Images_Digital_Edition_January_2019

www.images-magazine.com JANUARY 2019 images 119 KB BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Marshall Atkinson is a leading production and efficiency expert for the decorated apparel industry, and the owner of Atkinson Consulting, LLC. Marshall focuses on operational efficiency, continuous improvement and workflow strategy, business planning, employee motivation, management and sustainability. He is a frequent trade show speaker, article and blog author, and is the host of InkSoft’s The Big Idea podcast. atkinsontshirt.com Will it have everything upon launch? Of course not, but that’s okay as we have other smart people in the industry designing and marketing products that you can use to retrofit your own equipment. A case in point from the SGIA Expo show floor is Lawson’s Lock-N-Go registration system, which won the Screen Printing – Pre-Press (Exposure/Imaging) category in the SGIA Product of the Year Awards for 2018. What makes this system great is that it is compatible with all major automatic screen printing press systems. This air-driven system allows for the simultaneous registration of multiple screens. The Lock-N-Go system mounts on each print head and will allow you to register any multi-colour screen printing job in about a minute. Here’s how it works: with the Lock-N- Go system mounted on the print heads, the operator slides in the screens for each colour. Once the ‘activate‘ button is pushed, the Lock-N-Go system registers each screen to the same ‘X,Y‘ location on press instantly. Voila! Your job is now registered. All that’s left to do is run the production. It’s just as effective during the middle of a run too. Let’s say that something happened and a screen popped and you had to replace it. When the new screen is ready, put it in. Click the button and the air-driven clamps re-activate and the screen is locked back down with the image registered. Action Engineering does a good job of this too, as its entire business is built around creating better working after-market items for a host of manufacturers‘ products. I believe that more companies will get into a business catering to the needs of these young entrepreneurs. Creation of mastermind or buying groups These are not new concepts, but they might be new to this industry. How a mastermind group works is that a small slice of the industry gets together for informal, and often fairly wild, discussions. They lean on each other to help solve their problems or provide answers when something pops up that needs resolution. Think of it as a mentoring programme. The decorated apparel industry is moving and shifting at such a rapid pace that it is extremely difficult for one person to keep up significantly. Mastermind groups help spread out that problem in a group discussion and get it handled quickly. Deep down inside, I believe that most people want to belong to something. Collaboration helps people achieve more. Mastermind groups help the industry by bringing people in and sharing working ideas. Check your social media groups to find one that interests you. Digital printing continues to grow How can it not? Order quantities and turn times are shrinking in a lot of areas in the industry. Why print 500 shirts of a design for a warehouse when you can print each order on demand? That blank garment stock could be kept and spread out amongst hundreds of designs online. Not to mention that the equipment is continually evolving too. I’ve seen DTG printers that have speeds of over 400 pieces per hour myself. Think of the possibilities for your shop if you could have the speed of an auto, but without messing around with the screen side of things! I think proof of this concept is simply by looking at the vast number of digital print solutions that are being offered and supported in the industry. Lastly, let’s talk people They are your biggest asset. And liability. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There is a big wave these days with training workshops, webinars, seminars, ebooks and, of course, trade shows. Want to get on board with a trend that will make an enormous impact on your shop? Invest in your people. Send them to a class. Have them take a webinar or seminar. Bring in an expert from your supply chain to address your staff on a topic. Finding skilled and trained employees will still be difficult this year, so acquiring resources and tools for training people with raw talents will continue. Good in 2019! For shops that I’m speaking with on a regular basis, everyone is excited about this year and has set some good goals to attain. Vendors and the supply chain feel the same way. Here’s to you, my friend! Have a safe and very prosperous new year! Think of it as a mentoring programme The new Authentic Tee Pure Organic from Russell