Images Magazine Digital Edition February 2019

www.images-magazine.com 24 images FEBRUARY 2019 W ithin the growing market of direct-to-garment (DTG) prints, companies are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to make their print stand out from the crowd. At Xpres, we have started to see some extremely interesting combinations of garments that feature both a DTG print and a textile transfer film. DTG is great for your full-colour, intricate designs, but how do you get some of the other effects? Metallic, reflective or maybe even a bit of sparkle? As DTG printers don’t feature an ink (or print heads) suitable for printing these effects, adding a film is a great option. The process of combining DTG print with garment film is simple: the DTG process is performed as normal first then a transfer film is cut, weeded and heat pressed onto the garment following the times and temperatures recommended for that particular film. To create the designs here, we printed a DTG print on the Epson F2100 printer on the new, 100% cotton Kustom Kit Fashion Fit Tee (KK507) – as DTG ink bonds to cotton fabrics, it’s best to use garments with a content of at least 65% cotton. We then used a combination of our bestselling special effects films: Sparkle, Textile Foil and Carbon Fibre. The cost for each DTG print was £1.40, then the Sparkle vinyl cost was £2.30, the Textile Foil vinyl was £2.85 and the Carbon Fibre vinyl was £3.73. Mastering mixed media Being able to offer something unique such as mixed media designs is a great way to attract more customers and target specific markets and events – maybe some festive red glitter film for Santa’s jacket, carbon fibre film for a prestigious car dealership, glitter for a dance club or camouflage for army cadets. Our special effect films allow customers to create something truly bespoke for their clients. You can pitch these as a bespoke or premium option alongside a standard, full-colour print option. If, for example, the customer has a logo with text underneath, you could suggest a standard tee option along with a mixed media option where the logo is printed but special effect film is used on the text. You want to make the most of having the DTG print solution for the intricate parts, but areas like text or simple shapes are nice and easy to do without taking up too much additional time. Troubleshooting DTG and vinyl If your print looks washed out and faded, then check the level of pre- treatment being used and whether it has the correct ratio of pre-treat fluid to de-ionised water. Too much water will reduce the concentration of the solution and cause the George Burrows of Xpres explains how to add mixed media to your DTG skillset, and shares some excellent troubleshooting tips George Burrows DTG and special effect films produce a ‘wow’ factor [L-R] Textile Foil, Sparkle and Carbon Fibre films on a DTG print