Impressions - May 2019 - 17

silhouettes that are flattering to more body types and ages: crew necks,
raglans, ringers, tanks, babydolls, spaghetti straps, V-necks, A-shirts,
crop tops, camisoles and many more.
"We've seen such a growth in the last decade in apparel offerings,
due in large part to customer demand," says Chris Beard, a 30-year
industry veteran and customer service rep at Golden State Activewear.
"They don't want boxy, scratchy and boring - so now decorators can
offer more garments to a wider array of clients."
1970s - Blended Fabrics Debut: In the 1970s, fabric blends started appearing on the market. "This allowed for a lightweight, more
breathable alternative to 100% [polyester] and a smoother finish than
100% cotton," Beard says. "More than 25 years ago, a basic 50/50
cotton/poly blend was the go-to [in terms of ] price for large promo giveaway programs. Not so much these days, as most customers
aren't as concerned about price and [are] more focused on quality."
1990s - All About Performance: In the 1990s, apparel brands started
incorporating performance features such as wrinkle-free properties
in men's 100% cotton pants, as well as moisture-wicking and antimicrobial technologies. Apparel, socks and towels were enhanced with
silver nanoparticles that reduced odor. In 2001, the United States
established a standard for sun-protective clothing, mandating UPF
testing and longevity on garments.
"Now, decorators can more easily market to the fitness lifestyle
crowd; no more basic 100% cotton tanks, please," Beard says.
A cotton/polyester blend results in a comfortable material that's
versatile, wrinkle-resistant, breathable, colorfast, unshrinkable and offers a great canvas for bright, colorful prints. Now, there are hundreds
of fabric blends available, including elastane (spandex) and cotton;
wool and polyester; linen and silk; and cotton, polyester and viscose.

SCREEN PRINTING
1990s - Computer-Generated Art: Marshall Atkinson, a
Phoenix-based decorated-apparel success coach who also offers
hands-on training via his Shirt Lab events, remembers hand cutting
Rubylith film for screen-printed letters and numbers in the early 1990s.
In the mid- to late-1990s, Atkinson watched design work that
previously took hours shrink to 30 minutes with PCs and software
programs like Adobe Photoshop, Freehand and Streamline. "There's
a huge efficiency gain; before, you could do two to three designs a
week, and now you're doing them before lunch," Atkinson says. "Your
hands-on tech tasks are so greatly reduced that you can devote more
time to your creativity. The revolution is really in the software."
In addition, says Ryan Moor, founder and CEO of Ryonet and
Allmade, the ability to generate artwork via a computer vs. drawing by
hand has enhanced the decoration marketplace. "The biggest advent
was vector-based art," he says. "Before programs like Adobe [Photoshop], CorelDRAW and Illustrator made this easy and possible, the
best shirts were hand-drawn-and-separated, full-color shirts. Now,
the process makes it easy, consistent and lowers overhead."
The Seed of CTS Technology: In 1987, screen-printing veteran
Geoff McCue wondered if his inkjet printer could print on a screen.
About a year after pitching his wild idea to Gerber, the company
purchased his right to file a patent and hired him as a consultant to
develop the ScreenJet, which came to market in 1993 with the capability of producing an exposure-ready screen for an average T-shirt
job in four to eight minutes.
"Your ROI was just 14 months based on film use alone," Atkinson says. "This process was faster, you had better halftone dots and
resolution, and you eliminated pinholes."

A computer-to-screen (CTS) imaging system offers fine lines and
halftones, better registration, and eliminates the need for clear film.
Plus, all files are stored on your computer and pre-press steps, such
as cleaning films, or repairing bent or damaged films, are eliminated.
Simulated-Process Separations: Photorealistic simulated-process
designs aren't printed with CMYK colors. Instead, the separations
are comprised of solid and halftone images of spot colors.
"One of the most important innovations in this area are programs like Adobe Photoshop that let you do separations, cutting
the amount of time it takes to separate a job," says Charlie Taublieb,
a screen-printing veteran and industry consultant. Such programs
have made it easier for someone without an art background to do
complex separations, he says.
In the early 1990s, Atkinson took a career-changing training course
with Mark Coudray, owner of Netseps and a renowned industry veteran who's taught tens of thousands of printers across the world for
the past 40 years. "I learned how to do halftones better," Atkinson
says. "With simulated-process color separations, we could replicate
photos with crisp details and high-impact colors. We could nail it
every single time."
LED Imaging: Today's LED systems come in lots of styles and configurations, and generally offer exposure speeds that match those of
high-wattage, metal-halide systems. They also offer low power usage, longer bulb life and higher efficiency, emitting less heat. That
means exposure rooms and vacuum-frame glass remain cooler, helping maintain film positives' dimensional stability. In addition, unlike
broad-spectrum, UV-light-emitting metal-halide bulbs, LEDs emit
a narrow band near a single wavelength.
"This was a pretty recent evolution," Atkinson says, "when before,
you had crazy-expensive metal-halide bulbs that would emit less
light as time went on, so you'd have to extend your exposure times.
Now, the new bulbs use less energy and last almost forever. Exposure
times completely drop. For a super-busy shop, you can expose more
screens in a day, from 90 seconds down to 20."

EMBROIDERY
1980s - Computerized Digitizing and Software: In the 1980s,
the earliest versions of today's computerized embroidery machines
and digitizing software appeared on the scene. Digitizers rejoiced
when scanners replaced digitizing tablets and floppy drives replaced
paper tapes.
"When computerized digitizing replaced manual punching, it became possible to create an embroidered circle using just four clicks
of a puck on a digitizing tablet, rather than laboriously pressing a
trigger for every stitch in the circle," says Deborah Jones, director of
education for Dallas-based Designs in Machine Embroidery.
1990s - Multineedle Capability: In the 1990s, when single-needle
machines got outpaced by multineedle machines, decorators could
handle more complex embroidery designs and intricate patterns.
With four to 10 needles, each with a different thread color, embroiderers didn't need to stop in mid-design or between jobs to change
the thread. Jones says her first multihead embroidery machines were
single-needle units.
"Early multineedle models didn't yet have trimmers, so you still
had to stay nearby to trim or disconnect the thread from the previous
color," she says. "The true revolution occurred with the combination
of multineedle models with automatic trimmers that took over the
task of trimming the previous color, allowing the machine to run
an entire design uninterrupted and without operator intervention."
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Impressions - May 2019

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