ImagesMagUK_November_2020

I t's no surprise that businesses and organisations outside of the usual sectors have been ordering customised umbrellas to cope with the outdoor queues caused by the coronavirus restrictions: The Grocer reported in June that Central England Co-op, a retail group with more than 400 outlets, had purchased umbrellas for customers to use when queuing, while in Norfolk, Swaffham council has ordered 100 council-branded golf umbrellas to donate to local businesses to protect shoppers during wet weather. To help Images readers profit from this surge in interest, equipment and consumable suppliers Xpres and Screen Print World have created short step- by-steps to guide you through the best way to print umbrellas, whether that's through using sublimation, one-colour vinyl, printable vinyl or screen printing. According to Emily Crane, product development assistant at Xpres, printing an umbrella can be a difficult task. "The umbrella needs to be open in order to get a flat press. Therefore, this means you will need space on either side, as well as underneath. Xpres sell an Adkins umbrella platen which is in the shape of a trapezoid, making it a good fit for most standard umbrellas," she states. Alternatively, she recommends using a smaller platen to fit the space between the metal arms as not only can the press damage the arms, but the arms can affect the pressure of the press. In the first three step-by-steps, Emily reports that the process worked well when placing an Adkins 15" x 20" swing press on the corner of a high table with an empty space underneath while using the umbrella platen. The umbrellas used were all 100% polyester and the methods used by Xpres to print them were single-colour vinyl, printable garment vinyl and sublimation. In the fourth step-by-step, Dave Roper of Screen Print World runs through how to screen print on a Quadra Pro Golf Umbrella. www.screenprintworld.co.uk www.xpres.co.uk STEP-BY-STEP: SUBLIMATION PRINTING ON AN UMBRELLA Use CorelDraw to finalise your image and print to the Sawgrass SG1000 using the Sawgrass Print Manager software (included when purchasing any Sawgrass printer). The Print Manager should be set up with sublimation paper and profiles pre-installed for the substrate being printed. On this occasion, polyester fabric was chosen. Remember to always mirror the image Place your sublimation print face down onto the umbrella and use heat tape to secure in place. Cover the print with a silicone sheet and press for 55 seconds at 195°C, medium pressure. Remove the silicone sheet and paper while hot Trim around the print on the sublimation paper. In order to flatten and remove any moisture, pre- press the print area for a few seconds beforehand, covering with a silicone sheet to protect the surface The final design 1 3 2 4 TIPS & TECHNIQUES www.images-magazine.com 66 images NOVEMBER 2020 In a year where queuing to get inside shops has become the norm, umbrellas have taken on a new level of importance. Xpres and Screen Print World share four different ways to print these wet-weather must-haves Winter opens up an umbrella of opportunities Sublimation Sublimation is a quick and easy process for use on white/light polyester umbrellas, explains Emily. The process works by sublimation inks turning into gas and penetrating a polyester surface, meaning that it becomes part of the object and doesn’t sit on the surface like other printing methods. "Positives are that it is easy, any design is possible, and it has great durability," she notes. "Negatives are that it must be a polyester and, as sublimation inks are clear, the object always needs to be white or light in colour to get the full colour vibrancy." In this step-by-step, a Sawgrass SG1000 printer was used along with Xpres Sublimation Paper. Sublimation prints are very durable, says Emily