Screen Printing - August/September 2019 - 16

'70s. Companies like Under Armour
and other athletic-apparel brands
popularized polyester garments for
sports teams and have now become
a mainstream product. As with
DTG, there's a lot of mixed media,
plus more and more companies are
investing in the ability to cut and
sew their own garments to eliminate
the "smiles" (unavoidable blemishes
under the arms and around the
seams) when sublimating on a
pre-constructed garment.

shirts for their friends and
neighbors. Suddenly, they have
created a little business because
of the demand for personalized
items - and they are now your
competitors with little to no overhead (and no idea how to price
the products).
With dye sublimation, you can
have pretty much everything you
need to make small-format items
for around $500. With DTG, options
range from massive $250,000
printers that can crank out shirts, all
the way down to inexpensive kits to
3. HEAT PRINTING
convert an off-the-shelf printer into
Heat printing actually encompasses
a DTG machine. Because of
multiple areas and is a bit of a
this accessibility to equipment,
catch-all. This includes print-andit's important to understand the
cut vinyl, cut heat-transfer vinyl,
options when it comes to digital
digital transfers like inkjet and
decorating. The demand for
laser, and other embellishments
Heat transfer printing (like this print-and-cut vinyl shirt)
like rhinestones. The prepress
offers another digital decorating option and is well suited personalized items is high and
you may not even be aware your
process is similar to DTG and dye
for small graphics or logos. Photo courtesy of Aaron
Montgomery.
customers are going elsewhere
sublimation: you design the item
for these products. So how do you
to the customer's specifications in
swallow all of this without putting your business in debt for a
your graphics program and send it to a printer or cutter
market you are still learning about?
with no need for any set-up or other steps. Once printed,
you use a heat press following the transfer manufacturer's
specification for the time, temperature, and pressure to
TO OUTSOURCE OR NOT TO OUTSOURCE
be used, and apply the transfer to the substrate. The heat
I have been on both sides of the aisle in my career in this
process bonds glue, for lack of a better term, to the garment
industry. I was involved in DTG back in 2004 as the VP of
and you have a commercially viable item you can sell to
sales and marketing for one of the first DTG manufacturing
your customers.
companies. DTG was the shiny new toy our customers
When paired with a commercial-level heat press, these
wanted to try, but I saw so many businesses fail because
embellishments can withstand a reasonable amount of
they invested in the technology and then realized they had
washing and produce some brilliant results with the fun
no market for it. The equipment sat unmaintained because
flash of rhinestone, sparkle of glitter, and stretch of vinyl.
they had no money to put into it, and then a big job would
Some of the products do have a heavy feel to them due to
suddenly pop up and they couldn't get it done.
the thickness of the vinyl or transfer, which can be clunky if
You need to introduce these digital decorating tools into
the graphics are large. But for decal items where a lot of the
your business with a market already built - it's a completely
shirt comes through or for smaller graphics like left chest
different animal from the traditional printing methods. At the
logos, this can be the perfect way to decorate a small order
company where I worked 15 years ago, we actually tried to
of garments. I recently got three new polo shirts made for
talk some people out of buying the tool because they were
my consulting company from a printer with a print-and-cut
ill-prepared to utilize it. Today, however, it's a whole new
vinyl setup and love them!
world of DTG with far fewer minefields to navigate. The
equipment has improved immensely and there are several
wholesalers you can work with to build your market before
EASY ACCESS
investing too heavily in digital decorating.
All of these techniques are growing in the marketplace
So, how do you outsource with a wholesale provider?
because they are digital. You can make a unique item for
First, make sure you can trust them. What does your gut tell
your customer and your costs don't really change much
you? You will be using these companies as an extension of
as you scale. Plus, people are willing to pay a premium for
your business, so you have to trust they have your best
something that is made exclusively for them.
interest in mind. Most of these companies know the more
With heat printing, you have a wave of crafters with
success you have, the more success they have. But some are
inexpensive Cricut or Silhouette cutting machines making
16

SCREENPRINTING

Screen Printing - August/September 2019

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