Impressions - July/August 2010 - (Page 60)

DESIGN SPECIFICS: Dimensions: 18" x 30" • Screen Printing Press Used: Workhorse Manual 6-Color/6Station Press • Separations: AccuRip through Adobe Illustrator CS3 • Ink Type(s): Matsui discharge inks, Union Ink foil adhesive, Union Ink plastisol for neck tag print • Ink Colors: Cool Gray 10, White, Foil Adhesive Other decoration processes: Silver foil • Other Machines/Equipment Used: 16" x 20" heat press i ‘A TOUGH LOOK’ n the oversaturated world of promotional T-shirts, having the right print effect is instrumental for winning new business. Staying on top of trends and understanding new technology is key, and Unik Ink Specialty Printing, Madison, Miss., is an example. Asked to create a piece for a New Jersey mixed martial arts (MMA) community retail company, Justin Vaughn, president and art director, Unik Ink, took the young audience and the client’s demands into consideration. “The customer requested a design that utilized the imagery of a mixed martial arts cage, pit bulls, chains and barbed wire,” he recalls. “They wanted a design with a ‘tough’ look.” Taking cues from retail trends in streetwear, where brands such as Ed Hardy, Guess and others have made extreme sports clothing popular, Vaughn planned the design and printing effects that would match best. After a few back-and-forth edits from the client, the ﬁnal Adobe Photoshop pit bull stock image was chosen and the printing process began. To get the stock image ready for print, Vaughn and his team created three distinct levels to change the fullcolor stock image to a three-color design (using black — the shirt’s color — white and cool gray). The design was printed on a manual press, where Vaughn used custom-made oversized winged platens so the entire front of the shirt could be printed in one round. Discharge white ink from Matsui was used for the design, mixed with a Pantone gray 10 from the Matsui Pantone matching system. This particular system uses a clear discharge base and 13 concentrated pigments that can be added by weight to create a speciﬁc Pantone color, according to Vaughn. An activating powder agent was then added to the discharge base and pigments to make the ink print-ready. After curing the ink and adding foil elements, the shirt was ﬁnished. “The whole process is much slower than with the standard-sized printing, and thorough planning is required to make sure the print will ﬁt properly on all the shirt sizes ordered,” he says. — Luiza Raposo Impressions >> July/August 2010 An added touch to the design was the foil that was used to accent the retail company’s name, “Dead Serious Fight Gear,” as well as the chains and barbed wires. For this step, Vaughn says an 83-mesh screen was used for the Union Ink foil adhesive. The shirt was sent through a dryer and then it went to a heat press. A sheet of silver foil was laid on top of the design and heat was applied for 8 seconds at 350˚F. After cooling off, the foil was removed and only the areas that were printed with foil adhesive remained. impressionsmag.com 60 http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - July/August 2010

Impressions - July/August 2010
Contents
First Impressions
FYI
Product Gallery
SFX Solutions
SFX Decorating: A Hands-On Experience
Grown-Up Fashion Drives Kidswear and Teen Trends
Design & Digitizing
Production
Graphics and Design
For Screen Printers Only
Tech Tips
Adding Digital Garment Printing to Your Shop
Online Directory
On Design
Business to Business
Classifieds
Ad Index

Impressions - July/August 2010