Impressions - October 2016 - 29

s we prepare to bid farewell to 2016, it's only natural to wonder what
2017 has in store for the digital decorating portion of our industry.
Digital embellishment centers on three decorating disciplines:
direct-to-garment (DTG) printing, sublimation - one of my personal favorites - and heat-applied graphics. As a decorator, you should at
least consider offering these techniques to existing, new or prospective
customers, whether it involves having the equipment in-house or having
a relationship with contract decorators who can use these disciplines to
create items for you.
Let's dive in and learn about the trends surrounding these three
processes and ways you can take advantage of them to enhance your
business in the coming year.

DTG Thrives on Softness

Sublimation customers
want more than just shirts.
They want bags, leggings,
scarves, dresses and more,
all personalized to their
tastes. Photo courtesy of
Before + Again.

No longer
are consumers
willing to pay a
premium for a
custom T-shirt
alone. They are
looking for the
garment to be
a performanceenhancing
product.
Left
From hard-surface items to fashion
apparel, sublimation is versatile
and offers little to no setup, making
it ideal for the quickly changing
trends in apparel decoration. Photo
courtesy of Before + Again.

Digital DTG printing fi rst made its splash in the marketplace in
2004 and has been a growing segment ever since. In the early years,
with only a few players, many of the machines were "Frankenstein"
models, which meant they were standard inkjet printers that were
converted to print on T-shirts.
In the 12 years since, printers have drastically changed and now
are specifically designed for DTG printing. Additionally, there now
are automatic pretreatment machines available, along with garment
manufacturers who make T-shirts for this process.
What hasn't changed, however, is the fact that the machines still
are built only to print on cotton. As a result, DTG printing trends
continue to center on short-run, high-color, bright, vibrant and bold
images. But as consumers increasingly request the softest-possible
shirts, there is new demand for DTG printing to produce super-soft
garments and designs in multiple locations.
This trend will continue to grow in popularity, with worn, distressed
looks and allover fashion prints with random design elements in
non-traditional printing locations becoming prominent in the future.

Heat Applications Stand Out
Now popularly known as heat printing, decorators use heat-applied graphics to exploit a
wide range of opportunities to make a garment stand out. Options include heat-transfer
paper, CAD-cut and print-and-cut vinyl, plastisol transfers and rhinestones, each allowing
for different levels of decoration, depth of feel and cost. Let's discuss heat-transfer paper
and CAD-cut vinyl in greater detail.
Heat-transfer paper has been around for years and seems to rotate between being an inkjet
and laser-printer process, the latter of which currently is most popular. With new printers
available that allow for white-toner printing, transfer-paper manufacturers are putting more

Social Media's Stake
Apparel decorating trends are, in part, driven by a shift in
where consumers go to get information about what to buy and what
is in demand. Social media and a never-ending news cycle are
major factors in the industry's cyclical trends. Large retailers
are struggling to adapt their slow-yet-massive buying patterns,
resulting in an opportunity for small brands to pounce.
"A big trend is more and more print-on-demand tied to Amazon,
Walmart.com, Etsy and many other marketplaces that are becoming a bigger part of the consumer's budget," says Christopher
Bernat, chief revenue officer, Vapor Apparel.

OCT./NOV. 2016

P.29

http://www.Walmart.com

Impressions - October 2016

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