Images Magazine Digital Edition October 2018

www.images-magazine.com OCTOBER 2018 images 25 TIPS & TECHNIQUES For further information visit us on www.promobranding.events Or contact GS UK Limited 5 Crocus Street, Nottingham, NG2 3DE Tel: 0115 8448000 E mail: sales@gs-uk.com promotion & branding show Embroidery ! Print ! Workwear ! Bags ! Sublimation ! Trophies Free parking & refreshments Belfast Hilton Templepatrick Tuesday 16th October 9:00 am - 4:30 pm Dublin Red Cow Hotel Thursday 18th October 9:00 am - 4:30 pm Scotland Hilton Strathclyde Wednesday 31st October 9:00 am - 4:30 pm The Promotion & Branding Shows are a great opportunity to see cutting edge technology in action and talk to industry experts. Some of the items on display include embroidery machines & consumables, direct to garment printers alongside transfer and sublimation printers. See the latest ranges from workwear & clothing manufacturers, bag & headwear suppliers and trophy suppliers. Exhibitors include... Come & see the Brother GTX Direct to Garment Printer at the Promotion & Branding Shows Next Shows FREE giveaways on the day New Products and technical advice available. Dye Sublimaঞon Supplies Over the years, more has been learnt and understood about the importance of pre-treatment and the process itself. The main considerations are the amount of pre-treatment applied and the consistency of the pre-treatment. These calculations can also be adjusted depending on the garment colour – you need to experiment to find what works best. I have had fantastic results with white garments that have been pre- treated, creating prints that are 100% more vibrant in colour with zero yellow stains, because I spent time adjusting the process – such as the heat press settings, the amount and concentration of the pre- treatment, T-shirt brand – and measuring the outcome after each change. A question I often get asked is: “Do you have a list of settings to get the best print possible for each individual T-shirt?”. My answer is: “I wish!”. The list, if one could ever be developed, would be constantly expanding. Finer knits Not only have the machines and inks developed and changed, so too have the garments. They are constantly improving and this is quite simply down to the garment manufacturers understanding what DTG printing really requires from the fabric. The recipe is a fairly simple one: a tight, low nap knit with a stable dye process. This recipe also needs to be consistent. The thing I hear most when visiting my customers is that something that looked great earlier on in the day has suddenly stopped looking so great. I have worked with two of the largest garment manufacturers for over 15 years – Fruit of the Loom and Russell – and having faith in the garment is very important. You need to ensure the garment and the knitting process are of a consistent quality, and that the fabric undergoes a stable dyeing process. Over the last few years a number of higher-end brands have become available that offer different styles alongside eco-friendly and sustainability values. These generally print well because the materials are more expensive and use a different knitting process. If a garment has a finer, tighter knit, which is better for printing on, then this will have cost the manufacturer more to produce because more raw material will have been used, and it will have been on the knitting machine for longer and a more expensive knitting machine is likely to have been used, all adding to the cost of production. One change at a time DTG prints are now just as longlasting as screen prints, and the industry is continuing to innovate at a rapid rate. To make sure you‘re making the most of these innovations, just remember when you‘re printing to only change one parameter of the process at a time. Write down what you have changed and always do your own wash tests in a variety of detergents. Test the heat press and dryer for heat/temperature on a regular basis. Check the pressure on your heat press and make sure the pre-treatment machine is cleaned and calibrated to the manufacturer‘s directions. Follow these instructions and you’re on the right path to vibrant, washfast prints. www.gs-uk.com