ImagesMagUK-Sep18

INDUSTRY NEWS www.images-magazine.com 12 images SEPTEMBER 2018 AskAdy... Adrian Burton reviews five jackets and gilets for the coming seasons This month, I‘m talking about five styles sent to me by three particular brands – Snickers, Standsafe and Dickies – because they make my life as a workwear retailer and embroidery studio owner a lot easier. They all offer easy access to the breast area for decoration with no awkward pockets in the way and, as always, softshell fabrics look amazing embroidered and will really show off your digitising skill. From StandSafe is the breathable Two Tone Softshell (WK009). If you don’t know the StandSafe brand then you need to check it out; its garments provide a great contrast in any workwear showroom. The clothing that it offers is great value and really well put together and thought out. This particular jacket has black and grey contrast panels, the quality of the fabric is excellent and it’s as good as any technical softshell walking jacket. It‘s made from a breathable, windproof and waterproof fabric, has a soft warm fleece liner and is great value. Snickers has some fantastic gilets, the first of which is the Profiling Soft Shell Jacket (4511). This is all about the quality: when you put it on it feels like it is a natural fit, not baggy or hanging, and it looks great. It has standard pockets on the waist and one on the chest, and the fleece liner will keep out the chill. Also from Snickers is the AIS Fleece Vest (8014) – a perfect mid- layer item that’s super soft. There are so many fleece gilets on the market that are cheap and cheerful, but this has been styled to fit and the quality of the fleece is on a different level. I know my customers will want these for their new autumn uniforms. Finally, Dickies has two great items for autumn this year: the Loudon Gilet (EH36001) and Jacket (EH36000). The jacket mixes a padded, puffer-style body with the arms of a softshell. This hybrid-type jacket is great for keeping warm and protecting against autumn‘s changeable weather. It also looks different to the normal, run- of-the-mill jackets on the market and the builders that come into my shop will see it and pick it up for that reason. Both the jacket and gilet come in three colours (black, navy and grey), have a contrast waterproof zip and offer an ergonomic, modern style for 2018. The above five products are all very different, but they have one thing in common and that is quality. In such a competitive marketplace, it’s great to see the passion that the brands are injecting into their products. Everyone is pushing their products to the limit to bring new ideas and new materials to the market, allowing you to give your customers the best choice in style and functionality. www.askady.com WORKWEAR REVIEW To see AskAdy’s video reviews, visit www.images-magazine.com . Vastex launches CTS LED exposing unit New from Vastex is the E2-CTS Exposing Unit, which the company says offers “a high speed, space-saving solution“ for shops wanting to create print-ready screens using computer-to- screen (CTS) digital printers. Digitally-printed CTS screens slide on edge into place for secure, light-tight exposure, without the need for glass panels, vacuum hold-downs or rubber blankets associated with conventional exposing units. Vertical orientation of the CTS unit requires about one-third the floor space of horizontally-oriented designs. Touchscreen operation and adjustable screen guides allow the operator to select the screen size to be exposed, slide the screen into the chamber and expose it. The E2-CTS unit allows for up to 10 exposure settings to be stored as pre-sets for rapid production. The high-output LED light pack with six 76 cm light bars is said to expose screens in seconds while producing high resolution half-tones up to 85 lpi and “crisp detail in ultra-short exposing times“. Vastex says its proprietary high-output LEDs can cure any emulsion rapidly. It continues: “The unit operates efficiently at 20% of the power required for metal halide, provides uniform lighting intensity cycle-to-cycle and remains cool during operation.“ www.vastex.com The new E2-CTS LED Exposing Unit from Vastex [Top] The Snickers AIS Fleece Vest [Left] Dickies’ Loudon Jacket