Impressions - October/November 2015 - 63
much waste as possible on each one. The
goal, however, is to keep an objective and
production-oriented mindset during this
process. If you get too creative with meshing designs together on vinyl sheets, you
can inadvertently make yourself an exacto
puzzle that takes more time to cut apart
than it saves in production.
A good rule to follow is to allow for
straight cut lines between designs and jobs
so you rapidly can separate them using a
large cutter. If you try to use all the negative space inside letters or save a lot of
vinyl scraps, you can make it a challenge
to quickly cut the designs apart. The headaches may not be worth the money saved
(see Figure 5). Without an honest, objective perspective, this idea of using every
piece of vinyl can lead to small shops
spending hours to save only a handful of
dollars in vinyl.
There are some cases where this can
make sense if the design isn't too complicated. When you have an asymmetrical design, you can sometimes get more designs
in a smaller amount of space. Just be prepared to spend more time extracting them.
Once you have practiced with selling,
designing and preparing cut heat-press
vinyl, it can become an ideal solution for
your customers. A process that is both safe
for expensive items and perfect for variable data or short runs, the correct art and
production will make a heat press a profitable option for your shop.
Figure 5. Creative staging can save vinyl, but only some designs are
worth the time involved.
Thomas Trimingham has been working
in screen printing for more than 23 years as
an industry consultant, freelance artist, and
high-end separator. He is an award-winning
illustrator, designer, and author of more than
125 articles on screen-printing art and separations. For more information or to comment
on this article, contact Thomas through his
educational website, screenprintingartist.com.
Suggested
Reading
Like this article? Read these and
other digital decorating articles at
impressionsmag.com:
* "Tips for Numbering Basketball
Uniforms"
* "Techniques for Eliminating
Carrier Sheet Marks"
* "Keys for Clean, Protected Heat
Press Platens"
Use Info*Action #26 at impressionsmag.com/infoaction
impressionsmag.com
October/November 2015 | Impressions
63
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Impressions - October/November 2015
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - October/November 2015
Impressions - October/November 2015
Contents
First Impressions
From the Show Director
FYI
Product Gallery
ISS Conferences
On Design
Mega Multimedia
Performance Perfection
The Digital Directive
On the Front Lines
Mark Your Calendar
Shop Spotlight
Embroidery Production
Screen Printing Production
Digital Decorating
Classifieds
Online Directory
Ad Index
Impressions - October/November 2015 - CT1
Impressions - October/November 2015 - CT2
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Impressions - October/November 2015
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Cover2
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 1
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Contents
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 3
Impressions - October/November 2015 - First Impressions
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 5
Impressions - October/November 2015 - From the Show Director
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 7
Impressions - October/November 2015 - FYI
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 9
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 10
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 11
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 12
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 13
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 14
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 15
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Product Gallery
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 17
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 18
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 19
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 19a
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 19b
Impressions - October/November 2015 - ISS Conferences
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 21
Impressions - October/November 2015 - On Design
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 23
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Mega Multimedia
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 25
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 26
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 27
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 28
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 29
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Performance Perfection
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 31
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 32
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 33
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 34
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 35
Impressions - October/November 2015 - The Digital Directive
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 37
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 38
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 39
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 40
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 41
Impressions - October/November 2015 - On the Front Lines
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 43
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 44
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 45
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 46
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 47
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Mark Your Calendar
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 49
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 50
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 51
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Shop Spotlight
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 53
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Embroidery Production
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 55
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 56
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Screen Printing Production
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 58
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 59
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Digital Decorating
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 61
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 62
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 63
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Classifieds
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Ad Index
Impressions - October/November 2015 - 66
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Cover3
Impressions - October/November 2015 - Cover4
Impressions - October/November 2015 - FW1
Impressions - October/November 2015 - FW2
Impressions - October/November 2015 - FW3
Impressions - October/November 2015 - FW4
Impressions - October/November 2015 - FW5
Impressions - October/November 2015 - FW6
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