to learn more about other decorating
methods and further hone their skills.
"I walked past sublimation for years at shows
and I didn't give it a second thought," says Greg
Gaardbo, CEO and creative director, Shockwaves
Promotional Apparel. "And then I walked by [a
sublimation demonstration] one day and something
just hit my brain, and I thought to myself, 'I need
to do this now.'"
Many of the innovative designs Gaardbo and his
Shockwaves staff execute involve sublimation,
including several Impressions Award-winning
submissions. But in this increasingly digital world,
there are other avenues for information and ideas,
such as blogs and social media.
"There are several decorator communities
online," says Pierre John Jamnicky, CEO of Blue
Moon Promotional Inc. "I am a co-owner of one of
the forums and we have a pretty good community
there. In my eyes, it's the best way to get the
information because you get the good with the bad.
The salesperson and manufacturer won't necessarily
give you that."

Operating systems also
are improving, meaning
the interplay between
press operator and screenprinting press has never
been easier.

MAY 2016

P.23

Impressions - May 2016

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