Impressions - May 2020 - 22

BELLA+CANVAS developed a sueded fleece, created by a finishing
process that produces a cashmere-like feel for ultimate luxe appeal.
The company also created a DTG-printable fleece with a 100% cotton face and a poly/cotton-blend fabric.
Tie-dye has re-emerged on the fashion front, with companies like
Alternative and Champion introducing new styles this year. "Look
for cool dye processes that create unique looks," Davis says.
Over-the-top and allover decoration on fashion pieces are key for
2020. "Lots of mixed media is all the rage," Barry says. "Try a small
text print along the collar, or a big and bold print down the sleeves.
Everything's fair game, including sweat shirts' outer hoods."
At retail, attractive, yet durable hybrid printing - which combines
screen- and digital-printing processes - is an in-demand process
that appeals widely to consumers. It marries a screen-printed white
underbase with digitally printed top colors. After applying the white
underbase, the pallet rotates under the hybrid digital print head. CMYK
colors then get printed, often wet-on-wet, on top of the underbase.
"With hybrid [printing], completely new embellishments are possible," says Michelle Moxley, innovation director at M&R Cos. "We're
seeing full-color graphics printed on foil, photo-realistic lenticular
and liquid graphics. The possibilities are endless, especially since you
can instantly color-match across brands."
Even more exciting? Decorators can tap into "smart" graphics with
QR- and AR-driven capabilities and variable data on each impression.
DTG printing also is hot for retail apparel. "DTG allows for interactive on-site printing experiences, as well as online fulfillment,"
Moxley says. "This technology has really brought forth the trend of
customized 'unit-of-one.' Modern workflow systems have made the
process near frictionless, creating highly productive and profitable
output."
M&R introduced a hybrid CMYK printer, the DS-4000, which
prints 400 pieces per hour, with graphics up to 15" x 19" in a 600 x
1,200 dpi resolution. It is compatible with M&R's Stryker, Challenger III and Gauntlet III automatic screen-printing presses. On
the DTG side, the company offers the Maverick, an industrial unit
that prints 120 pieces an hour, with graphics up to 15" x 19" in a
600 x 1,200 dpi resolution.

Fruit of the Loom's new
ICONIC tees' base heather
fabrication is over-dyed
with three tinted neutrals.
The result: muted shades of
unisex pastels.
P.22

Athleisure

"The biggest influence in athleisure this year is the dual rise of social
media and the celebrity lifestyle," says Jeanene Edwards, vice president
of marketing and merchandising for Fruit of the Loom and JERZEES
Activewear. "Athleisure is now a mainstream fashion statement, as
consumers want innovative design, variety and comfort with a touch
of tech. Retro styling is huge in 2020."
JERZEES' Snow Heather collection taps into the retro trend. It
includes T-shirts and French terry sweats, and features a unique slubtextured fabrication, so it acts as an ideal base for vintage prints.
Designer and retail apparel skew more unisex this year. Tapping into
that, Fruit of the Loom's new ICONIC tees' base heather fabrication
is over-dyed with three tinted neutrals. The result: muted shades of
genderless pastels in hues of mint, aqua and pink/violet.
Davis also sees sustainability practices and eco-friendly fabrics
trending heavily in the athleisure space. Some of the biggest innovations center on sustainability and eco-friendly apparel. This year, for
example, Alternative will convert to recycled polyester, forgoing all
virgin polyester. Additionally, Hanes plans to use reclaimed cotton in
several of its fabrications in the coming year, as well as convert all virgin polyester in its tri-blend tee to recycled polyester.
On the decoration side, Edwards predicts bold text statements and
retro typography with a 1990s influence will continue to trend. "What's
new is a kinder, gentler graphic design with positive inspirational sayings, delicate abstract drawings and botanical/nature themes," she says.
For the best possible print surface, Hanes introduced Clean Canvas,
a process the company uses on its nano-T and Beefy-T T-shirts that
cleans impurities and allows for controlled pretreatment absorption.

Technology

While e-commerce and technology have been boons to the
decorated-apparel industry, they also have been market disruptors.
Cases in point: Companies like 4Imprint or CustomInk base their
businesses almost entirely on e-commerce transactions, creating
competition for decorators.
"We see e-commerce in terms of displacement," says JP Hunt,
co-founder of InkSoft. "E-sales are here to stay,
and the share of wallet and volume will continue to grow steadily over traditional retail."
The key? Tying an e-commerce platform
into a solid marketing plan. "Decorators who
haven't adopted a digital marketing and advertising focus aren't effectively reaching buyers," Hunt says. "If you're leveraging digitalmarketing efforts, but can't close the loop with
e-commerce, you aren't converting marketing efforts to revenue. The reality? The greatest economic lever available to decorators is
digital marketing connected to e-commerce
to attract and convert buyers."
This year, it's also critically important for
decorators to have extreme visibility into
their production and shipping processes to
send out orders efficiently and on time. "Print
and decoration shops need to leverage their
business-management systems to provide
visibility to warehouse staff into the daily production schedule," says Adam Brister, director
of Impress and FlexPack. "You also need to
implement automation and alerting tools to
streamline order completion and packaging
steps to meet customer delivery dates."

I M P R E S S I O N S M A G . C O M MAY 2020

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Impressions - May 2020

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