Impressions - Team & Spirit Apparel - Fall 2018 - 19

Hot-split and cold-peel transfers are
widely used today by team-garment
decorators. Photo courtesy of Stahls'
Transfer Express.

Major sporting-goods manufacturers emblazon their company
logos on a wide variety of sports apparel for sales at the retail level,
but team-uniform decorating for local sports teams represents big
opportunities for both large and small garment decorators. Here's a
snapshot of some of the mainstream methods for athletic-apparel
decoration.

Screen-Printing Options

For direct screen-printed numbers, there are two main types of
numbering machines: rotary and inline. Similar to a manual printing press, a rotary numbering machine features multiple screens for
printing numbers 0-9 and an indexing system to allow double-digit
number printing.
Inline numbering machines feature one long screen imaged with
the numbers 0- 9 and a shirt board that is attached to a rail below the
screen that can be moved back and forth to align the garment with
the digit to be printed. Two-color numbers also can be printed with
this type of press since the machine features a second screen with
the number's outline. After the outline is printed on the garment
and flashed, the solid number is printed inside of the outline color.
In the past, screen-mesh selection for athletic printing typically
involved those in the 60-, 86- and 110-monofilament range. This
method still is used by screen printers today, and such mesh counts
produce thick, durable athletic numbers.
However, with the soaring popularity of performance apparel,
mesh counts in the 195-230 range are being used to achieve a softer
hand and better print drape.
A 70-durometer, straight-edge squeegee works well for printing
athletic numbers, and new innovations in triple-durometer squeegees (65/90/65) provide excellent choices for printing on performance fabrics. Printing with the 65-durometer edge of the squeegee
lays the ink on the polyester surface and the 90-durometer center
A Supplement to Impressions

core maintains the blade's stiffness and shearing properties.
"Athletic and activewear garments in today's marketplace have
made a full turn toward performance fabrics," says Ray Smith of
PolyOne/Wilflex. "Performance fabrics primarily are 100% polyester or polyester dominant [and they] require a bleed-resistant ink.
Also, the weave is designed to stretch more than normal, requiring
an ink with great stretch. In response to these requirements, a new
ink technology was developed that balances the bleed resistance,
elongation and cure characteristics that work in tandem with [the]
application to address all of these problems."
Smith says screen printing on polyester team uniforms always
has presented the challenge of dye migration through the printed
team name or number. "The key to this solution is a low-temperature
cure," he says. "The dye is set in the fabric with heat. When the dye is
subjected to high-cure temperatures, it starts to escape and infiltrate
plasticizers in the ink. If the ink-cure temperature is less than - or
close to - the dye-set temperature, the bleed-resistant component is
able to slow the migration with less effort."
Smith offers one additional tip: "On more difficult dyes in these
fabrics, it is recommended to use a bleed-blocking underbase coat.
These products have a carbon component that acts as a filter to
absorb the dyes as they release. This coating has excellent mat-down

"Athletic and activewear
garments in today's marketplace
have made a full turn toward
performance fabrics."
- Ray Smith,
PolyOne/Wilflex
Fall 2018 * 19

Impressions - Team & Spirit Apparel - Fall 2018

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