Impressions - February 2010 - (Page 26)

DESIGN DETAILS: Dimensions: 13" x 91⁄4" • Embroidery Machine Used: Barudan • Stitch Count: 144,000 • Total Design Creation Time: 25-30 hours in Adobe Illustrator • Total Digitizing Time: 10-15 hours • Total Sewout Time: 3.5 hours • Thread Type: Madeira • Thread Colors: 7 (black, white, 2 grays, 3 reds) • Trims: 105 HOT ROD PROMOTIONAL PRODUCT ach year, Sherwood, Ore., welcomes car enthusiasts from around the country for its “Cruisin’ Sherwood Car Show.” Now in its 19th year, the show usually gathers more than 700 classic and custom cars for a weekendlong celebration ﬁlled with food, crafts, trophies and more. Adams Screenprint, a local apparel decorating ﬁrm that entered this month’s featured design in the 2009 Impressions Awards, is responsible for the event merchandise, which normally includes a T-shirt. For the 2009 show, held last June, the company created a high-end item to complement the event shirt. “The design was created exclusively for the hot rod enthusiast that wants to take home a real special item from the show,” says Jake Adams, owner of Adams Screenprint. To impress the car show’s crowd, Adams chose the classic look of a nylon bomber jacket with detailed embroidery on the back. As for the design, Adams says it’s customary for the Best of Show winner to be the featured car on the following year’s event shirt. The production process started with creating the design — using a photograph of the car — in Adobe Illustrator, using eight spot colors (all vectors) for the screen printed shirts. Adams did a line drawing of the car in Illustrator, then added chrome detail and wheels, followed by shading, glass and small details. Afterward, the embroidery design was created using a simple hat front/leftchest design. Adams says the company created a more complex car design for this year’s winner because the team “really wanted to push the envelope and see how close [we] could embroider the car, yet still keep the same look as the screen printed items.” A common challenge for promotional product companies that want to offer both screen printed and embroidered pieces with the same design is matching ink color with threads. To ensure the embroidered design was true to its original image and the screen printed T-shirts, the company applied different thread blends on the car. To achieve this, the vector drawing of the car had to be translated correctly for the embroidery process. For help, the company contacted Scott Peebles of ColorBox Digitizing, Eugene, Ore., who “took [the] vector drawing and put the correct stitch angles in the right places to achieve the amazing effects you can see when different light hits the design,” Adams says. To achieve a similar design, Adams says it is crucial to have a good vision of what the ﬁnished product should look like. He also mentions the importance of understanding software tools and their functions, “in the appropriate programs, to bring the vision to life.” — Luiza Raposo Color matching was the biggest challenge throughout the entire production process. “Getting thread and ink to look the same is not an easy feat,” says Jake Adams, owner of Adams Screenprint. “In the end we were all really happy with how it turned out.” Impressions >> February 2010 impressionsmag.com http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - February 2010

Impressions - February 2010
Contents
First Impressions
FYI
Product Gallery
Working Wearables
On Design
Buying Equipment on eBay
Finance New Equipment the Right Way
Less Stitches = More Money
How to Find Good Employees
Online Directory
How to Create Textured Ink Effects
Business to Business
Classifieds
Ad Index

Impressions - February 2010