Impressions - September/October 2010 - (Page 60)

HANDS ON >> SCREEN PRINTING >> HANDS ON For Screen Printers Only TECH TIPS HANDS ON >> batch of formula to make two- and threecolor treatments. Although it would certainly be time consuming, you could do one color, let it dry and add additional colors. For a different effect, you also could add colors while the ﬁrst one is still wet. Be creative. We almost always screen print a design — generally one that matches the dip or spray — on the shirt after it has been treated. You also could add rhinestones, sequins, embroidery and other effects or decorating techniques for some killer-looking multimedia garments. Watch the washability. It’s not a bad idea to separate the treated shirts from other garments when they’re washed for the ﬁrst few times, just in case there’s any dye leaking. Watch your costs. Because of the labor involved, we usually charge an additional $3 for our custom-dyed shirts — that’s $3 beyond what an untreated shirt would cost the customer. Be practical. Our average order for shirts treated with dipping or spraying is anywhere from 50 to 300 pieces. Anything over 1,000 pieces probably wouldn’t be practical to do, given the amount of manual labor involved in these treatment techniques. While these two shirt treatments are pretty simple to do, they create some unique, eye-catching effects that will grab your customers’ attention. As many as 25% of our customers go with treated shirts instead of plain ones, and we only started using the technique a couple of years ago. Now that you know how these shirt treatment techniques work, try them out, have fun and enjoy the proﬁts you’ll earn. Greg Gaardbo is the president of Shockwaves Apparel (shockwavesapparel.com), Arlington Heights, Ill. He conducts decorating seminars at the Imprinted Sportswear Shows and at his shop. For more information or to comment on this article, e-mail Greg at greg@shockwavesapparel.com. Use Info•Action #31 at impressionsmag.com/infoaction. See us at ISS Atlanta and Ft. Worth Online Directory >> Industry News >> Decorated Apparel Business >> Screen Printing >> Embroidery >> Digital Decorating >> Events >> The Impressions Newsletter >> ecoimpressions >> The Impressions Product Guide >> Catalog Central >> Buyer’s Guide >> Info Action >> Forum >> Publications >> Impressions University >> Imprinted Sportswear Shows Impressionsmag.com/news Impressionsmag.com/business Impressionsmag.com/events mag.com Impressionsmag.com/screenprinting Impressionsmag.com/embroidery Impressionsmag.com/digitaldecorating Impressionsmag.com/newsletter Impressionsmag.com/newsletter Impressionsmag.com/productguide Impressionsmag.com/catalogcentral Impressionsdirectory.com Impressionsmag.com/infoaction T-shirtForums.com Impressionsmag.com/pubs Impressionsmag.com/university ISSshows.com Hear Greg speak on special-effects decorating and attend a hands-on seminar at the Fort Worth Imprinted Sportswear Show later this month. Individual sessions are just $25 each if you preregister: issshows.com. 60 Impressions >> September/October 2010 impressionsmag.com http://www.TransferExpress.com http://www.TransferExpress.com http://www.impressionsmag.com/infoaction http://www.impressionsmag.com http://www.Impressionsmag.com/news http://www.Impressionsmag.com/business http://www.Impressionsmag.com/screenprinting http://www.Impressionsmag.com/embroidery http://www.Impressionsmag.com/digitaldecorating http://www.shockwavesapparel.com http://www.Impressionsmag.com/events http://www.Impressionsmag.com/newsletter http://www.Impressionsmag.com/newsletter http://www.Impressionsmag.com/productguide http://www.Impressionsmag.com/catalogcentral http://www.Impressionsdirectory.com http://www.Impressionsmag.com/infoaction http://www.T-shirtForums.com http://www.Impressionsmag.com/pubs http://www.Impressionsmag.com/university http://www.ISSshows.com http://www.issshows.com http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - September/October 2010

Impressions - September/October 2010
Contents
First Impressions
FYI
Product Gallery
2010 Top-Volume Decorators
Back to Basics
Inside Outerwear
Technique: Use Proper Techniques to Easily Embroider Fleece
Technique: Water-Based Ink and the Environment
Production
For Screen Printers Only
Online Directory
Tech Tips
Using Layer Styles for Digital Printing
On Design
Business to Business
Classifieds
Ad Index

Impressions - September/October 2010