Impressions - February 2010 - (Page 32)

EMBROIDERY >> HANDS ON Production Lamb, EMBROIDERYBy Jimmy Writer Contributing HANDS ON ITAL DECORATING >> HANDS ON CREEN PRINTING >> HANDS ON HANDS ON Less Stitches = More Money So, did anyone ever mention that we have a challenging economy out there? I know, I know: Who wants to hear more doom and gloom? But this article is not going to harp on slow sales; instead, it focuses on practical information that can help you make more money with less work, whether the economy is booming or going bust. A high-quality embroidery design is a balance between several key factors, including push/pull compensation, underlay, proper stitch length and density. There is a ﬁne line between too many stitches and too few. For example, excessive stitch coverage can lead to several problems, including thread breaks, needle breaks, holes in the garment and fabric distortion. In addition, since many embroiderers price work by stitch count, excessive stitches lead to higher prices, which may lose you jobs in a competitive marketplace. On the other hand, not having enough stitches to provide proper coverage will lead to poor visual quality, as the fabric will be visible through the design. This, too, is unacceptable and will likely result in an unhappy customer. So the challenge is creating designs with the lowest possible stitch count, while maintaining the highest level of quality. Even if you don’t charge by stitch count, less stitches means faster run times, which means more production against the same overhead. Oh yeah, and keep this thought in mind as you read: Just because you are able to lower stitch count doesn’t mean you need to lower your price. The concept DIGITAL DECORATING HANDS ON SCREEN PRINTING HANDS ON HANDS ON Reducing stitch count speeds production and increases proﬁt margins. TECH TIPS TECH TIPS it Here’s how do >> while maintaining top-quality results. here is to make higher margins. There are six basic techniques for reducing the number of stitches in a design: Resize the design, adjust the density, increase stitch lengths, change stitch types, convert to appliqué and/or incorporate multimedia. RESIZE THE DESIGN Perhaps the quickest and simplest way to shave off some stitches is to resize the design. Before doing so, analyze the design as follows to ensure that it’s suitable for size reduction: • Verify that all elements will still sew properly at a smaller size. • Verify that a smaller size is still suitable for the application. • Verify the design is in an outline for- In Figure 1, you see the original design, and Figure 2 is the same design after resizing individual elements. Notice the areas that don’t line up. They will need to be edited in order to sew correctly after resizing. Figure 1 Figure 2 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