Impressions - May 2018 - 24

has set a new standard for embroidery houses, he says.
The RACER series also includes innovations centered on thread color. "Our machine
now carries almost all standard colors that
a typical online shop would offer," Sobizack
says. "This allows our customers to have all
colors on one machine and avoids the cost
of changing threads. Going further, our machine also knows which color is on which
needle. An operator can scan an order and,
when digitizing set colors in the design, the
system can guide the operator to a suitable
machine that carries the colors."
- K.S.

Ted Stahl

unbelievable and very humbling."
Earlier this year, Stahls' introduced a
Bluetooth-enabled controller for its Hotronix
Fusion IQ heat-press line that gives online
access to reporting, including total impressions, idle time and more. Such an innovation
is helping to change heat-printing productivity worldwide.
The company also offers an AquaTru water-based ink formula. "Now, customers can
confidently decorate the most dye-saturated,
stretchy, heat-sensitive garments and get a
professional result every time," Stahl says.
"Low-temperature adhesives that can be applied as low as 250˚F also are filling voids for
professional printing on lightweight polyesters and performancewear."
- Marcia Derryberry

Executive Chairman and Founder,
GroupeSTAHL
Of the many things Ted Stahl advocates at
his namesake company, there's one thing he
doesn't espouse: innovation for the sake of
innovation. "We investigate and look at technology all around the world," says Ted, executive chairman and founder, GroupeSTAHL.
"We also are constantly listening to all kinds
of customer feedback, which we take very seriously. Then, we do our best to match up or
create new technology to meet the present
or future needs of our customers."
The company has introduced innovations
that weren't immediately well-received, such
as CAD-CUT heat-transfer materials. "I remember standing in the aisles at trade shows
trying to convince people they need a cutter, and
to try our CAD-CUT heat-transfer materials
for decorating one-offs or on-demand," Stahl
recalls. "They looked at me like I was crazy.
Now, I go to our automated manufacturing
facilities and see all the materials coming in
and out, being processed and converted. It's

Brian Walker

Founder and Owner,
Image Armor and RTP Apparel
Pointing to developments in the automobile
industry and the expansion of the Internet,
Brian Walker, founder and owner, Image Armor and RTP Apparel, says that while innovation initially catches consumers off guard,
they eventually realize its tremendous benefits. And he says he's committed to such
a level of transformation in the decoratedapparel industry.
Walker's work has expanded from direct-to-garment (DTG) printing and pretreatment solutions to his newest endeavor - piloting a process that will enable
direct-to-fabric (DTF) printing on polyester. Already, his work has resulted in whitepolyester printing similar to sublimation, and
he plans to further explore the process.
"We've been a part of the pretreating
process since the early days of DTG and
white ink," Walker
says. "We started by
making pretreatment
machines, and then
subsequently the
pretreatments. It
was a logical step
for us to start manufacturing apparel
that was ready to
print - and then
we started looking
at ways to not have
to pretreat, which led
to our RTP Apparel line."
Walker's history
with and under-

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standing of DTG and pretreatment technologies have led his companies to pioneer a
viable alternative to pretreating garments in
the first place. "[The approach was to] solve
the problem by pretreating and you have a
market-disruptive product like RTP Apparel," he says.
From the sound of things, he's nowhere
near being done with this industry segment.
"We have some exciting new products and
innovations coming to the market over the
next year that I think will improve DTG
printing significantly."
- K.S.

Janet Wells

President,
Insta Graphic Systems
Insta Graphic Systems' philosophy on innovation is simple: The company embraces
innovation in all its forms and encourages
the best ideas to improve all aspects of its
machines and operations.
"We aim to help our customers stand out
and succeed in their competitive marketplaces," says Janet Wells, the company's president.
"For us, innovation is driven by customer
feedback and market research. We constantly
gauge the industry's requirements and design
our products to meet the customers' needs.
We're also continuously improving various
machine features and introduce new machines
to target new and upcoming applications."
One such innovation is the Quick-Change
Insta 256 heat press, which won the Specialty
Graphic Imaging Association's (SGIA) Product of the Year award. The press was the culmination of a response to customer feedback
requesting platens that can be changed out to
adapt to various applications, but the quality
and functionality for which the company is
known, Wells says.
"No tools are required to change platens
on the Quick-Change heat presses," she says.
"Changing platens of different sizes can be
achieved in 30 seconds or less. This ease of
interchangeability on our larger 20" x 25" machine (Insta model 288) allows the customer
to invest in one machine for various sizes to
meet the needs of wide-format sublimation
with manual presses."
For the decorator, this means a modern,
updated heat press designed with the user
in mind. "We design our heat presses to be
simple and user friendly while providing high
performance," Wells says. "We are continually
looking for ways to improve this product in
terms of reliability and productivity."
- M.D.

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Impressions - May 2018

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