stitches-feb-2012.pdf - asi central

Embroidery’s Voice & Vision February 2012

+ Punching Sense: Hat Digitizing Tips

The

Issue New single-heads, multi-heads, screen printers & more

PLUS:Our exclusive equipment survey Do the HootSuite

Social networking strategies

Sew GorgeousHot runway embroidery

Cap Happy5 steps to stitch hats

T-shirt TacticsSell more fashion tees

“I’m not motivated!”Pick-me-ups for sole proprietors

Create amaing embellihments

28 new colors!

Gildan’s palette is GrowinG to an eye poppinG 98 colors!

WHAT’S NEW FOR 2012!Gildan’s 2012 line offers more in t-shirts, sport shirts and fleece than ever before.

with 12 new styles in 2012, there’s endless possibilities in colors, sizes and silhouettes.

discover more at MYGILDAN.COM

6 new women’s stylesmen’s 5XL now

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in 13 styles

15 dryblend™

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5 new fleece styles10 companion styles

men’s and women’s

priced on par

Gildan now has 3 ladies’ silhouettes to fit every body shape!

NEW SILHOUETTE!

missy fit 5000l Junior fit 64000l classic fit 2000l

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Blue

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©2012 Russell Brands, LLC

50% Denser Fabric For More Lifelike Prints • 30% Tighter Stitch Density For Less Shrinkage, More Comfor

introducing

ighter Stitch Density For Less Shrinkage, More Comfort • 0% Price Increase For Greater Value

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6 FEBRUARY 2012 --- stitches.com

Embroidery’s Voice & Vision

FEATURES

2.12v.26 n.2 stitches.com

44 Machine GuideHere, you’ll find top vendors’ imprinting equipment – from heat presses

to single- and multi-head embroidery machines, to screen printers and

more in this machine section.

BY NICOLE ROLLENDER, ChRISTOphER RUvO, SARA LAvENDUSkI

AND pATTY CANGELOSI

38 Get Ready to InvestIn order to compete in a

changing marketplace, embroiderers must

offer far more than stitching. Here, we give

you the skinny on five

decorating methods (and machines) you can

add to your shop this year. Plus, we share the

results of our exclusive

equipment survey.

BY ChRISTOphER RUvO



The









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SanMar Mobile Now you can order from your smart phone or tablet! SanMar Mobile offers

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Custom Websites All new and as easy as 1-2-3. Whether you want a full-scale website with

e-commerce functionality or a three-step process to build and host product

information, SanMar’s free, new custom websites offer a fresh approach

to online sales. You can have a site up and running within minutes, or

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Design Center

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FIRST THINGS FIRST

stitches.com

Environmental impact estimate were made using the Environmental Defense Calculator.

For more information visit www.papercalculator.org

*Please recycle this magazine.

Stitches ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT. By using eco-friendly paper, Stitches magazine has

saved the valuable resources below per year.

TREES

148

ENERGY

102mil. BTU

WATER

53,847 gallons

GREENHOUSE GASES

16,426 lbs of CO

2

SOLID WASTE

8,910 pounds

2.1 2

Get Your Stitch ReportStitches Editor Nicole Rol-lender debuts Stitches’ new-est video series, “The Stitch Report,” which gives you some of the latest trends in the embroidery industry. Go to Stitches.com to watch the videos.

Choose Your WovenNeed a high-quality woven for a client? There’s one available for every conceivable situation. Visit Stitches.com

to use our handy flow chart to find the best one for your client.

Sense and SustainabilityPart of a growing sustainability movement across indus-tries, apparel suppliers are spearheading socially-con-scious initiatives to protect people and the planet. Visit Stitches.com to learn about these top suppliers’ efforts.

Your Bottom LineIn a recent poll on ASICentral.com, we asked industry professionals: What do you think will be the best-selling T-shirt color in 2012?

60 B-to-B Classifieds

63 Advertiser Index

63 Coming Next Issue

back oF THe book

columNS

36 Punching Sense

Hat Digitizing Tips

By Bonnie Landsberger

64 Ask an Expert

By Erich Campbell

10 Contributors

14 From the Editor’s Desk

16 Reader Threads

18 Ask Phil

19 Shop Stories

20 Stitch Report

26 Look Book

33 Decoration Solutions

About the Cover

Textile design and creation by Samanta Cortes, Fashion Design Concepts Inc., New York City

(www.fdconcepts.com)

Photography: Mark Pricskett

Design: Jim Lang

This year, you think

black and white will

be the top-selling

T-shirt colors, with

blue and green in

third and fourth place,

respectively. Get edu-

cated: Turn to page 24

for top 2012 fashion

trends and colors to

pitch to clients and

prospects.

We’re TweetingStitches is part of the

“Twitter-verse”! Follow our

tweets at www.twitter.com/

ASI_Stitches to be one of the first to

learn about Stitches surveys, videos,

contests, webinars and more!

We’re on FacebookStitches has a page on Facebook! Please

join us at www.facebook.com/stitchesmag –

when you become a member of our Stitches

magazine Facebook fan page, you’ll connect with us and lots of other decora-

tors and suppliers who are developing innovative approaches to decorating

apparel and all kinds of other items.

NEW

NEW

NEW

36%Black

White

31%

Red

6%

Yellow

5%

12%Blue

10%Green

Style#’s 6089M & 6089MT - www.flexfit.comM



contributorsIn this month’s “Shop Stories,” DESIREE CONTRERAS, owner of Orange County, CA-based Chopped Up Cherries, gives her take on everything from decoration innovations to what makes a good design team. “My team is top-notch because we’re a tight-knit family,” she says. “Most of us have tattoos and listen to unconventional music, but even though we rock and roll, we get the job done. We always have

fun and work with a high level of positivity and loyalty. We’re inspired by life. Our gifts and talents don’t belong to us; they belong to our family, friends and community, so it’s our duty to return our talents to their rightful owners.”

In the latest installment of “Punching Sense,” veteran digitizer BONNIE LANDSBERGER, owner of Cannon Falls, MN-based Moon-light Design, delivers impactful tips for digitizing hats. “A few simple elements can be quite enough to embellish trendy hats with beautiful patterns and pre-embellished bills,” she writes. “Surprisingly, simpler designs can actually present a problem when you’re digitizing for hats

if numerous jump stitches are required between multicolored elements. Hats should be digitized with a path that sews center out, bottom up, but often same-color ele-ments are scattered in a manner that makes following that rule impossible. The path then needs to be mapped to sew as close to the general rule as possible.”

In the newest edition of “Ask An Expert,” ERICH CAMPBELL, digitizer and e-commerce manager at Albuquerque, NM-based Black Duck Inc. (asi/140730), dishes on how to stay motivated. “Set clear goals,” Campbell writes. “Many decorators get in the habit of simply process-ing orders after they manage a modicum of success. They find that when work slows, they haven’t formulated a plan to use that inevitable

down time for business growth. The time to start thinking about tomorrow, and frankly years of tomorrows, is now. Set clear goals; make them more concrete than ‘get more orders.’ Even if that’s your aim, you need to break it down into actions that you can immediately start executing.”

Interested in becoming a Stitches contributor? Please send an e-mail to [email protected]

and let us know what’s on your mind.

Stitches celebrates its 26th year in 2012.

THE MAGAZINE

SUBSCRIPTIONS: For a new subscription or change of address, please contact our circulation director by

phone at (847) 763-8202; toll free, (877) 631-1027; fax, (847) 763-1890; online, www.stitches.com/subscribe ;

mail, Stitches Subscription Services, P.O. Box 2197, Skokie, IL 60076.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Send your letters to us:

Mail: Stitches, Letters to the Editor, 4800 Street Rd., Trevose, PA 19053

E-mail: [email protected], subject line: Stitches, Letters to the Editor

Fax: (215) 953-3107, attn: Stitches, Letters to the Editor

Please include your name, job title, company and an e-mail address or phone number where we can

reach you.

ONLINE Find recent articles, videos, podcasts and more at Stitches.com.The Stitches Embroidery Business Insights newsletter drops every other Thursday, and the Stitches Small

Business newsletter drops the third Tuesday of every month. For subscription information, visit Stitches.com.

WEBINARS Be on the lookout for upcoming Stitches webinars. We’ll post a schedule on Stitches.com/

UpcomingWebinars and announce them in our e-newsletters.

Where to Find Us

g

g

v

x

Publisher

Richard Fairfield, MASI [email protected]

Editor In Chief

Melinda Ligos, MASI [email protected]

Editor

Nicole Rollender, MASI [email protected]

Managing Editors

Joe Haley, BASI [email protected]

Joan Chaykin, BASI [email protected]

Senior Staff Writer

Dave Vagnoni, BASI [email protected]

Staff Writers

Christopher Ruvo, BASI [email protected]

Jennifer Vishnevsky, BASI jvishnevsky@asicentral.

com

Copy Editor

Patricia Cangelosi, BASI pcangelosi@asicentral.

com

Editorial Assistant

Carole Seymour, [email protected]

Contributing Writers

Erich Campbell, Shane Dale, Julie A. Cajigas,

Tonia Kimbrough and Bonnie Landsberger

Editorial Intern

Sara Lavenduski, [email protected]

Creative Director

Jim Lang

Sr. Editorial Designers

Hillary Haught, Pierre Schnog

Designer

Diane Pizzuto

Editorial Photographer

Mark Pricskett

Chief Operating Officer

Vince Bucolo

Executive Director of Production

Haitham Barakat

Executive Director of Audience Development

& Analysis

Debra Brill


POSTMASTER: Send address

changes to STITCHES

P.O. Box 2197

Skokie, IL 60076

Stay Connected to Your Customers

P : 8 0 0 | 5 2 3 | 2 7 2 1 F : 8 0 0 | 5 3 1 | 9 6 2 6

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MOBILE

All of the up-to-the-minute apparel information you need, whenever you need it.

Visit us on your smart phone today!

asi/40788Circle 22 on Free Info Card or visit www.stitches.com/freeinfo


The elegant piece on this month’s cover was created by apparel designer and textile artist Samanta Cortes, CEO of New York City-based Fashion Design Concepts Inc. Soft and seemingly ethereal as a calm winter evening, the work features different colored swatches of georgette sewn with gold metallic thread onto a silver-tinged, silk-blend base.

Georgette – a sheer lightweight fabric made of silk or polyester with a crepe surface that features yarns twisted both ways in the weave – is a perfect match for the textile’s intended end-use: a skirt. Cortes says the piece appeals to a higher-end customer with fashion-forward tastes. “It’s for the couture market,” she says.

To bring the leaf-like pattern to life, a four-head Barudan machine needled 11,454 stitches into the silk. The machine’s four heads were connected by a border frame. “The connection and coordination of the four heads allow you to simulate allover designs,” says Cortes, noting she has used the border frame for creating treatments for window hangings, pillowcases and more. “You can really create million-dollar designs with it. And you’re not limited by the size of the hoop.”

For Cortes, being able to work deftly with a border frame happened through consistent, creative experimentation. She says: “You need to play with the equip-ment until you get a feel for it. You have to learn it, digest it, and from there you can begin to take advantage of it – really play with colors and fabrics to make something unique.”

During the stitching, only one stop was required. The piece took an hour or so to complete. Cortes says the design was conceived with little creative strain. “It came to me in the blink of an eye,” she says. “I had the concept and knew what I wanted to do with it.” – Christopher Ruvo

Like Us On Facebook

Stitches has a page on Facebook! Please join us (and, please spread the word)! When you become a member of our Stitches Facebook fan page, you’ll connect with us and lots of other decorators and suppliers who are developing innovative approaches to decorating apparel and all kinds of other items. You’ll get the latest Stitches and industry news, view our latest videos, answer polls, read case studies and pick other fans’ brains for their most effective

strategies to increase your decorated apparel sales – and your bottom line. Join us at Facebook.com/stitchesmag.

About the Cover

Advertising Specialty Institute

Chairman

Norman Cohn, MASI

Vice Chairman

Matthew Cohn, MASI

President & CEO

Timothy M. Andrews, MASI

Senior Vice President/Sales

Christine Lovell, MASI

Vice President/Sales

Ron Ball, MASI

Associate Publisher

Ed Koehler

Account Executives

Vince Deissroth; Mary Ford; Jeannine Garrison; Cindi Mann;

Barry Melito; Phyllis Mutnick; Jim Padilla, BASI; Suzanne Rozick;

Mary Sells, MASI

Stitches Editorial Advisory Board

Jim Auclair, Owner,

FixYourStitch Embroidery Machine Repair

Erich Campbell, Digitizer/E-commerce Manager,

Black Duck Inc.

Lauren Cocco, Senior Merchandiser and

Embellishment Specialist, Vantage Apparel

Samanta Cortes, Owner,

Fashion Design Concepts Inc.

Cory Dean, Owner, Artwork Source

Ginny Fineberg, Owner and President,

Sandpiper Embroidery

Geri Finio, Embroidery Artist,

Studio187.net

Jay Fishman, Owner,

Wicked Stitch of the East

Steve Freeman, Owner,

Qdigitizing.com

Joanna Grant, Director of Sales,

Affinity Express

Colleen Hartigan, Vice President of Sales,

Madeira USA Ltd.

Joyce Jagger, The Embroidery Coach,

TheEmbroideryTrainingResourceCenter.com

Anna Johnson, Owner,

Super Embroidery & Screen Printing Inc.

Deborah Jones, Owner,

MyEmbroideryMentor.com

Jimmy Lamb, Manager of Communication,

Sawgrass Technologies

Bonnie Landsberger, Owner and Digitizer,

Moonlight Design

Fred Lebow, Director of Non-Wovens,

Cotswold Industries

Ed Levy, President,

Digitize4u Inc.

Howard Potter, CEO,

A&P Master Images

Michael Savoia, Owner,

Villa Savoia Inc.

Lee Romano Sequeira, Co-owner,

Sparkle-Plenty.com

Andrew Shuman, General Manager,

Rockland Embroidery Inc.

Don and Marty Stover, Co-owners,

SEW YOUnique Custom Embroidery Inc.

Jane Swanzy, Owner,

Swan Marketing LLC

Marie Zeffer, Owner, Sew Much Thread

Dana Zezzo, Vice President of Sales,

Pro Towels Etc.

Gayle Zreliak, Founder and President,

EnMart




The










from the editor’s desk

Jane Swanzy:

Getting better with my

graphics skills.

Erich Campbell:

Being more consistent with

marketing and taking more

design and technical risks.

Mona Rottinghaus:

I am reevaluating my business

goals this quarter. Taking time

off for minor surgery and soul-

searching.

Kristine Shreve:

Learning to delegate and

realizing that just because I can

do things faster or know more

about how to do something

doesn’t mean I should do it. I

have to remember that the only

way others learn is by doing; if I

jump in and take over, I’m doing,

not them.

Want digital power player Randi Zuckerberg’s insider advice to supercharge your business? For starters: “Focus on building a brand, rather than on being hip or cool.” Recently, we interviewed Zuckerberg, former director of market development for Facebook, on ASI Radio and got her very best business-building advice, which you can implement at your decorating company in 2012.

1. Ask your customers often what they really think about your products and services. Doing so will ensure you remain your clients’ decorator of choice, and it’ll also help you create a strong, ubiquitous brand. “Anyone devel-oping a brand needs to really get out there and talk to people who are using your products,” Zuckerberg said.

2. Don’t underestimate the power of social network-ing to increase your client base. Zuckerberg, who’s launching R to Z Media to help companies take advantage of social media, advises business owners to use social media to catch a prospective client’s or business partner’s attention. Start a conversation by posting or tweeting information or articles about them or their campaigns and encourage your friends and followers to recirculate. “People are really suck-ers for flattery, and social media is great in that regard,” she said. “When you’re on social media, be sure to really respond to people and have a conversation – and don’t make it a one-way communication.”

3. Empower all of your employees to help grow your business. Zuckerberg credits a strong, involved team for the successful launch of Facebook’s U.S. election and interna-tional politics strategy and Facebook Live’s streaming cover-age of the presidential inauguration. “It’s really important to have a culture where people truly believe great ideas can come from anywhere,” Zuckerberg said. “You’ll be much more effective at creating something truly groundbreaking if you can empower people on your team to be experts – and to come up with really interesting challenges and solutions.”

If you’re attending The ASI Show (www.asishow.com) in New York (May 8-10), attend Zuckerberg’s inspiring Key-note presentation, “Social Change Through Social Media: How the Web is Changing the Way We Live.”

And, if you’re ready to invest in your business this year, check out our Machine Issue special section, complete with everything you need to know to purchase the right equip-ment to diversify your offerings, along with the newest decorating equipment you should consider. Enjoy the issue!

Nicole [email protected]

We Asked You ...

Now that we’re into 2012,

what’s your business

resolution for this first quarter?

Readers discuss this question on

Facebook.com/stitchesmag:

Empower

people on

your team to

be experts.

– Randi Zuckerberg

Join the conversation at

Facebook.com/stitchesmag

Listen to the complete

ASI Radio interview

with Randi Zuckerberg.


We received lots of letters in response to our December article “Corporate Casual Crack-down,” after we asked our readers for insight on using the formal dress trend in professional environments to their decorating advantage.

Corporate Equals Comfort

I have several corporate wear accounts, including our state assembly members and their staffers and a regional federal credit union with over a dozen branches. I’ve seen trends come and go, but one thing seems to remain constant: People want clothes that fit and are comfortable. Secondly, whether dressy or casual, people want easy-care garments. Ironing is becoming a thing of the past, and so is dry-cleaning, due to both time and expense. Shrinkage is no longer tolerated. Sizes must be true and logos need to be properly placed.

Manufacturers are responding well each year with performance fabrics, wrinkle- and stain-resistance and stretch wovens. I don’t think we will ever see a massive resurgence of dressy clothes in the workplace. People have too few hours in the day as it is to also include garment care. So we may see more collared shirts rather than tees on women, and more washable quarter-zips on men instead of sweaters. Performance fabrics are here to stay, so now it is up to textile and garment makers to integrate more of these conveniences into our office attire.

Marjorie CorrowLife’s a Stitch Embroidery

Nostalgia for Formal

I’d really like to see the return to the for-mal work week, especially in the corporate office workplace. I own a monogramming and embroidery business that has seen a dramatic drop in monogramming of men and women’s dress shirts. Those little one-to-three letter designs on the cuff or top pocket really show that you care about your job and career.

Liz Cartier Monograms by Cartier

Divine Design

This is a dress literally made from the pages of a fashion magazine. My friend made this for one of her design classes. Isn’t it divine?

Leanne Schillinger American Solutions for Business (asi/120075)

From Cover to Cover

Stitches is one magazine I read from cover to cover. I enjoy the articles about other embroidery shop owners, and learn something from articles that don’t necessarily pertain to my busi-ness. It provides a wealth of knowledge. I cut out and save articles of particular interest and instructional information. Thank you!

Rose LeapCreative Images

Find Your Specialty

I’m a very specialized one-person shop: I embroider hats with military units, and I have just one six-needle machine. Even though I’m a very small shop (if you can count me as a shop) working out of my home, I won’t turn down any work that comes my way if I can do it. I also do work with a larger shop to which I farm jobs.

Marc HirschhornHATS OFF

Staying Competitive

We’ve diversified (added reflective strip-ing for apparel), improved customer alignment and proximity (new locations recently opened in Lawrenceville, GA, and Canada), and driven partnerships and mutual benefits (Direct Embroi-dery business partnership in our Reno, NV, location).

Jason GreenWorld Emblem International (asi/140730)

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ask Phil Stitches' resident sourcing guru tracks down elusive items

Hi Phil,

I’m trying to locate a female referee shirt that I’ve seen in restaurants

and bars. Can you help me? Thank you. – Jack

Good call on the ref shirt. I’ve found a few products to help you get

in the game.

Heritage Sportswear (asi/60582); (800) 537-2222; www.

heritagesportswear.com; carries products RSPV and RAWL, a ladies’

ref-style shirt in a sleeveless and short-sleeve version. In addition,

TSC Apparel (asi/90518); (800) 289-5400; www.tscapparel.com; offers

products B01, B02 and B04, women’s referee tops in various designs.

Finally, Teamwork Athletic Apparel (asi/90673); (800) 333-6063; www.

teamworkathletic.com; has product 1140, a fitted ladies’ referee shirt.

...

Dear Phil,

I’m looking for a wholesale place to order flame-resistant hoodies.

Are there any? Thank you. – Vickie

A burning question indeed! Fire up your sales by going to Occunomix

International (asi/74830); (636) 625-1565; www.occunomix.com.

Products LUX-SWT3FR and LUX-SWTFR have the properties

you need. Also, Lapco Manufacturing (asi/66357); (800) 385-5380;

www.lapcomfg.com; offers product SWHR14NY, a modacrylic/cotton

hoodie that stands up against flame.

...

Hi Phil,

I’m looking for women’s Johnny collar knit shirts, long-sleeve and

¾-length sleeves as well as short sleeves. You always have good

ideas. Any in this area? – Carol

I’ve got some great suppliers up my sleeve. Tri-Mountain (asi/92125);

(800) 824-6464; www.trimountain.com; carries product 133, a ¾-sleeve

Johnny collar ladies’ shirt. This supplier carries several similar styles

as well.

Virginia T’s (asi/93917); (800) 289-8099; www.virginiats.com; offers

product 337W, a ladies’ short-sleeve Johnny collar sport shirt that.

It comes in sizes S-2XL. In addition, get another ¾-sleeve version

available in sizes up to 5XL from Zorrel International (asi/99550);

(800) 528-8688; www.zorrel.com; product Z5013.

Finally, head to Dickies Occupational Wear (asi/49675); (800) 336-

7201; www.dickiesb2b.com; for product FL024, a long-sleeve contrast-

color Johnny collar shirt that comes in sizes XS-XL and four colors.

Got a question for Phil? If you can’t

find what you’re looking

for in the Embroiderers

Sourcing Guide, write to:

Stitches, Attn: Phil Stitch,

4800 Street Rd., Trevose,

PA 19053. Or fax your

question to (215) 953-3107.

For the quickest response,

e-mail askphil@asicentral.

com. For RN inquiries, visit

www.stitches.com for the

RN Database link.

Although I try my best, I

can’t always answer every

request, so please con-

tinue your search on your

own. Remember, if you

contact the companies

I mention, tell them you

heard about them here!

PS: If you become an

ASI Decorator Member

with ESP, you’ll have

access to every item in

the wearables and promo-

tional products industry

from 3,000+ reputable

suppliers. Just call (800)

546-1388 to get started!

I just joined Facebook! My page is www.facebook.

com/philstitch. “Like” my page today to connect

with like-minded “fans” and receive daily tips

and inspiration for your business.

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stitches.com --- FEBRUARY 2012 19

shop stories get to know an industry star by Sara Lavenduski

Orange County, CA-based Chopped

Up Cherries owner and designer

Desiree Contreras gives us her take

on her decoration innovations,

Alexander McQueen and what

she thinks will be the number-one

industry challenge in 2012.

How did you get your start in the deco-

rated apparel industry?

After I received my degree in graphic design, I got an internship at West Coast Choppers, where I fell in love with the apparel industry. When I left there, I got hired at EmbroidMe (asi/384000). That’s when I learned about embroidery, screen printing, direct-to-garment printing, CAD-cutting and more. What makes you a good designer? What

makes your team top-notch, and what

inspires all of you?

I believe what sets me apart is the fact that I do everything myself when it comes to Chopped Up Cherries. I design everything and I do all the graphics, photo shoots,

fashion shows, website updates, network-ing and physically embroider it all. I don’t know many other designers who do that. My team is top-notch because we’re a tight-knit family. Most of us have tattoos and listen to unconventional music, but

even though we rock and roll, we get the job done. We always have fun and work with a high level of positivity and loyalty. We’re inspired by life. Our gifts and talents don’t belong to us; they belong to our fam-ily, friends and community, so it’s our duty to return our talents to their rightful owners.

What’s the first thing you do when you get

to the office?

I check my e-mail.

What kind of innovations are you using in

your work?

I like to incorporate appliqué into my work. I have a design called Son of A Gun that consists of over 80,000 stitches and six different appliqués. I also custom line my hoodies with different fabrics that feature unique patterns and colors.

What can we expect to see from you next?

I’m currently designing garter belts for my

line. They’re based on vintage garter belts and feature modern colors and fabric. What do you want your customers to do

to make your life easier?

Spread the word and buy more swag at Choppedupcherries.com. Support inde-pendent artists!

What artist do you most identify with?

I’m really inspired by Alexander McQueen. He was always bold with his designs and pushed his line to the limits with innovative color palettes and gar-ments. I’m also highly influenced by Lady Gaga. She is a dynamic businesswoman, artist, fashion designer, musician and per-former, and executes her creativity with precision.

What’s the secret to being profitable in

this industry?

Your network is your net worth.

What do you consider your greatest

achievement?

The relationships that I’ve experienced because of my clothing line have been more profitable to me than the money. My biggest accomplishment has been creating friendships, traveling and making money doing what I love to do.

What motivates you to do your best work

every day and to inspire your employees

to do the same?

My parents are my biggest motivation in life. They’ve done so much for me, so I want to be successful for them. If you could change one thing about your-

self as a designer, what would it be?

I’d like to strengthen my business skills. What will be the industry’s biggest chal-

lenge in 2012?

Keeping small businesses alive.


STITCHREPORT

SEw wHaT? The decorating dude opines

Scan this code to read more of Stitches Staff Writer

Christopher Ruvo’s Stitchwork blog, which spotlights

embroidery and related apparel decoration, offering everything

from tips to unique stories about people in the industry.

Compiled by Joan Chaykin

By now, you’ve heard about Quick Response (QR) codes. When placed on a shirt, printed material or other surface and scanned with a smartphone, the codes direct traffic to a site where everything from advertisements, surveys and videos to coupons, giveaways and company information is featured. While the codes can be a valuable tools in a business’ marketing shed, they can also cause embarrassment and hurt an organization’s image if used incorrectly. “There’s still a lot of confusion about how, when and where to use QR codes at some of the largest, most talented mar-keting and advertising firms in the world,” says Mike McGuinness, vice president of sales at QRblaster.com.

To illustrate how not to use QR codes, McGuinness, whose company is a Web-based QR code generator, compiled a list dubbed the “Top 5 QR Code Fails of 2011.” McGuiness says there were loads of mistakes, from no call-to-action, codes with expiring offers and codes with no instruction to much too lengthy URLs. Says McGuinness: “There were plenty of QR code fails this year, but these Top 5 QR Code Fails made our list for one simple reason – people couldn’t get to the desired location for one reason or another.”

What follows is McGuinness’ list: 1. Red Bull put a QR code on a campaign in the subway. “Sounds

great, but no good without a phone signal to access the online content – it probably didn’t do so well,” McGuinness says. “Make sure it works. Sounds like QR 101 but it is amazing how many codes we see that just plain refuse to scan. Much like an ashtray on a motorcycle, a non-scannable code is just plain worthless.”

2 . Continental/United Airlines. “Like the Red Bull campaign, I’m not sure these guys picked the best place to put their QR codes – in a flying airplane. They made a QR code for their in-flight magazine, linking air miles without having to log-on to online accounts. Pretty cool idea, but when the code scanned (either just before, or just after, the flight), it took people to a page with two buttons. Nothing happened due to a pop-up window which was mostly off the screen. The airlines threw a lot of money out there to try to do the latest thing, then had a web designer make something that was not mobile optimized – in fact impossible to use on a mobile phone.”

3. Washington Redskins. On the football team’s Facebook page, the QR code required a proprietary scanner, so it only displayed text for most people. What?

4. Esquire Magazine. The magazine recently placed their code right where the mailing label gets adhered. “Um, if you can’t see it, you can’t scan it,” says McGuinness.

5. Nirvana 20th Anniversary Edition. “Their distorted QR Code on the bottom right of their promo materials is just about unscannable. Location counts, but this doesn’t just mean on billboards or a busy street corner building. Make sure the code is scannable. We have seen codes on rotating billboards offer-ing no chance of having time to get out your phone, point and scan when driving. In the case of the Nirvana 20th Anniversary Edition QR code, it was simply too sloppy to scan from six inches away,” he says.

Top 5 QR Code Fails of 2011


Like most shops, we have multiple proofing procedures

in place to avoid mistakes. When just one step is skipped or over-looked, that’s when it costs you money.

We received a contract decorating order with everything supplied except the digitizing – goods, art and even a UPS number to ship when complete. What could go wrong?

As standard procedure, our art depart-ment resized for a left chest, copied and pasted our customer’s supplied artwork onto one of our in-house proof sheets and e-mailed it back to them for sign off. After viewing, our customer noticed that they misspelled “service” as “SERVECE” and asked us to change it for them.

This is where we made our mistake. In our job folders we have two files: a design file and a proof file. We do

all of our work in the design file and then copy it to our proof file, which the customer approves from. After approval, our design file

is sent to digitizing. On this particular order, procedure was not followed. Our design staff made the change on the proof file rather than following procedure and doing all revisions from the design file. So when the correct proof was approved, the incorrect design file was sent to digitizing with the original mis-spelled art and the job was run incorrectly. We did a make good on our mistake and replaced the goods at our expense.

I think my designers’ ears are still stinging from that day and the mistake has not been repeated since. The lesson from this: Don’t deviate from procedure.

Submitted by Patrick Daly, cEO of Bensalem, Pa- based Scream Promos (asi/321949)

Painted With threadVOILA! the best piece i ever embroidered

Atlanta-based textile artist Leisa Rich

created this stunning work, “Snatched Away,” from thread and embroidery floss. “This work of mine is really, really dear to my heart,” she says. “This piece is about a wonderful piece of property that my hus-band and I’ve been enamored of for several years but couldn’t afford to buy.” Rich paid tribute to this property, which is located near Tobermory, Ontario, Canada, by spending about 500 hours doing the free-motion stitching that makes up the entire piece, including the white background. “This artwork holds the most prominent wall space in my house and never ceases to surprise everyone who sees it,” Rich says. “They think it’s a painting until I have them get close to it, and then invariably, they’re very surprised to find out it’s done with thread and embroidery floss!”

Proofing Prolapse OOpS … How i screwed up and what i learned from it

➠Learn it Live!Linkedin, Facebook and twitter are tremendously fast-growing business-networking platforms that can help you increase your sales and contacts exponentially. attend “Leverage Social Media for Huge Sales Success” on Monday, april 2, at 8:30 a.m. at the aSi Show San Diego. in this information-packed session, you’ll learn how to identify and connect with prospective networking partners, business alliances and clients – and much, much more. Visit ASIShow.com to register for free.


STITCHREPORT

Bobby Lehew, director of operations,

Robyn Promotions (asi/309656)

Clients are connecting with us via Twit-ter, Facebook and text messaging. Online social networking is certainly one way – and maybe the most effective way, right now – to tap into this growing phenom-enon. By setting up a Facebook page for

your company or establishing a presence on Twitter, YouTube, Digg or any other social media site, you’re keeping up with the times, and maybe surpassing some laggards who are still resistant to the new medium. It’s simply a response to the market. Custom-ers prefer to connect with you through their screens now – mobile phone, laptops, iPads – and you must be prepared to respond via their preferred communication channel. Social media, like our telephone, will more than pay for itself and become more afford-able and manageable over time – the more familiar we become with social media as a tool, the better.

Recently, the head of a San Francisco-based gaming company put out an open request on Twitter for some promotional ideas for an upcoming open-house event. A client of ours suggested they contact us. The prospect and I connected via Twitter and then took the communication off of Twitter and finished it via e-mail. Of course, this meeting wouldn’t have been possible if Robyn Promotions didn’t have a Twitter handle. It was easier for him to seek help through Twitter because Twitter is their primary communication channel. It was faster. He trusted his network to respond back to him, and they did. After several discussions, the client made the purchase for the event, and since then, Robyn Promotions has garnered repeat business from this client.

That order was probably the thing that made me say, “We’re missing an opportunity.” Retelling these stories online makes for good case histories, and they’re easily publishable. We now receive regular requests via Twitter for ideas and information. It has become a primary connection to our market.

Q. Should I be using social networking in my marketing efforts? I’m just reluctant to take time and effort from sales and production to use Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Don’t Be a Social Outcast

PROblEm SOlver

STITCHREPORT

experts give examples of how they got the most out of social media sites.


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Dorene Lanza, marketing manager,

Crown Products (asi/47700)

On Facebook, we post pictures of employee luncheons. We have a thing called Wacky Wednesday and post pictures of people who dress up. We’ve done sales tips. We recently posted about what a QR code is and how to use it. We’ll post about a new

product of the week or any promotions we have going on – all those kinds of things.

Crown gets the most feedback from its non-sales-related posts – the most popular being a “Where’s Waldo?” type of contest called “Where’s Bob?,” which refers to Crown’s general manager, Bob Bickert. We hide his picture every other week on a prod-uct page. People go to our website and find him on a product. The first person to find Bob’s image within a product and post a comment about it on Facebook wins 100 pieces of that particu-lar item, complete with their company’s logo. The contest has become so popular that Crown puts out a post the day before the contest to remind people that it’s right around the corner, which

generates significant buzz. They’ll post for hours, ‘Give us a clue,’ and, ‘Is there a certain color that Bob likes?’ All the interaction and questions are amazing.

The woman who won the first “Where’s Bob?” contest several months ago wasn’t even a customer of Crown’s at the time. She thought the promotion was fun. Long story short, she became a customer at Crown because of “Where’s Bob?”

I can tell you, except for our time and our creativity, it’s not costing us any money. I have a graphic artist who’s Internet-savvy. She spends about an hour of her time throughout the day updating the Facebook page. It’s the opposite of e-blasting; when you e-blast so much, you get so much negative feedback, but we haven’t encountered that.

Last month, we had over 33,000 impressions on our Facebook page between fans and non-fans. That’s 33,000 people I’m tap-ping into, so I think it’s absolutely worth it. I have my customer service and inside salespeople involved, and they have access to the business page, but I want them to go to their personal pages and link to the business page so their customers are seeing them. We’re using it to build relationships with our customers.


STITCHREPORT

My 10 Favorite things

LEE ROmanO SEquEIRa

1. Vintage Elton John: elton’s music

always puts me in a good mood, even on those

very challenging days.

2. Cooking up

a bubbling pot of my

mom’s spaghetti sauce –

Delizioso!

3. Our Furkids: sophie, a Westie, and

elton, a mini schnauzer.

terriers are so silly, they

always make me smile.

4. Christmastime: twinkling lights and

festive decorations make

me feel like a kid again,

and i still believe in santa!

5. The Trevi Fountain: i’m sure to always throw just one

coin in, so i can return to beautiful

rome again and again.

andREw SEquEIRa

1. Guitars! Love ’em all! as

much fun as it is to play them,

just looking at them inspires

appreciation and a feeling of joy.

i regard them as works of art. My

epiphone Casino was an inspired

acquisition, as the Beatles used

this guitar quite a bit.

2. The beach: i’ve always felt a

connection to the beach and ocean.

it’s the opportunity to disconnect from

the noise that’s so much a part of daily

life and be in the moment. every year,

we spend a week at nagshead, in

the outer Banks.

3. Traveling: it doesn’t really matter

where i’m going, just

so long as i’m going

somewhere. i’d like to go

to australia. the aussies

have a bit of everything

to experience.

4. Dining out: With so

many options in Philly, a new

food or wine experience is just

around the corner (quite often,

literally).

5. Electronics: these are toys for

adults. i like learning

something new and

having fun while

doing so. right now,

my new guitar amp is

the toy du jour.

andREw SEquEIRa and

LEE ROmanO SEquEIRa

are co-owners of sparkle Plenty Designs

(asi/88442), a Philadelphia-based supplier

and decorator.


News BriefsBarudan America Inc. has moved to a new

location. its new address is Barudan America inc.,

30901 Carter street, suite A, solon, OH 44139.

Barudan’s phone numbers remain the same.

Brother International has donated seven

sewing machines to the Operation Kid Comfort

program of the Armed services YMCA, which

hand-crafts quilts and pillows for the children of

deployed military members.

Penn Emblem Co. (asi/62485) announced that it

has launched a new website: www.pennemblem.

com. The site offers information on the company’s

products, specifications, services, suggestions and

links to the Penn emblem social media pages.

Pro Towels Etc. (asi/79750) appointed Keith

Lofton as southeast territory manager. He will

be traveling throughout the states of AL, fL,

GA, KY, Ms, NC, sC and TN. He’ll be conducting

presentations to raise awareness of the Pro

Towels brand in efforts to form strategic part-

nerships with customers in the southeast.

Transfer Express (asi/91804) offers screen-printed

heat-transfer ribbons that come in bubblegum pink

for clients planning fundraisers to benefit cancer

research or others who want to show support.

CALeNdArFEBRUARY 2012

Feb 3-4, New York City

Manhattan Vintage Clothing & Antique Textile

show and sale

(518) 434-4312; www.manhattanvintage.com

Feb. 1-3, Dallas

Asi show

(800) 546-3300;

www.asishow.com

Feb. 6-10, Seattle, Portland,

Sacramento, Concord, San Jose

Advantages roadshow

(800) 546-3300;

www.advantagesroadshow.com

Feb. 7, Germantown, TN

PPAMs Memphis roadshow & Promotional

Products showcase

615-465-8109; www.ppams.com

Feb. 8, Nashville

PPAMs Nashville Promotional

Products showcase


Feb. 9, Knoxville, TN

PPAMs Knoxville road show &

Promotional Products


Feb. 13-17, Van Nuys, Newport Beach,

Ontario, San Diego, Phoenix

Advantages roadshow

(800) 546-3300; www.advantagesroadshow.com

Feb. 17-18, 2012, Orlando

iss shows:

(508) 743-0532; www.issshows.com

Feb. 18-21, San Francisco

san francisco international Gift fair

(678) 285-3976; www.sfigf.com

Feb. 19-22, Edmonton, AB

Alberta Gift show

(800) 611-6100; www.albertagiftshow.org

Feb. 20-26, Washington, DC

dC fashion week

(703) 662-3239; www.dcfashionweek.org

Feb. 27-March 2, Detroit, Cleveland, Pitts-

burgh, Cincinnati, Indianapolis

Advantages roadshow

(800) 546-3300; www.advantagesroadshow.comJOAN CHAYKiN is a managing editor for Asi. Contact: [email protected].

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look book your guide to what's hot, new and now

FEATHERED❖FRIENDS

Wills Lifestyle IndiaInternational Fashion

Many fashion designers have been incorporating dyed

fabric into their looks recently, according to Jessica Levine,

marketing associate for Boxercraft (asi/41325). “As a big fan

of color, I’m loving the colorful dye looks on the runway,”

Levine says. This model walking the ramp for designer Charu

Parashar gives onlookers a taste of the dyed fabric trend with

a skirt emblazoned with a whole rainbow of colors. Bordering

on a tie-dyed style, this garment reflects one of a variety of

designer looks that graced the runway in India.

The whimsical, but bold, appearance of dyed garments

captured by this runway look is beginning to trend in the

branded apparel market as well. “At Boxercraft, we were

inspired by these dyed trends,” Levine says. “We wanted to

add team colors to our Practice Line, but instead of adding

solid accents, we decided to show team color washes.” Even

though integrating dyes and washes can emulate trends

and update the look of a garment, it must be done well. “Tie-

dye can be tricky,” Levine says. “Keeping it tonal and subtle

is a great way to bring the look from the runway to your

company’s promotional wear tastefully.”

DyE❖DESIgN

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by Julie A. Cajigas

fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012

Feathers are floating down the runway

in jewelry, on headwear, on garments

and in models’ hair for spring 2012. This

Rajdeep Ranawat model demonstrates

how feathers can be used to decorate

a basic headpiece to transform it into

something special. It only takes a trip to

your local salon to see that the feather

trend has made the leap from runway

to every day. Stylists are incorporating

feather extensions into the hair of every

girl next door. Expect to see feather

decorations making a strong statement

through spring into summer, especially

in accessories.

gLOW❖BIgOr glow home! Pankaj & Nidhi surprised

on the runway with looks that had to be

showcased with the lights off. Translate the

look with glow-in-the-dark prints, sparkling

rhinestones or with the addition of light

novelties to your garment sale.


SEW❖GORGEOUS

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Popular shows like Mad Men have brought retro

looks and classic styles to the forefront, according

to Kelly Holmes, vice president of sales for Buffalo

Bay (asi/42416). “Add the fact that a reasonably

priced accessory such as a scarf can make an old

outfit look new, stretching a strained wardrobe

budget, and it’s easy to see why scarves are a must-

have for the New Year,” Holmes says. On the spring

2012 Pashma runway, models wore these delicate

accessories in a nontraditional fashion. Instead of

draped around the neck or tied on a purse, models

wore scarves ranging from rich jewel tones to pale

pastels around one or both wrists.

While it’s unlikely the wrist-worn scarf will

become a trend in the branded apparel market,

the scarf trend can create opportunities for

distributors and decorators alike. “At Buffalo Bay,

we recommend the wet-dye process, a method

used quite often at retail,” Holmes says. “We’ve

also recently introduced a digital print method

that allows us to reproduce a greater level of

artwork (photographic or even watercolor or oil

paintings) on silk,” she says. The most important

thing to remember when harnessing the scarf

trend is creating retail appeal with each piece. “The

most important part of any wearable is that it gets

worn,” Holmes says. “With scarves it’s important to

make the branding fashionable, and that’s where

both the design and decoration come into play.”

SEXY❖SCARVES

I hEARt❖ARtAnother pervasive trend on the runway at the Wills

Lifestyle India Fashion Week was the use of large

or allover art prints. Where traditional prints feature

step-repeat patterns, or other more random allover

patterns, these larger art prints feature an image

such as the branches of a tree, a bird’s wing or even

Ed-Hardy-esque tattoo-inspired prints. “These large

prints are high-end, and becoming very popular,” says

Catesby Jones, president of Peace Frogs (asi/47432).

This model for Hemant & Nandita wears the trend

with intricate branches printed over cabaret pink, one

of Pantone’s hot colors for spring 2012.

The easiest translation of this look into the ad

specialty apparel industry is in T-shirt printing, though

it can appear on other garments as well. “We’re using

this technique on fashion T-shirts,” says Jones, who

has used both sublimation and large format printing

on garments crafted of Supplex or rayon. “They work

best on shirts with soft, manmade fibers,” he says.

When creating the allover print look for clients, it’s

important to choose the right design and ensure the

printing process works with the design. “I recommend

that whoever does the printing should also be heavily

involved in the art creation,” Jones says.

With all the prints, washes and dyes on the

runway, you might wonder what happened

to embroidery. Wonder no more with this

gorgeous, sheer tunic from designer Reynu

Tandon’s spring 2012 line. Using embroidery

to create a large pattern and to decorate the

collar, sleeves and hem gives this garment a

richer, more sophisticated look. For promotional

clients, create high-end fashion regardless of

the garment price tag, with large, luxurious

embroidered patterns and decorative edging.

look book


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The Look for Lessdip❖dye

The dye look has many incarnaTions on The runway.

This model from the Neoen Luo Jingjie spring/summer 2012 show

at China Fashion Week is draped in a dip-dyed top. “Dip-dye has

been fashionable for a long time,” says Morey Mayeri, president

of Royal Apparel (asi/83731). “In terms of decorating processes,

we get requests to do soft-hand, water-based screen printing,

discharge, rhinestones and even foil with dip-dyed garments.”

Your customers can get the look today with Royal Apparel’s short-

sleeve dip-dye tee (pictured) or a custom garment from Royal.

Dip-dyeing offers versatile color options, which give each piece a

custom feel. “We’ve done custom pieces where we do light at the

bottom, building to dark instead of the reverse,” Mayeri says. “We

can do a pink to a purple or a violet to a purple – as long as the

beginning and ending colors are in the same range, and the end

color has the base colors in it.”

Available from Royal Apparel (asi/83731; circle 151 on Free

Info Card); (631) 213-8299; www.royalapparel.net

photo: ChinaFotoPress


asi/91804

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This monTh’s hoT hue will certainly reflect the summer sun. Metallic colors are always popular for

accessories, but as you see here during Jakarta Fashion Week 2012, gold is bringing a new sense of

wealth to this season’s fashion. Models from the Tex Savorio runway look a bit like the Bob Mackie Barbie

dolls that were so popular in the ’90s, draped in over-the-top gold gowns. The Indonesian fashion show

demonstrates how gold can be big and bold, or subtle and sophisticated. Looks from Sally Koeswanto,

Bebe and Auguste Soesastro show the softer side of this luxurious shade. Gold hints at a return to

economic prosperity and high-end fashion that’s been reflected across fashion week shows. Integrate

gold into your designs through foil, hardware, gold thread and gold inks.

This year’s spring/summer 2012

runways have showcased highly feminine

looks, including this wrap top, worn over an

ultra-sheer, barely-there skirt with ruffled floral

detailing. While the skirt doesn’t translate into

corporate apparel, the wrap top can. This

model from the Atsu Sekhose runway show

is wearing the garment in solar yellow, one

of Pantone’s hot colors for 2012. Your clients

can get wrapped in fashion today with Tri-

Mountain’s (asi/92125) Emily wrap-top, also in

the trend-right shade of teal.

wrapped❖up

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hot❖hue

Available from

Tri-Mountain

(asi/92125; circle

156 on Free Info

Card); (800)

824-6464; www.

trimountain.com

look book


How to Sell Fashion T-Shirts

So, what’s a fashion T-shirt? It’s a departure from the basic screen-printed T-shirt, achieved either by

the construction, fabric or fit of the gar-ment itself, or by the type of designs and materials used to decorate it.

“The ‘fashion’ is in the tee’s fabric and silhouette right now,” says Michelle Swayze, marketing director for In Your Face Apparel (asi/62494). “Fabric blends that provide stretch, softness and added value to the garment are popular. A great fabric tee can create the perfect base to add a simple or lavish decoration that can make a $5 basic tee appear to be a $50 item,” without the $50 price tag.

“For example, burnout tees have patterns built into the fabric, which gives you instant dimension when you add your design,”

Swayze says. While the burnout tee might cost a few dollars more than a basic 100% cotton tee, its perceived value will be at least twice that of the basic tee.

When it comes to decoration, nothing is off limits. Everything from rhinestones, glitter, sequins, foil, soft-hand printing and multiple-decoration layering are being used to decorate fashion T-shirts. Accord-ing to Cynthia Soto, a veteran printer with Los Angeles-based Deluxe Screen Print-ing Inc., “The techniques trending right now are: discharge, water base, half-tone screen prints, soft-hand plastisol, vintage distress and foil.” Another trend in fashion T-shirts is sublimation printing. “It has to do with the rise of multicolored designs as a trend,” says Candice Rivera with US Blanks (asi/92423). Regardless of the type of dec-

oration, one thing is important when it comes to fashion tees. “Companies want a printed tee that people will fall in love with and wear regularly regardless of what’s printed on it,” Rivera says. “After all, isn’t that the point?”

Talking Heads

Santi DeOleo, Designer of Modus Collection:

“You’re seeing more casual looks on ‘Best

Dressed’ lists because more and more people

want their clothes to reflect something about

them personally, not just a status they get from

wearing apparel from a certain designer. The new

generation of fashionistas knows that having style

comes from within. I had just those people in mind

when designing our Modus Collection. Our entire

line reflects our belief that everyone is a prodigy

inside – someone extraordinary and magnificent

just waiting to shine. Modus Collection encourages

people to celebrate who they are, whether a chess

aficionado, a lover of music or even a punk-rock

queen. Our hope is that each person who wears

Modus has the feeling it was made just for them

and their lifestyle.”

Jeff Finley, artist/designer, Partner at

Go Media, author of Thread’s Not Dead:

The Designer’s Guide to the Apparel

Industry: “American Apparel (asi/35297)

tri-blends are big now, and go hand-in-

hand with the grayscale/one-color trend

in design. American Apparel’s super-soft

and heathered shirts are actually some

of the most comfortable tees I’ve ever

worn. Indie brands began to realize that

customers really love the fit and feel of

the tri-blend fabric, and now it’s become

a standard garment. Currently, my closet

is filled with tri-blend tees.”

Jill Albers, New Business Development

Executive, Shumsky (asi/326300):

“We wanted to show our clients that they

could be trendy and relevant without losing

the professional styling that was important to

them, so we turned to decoration techniques

that showcase logos extremely well, including

rubberized screen printing. Rubberized screen

printing allows us to get a retail look and to place

logos in a variety of locations. The end-result

has a very unique appeal – it looks as if it’s part

of the shirt, rather than something added as a

decoration after the shirt was manufactured.”

Available from In Your Face Apparel (asi/62494; circle 154 on

Free Info Card); 866-583-2800; www.inyourfaceapparel.com


MarketplaceHere are four more tips to help boost

your fashion T-shirt sales:1. Know the client’s brand image.

“Knowing the brand is very important before going into any appointment,” says Catesby Jones, president of Peace Frogs (asi/47432). “If a brand is very high-end, you don’t want to show them low-end products, whereas if your client is looking for a giveaway, you don’t want to present high-end products.”

2. Collaborate with your client. “Design is really up to the client to decide,” Soto says. “Nevertheless, that doesn’t stop us from giving our clients resourceful infor-mation. For instance, the type of design can always benefit from a certain technique. Let’s say you’re printing a vintage distress graphic on a light cotton. You might want to consider going with discharge inks or

water base as opposed to the average plasti-sol to give the garment a soft hand.”

3. Quality is key. “Fashion tees are a great way to get a business’ name out there,” Rivera says. “If the tee is good-qual-ity, it could be worn for years. However, if you use a low-quality garment, it could be stashed in a drawer and forgotten, or worse, thrown away.”

4. Choose the right product. “The tar-get audience’s demographic will determine the fit and style of the base garment you choose,” Swayze says. “A younger demo-graphic may need a juniors’ fit 100% cot-ton or burnout tee, where a more mature demographic may be better suited with a more tailored misses-fit garment. You can play with the styles, fabrics and fit of the garment to suit your group of individuals.”

The Georgia Painted Tee is

crafted of an extra-soft cotton/

poly blend and features

allover sublimated print

designs. Available from MV

Sport (asi/68318; circle 152 on

Free Info Card); (800) 367-

7900; www.mvsport.com

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When is a T-shirt not just

a T-shirt? When it's a shirt

dress! With all the comfort,

softness and cutting edge

decorating options, a shirt

dress is a great ladies-only

or companion promotion.

Available from US Blanks

(asi/92423; circle 153 on Free

Info Card); (323) 234-5070;

www.usblanks.net

look book


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Two design students in the Copenha-gen Institute of Interaction Design have created a raincoat/poncho that

does a lot more than keep the wearer dry. Though not available for the ad specialty industry quite yet, this innovative coat may lead to a whole new generation of eco-con-scious performance outerwear. “Raincatch is a garment which acts as a coat and as a water-gathering, purification, storage sys-tem that allows the wearer to take a drink whenever they’re thirsty,” according to the website of student designers Hyeona Yang and Joshua Noble. “We worked with exist-ing raincoats to reinforce the realism of the project, but altered the coat enough so that it has a distinct look and feel of its own,” they explain.

The coat collects rain and passes it through charcoal filters and chemical puri-fication. Once purified, the water is stored around the hips of the wearer for ergo-nomic carrying until the wearer becomes thirsty and takes a drink through the inte-grated plastic straw. “The aesthetics of the coat are simple but elegant, showing the water and the internal workings of the coat, but hiding the water storage to main-tain a clean-form factor,” the designers say. Imagine sitting in the stadium watching your favorite team sit out a rain delay and avoiding the high price of bottled water by drinking purified rain straight from the raincoat that’s keeping you dry. Brilliant. The design, and the students who created it, are receiving international recognition.

Fashion InnovationRaincatch

Environmentally-friendly apparel!

JulIe A. CAJIgAs is a contribuing writer to stitches.

decoratingsolutionstips & tricks to increase your productivity By Tonia Kimbrough


Quick Tips Improve flashing with the Super Seca 18” by 18” flash cure unit. A ceramic infrared heating panel with three heat reflec-tors traps heat to prevent it from escaping, thus providing enhanced edge curing to screen-printed garments. Available from www.workhorseproducts.com.

Dissolve the remnants of a topping/sta-bilizer for embroidery without water. Heat N Gone provides the stability you need yet can be completely removed by using an iron between the temperatures of 260° F and 300° F. For more information, visit www.florianicommercial.com.

Place rhinestones easily. The Glitz-Up 2-in-1 adds a useful twist to your typical rhinestone appli-cation: This handy tool includes vacuum-assisted pickup for direct textile decorating. The tool grabs the stone/stud/nailhead, heats it and places it firmly in one fluid motion. For more information, go to www.colmanandcompany.com.

Product PickVision is an optional software program offered by BITO USA

designed to work with the vendor’s Proel laser cutters. Combined

with a highly sophisticated video camera, this program gives a

laser cutter the added capability of cutting complex and detailed

shapes at high speeds regardless of their situated position. It

works with the LaserBridge machine and galvanometric laser-

cutting equipment like the Spartacus. It is intended to cut on

preprinted shapes and objects. Consider using it to contour-cut

ganged sheets of screen-printed or digital transfers, emblems and

more. For more information, check out www.bitousa.com.

saving 9

decoratingsolutionstips & tricks to increase your productivity By Tonia Kimbrough

Green Up Your CleanupCheck out the Ultimate Clean-Up-Card, a handy disposable cleanup tool that’s strong enough to scoop thick ink directly from the bucket and still be reused to quickly remove ink from screens and squeegees. Time and mate-

rial savings far exceed the card’s low cost of 2.3 cents each. Even better, it reduces environmental impact. After selling one million cards in a single order, product inventor Edward Long, owner of Glen Mills, PA-based Ink Innovations, calcu-lates the effect: “If one latex glove, one gram of ink and one chemical-soaked towel are eliminated per card used, then the one million cards sold prevent 3,000 pounds of latex gloves, 170 gallons of ink and enough chemical-soaked rags to fill a family swimming pool from polluting the environment.”

Streamline ink cleanup

and save the environment

for 2.3

cents.

Speedy Thread ChangeThe new Tajima TEMX-C 1512 is a 12-head, 15-needle arm-type

embroidery machine with maximum versatility and produc-

tivity. This includes a ball screw-drive system that speeds up

thread changeovers. According to the manufacturer, the time

required for thread changes from the first to the ninth needle

has been reduced from 3 seconds to 1.1 seconds.

Reduce time for

thread changes

by 63%.


decoratingsolutions

Hotronix recently launched a new Blue Ribbon 24/7 Support program that ensures all of its cus-tomers have access to support anytime they need it. To qualify, all you need is the serial and model number of your press.

In addition to the expanded telephone support, Hotronix has added a new section on its website to make it fast and easy for customers to identify and order parts for machine repairs. By clicking on “Online Store” on the top navigation bar, you’ll see a drop-down menu. Choose “heat press replacement parts” to see a detailed parts location guide diagram of each press model. Each part is numbered in the diagram, which corresponds to a price list on the same page. Simply click on the part you need, and you are prompted through the order process. For more information, visit www.hotronix.com

machine maintenance

Heat Press Repair In A Hot Second

➠Learn it Live!if you have a strong foundation in using CorelDraW, it’s time to move past the basics. attend “next-Level Graphics: Use CorelDraW to Create Stun-ning visual effects,” an education session on Monday, april 2, at 4:00 p.m. at the aSi Show San Diego. You’ll learn tips and techniques that will help increase your creativity using intermediate graphic design skills and time-saving shortcuts. Visit ASIShow.com to register for free.

StEP 1: Properly Digitize and Consider Logo Size. Set up with stitches running from center of cap out as much as possible to prevent puckering or quality issues over center of cap seams. Cap logos typically max out at 2.25” to 2.50” tall on most styles. Keep your design within these specs.

StEP 2: Choose a Backing. Use a heavyweight cap backing for best results. Leave plenty of excess backing to fit around cap frame, backing and cap so there’s a nice seal on all sides for the tightest hooping and registration results.

StEP 3: Hoop the Cap. Fit cap tightly around cap frame and be sure to keep centered and straight. Use the cap side clips as needed to keep material flat and tight. The flatter the cap panels in the frame, the better; any puckering, espe-cially in the center seam, can cause registration issues as well as excess needle breaks.

StEP 4: Align Cap Drivers and Set Speed. Be sure the space between the arm and cap driver are correct. Too high or too low can create stitch issues. Slow the machine down slightly from the standard flat speed used for other merchandise. (Most machines will do this automatically in cap mode.)

StEP 5: Finish. Pull the backing, check for any stitches that may need to be trimmed and package for final delivery.

5 StepS to Better Cap EmbroideryDrew Coufal, owner of Kent, OH-based Sew & Sew Embroidery, offers five key steps to better cap embroidery.

decoratingsolutions

Hot glue clothespins around the perim-

eter of the hoop to create a functional

starburst. You can then clip notes, busi-

ness cards or photos to the display.

Build a timely tool like Etsy.com artists at

Paperdaystudio. They made a wall clock

from an old embroidery hoop. All you

need is a favorite fabric and clock kit.

Dress up your storefront by

creating a stained glass effect.

Choose several colors of cel-

lophane and several hoops in

different sizes. Stretch one color

of a cellophane sheet taut per

hoop. Hang the hoops artisti-

cally, some overlapping in the

window.

Seven Creative Uses For Embroidery Hoops Use as a form to create a seasonal wreath, hot-

gluing greenery, flowers or leaves to the hoop

depending on the time of year.

Create a bed canopy by attaching yards of

tulle or gauze to the hoop and hang from

the ceiling with a plant hook.

In a pinch for a strainer? Pull cheese cloth

taut across the embroidery hoop and pour

liquid through it.

Showcase vintage fabric or some of your

most ambitious

stitched logos in

several hoops to

hang in your office.

Inspiration comes

from Esty.com shop

The Old Pink Porch.

The Old Pink Porch,

www.etsy.com

paperdaystudio, www.etsy.com

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decoratingsolutions

2 The e is at the right of center, but it’s important to have the letters line up so it should be digitized at the same time as the p and H: the e is completed

first, then sewing proceeds to the left, completing most of the p, and then the H; then sewing returns to the right to sew the last object of the p at its top tip.

4 With the exception of the medium pink bottom swirl, the right side is still unsewn and the first light pink swirl ends at the exact center, so we jump to the nose,

traveling down to the chin with running stitches that will act as underlay. Satin stitches are then completed, punch-ing upward and ending where the medium pink can begin.

SDownload the images to try this exercise in your shop.

This pencil sketch was colored in a graphics

program and then imported into the digitizing

software to verify the approximate center XY-axis

point, which helps determine where to begin.

This image shows where it starts the

second color near the center vertical Y-axis.

The image shows the outline around the letters

sewn in a 2-mm bean stitch, beginning and

ending at the black X.

punching sense

5 The medium pink swirls and the white swirls at the left begin with underlay moving to the left, then the right, and again to the left with the satin stitch beginning at the outside, sewing inward to end near the center Y-axis. After the swirls are completed,

the dark pink heart is punched a little larger than drawn to be sure it will cover the previously sewn travel stitches of the white and light pink. It requires a fairly long jump from the heart to the lips, but it’s a good chance to take that will save a color change. If a test sew proves otherwise, the heart would be best edited to sew earlier in the run in its own color section. After the lips are sewn, it travels to the eyelashes and then to the the ribbon where the two dark pink elements are punched, ending where the medium pink of the ribbon can begin. This is immediately followed by the light pink bean outline to assure registration. After the last light pink swirl is sewn, it’s a short jump to the last white element.

This image shows the design simulated

on a camouflage background to

consider the possibilities.

7 The design contains 4,957 stitches at 3.22” x 1.94”. Although it uses only five colors, it has resulted in

nine sections to allow for the best sewing path. Download the artwork as a JPG for this design along with the completed file in DST, EXP, HUS and PES formats at Stitches.com.

This image

is of a

sample

sewn on

no-pattern

fabric.

This image shows the left side and part of the right side

completed and the distance between the dark pink heart

and the lips.

The image shows how the majority of light pink

elements are completed at the right; the arrow is the

direction of the satin stitch from the chin. The color

section ends at the black X.

Hat Digitizing Tips

A few simple elements can be quite enough to embellish trendy hats with beautiful patterns and pre-embellished bills. Surprisingly,

simpler designs can actually present a prob-lem when you’re digitizing for hats if numer-ous jump stitches are required between mul-ticolored elements. Hats should be digitized with a path that sews “center out, bottom up,” but often same-color elements are scat-tered in a manner that makes following that rule impossible. The path then needs to be mapped to sew as close to the general rule as possible, along with keeping necessary jump stitches short to avoid pull that might cause the hat to shift in an arched hoop. – Bonnie Landsberger

1 To be sure that the logo will sew evenly parallel to the hat brim, the bottom elements should be sewn first. In this case, the element on the left is digitized

first, then duplicated and mirrored to sew as the element on the right. Manually punched underlay beginning near the center sews outward, with the satin stitch sewing back toward the center, where it’s a close jump across left to right, as well as a short jump upward at the center to begin the e of the word Hope in the second color.

3 The light pink bean outline of the white letters is added immediately after completing the letters to assure good registration. The outline starts where the white

stops at the top tip of the p so the needle can then move up to the next element of light pink near the center XY-axis.

6 Hat blanks that have been pre-stitched or printed allow for a low-stitch-count design without taking anything away from the overall appearance. Various patterns may

work with a design as it does here for a subtle appearance, and others may cause the design to get lost in the pattern. Different tones of pink or contrasting colors could be used for a more profound look on camouflage patterns, or the design might be used on a solid color of a hat with a pre-embellished bill.


decoratingsolutions

Add a vintage element with distress-ing and you’ve got a popular retail look. Stahls’ ID Direct (asi/88984) makes it easier with distressed appliqués in a vari-ety of layouts and fonts. Choose from several effects that range from minimum to maximum distressing:

Melt It: Loose and casual; sharp edges are softened and straight lines slightly bent Distress It: More edgy with bites in corners and roughed-up lines Destroy It: Maximum distressing; lines are completely roughed up, edges destroyed with extreme bites in the corners Extreme Distressing: Removes additional pieces of fabric manually for a one-of-a-kind, completely custom look; can also be added to any one of the previous distressed effects. One or two-color options are avail-able in Chino Cotton Twill or Acrylic Felt.

“Distressed appliqué designs can be applied to cotton, polyester, poly/cotton blends and wool blends,” says embellishment expert Cara Cherry of Stahls’ ID Direct. “These appliqués are ideal for jackets, T-shirts, bags, sweatshirts, hoodies and even caps. Generally, distressed appliqué is not applied to perfor-mance wear or nylon garments.”

To heat press the appliqué, Stahls’ ID recommends medium pressure for pres-sure-sensitive materials at a temperature of 330° F/165° C. For acrylic felt, adjust temperature to 350° F/177° C and apply firm pressure. Both require 10 seconds on the press. “When heat-applying around zippers, buttons, heavy seams or revers-ible jerseys, a Teflon pillow or silicon pad is recommended to create even pressure and elevate the design,” Cherry says.

To ensure a permanent application, dis-tressed appliqués should be sewn. Sew files

can be ordered with a bean or zigzag stitch. Both allow the edges of the appliqué to continue to fray for a more distressed and worn looking appearance.

For more information, visit www.StahlsID.com.

photo courtesy Stahls’ ID Direct (asi/88984)

Distressed Appliqué Decoration Insider


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Just as you turn to Advantages magazine to fi nd the latest items to bring to your clients,

you can rely on the Advantages Roadshow to see the hottest ad specialties up close and

personal, while discussing selling techniques with the suppliers who make them.

Plan to attend the industry’s most-popular traveling show for FREE when it visits your

town in 2012!

You don’t have to travel far from home to stay on the cutting edge. Be prepared for

your clients’ toughest challenges when you attend the Advantages Roadshows!

• See leading ad specialty suppliers

• Talk with top Wearables companies

• Find innovative promotional products

• Attend FREE, hot-topic education

• Earn credit toward your ASI Certifi cation

• Enjoy fun networking opportunities

AR-1633C

Advantages Magazine

Is Pulling Into

Your Town!

For more information and to register for FREE,

visit www.advantagesroadshow.com today!

2012 Advantages Roadshow ScheduleFree Education: 7:45 a.m.-9 a.m. and 1 p.m.-2 p.m.

Tabletop Exhibits: 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

February 6-10 Pacific

February 13-17 California

February 27-March 2 Midwest I

March 19-22 Canada East

April 16-20 Midwest II

April 30-May 4 Southeast

May 23-25 Canada West

SUPER CITY Schedule Free Education: 9 a.m-11 a.m. • Tabletop Exhibits: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Closing Reception: 4 p.m.-5 p.m.

May 15 Denver

May 31 Houston

September 13 Atlanta

September 20 Philadelphia


growth spurt

ready to invest in your business

this year? we cover the newest

single-heads, multi-heads,

garment printers, screen-printing

equipment, heat presses and

more – with real user ratings.

plus, we share the results of our

exclusive equipment survey.

reporting by Nicole rollender, Christopher ruvo, sara

Lavenduski and patricia Cangelosi.

research by Larry Basinait.

get ready to InvestTo compete in a changing marketplace,

embroiderers must offer far more than stitching.

Here, we give you the skinny on five decorating

methods (and machines) you can add to your

shop this year.

By Christopher ruvo

the

Machine

Issue

A veteran of the embroidery and printing industry, Jimmy Lamb remembers a time when apparel deco-rators were really specialists. Screen printers screen printed. Embroiderers embroidered. But in a swiftly changing marketplace where customers increasingly

expect one-stop shopping, specialists are going the way of the dinosaur. In order to compete, embroidery shops must offer dec-oration options that go beyond stitching, he says. Joyce Jagger, owner of The Embroidery Coach, concurs: “If you don’t do more than embroidery, you’re going to lose customers.”

By adding a heat press, screen-printing equipment or other decorating medium to your shop, you unlock the potential to enter new markets, gain more customers and, crucially, earn more business from current clients. “People have less money to spend, so maybe they don’t buy as much embroidery,” says Lamb, com-munication manager at Sawgrass Technologies. “But they also have needs for, say, printed T-shirts, so if you offer sublimation, for example, you can get more of the money they have to spend

If you’re ready to invest in new decorating equipment to increase your productivity, or you’re a new decorator who’s taking the plunge with your first machine, now’s the time to invest.

It’s 2012, and it’s time to take your business to the next level. In this special section, you’ll learn why it’s important to diversify your offerings beyond embroidery – to stay com-petitive and grow your business this year. Plus, top machine vendors share their newest single-heads, multi-heads, gar-ment and screen printers, heat-transfer equipment and more, with real user ratings.

And, we’ve got the results of our second-annual exclusive Decorating Equipment survey: In December, we surveyed home-based, retail and contract decorators to learn what equipment they have – and what they think is worth invest-ing in this year.


MACHINE GUIDE

WHAt’s INsIDE

Heat-Transfer Equipment/Presses 44

Single-Head Embroidery Machines 45

Multi-Head Embroidery Machines 49

Dual-Function Machines 51

Screen-Printing Equipment/Accessories 51

Specialty Machines/Attachments 54

Printers 56

Machine Company Index 58

and keep them from going somewhere else where they can get everything done in one place.”

Once you’re ready to diversify, the question is what decorat-ing option to add. There are a variety of factors to consider, from startup costs and space required to limitations of an embellish-ment type and whether the medium will appeal to your customer base. To help you make a decision, here are snapshots of five decorating methods that could potentially bolster your business.

HEAt tRANsFERs

WHAT IT IS: Heat transfers come in different varieties, including cut vinyl, digitally printed, screen printed, sublimation and specialty embellishments like rhinestones or crystals. Using a heat press, dec-orators apply an image from a transfer paper to a garment. BEnEFITS: Applicable to a variety of garments that can accept the necessary heat and pressure, transfers allow for added production flexibility and empower you to offer clients competitive prices on low-volume orders, in part because there are no setup fees.

With transfers, embroiderers can personalize apparel, print on demand and quickly produce short runs, says Cara Cherry, public relations specialist for Stahls’ ID Direct (asi/88984). With mini-mal training, you can start heat transferring quickly. Plus, transfers appeal to a variety of markets, from teams, construction, automo-tive and restaurants to small businesses that need inexpensive uni-forms quickly and large companies that order uniforms more often and in smaller quantities.

Consider, too, that the startup costs aren’t overwhelming, with portable presses beginning in the $500 range. While some air-operated presses for commercial use cost $4,500, embroiderers can land a business-ready press for $1,000 to $2,000.

ConSIDERATIonS: Critics say heat transfers are bulky and have an awkward hand. Others maintain the prints don’t last as long as embroidered or screen-printed designs, while some believe transfers can appear tacky. “Sometimes, it looks like plastic was slapped on a shirt,” Jagger says. Since you must manually load and press transfers, it’s difficult to complete high-volume orders with efficiency. GETTInG STARTED: If you plan to buy transfers from suppliers like Transfer Express (asi/91804), all you need to get started is a heat press to apply them with. If you plan to create transfers in-house, you’ll need additional equipment. Vinyl transfers? You’ll need a vinyl cutter. For sublimation transfers: a bulk-ink system and compatible printer.


the machine issue

SUccESSFUl Shop: Here’s an obvious but sometimes overlooked key to business success: Give people what they want. That’s just what David and Melinda Shipley did when they added heat transfers to The Thread That Binds, their embroidery shop in Mooresville, NC. “It’s something customers were looking for, and about a year into the business we added them,” David says.Initially, the Shipleys’ transfer trade consisted of primarily creating numbers for team uniforms. But the Carolina couple soon began decorating T-shirts with transfers for schools and businesses. Small-run orders of ones and twos for a variety of clientele became commonplace. “It’s gotten to be about 25% of our business,” says David, who applies transfers with a Hotronix heat press. “It’s business we wouldn’t have otherwise.”

SCREEN PRINTING

WhAt It IS: Screen printing is a multi-step process by which ink is applied through an emulsion-treated, design-bearing screen to a substrate to create a print. Each color is applied using a separate screen that’s on a printing press. BEnEFItS: Screen printing is the most popular method for embellishing T-shirts – the single best-selling category in the promotional apparel industry. You can also print on other sub-strates, including metals and fiberglass.

By screening in-house, you open the door to a vast range of T-shirt jobs you never would have been in the running for in markets ranging from schools and teams to business and fun-draising events. “An embroidery company that can’t print runs the risk of losing the client to a competitor that can do both,” says Tyler Dummett, head of Workhorse Products. While some stitchers contract out screen printing, Dummett says there can be risks in sourcing. “It reduces the potential profit on the overall job while exposing the client as a buyer of imprinted sportswear to the printer,” he says.chAllEngES: With more variables than embroidery, screen print-ing has a sharp learning curve. Still, “If you get educated, go to a class, get installation or training with your equipment and practice, it doesn’t have to be hard,” says Ryan Moor, CEO of Ryonet Corp.

It’s also no secret that screen printing can be messy. “Ink stays wet until it goes through a dryer, and if not kept under control can be a big mess,” Dummett says. You would need to ensure your shop is big enough to accommodate printing equipment. “A lot can be done in a few hundred square feet,” he says. gEttIng StARtEd: A small to mid-size embroidery shop that wants to print competitively at a commercial level will need a floor press, exposure unit, flash cure unit, belt dryer, scoop coater, screens, squeegees, a place to wash screens, and supplies like inks, solvents and more. “A basic but industrial starter shop costs about $10,000,” Dummett says. “A very well-outfitted shop will be between $15,000 and $18,000.” The price increases, how-ever, if you buy an automatic press.SUccESSFUl Shop: Already running a thriving embroidery

So you’ve done your homework and you believe adding a new piece of

embellishing equipment will be profitable. Now, how do you pay for it?

With:

1. Cash: If an equipment purchase won’t deplete your funds, then it can

be wise to buy. Beyond the obvious advantages of ownership, you can

write off 100% of the purchase in the first year and score other tax savings

through depreciation deductions. Buying is especially wise when the

equipment has a long shelf life. Disadvantages include paying more up

front and getting stuck with old equipment that has outlived its usefulness.

2. Lease: With leasing, you preserve capital and there’s less initial expense

than buying. Plus, lease payments are tax-deductible, and you’re better

positioned to prevent getting stuck with equipment that may become

outdated. Disadvantages include that you pay more overall than when

you buy, you don’t build equity in the equipment and you’re obligated to

keep paying even if you stop using the equipment.

3. Loan: If you don’t have the upfront cash but you want to eventually

own the equipment, then a loan is a good option. The downsides of loans?

They’re more difficult to obtain, can require a greater down payment and

might necessitate that you put forward collateral. Also, loans impact nega-

tively on your balance sheet and reduce your credit line, and their interest

rates may not be fixed.

FINaNCING OPTIONS

Current State of Decorator EquipmentHere are the top types of equipment that decorators currently own:

Single-head commercial embroidery machine 78%

heat-transfer equipment/press 54%

Fabric/vinyl cutter 31%

30%

17%

Small (two-to-eight-head) commercial

embroidery machine

Manual screen-printing press

13%

11%

Sublimation printer

Digital direct-to-apparel printer

7%

7%

Automatic screen-printing press

Laser-engraving/cutting/marking system

Large (more than eight-head) commercial

embroidery machine

7%


shop, Colleen Beelart decided to start screen printing on a small scale so she could print on T-shirts her sons used to promote their then-burgeoning motor-cycle business. This was about six years ago, and while her sons have moved on to other ventures, Beelart expanded her screen-printing operation after realiz-ing its lucrative potential. “It turned out that a lot of my embroidery customers also wanted screen-printed T-shirts,” says Beelart, owner of Corvallis, OR-based Beelart Embroidery & Screen Printing (asi/135902).

One of those customers is a horse farm that often ordered embroidered jack-ets. Once Beelart tossed her hat into the screen-printing arena, the farm started ordering decorated T-shirts from her, too. “They already liked working with me, and they wanted the shirts to sell at shows,” she says.

Nowadays, about 20% of Beelart’s sales run through the screens on her four-sta-tion manual printing press. “I’m a better resource to my customers,” she says.

SUBLIMATION

WhAt It Is: Sublimation is a process by which solid dye particles are changed into a gas using heat and pressure. The parti-cles bond with polymers in a substrate and revert back to a solid, creating a fade-proof print that is one with a garment or prod-uct. To make the alchemy happen on a shirt, a sublimation transfer, printed from a compatible printer, is heat-pressed onto the fabric.BEnEFIts: Sublimation provides embroi-derers with the opportunity to expand their business from decorating strictly fabrics to embellishing “an entire world of personalized products such as mugs, met-als, plastics, wood, jewelry and ceramics,” says Marsha Lutz, general manager and vice president of Nova Chrome, a pro-vider of imprinting systems and supplies.

When it comes to apparel, sublimation is ideal for printing on polyester perfor-mance wear – a clothing category trending hot across markets. “The beauty of subli-

mation is that it is very quick, easy to mas-ter, requires very little space, has no messy inks or (complicated) setup and the startup costs are minimal,” Lutz says. ChAllEngEs: Sublimation prints are only compatible with polyester, polymer and polymer-coated items, wiping natural-fibered apparel off the playing field. When it comes to printing on clothing, you’re limited to white/light-colored garments. “The designs start to disappear with dark colors,” Lamb says. gEttIng stARtEd: You’ll need a heat press, sublimation-compatible printer, inks, transfer papers and a computer pro-gram like Adobe Photoshop or CorelDraw to create printable artwork. If you already have a heat press, you can start sublimat-ing for less than $1,000 in startup costs, Lamb says. If you need to buy a press, you can still get going for less than $2,000.sUCCEssFUl shop: After seeing sub-

limation demonstrated at a trade show several years ago, Trudi Engelbrecht determined to add it to Sisters In Ink, her decorating shop in Saugatuck, MI. “It was economical to get started, there wasn’t a lot of training required and I knew broad-ening my product offering would help me be more successful,” Engelbrecht says.

She was right: Sublimation now accounts for about 15% of her busi-ness, which includes screen printing and embroidery. Often, customers seeking one or a handful of custom embellished shirts select sublimation because they get a great printed design at a low per-unit price that wouldn’t be possible with screen printing on a small order, Engelbrecht says.

Adding sublimation also opened a whole other avenue of business for Engelbrecht:

She uses the printing method to decorate on hard goods. Customers include every-one from restaurants that want mugs to a photographer who employs Engelbrecht to sublimate his pictures onto mousepads, mugs and coasters.

Plus, it’s common for clients who use Engelbrecht’s sublimation services to also come to her for screen printing and embroidery. “It helps bring back repeat business and gets people interested in everything we do,” Engelbrecht says.

DIRECT-TO-GARMENT DIGITAL

PRINTING

WhAt It Is: The process involves printing on textiles and clothing using an inkjet printer.

From your computer, you send an image from a program like Adobe Photo-Shop or Illustrator to a digital printer that then produces the graphic on a shirt. Once embellished, you treat the shirt on a heat press for a minute or two (a little bit lon-ger if it’s a dark shirt). BEnEFIts: The biggest boon is that you can start competing in the personalized decoration market, offering one-off and small-volume runs of T-shirts, with color-rich embellishments, at reasonable prices. Maintaining that digital printing is the most affordable way to custom-decorate garments, Rick Macali, director of digital sales at Hirsch International, says the turn-around time from art to production is faster

To Own, Lease or Finance?

Decorators own nearly three-quarters

(71%) of decorating equipment outright,

while one-quarter (24%) is financed

to own or leased (5%). Home-based

shops are more likely (74.5%) than

either retail (64.4%) or contract decora-

tors (63.7%) to own their equipment.

Contract decorators (30%) are more

likely to finance-to-own than either home-

based (25%) or retail locations (22%) – this

is because they likely purchase higher-

priced, industrial-grade equipment.

“If you don’t do more than embroidery, you’re going to lose customers.” Joyce Jagger, The Embroidery

Coach


the machine issue

than with embroidery or screen printing. Unlike sublimation, direct-to-garment

enables you to print on natural fibers like cotton, still the most popular fabric. This opens the door to upsell opportunities with clients who may need embroidered polos one day and printed cotton tees the next. Additionally, space requirements for direct-to-garment are minimal, and it’s not as messy as screen printing.

While there’s a learning curve, it’s not particularly steep. “It’s not a point-and-click technology, but once you have the proper training and take the time to learn the machine and graphics software, you’ll be able to produce shirts your customers love,” says Bill Richards, national accounts

manager at ColDesi Inc.ChAllEngEs: There’s a five-figure buy-in if you want to compete commercially. “You should plan on a $20,000 to $25,000 investment,” Richards says. Know, too, that direct-to-garment is better suited for short runs. “Though much quicker to set up and start, direct-to-garment print-ers produce fewer pieces per hour than a screen-print machine,” Macali says. Print-ing on dark garments can present a chal-lenge, though Richards says it’s doable as long as you pre-treat the apparel with a walling and gelling agent. With direct-to-garment, the color gamut for cyan, magenta, yellow and black is smaller com-pared to red, blue and green. gEtting stARtEd: You’ll need a com-puter, graphics software, a heat press and a direct-to-garment printer. Richards says the DTG Viper, which has a print area of 16.5” by 30”, is a great first machine. Macali notes that Kornit printers can embellish polyester, cotton/poly blends, Lyrca, silk, leather, denim and wool.sUCCEssFUl shop: Over a couple of months, Bobby Harris, owner of K&B Promotions, analyzed how many orders he lost or had to turn away from the Arling-ton, TX-based decorating shop because it wasn’t cost-effective to would-be custom-ers to have their orders fulfilled through screen printing, his mainstay business (along with digitizing and embroidery). Harris knew he could have completed

the orders at a good price with direct-to-garment printing, which compelled him to tabulate how much cash he might have made on the missed opportunities. After comparing the lost dollars with the costs of launching and maintaining a direct-to-garment printing operation, Harris says it was a no-brainer to add the decorating option.

He has never regretted the decision. With direct-to-garment, Harris has drummed up new business from youth sports teams, small businesses and walk-in clients looking for a single printed T-shirt. Also embellishing for small, exclusive clothing lines, Harris per-forms contract work for screen printers who don’t offer direct-to-garment. “It’s led to a lot of business,” he says.

LASER SYTEMS

WhAt it is: With laser bridge systems, multiple embroidery heads are placed under a custom-length beam upon which a galvanometric laser is mounted. Powered by design software, the laser moves along the beam, cutting or etching fabric placed on the heads below as it works in conjunc-tion with machine movement. There are also smaller laser systems that pair with one to four heads. BEnEFits: With laser-cutting decorat-ing systems, you can produce appliqué, reverse appliqué, multimedia designs and laser appliqué much faster than through traditional labor-intensive methods,

78%of decorating shops

include an average of two single-head embroidery

machines.

single-head commercial

embroidery machine 13%

small (two- to eight-head)

commercial embroidery

machine 7%

Fabric/vinyl cutter 9%

direct-to-garment

printer 9%

heat-transfer

equipment 8%

Equipment InvestmentsDecorators plan to invest in a wide variety of

equipment this year. Here are the top five:

New or Used?

78% – Percentage of imprinting equipment that decorators purchased new in 2011

22% – Percentage of previously-owned equipment purchased in 2011

Home-based businesses are more likely than retail locations or contract shops to purchase

new equipment.

Home-Based Shop

Retail Shop

Contract Shop

new 81% 76% 69%

previously owned 19% 24% 31%


which involve manual cutting and pains-taking fabric positioning. Some decora-tors estimate the design creation process is quickened anywhere from 50% to several

hundred percent. “It’s a matter of seconds instead of minutes,” says Tim Kelliher, president of Wheeling, IL-based Image Apparel Solutions (asi/62291).

Freeing up employees’ time, lasers allow you to offer customers a highly competitive price on garments decorated with retail-inspired embellishments like distressed appliqué and multi-layered 3-D looks. While traditional appliqué requires that fabric be stiff or have some type of backing, lasers allow you to “use all kinds of nontraditional fabrics such as T-shirt jer-sey, felt, patterned fabrics, lace, sweatshirt/fleece and light synthetic fabrics,” says Ed Balady, president of BITO U.S.A., which sells Proel laser systems. Also, lasers allow you to create emblems faster and easier.ChAllEngEs: Laser bridges are big and expensive, suited to high-volume shops with capital to invest. Bridge length affects price, but jumping-off points are in the neighbor-hood of $150,000 to $175,000. Smaller systems from Proel and SEIT (which also comes in laser bridge) run about $25,000. Know that a single-head laser is not power-ful enough to etch (as a bridge can), nor is it as fast as a bridge system.

While single-head lasers can embellish caps, bridge systems can not. Balady adds: “When a fabric is used with metallic in it, care must be taken as the laser can bounce off reflective material, requiring a foil bar-rier to be used, or burning and scorching can result.”

The bridges hold up well mechanically, but require occasional maintenance; it’s

important to routinely realign the bridges so designs come out right and to keep the systems free of dirt and dust.gEtting stARtEd: Before deciding whether to purchase a bridge system or smaller laser, embroiderers should con-sider the size of their company, their capi-tal and whether they’ll be able to market and sell appliqué and laser-etching to their core clientele.sUCCEssFUl shop: Just a few weeks after Howard Potter added a SEIT Single-Head Laser to his apparel decorating shop, sev-eral dozen customers swarmed him with orders. They were eager to have sweatshirts and other apparel embellished with the cutting-edge appliqué designs the system makes possible. Potter, owner and CEO of Yorkville, NY-based A&P Master Images, attributes the interest to savvy Facebook and e-mail marketing – and to the superb decoration the laser can produce. “Once people see it, it sells itself,” he says.

While retrofitting a single-head machine in his shop with the laser cost about $25,000, Potter believes the laser is well worth the monthly payment. “The return on investment is going to be unbe-lievable,” he says. “With the retail designs you can create and the efficiency you get, your profits go through the roof.”

Potter’s initial round of orders was primarily for one or two pieces, but as of press time he was lining up jobs for col-leges in which he would produce two to four dozen items per order. “It gives me an advantage because no else around me is doing this,” he says.

Market to Current CustoMers

Whether you’ve added a heat press, laser

system or something in between, you should in-

form customers that you have a new offering if

you want to jumpstart sales. Here are a few tips:

1. Send embellished samples to top custom-

ers, along with a mailer that tells them how

your new decoration service can help them

achieve their promotional/organizational goals.

2. Create a catchy e-flyer, and then e-mail it to

all customers on your e-mail marketing list.

The flyer should include pictures of samples

along with a brief explanation of your new

offering and the benefits it can provide

customers.

3. Create a brief video demonstrating the new

decoration method. Post the video on your

website and YouTube account. Post links

to the video on your Facebook and Twitter

pages (you can also post pics of embellished

samples on your social media sites). Make

sure your website states that you offer the

decoration type; include a section about the

medium on your site.

4. Talk to your customers about your new of-

fering; it could lead to a sale and, later, good

of word-of-mouth buzz.

5. Offer a special introductory rate to get

clients to give the decoration a try.

75%of home-based decorators own their machinery, up

from 68% in 2010

For the second year in a row, decorators

chose “nearly 24/7 tech support” as

the most desirable quality in a machine

vendor, ranked an average of 2.6 out

of 6 possible points (1 being the most

desirable and 6 being the least desirable).

Lowest price year-round fell to third

place from 2010, bumping in-person

and online training up to second place.

Here are the six features of top machine vendors ranked as

most important by decorators:

1. Nearly 24/7 technical support 2.5

2. In-person and online training 2.9

3. Lowest price year-round 2.9

4. Technology leader 3.7

5. Special deals at trade shows 4.3

6. Offers more attachments than competitors 4.7

24/7 support and training rule


Hotronix Fusion Heat PressStahls’ Hotronix; Carmichaels, PA; (800) 727-8520; www.hotronix.com

Cost: $1,850What it is: This heat press’ dual function, swing or draw design allows for a heat-free workspace and easy access to your design and substrate. This press is for shops with limited space because it can be used as a swinger or draw press.What’s new: • Precision bearings allow the heat press

to swing more easily• Redesigned base draw for smooth draw

action with snag-free printing• Solid cast steel linkage for high-

pressure application

Hotronix Air Swinger Heat PressImprintables Warehouse; Masontown, PA; (800) 347-0068; www.imprintables.com

Cost: MSRP $3,300; contact distributor for priceWhat it is: This press is recommended for a high-volume shop that wants to in-crease production, while reducing opera-tor fatigue; the press automatically opens and also has a throat-type base that allows a shirt to be threaded onto the platen, allowing for faster loading. Key features: • Dual time settings• Emergency release button• User-safe two-hand operation• ¾”-thick platen and stationary lower

platen can be interchanged with other platens to heat-seal items such as caps, sleeves and pockets

George Knight DK20S Heat PressGeorge Knight & Co. Inc.; Brockton, MA; (800) 525-6766; www.heatpress.com

Cost: $1,450What it is: The Digital Knight 16” by 20” swing-away heat press includes dual main and prepress timers; a large backlit digital display that shows temperature, time and pressure at the same time; and industrial digital controls and heat platens with extended warranties.What’s new: • On-screen digital pressure bar graph • Custom interchangeable tables now

available as well as standard sizes• Free professional video tutorial for

controller settings and presets

User input Louie Goldstein, president of Louie

Max in Bayside, NY, says there’s a reason why

this heat press scored a 4.5 out of 5 for ease of

use. “It’s very versatile, it swings easily, and the

draw pulls out,” he says. “You can also quickly

change the plates, which cuts down on time.”

User input “Every time we buy a machine, it’s

from George Knight,” says Jack Simpson, part-

ner at Capital Team, based in Burnt Hills, NY.

“We’d never go anywhere else because their

service (same-day guaranteed) is top-notch.

Plus, we use the DK20S (which scored a 4.3

overall) all the time, and it just performs.”

OVERALL RATING

4.4OVERALL RATING

4.4

OVERALL RATING

4.3

USER RATINGS

Heat-Transfer Equipment/Presses

Machine Overall Ease of Use

Machine

Performance

Customer

Service/Support

Hotronix Air Swinger 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.1

Hotronix Fusion 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.3

George Knight DK205 4.3 4.4 4.4 4.4

Here, you’ll find top vendors’ imprinting equipment – from heat presses, to single- and multi-head embroidery machines, to screen printers and more, in this machine section.

MAcHINE GUIdE

THE RATINGS METHodoloGyIn December, ASI conducted a study among 561 home-based, retail and contract decorators about the decorating machinery they currently have and future purchase plans for

more equipment. In addition, they were asked to rate decorating equipment they currently have in four areas on a scale of one to five (one being very poor and five being excel-

lent): overall satisfaction, ease of use, machine performance and customer service/support. For each machine report, the number of reports for each machine indicated was as

high as 62, but no lower than 5. Ratings based on a 1 to 5 scale (1 being very poor and 5 being excellent); overall rank determined order in chart (machines with same rankings are

alphabetized). Research by Larry Basinait, executive director of research services, ASI. Reporting by Nicole Rollender, Christopher Ruvo, Patricia Cangelosi and Sara Lavenduski.


stitches.com

Scan this QR code to see an expanded

machine guide, which includes

additional machines in each category.

Barudan Elite Pro IIBarudan America Inc.; Solon, OH; (800) 627-4776; www.barudanamerica.com

Cost: Contact manufacturer for price. Note: Barudan has three single-head machines; the Elite Pro II is the medium-size model. Contact manufacturer for de-tails on its larger field bridge machine and its smaller nine-needle compact machine.What it is: The BEVT-Z1501CBII is a single-head, 15-needle compact machine with a large sewing field in a 170-lb. cast aluminum frame. It sews at 1,300 spm on flats and 1,000 spm on caps; it also has a ZQ sewing head with Barudan’s Posi-tive Needle Drive, which ensures quality embroidery on all garment types.What’s new: • VT2 Automat• You can use USB memory stick to load

designs• Centering feature, a one-touch hoop

centering toolBuyer’s note: This single-head’s Servo-Motor drive delivers increased strength in a smaller size. Its Laser Point assures de-sign placement inside the hoop. Addition-ally, the Solenoid-driven thread clamps reduce pullouts and thread breaks.

SWF MA-6 Class 1 Six-Needle TabletopSWF Central; Wentzville, MO; (877) 724-6400; www.SWFcentral.com

Cost: $7,500What it is: This 113-lb. single-head, six-needle tabletop embroidery machine sews at 1,000 spm, and has a 360 mm x 230 mm sewing field and an integrated 6.4 LCD color screen monitor control-ler with on-board lettering and editing; it

Ratings based on a 1 to 5 scale (1 being very poor and 5 being excellent); overall rank determined order in chart

(machines with same rankings are alphabetized)

User input Stacey Kohler, president of Print

Me in La Mesa, CA, says the top-ranked Elite Pro

II’s performance and ease of use sets her work

apart. “It made my work look professional when

I had almost no experience,” she says.

OVERALL RATING

4.8

OVERALL RATING

4.8

also comes with a five-year extensive full warranty.What’s new:• Bar-coding system allows you to quickly

input designs into the computer by scanning a bar code

• Networking system allows you to con-nect over 100 machines from one PC to push designs from the PC directly to the machine

Buyer’s note: This machine’s Quick Change Hat System lets you change over to stitching caps in less than 30 seconds by sliding in the Quick Change the same way as a regular tubular hoop. It has nice automatic features, such as color change, trimmers and frame center.

Machine Overall Ease of UseMachine

PerformanceCustomer

Service/Support

Barudan Elite Pro II 4.8 4.4 4.9 4.5

SWF MA-6 Class 1 Six-Needle Tabletop

4.8 4.6 4.8 4.6

Tajima TEJTII-C 1501 (NEO 2) Single-Head, 15-Needle

4.8 4.7 4.8 4.2

Texmac HAPPY HCS-1201 Voyager

4.8 4.8 4.8 4.5

Toyota Expert ESP 9100 4.8 4.8 4.7 4.4

Tajima TFMX-C1501 (M1501) 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.0

Tajima TEMX-C1501 (NEO PlUS) 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.0

Tajima TWMX-C1501 (550 X 600)²SUMO

4.6 4.5 4.6 3.7

Brother International Quattro 2 Innov-is 6700D

4.5 4.4 4.4 3.9

Brother International Entrepreneur Pro 1000e

4.4 4.4 4.4 3.9

SWF E-T1501, Class 3 15-Needle 4.2 4.2 4.3 3.4

SWF E-T1501 C, Class 2 15-Needle Compact Style

4.1 4.3 4.2 3.8

Prodigi PM-1201, CSX, Class 4 12-Needle Standard Style

3.3 3.3 3.0 1.7

USER RATINGS

Single-Head

Embroidery Machines


Tajima TEJTII-C 1501 (NEO 2)Hirsch International; Hauppauge, NY; (800) 394-4426; www.hic.usCost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: This single-head, 15-needle, arm-style, compact/portable commercial embroidery machine (19.5” x 14”) sews up to 1,200 spm and is LAN-enabled; it has a 170-lb. welded frame (includes machine stand) and 32” door clearance.What’s new:• Advanced networking via LAN or

Wireless allows user to retrieve designs for production in an instant

• 48” extension table sewing area optionBuyer’s note: This machine has an extra-large tubular sewing field (575 mm x 410 mm), and its Quick Changeover Cap/Tubular System allows for changeover in seconds. Its steeper-tilt head angles for maximum sewing height on all caps.

Tajima TFMX-C1501 (M1501)Hirsch International; Hauppauge, NY; (800) 394-4426; www.hic.usCost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: This single-head,

15-needle bridge-style commercial machine sews up to 1,200 stitches per minute. Featuring a stitch design memory of 2 mil-lion, the machine has an extra-large tubular sewing field of 17.5” x 16.5” and an LCD control panel.

Key features:• Bar-coding capability with auto-color assignment eliminates

manual design loading time• Single-head laser compatible• Electronics built inside the machine’s body for more efficient

operation• Quick changeover cap/tubular systemBuyer’s note: A monogram or boutique shop specializing in larger applications like bags and luggage could benefit from the TFMX. A quality sample machine for a large shop, it’s also a good fit for startups, uniform shops and mobile embroiderers.

Texmac HAPPY HCS-1201 VoyagerTexmac Inc.; Charlotte, NC; (877) 335-5206; www.happyemb.comCost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: This single-head, 12-needle machine has a 320 mm x 290 mm sewing field and a 9” diagonal color display with onboard help and auto error correction. A 2.7” x 11.5” cap sewing field allows sewing on front and sides in one hooping; an open area around sewing arm allows direct sewing on large objects.What’s new: • New onboard lettering adds a 4 mm

small lettering font• Updated networking is more error-

and conflict-free on 32-bit and 64-bit Windows

Buyer’s note: This machine is recom-mended for embroiderers looking for a starter production machine or portable production.

User input The Tajima NEO 2 scored a 4.7 out

of 5 for ease of use. “That’s probably because

of the intuitive interface,” says Brenda Adams,

owner of Arizona City, AZ-based Artistic License.

“It’s virtually self-explanatory. You don’t have to

hunt through menus to give it commands.”

User input The Voyager scored well in

machine performance (4.8 out of 5) because “it’s

not demanding,” says Elizabeth Mason, owner

of Irish Seams in Rockville, MD. Mason says she

has also had unparalleled support from the staff

at Texmac.

User input Tom McKeon, owner and operator

at TNT Enterprises in Largo, FL, says the Expert

ESP 9100 (which scored an overall 4.8 out of

5) makes your work flawless.” I keep it well-

lubricated, so it only has to be serviced every two

years,” he says. “It’s really served me well. That’s

why I bought two more of the same machine.”

OVERALL RATING

4.8

OVERALL RATING

4.8

OVERALL RATING

4.7

Toyota Expert ESP 9100Pantograms Mfg. Co. Inc.; Tampa, FL; (800) 872-1555; www.pantograms.comCost: Contact manufacturer for priceWhat it is: This single-head, 15-needle commercial networking modular machine has a 360 mm x 500 mm sewing field, sews at 1,200 spm and comes with a five-year warranty. A 270-degree Fast Change Cap attachment allows you to sew a 14” x 2.9” field and changes from flats to caps in one to two minutes.What’s new:• X-Extension Border Frame expands the

sewing field to 40” x 15”• True Trace allows you to trace the

actual outline of a design• Connectivity includes USB, LAN and

serial with wireless operabilityBuyer’s note: Special networking soft-ware, the Expert Stitch Manager pro-gram, allows you to send designs directly to the machine with all color change information intact.

USER RATINGS

Single-Head Embroidery Machines

OVERALL RATING

4.8


Tajima TEMX-C1501 (NEo Plus)Hirsch International; Hauppauge, NY; (800) 394-4426; www.hic.us

Cost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: This single-head, 15-needle, arm-style, portable commercial machine has a tubular sewing field (19.5” x 14”) and sews up to 1,200 spm, with a 2 million stitch design memory. It has an LCD control panel, is bar-code ready and LAN-enabled. It also has a 200-lb. welded frame.What’s new: • Bar-coding capability with auto-color

assignment eliminates manual design loading time, manual color selection and operator error

• Single-head laser compatibleBuyer’s note: This machine has an extra-large tubular sewing field (575 mm x 410 mm) and a steeper-tilt head angle for maximum sewing height on all caps. Plus, electronic components are built inside the machine’s body for more efficient operation; less power is required to operate the machine and fewer parts are exposed that must be cleaned and maintained. This machine can be used by startup shops; monogram or uniform shops; and mobile decorators, among others.

Tajima TWMX-C1501 (550 X 600)²suMoHirsch International; Hauppauge, NY; (800) 394-4426; www.hic.us

Cost: Contact distributor for price What it is: This single-head, 15-needle bridge-style commercial machine has a tubular sewing field (17.5” x 16.5”) and sews up to 1,200 spm, with a 2 million stitch design memory. It has an LCD control panel, is bar code ready and LAN-enabled. It also features a 350-lb. welded frame.What’s new: • Bar-coding capability with auto-color

assignment eliminates manual design loading time, manual color selection and operator error

• Single-head laser compatibleBuyer’s note: This machine is great for a monogram or boutique shop specializing in bags or large luggage; startup or mobile embroiderers; a retail shop; or as a sample machine for a larger embroidery shop. In addition, the machine offers a steeper-tilt head angle for maximum sewing height on all caps, and a 47 mm needle bar stroke for high-quality stitching on thicker goods. Plus, electronic components are built inside the machine’s body for more efficient operation; less power is required to operate the machine and fewer parts are exposed that must be cleaned and maintained.

User input “I’ve had excellent customer ser-

vice from Brother International (which scored a

4.5 out of 5 overall),” says Connie Hoogerwerf,

an embroiderer, quilter and sewer based in

Victorville, CA. “I bought all the upgrades for the

Quattro, and I couldn’t ask for better from the

machine or from the company.”

Brother International Quattro 2 Innov-is 6700DBrother International Corp.; Bridgewater, NJ; (908) 704-1700; www.brothersews.com

Cost: $9,999.95 (Optional upgrade software kit, $399.95)What it is: The Quattro 2 Innov-is 6700D is an embroidery, sewing, quilting and crafting home combination machine. The machine boasts a workspace of nearly 50 square inches.Key features: • Scanning feature that delivers real-time

scan on the LCD display• Can create your own embroidery

designs using the exclusive “My Custom Design” feature

• Over 200 built-in designs featuring Disney/Pixar characters

Buyer’s Note: The Quattro is for the experienced embroiderer/sewer/quilter who wants a machine for more detailed and complex projects.

OVERALL RATING

4.6

OVERALL RATING

4.6

OVERALL RATING

4.5


Brother International Entrepreneur Pro PR1000eBrother International Corp.; Bridgewater, NJ; (908) 704-1700; www.brothersews.com

Cost: $14,499.95; optional Upgrade Software Kit, $449.95What it is: This single-head, 10-needle home embroidery machine has a large embroidery area (14” x 8”) and features InnovEye Technology and the Snowman Embroidery Positioning Marker for precise design positioning. A built-in automatic needle threading system, exclusively from Brother, lets you thread each needle in seconds.What’s new: • InnovaChrome LED thread color

system: LED lights under each spool indicate the closest thread color, and correlate to the thread colors on the LCD screen

• Optional upgrade software includes a scanning feature so you can see the entire embroidery field scanned on the LCD display

Buyer’s note: This machine is recommended for decorators who want to sew larger projects or output multiple items quickly. It’s also a great machine for decorators who create and sell higher-volume items, such as hats and shirts, to businesses and sports teams.

SWF E-T1501 C, Class 2 15-Needle Compact StyleSWF Central; Wentzville, MO; (877) 724-6400; www.SWFcentral.com

Cost: $11,000What it is: This single-head, 15-needle compact-style embroidery machine sews at 1,200 spm and has a 460 mm x 300 mm sewing field; it also features an integrated 6.4” LCD color screen monitor controller with on-board lettering and editing. It supports 3.5” floppy disks, USB storage devices and networking, and comes with a five-year warranty.What’s new:• Bar coding system allows user to

quickly input designs into the computer• Networking system allows user to

connect over 100 machines from one computer

Buyer’s note: This machine’s Quick Change Hat System lets you change over to stitching caps in less than 30 seconds. It has automatic features, such as color change, trimmers and frame center.

SWF E-T1501, Class 3 15-NeedleSWF Central; Wentzville, MO; (877) 724-6400; www.SWFcentral.com

Cost: $12,000What it is: This single-head, 15-needle embroidery machine has a 520 mm x 360 mm sewing field, a 2 million stitch capacity and an integrated 6.4” LCD color screen monitor controller with onboard lettering. It also supports 3.5” floppy disks, USB storage devices and networking. What’s new: • Bar-coding system allows user to

quickly input designs into the computer by scanning a bar code

• Networking system allows user to connect over 100 machines from one PC to push designs from the PC directly to the machine; can also control certain machine settings from PC

Buyer’s note: This machine’s Quick Change Hat System lets you change over to stitching caps in less than 30 seconds. Its automatic features include color change, trimmers and frame center.

User input “I’m not a computer person, and

this is one of the easiest machines I’ve used

(scoring a 4.3 out of 5 for ease of use),” says

Ann Sewell, owner of Ann’s Embroidery in Rich-

ardson, TX. “We’ve embroidered everything on

it, from toilet paper to leather, even the fronts

of Uggs.”

OVERALL RATING

4.8

OVERALL RATING

4.4

OVERALL RATING

4.2

stitches.com




OVERALL RATING

4.1

USER RATINGS

Single-Head Embroidery Machines


Prodigi PM-1201, CSX, Class 4 12-Needle Standard StyleProdigi by Midwest Distributors; Wentzville, MO; (877) 724-6400; www.ProdigiEMB.comCost: $11,995What it is: This single-head, 12-needle standard-style embroidery machine has a 400 mm x 450 mm sewing field and sews at 1,000 spm; it offers an integrated 10” LCD color screen with on-board lettering and editing and supports 3.5” floppy disks and USB storage devices.What’s new:• Slimmer cylinder arm fits around

tighter areas such as pockets and pant legs

• Operating panel allows for more editing and control function of the machine and designs

• Users can trace embroidery designs before embroidering, following the laser pointer as well as the presser foot

Buyer’s note: This machine is recommended for startup embroiderers, mobile embroiderers and firms that want to expand their operations or add a sample stitch-out machine.

OVERALL RATING

3.3

Machine Overall Ease of UseMachine

PerformanceCustomer

Service/Support

Tajima 1506/436 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.3

Barudan X Series 4.7 4.7 4.6 3.7

Texmac HAPPY HCR Series (15-needle: 2, 4, 6, 8-head models)

4.7 4.3 4.7 4.3

Tajima 1508/450 4.6 4.5 4.6 3.9

SWF K-UK1502-45, Class 4 15-Needle Two-Head

4.4 4.6 4.4 3.8

Prodigi PM-1202, CSX, Class 4 12-Needle Standard Style Two-Head

4.3 4.3 4.3 3.0

SWF K-UK1506-45, Class 4 15-Needle Six-Head

4.3 4.1 4.3 3.6

Tajima 1506/436Hirsch International; Hauppauge, NY; (800) 394-4426; www.hic.usCost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: The Tajima 1506/436 is a standard six-head, 15-needle bridge-style commercial embroidery machine. Featuring a tubular sewing field (11.25” x 17.5”), the machine sews up to 1,000 stitches per minute, has a 2 million stitch design memory and includes an LCD control panel.Key features:

• Bar-coding capability with auto-color assignment eliminates manual design loading time, manual color selection and potential for user error

• M Series LCD color monitor driven by Windows CE operating system is more user-friendly

• Quick changeover cap/tubular system allows for changeover in secondsBuyer’s note: This machine is suited for small-scale to larger-volume production shops with standard sewing field needs.

OVERALL RATING

4.9

Barudan X SeriesBarudan America Inc.; Solon, OH; (800) 627-4776; www.barudanamerica.comCost: Contact manufacturer for priceWhat it is: Available in two to 56 heads,

Barudan X Series multi-head machines feature the manufacturer’s exclusive positive needle drive on 15-needle heads. The drive system works to ensure quality embroidery on all garments, from leather and karate belts to designs with puffy foam.Key features: • XS/XY Automat stores up to 100 memory locations with a 10 million stitch capacity• Exclusive Solenoid-driven thread clamps reduce pullouts and thread breaks • Radius cylinder arm provides highest stitch quality on caps • LAN port for Barudan’s networking software

OVERALL RATING

4.7



USER RATINGS

Multi-Head Embroidery Machines


Multi-Head Embroidery Machines

Tajima 1508/450Hirsch International; Hauppauge, NY; (800) 394-4426; www.hic.usCost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: This is an eight-head, 15-needle, stretch bridge-style commercial embroidery machine that sews up to 1,000 stitches per minute. Featuring a tubular sewing field of 17.5” x 16.5”, the machine has an LCD control panel, 2 million stitch design memory and a 350-pound welded frame.Key features:• Bar-coding capability with auto-color

assignment eliminates manual design loading time, manual color selection and potential for user error

• 47 mm needle bar stroke for high-quality stitching on thicker goods

• Electronic components built inside machine for more efficient operation

• Patented Tajima safety beam sensorBuyer’s note: This machine is recommended for medium- to large-production shops with extra-large sewing field needs.

Texmac HAPPY HCR SeriesTexmac Inc.; Charlotte, NC; (877) 335-5206; www.happyemb.comCost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: The HCR Series consists of 15-needle commercial embroidery machines of two, four, six and eight heads. Sewing up to 1,000 spm, the machines have a sewing field of 450 mm x 360 mm. Key features:• Installation/training included with

purchase• Updated networking for fewer errors and

conflicts on 32-bit and 64-bit Windows• Networks with select HAPPY machine

models• Reporting functions display histories of

production and error codesBuyer’s note: Machines in the HCR Series are a fit for production embroiderers who handle large-quantity orders. Also, the compact machines – the four-head fits in the space of three single heads – are a boon for shops at a premium for space.

Prodigi PM-1202 CSXProdigi by Midwest Distributors; Wentzville, MO; (877) 724-6400; www.ProdigiEMB.comCost: $17,995What it is: The PM-1202 CSX is a class 4, 12-needle standard-style two-head machine. Featuring a 15.7” x 17.7” sewing field, the integrated 10” LCD

color screen comes with on-board lettering and editing. The machine, which sews at 1,000 spm, supports floppy disks and USB storage devices.Key features:• Slimmer cylinder arm fits around tighter areas such as pockets

and pant legs• Operating panel allows for more editing and control function• Laser pointer allows designs to be traced before embroidering • User can program in new designs while the machine is running

SWF K-UK1502-45SWF Central; Wentzville, MO; (877) 724-6400; www.SWFcentral.comCost: $23,000What it is: Supporting a sewing field of 19.7” x 17.7”, this class 4, 15-needle two-head machine sews at 1,000 spm. Featuring an integrated color screen monitor controller with on-board lettering and editing, the machine supports floppy disks, USB storage devices and networking.Key features:• Networking system allows user to

connect over 100 machines from one computer

• Automatic frame center and quick change hat system

• Bar-coding system allows user to input designs into the computer by scanning a bar code

Buyer’s note: With a medium-range capacity, the machine is ideal for startup embroiderers or as an add-on to an existing business.

SWF K-UK1506-45SWF Central; Wentzville, MO; (877) 724-6400; www.SWFcentral.comCost: $40,500

What it is: The K-UK1506-45 is a class 4, 15-needle six-head machine with a sewing field of 19.7” x 17.7” Able to lay down 1,000 spm, the machine comes with a color screen monitor controller and supports floppy disks, USB storage devices and networking. The machine has a 2 million stitch capacity and comes with a quick change hat system that allows a user to change to caps in less than 30 seconds.Key features:• Bar-coding system allows a user to input designs into the

computer by scanning a bar code• Networking system allows user to connect over 100 machines

from one computer

OVERALL RATING

4.7OVERALL RATING

4.6OVERALL RATING

4.4

OVERALL RATING

4.3

OVERALL RATING

4.3




USER RATINGS

Dual-Function Machines Screen-Printing

Equipment/Accessories

SWF K-UH1504D-45SWF Central; Wentzville, MO; (877) 724-6400; www.SWFcentral.com

Cost: $38,000What it is: It’s a class 4, 15-needle, four-head dual-function machine with a 400 mm x 450 mm sewing field and an integrated large touch-screen color monitor controller with on-board lettering and editing.What’s new:• Bar-coding system allows a user to input

designs into the computer by scanning a bar code

• Capability to connect over 100 machines from a PC to push designs from the PC directly to the machine

Key features:• Quick Change Hat System allows

user to change to caps in less than 30 seconds

• Auto color change/auto trimmers• Automatic Frame Center to find the

center of the hoop automatically

Javelin Automatic Press Workhorse; Phoenix; (602) 437-2305; www.workhorseproducts.com

Cost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: This automatic textile screen-printing machine comes in three models: six-color/eight-station; eight-color/10-station; and 10-color/12-station. Its double-index speeds move twice without lifting between strokes, and its multiple print stroke is more rapid with the table staying up; the number of strokes can be increased up to nine passes. With its software, you receive real-time production data, which includes shirt counting and allows operator to judge the length of a run and increase accuracy in scheduling.What’s new: • A touch-screen control panel allows

operator to quickly program the press and conduct diagnostic testing, which reduces errors

• New color-control panelBuyer’s note: This press is recommended for manual shops that are ready to automate; small to mid-size automatic shops looking to add capacity; and businesses with established customer bases that have been contracting out their screen printing and are interested in in-house production.

SWF K-UH1506D-45SWF Central; Wentzville, MO; (877) 724-6400; www.SWFcentral.com

Cost: $46,000What it is: This is a class 4, 15-needle, six-head dual-function machine capable of running six like designs/garments per run or three sets of two different designs/garments. The machine, which sews at 1,000 spm and has a 2 million stitch capacity, supports 3.5” floppy disks, USB storage devices and networking.What’s new:• Bar-coding system allows a user to input

designs into the computer by scanning a bar code

• Capability to connect over 100 machines from a PC to push designs from the PC directly to the machine

Key features:• Quick Change Hat System allows

user to change to caps in less than 30 seconds

• Auto color change/auto trimmers• Automatic Frame Center to find the

center of the hoop automatically

OVERALL RATING

4.5

OVERALL RATING

4.0

OVERALL RATING

5.0

Machine Overall Ease of Use

Machine

Performance

Customer

Service/Support

SWF K-UH1506D-45, Class 4 15-Needle Six-Head Dual Function

4.5 4.5 4.0 4.0

SWF K-UH1504D-45, Class 4 15-Needle Four-Head Dual Function

4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0


M&R Diamondback L Automatic Press Graphic Solutions Group (GSG); Dallas; (800) 366-1776; www.GOGSG.comCost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: This six-color press is compact (image area is 14” x 11”) and offers exceptional speed (1,000 cycles per hour) on small-format substrates and tagless labels. Its heavy-duty casters make it easy to move around the shop.What’s new: • Pneumatically-driven print carriages,

calibrated squeegee pressure adjustment

and three-point pallet leveling brackets with quick release

• M&R’s Revolver Print Program, which automatically operates individual print heads in programmed sequence and allows multiple flashing without losing a printing position

Buyer’s note: This press is recommended for manual shops with limited space that want to add automatic printing. Also, the brand-new high-speed servo-driven indexer and 8’ 6” diameter make it ideal for larger shops interested in an automatic press with a small footprint.

M&R Sidewinder Manual Press Graphic Solutions Group (GSG); Dallas; (800) 366-1776; www.GOGSG.comCost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: This entry-level manual textile screen-printing press with rugged construction comes in four-station/four-color, four-station/six-color and six-station/six-color models. Key features: This unit includes multiple-bearing upper and lower carousel plates, a precise micro-registration system, machined center shaft and three-point pallet leveling system. Buyer’s note: This system can be integrated with M&R’s Tri-Loc and Double Tri-Loc registration systems as well as any M&R automatic press, making it ideal as a registration/sampling/production piece of equipment.

Ryonet Screen-Printing Success PRO PackageRyonet Corp.; Vancouver, WA; (800) 314-6390; www.silkscreeningsupplies.comCost: $9,999.99What it is: This package

includes a Riley Hopkins six-color, four-station printing press, a Black Body 18” x 18” 2223-watt infrared flash dryer, an Econo Cure 6100-watt, 8” conveyor dryer, a 25” x 36” aluminum exposure unit with lid, KDL wash-out booth, an Epson R1400 BLACKMAX system, a product and chemical kit, and more.

Buyer’s note: This is an ideal package for embroidery companies that would like to add screen printing; decorators who are starting up or running a clothing line; or decorators looking to start or expand a business with minimal investment. It includes ongoing support through classes, e-mail, chat, phone and videos.

Machine/Accessory Overall Ease of Use

Machine

Performance

Customer

Service/Support

Javelin Automatic Press 5.0 4.0 5.0 3.0

M&R Diamondback L

Automatic Press5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0

Ryonet Screen-Printing Success

PRO Package4.7 4.7 4.7 4.3

M&R Sidewinder Manual Press 4.5 4.5 4.0 4.0

M&R Color-Coded Squeegee 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3

Digotex Oval Printer 4.0 5.0 4.0 4.0

Workhorse Modular Six-Color/

Six-Station Manual Press4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0

MHM Type E 3.5 3.0 3.5 4.0



User input “The GSG Diamondback Automat-

ic Press is hydraulic, so it’s a lot smoother than

the electric ones,” says David Martin, owner of

San Antonio-based Special Tees by Design. This

machine scored amazingly across the board,

with 5.0 in all categories.

User input “The Riley Hopkins is definitely an easy-to-use machine,” says

Leroy Torres, head graphics designer and head production manager at

Northwest Safety Clean in Portland, OR. “It’s easy for beginners to learn on,

but advanced users can still get the best out of it. And, the affordability is

amazing.” Torres says he prints on everything from bags to T-shirts, and this

machine yields great quality at high production levels. “I’ve been at this for

over 20 years, and this is the best little package I’ve seen in a while,” he says.

OVERALL RATING

5.0

OVERALL RATING

4.5

OVERALL RATING

4.7

USER RATINGS

Screen-Printing Equipment/Accessories

stitches.com





MHM Type EHirsch International; Hauppauge, NY; (800) 394-4426; www.hic.us

Cost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: The

MHM Type E printer, which has tool-free adjustments for faster setup, includes snap-in squeegee/flood bars for fast changeover and has print heads that raise for accessibility to the screen setup. Also, to allow for faster screen registration, there’s no lock/unlock micro-registration.

Buyer’s note: This machine is ideal for medium-to-high production shops that print with direct-to-garment, multicolored graphic or plastisol transfer printers.

User input The MHM Type E scored rather low in ease of use (3.0 out

of 5.0), but Bill Mooney, co-owner of Tanis Root in Raleigh, NC, says that

has not been his experience at all. “This machine has a touch screen, while

older, similar machines had buttons and toggle switches,” he says. “It’s

more technologically advanced than others. It might just be a tech divide

between younger users and those who are used to the older ones.”

Digotex Oval Printer Hirsch International; Hauppauge, NY; (800) 394-4426; www.hic.us

Cost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: This printer, which has tool-free adjustments for faster setup, includes snap-in squeegee/flood bars for fast changeover and has print heads that raise for accessibility to the screen setup. Also, to allow for faster screen registration, there’s no lock/unlock micro-registration. What’s new: A special independent pallet drive system eliminates chain drive and increases safety. Buyer’s note: This printer is ideal for shops looking to produce oversized prints in multiple colors.

Workhorse Modular Six-Color/Six-Station Manual PressWorkhorse; Phoenix; (602) 437-2305; www.workhorseproducts.com

Cost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: This manual textile screen-printing press is available as a base model; for example, a four-head/four-station can be upgraded to a six-head/four-station. Its cast-aluminum print heads and print wheel are light enough for daily operation, but its solidly welded steel construction provides a durable, rigid platform. There are optional cap, jacket, sign, koozie and pocket attachments.Buyer’s note: For startup screen printers, this expandable system allows a shop to stay within budget for its first machine, but expand easily without having to purchase a new machine.

M&R Color-Coded Squeegee Graphic Solutions Group (GSG); Dallas; (800) 366-1776; www.GOGSG.com

Cost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: These color-coded squeegee/flood bars have an anodized finish for durability, and are designed to simplify identification and minimize the chance of cross-contamination in shops using phthalate-free ink.What’s new: To help screen printers comply with U.S. government regulations, this product’s distinctive color makes it virtually impossible to confuse the squeegees with traditional squeegee holders and flood bars.Buyer’s note: This squeegee is recommended for shops that use phthalate-free inks.

OVERALL RATING

4.3OVERALL RATING

4.0OVERALL RATING

4.0

OVERALL RATING

3.5


Machine/Attachment Overall Ease of Use

Machine

Performance

Customer

Service/Support

Proel LaserBridge Multi-Head Laser

5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0

Tajima Multi-Head Chenille Machine

5.0 5.0 5.0 4.0

ColDesi CAMS 2V-12P Automatic Rhinestone Machine

4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5

Seit Single-Head Laser 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5

George Knight DK3 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0

Tajima Sequin Attachment 4.0 4.5 4.0 4.5

VS 540 VersaCAMM 54” Print/Cut Machine

4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0

Tajima Single-Head Chenille Machine

3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0Proel LaserBridge Multi-Head LaserBITO USA; Oceanside, NY; (818) 427-1215; www.bitousa.com

Cost: $125,000 to $350,000What it is: With the LaserBridge, a high-speed galvanometric laser moves along a beam positioned above embroidery heads, cutting, engraving, etching and marking hooped garments. The system lets users create appliqués (and reverse and multilayer) that can be further personalized with laser-etching on the fabric’s surface.Key features: • PC-controlled via two interface cards;

accompanying software allows the user to control laser power, speed, repetitions and designs

• Multiple layers of fabric can be kiss-cut simultaneously

• Can contour cut ganged sheets of screen-printed or digital transfers, decals, emblems, or screen-printed or embroidered labels

Buyer’s note: The LaserBridge is best for high-volume embroiderers, apparel manufacturers and mail-order catalog companies that want to produce large orders featuring embroidery, appliqué, etching and multimedia. You’ll need at least a six-head to work with the bridge.

ColDesi CAMS 2V-12P Automatic Rhinestone MachineColDesi, Inc.; Tampa, FL; (877) 793-3278; www.coldesi.com

Cost: Call for current pricingWhat it is: This new rhinestone machine is able to set 350 stones per minute, and it also boasts a large transfer area: 20” x 15.7”. Key features:• Can be run in dual six mode for maximum speed or 12 different color/size mode

• Compatible with HotFix Era and Wilcom International DecoStudio

Tajima Multi-Head Chenille MachineHirsch International; Hauppauge, NY; (800) 394-4426; www.hic.us

Cost: Contract distributor for price

What it is: Sewing up to 750 stitches per minute, this multi-head, six-needle chenille machine has a stitch design memory of 2 million, along with a six-color automatic chenille color-change system that makes production of multicolor chenille designs quick and simple. Featuring an LCD

control panel, this bridge-style machine is bar-code ready and LAN-enabled. Key features:• Needle, nipple and presser foot are automatically lifted up for easier frame exchange operation• 6.5” screen displays exact image of the design with exact location of the needleBuyer’s note: If you run a large company that specializes in chenille-based products, consider this machine, which received a 5.0 out of 5.0 on ease of use and performance. The machine is also for retail embroidery shops or sporting goods stores that specialize in the athletic or school markets.

User input The Proel ranked 5.0 across the

board. “This is a very flexible machine, and

you’re only limited by your imagination,” says

Keith Drisko, head digitizer and manager at W.S.

Emerson Co. in Brewer, ME. “We do appliqué

mostly, but also engraving and burning fleece

blankets, jackets and jeans. You could cut auto-

mobile gaskets with this thing.”

User input This machine scored well across the board, and Arzu Sumer, owner of Twinkle Tops in

Tampa, FL, echoes that sentiment. “I’ve been very satisfied with the service from ColDesi,” she says.

“I’ve had this machine for about a year and a half. The vendor offers great support, and if you have

any problems, they walk you through it and make sure it’s resolved.”



stitches.com




OVERALL RATING

5.0

OVERALL RATING

5.0

OVERALL RATING

4.5

USER RATINGS

Specialty Machines/

Attachments


SEIT Single-Head LaserHirsch International; Hauppauge, NY; (800) 394-4426; www.hic.us

Cost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: The SEIT single-head laser system works in conjunction with an embroidery machine, enabling decorators to quickly create complex, segmented appliqué faster than traditional methods.Key features:• Minimizes stitch counts on a single-

head while increasing perceived value• Cuts virtually any material from simple

knit T-shirts to lightweight leatherBuyer’s note: This simple laser system with no software to learn is for decorators who want to create fashion-forward appliqué quickly with a variety of materials. Custom houses doing one-off style sewing and sporting goods stores decorating small-run athletic shirts could benefit from the system, too.

VS 540 VersaCAMM 54” Print/Cut Machine Imprintables Warehouse; Masontown, PA; (800) 347-0068; www.imprintables.com

Cost: MSRP $22,995. Contact distributor for price.What it is: This eco-solvent inkjet printer/cutter outputs a

wide range of full-color transfers for apparel and sign products, including window decals, bumper stickers, wall graphics, stickers and banners. Key features:• Combines four-color printing and contour cutting• Roland Intelligent Pass Control technology eliminates banding• Includes automated maintenance, superior media handling,

Ethernet connectivity and an optional take-up systemBuyer’s note: This printer/cutter is great for shops that want to offer full-color transfers for apparel and a variety of signs and graphic products.

Tajima Single-Head Chenille MachineHirsch International; Hauppauge, NY; (800) 394-4426; www.hic.us

Cost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: Bar code-ready, this six-needle, bridge-style chenille machine sews up to 750 spm, has a 2 million stitch design memory, and features a

flat sewing field of 17.75” x 21.5” and an LCD control panel.Key features: • Six-color automatic chenille color-change system makes

production of multicolor chenille designs quick and simple• 6.5” screen displays exact image of the design with exact

location of the needle• New machine purchases include free initial product training

Tajima Sequin AttachmentHirsch International; Hauppauge, NY; (800) 394-4426; www.hic.us

Cost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: This machine is compatible with an M series or NEo Tajima machine; the sequin attachment comes in single and double versions, with the single holding one reel of sequins, the double two. It works with 12 sequin types, and there are 18 styles of tack-down stitches.Key features:• A variety of settings determines the size

of the sequin, style of tack-down and overlap between adjacent settings

• With the ability to apply two to four types of sequins per head, designers can use more colors and sizes

Buyer’s note: The sequin attachment is suited to shops catering to the dance, skating, resort and fashion markets.

George Knight DK3George Knight & Co. Inc.; Brockton, MA; (800) 525-6766; www.heatpress.com

Cost: $750What it is: This machine is a full wraparound, handle-to-handle, top-to-bottom sublimation printing mug press. It can press images up to 5” high, and as close as ½” from the handle, depending on the mug size. The DK3 accommodates all mugs available on the market.Key features:• Side-to-side loading of mugs allows

for more even printing and image alignment.

• Free, guaranteed same-day response and phone/e-mail support

• Three-year warranty on all digital electronics, and one-year warranty on the entire press

Buyer’s note: The press can be a great add-on for an embroiderer who wants to expand business by embellishing mugs.

User input This machine scored a 3.0 out of 5.0 across the board. “A lot

of people don’t use chenille,” says Sandra Rodgers, owner of Branson, MO-

based Works of Art, about these results. “You need to practice, and Hirsch

provides support and recommends techs..”

OVERALL RATING

4.5OVERALL RATING

4.0OVERALL RATING

4.0

OVERALL RATING

4.0OVERALL RATING

3.0


Kornit ThunderHirsch International; Hauppauge, NY; (800) 394-4426; www.hic.usCost: Contact distributor for priceWhat it is: This machine can print on up to 70 light garments/hour and 30 dark garments/hour with its four CMYK print heads and two white print heads.What’s new: CMYK ink V223 ensures improved printing results, as the LAB values of the cyan and magenta colors are much closer to the absolute values of these colors.Key features:• Automatic pre-treatment system• Print capability on areas of up to 14” x

18”• Print capability on a variety of

materials, including light and dark polyester, cotton/poly blend, Lycra, viscose, silk, denim and leather

DTG ViperPantograms Mfg. Co. Inc.; Tampa, FL; (800) 872-1555; www.pantograms.com Cost: Contact manufacturer for priceWhat it is: This commercial digital garment printer has a 16” x 29” print area. It’s white ink-compatible and can print up to 30 dark/60 light shirts per hour. Key features:• 4-2-1 platen: user can print four small

prints, two full-front or one oversized print

• Patented white ink management system • Pressurized CMYK• Active print head collision protection

User input “We survive on our three Vipers,”

says Shawn Drimmel, president of Chicago-

based Great Apparel for You. Drimmel says

those who buy this machine should be

prepared for high maintenance and a steep

learning curve. “You need to have art skills and

persistence to make this machine work for

you,” he says. “If you do, it works really well. I

personally wouldn’t say that any digital printer

is easy to use, partly because the print industry

is relatively new.”

OVERALL RATING

4.0 OVERALL RATING

3.8

AnaJet mPower Series Digital Apparel PrinterAnaJet (asi/16000) LLC; Costa Mesa, CA; (714) 662 3200; www.anajet.com/mpowerCost: Fully-featured mP5: $26,950; mP10: $37,950What it is: The mPower is a fast, durable direct-to-garment printer. All models use CMYK and white inks.Key features:• Speed: 16 seconds for a typical

12” x 10” graphic • Three (mP5) or six (mP10)

industrial stainless steel print heads

• Automatic maintenance and ink recirculation for greater readi-ness and less waste

• USB and SD card compatible• Job preview console• Includes AnaJet’s proprietary

RIP softwareBuyer’s note: AnaJet pioneered the use of white ink for digital apparel printing with its SPRINT direct to garment printer. The mPower series is suitable for any garment decoration/imaging busi-ness looking to produce short runs or hundreds of shirts in a day.

Brand-New Printer


Barudan America Inc.30901 Carter Street, Suite ASolon, OH 44139(440) 248-8770(440) 248-8856 (fax)[email protected]

B.I.T.O. USA102 Mott St.Oceanside, NY 11572(866) BIT-OUSA(516) 596-9467 (fax)[email protected]

Brother International Corp.100 Somerset Corporate Blvd.Bridgewater, NJ 08807(908) 704-1700(908) 704-8235 (fax)www.brothersews.com

ColDesi Inc.5409 S. Westshore Blvd.Tampa, FL 33611(877) 793-3278(813) [email protected]

George Knight & Co. Inc.52 Perkins St.Brockton, MA 02302(800) 525-6766(508) 587-5108 (fax)[email protected]

Graphic Solutions Group Inc. (asi/212953)304 N. Walton St.Dallas, TX 75226(214) 712-6257 (214) 748-3167 (fax)[email protected]

Hirsch International 50 Engineers Rd.Hauppauge, NY 11788(800) 394-4426 (800) 772-1788 (fax)[email protected]

Imprintables Warehouse (asi/58475)1 Paisley ParkCarmichaels, PA 15320(800) 347-0068 (724) 583-0426 (fax)[email protected]

Melco Industries Inc.1575 W. 124th Ave.Westminster, CO 80234(303) 457-1234 • (800) 799-8313

(303) 252-0508 (fax)[email protected]

MESA Distributors3134 Marquita Dr.Ft. Worth, TX 76116(800) 456-3727(817) 560-4455 (fax)[email protected]

Pantograms Mfg. Co. Inc./Toyota4537 S. Dale Mabry Hwy.Tampa, FL 33611(813) 839-5697 • (800) 872-1555


Prodigi by Midwest Distributors1066 Crosswinds Ct.Wentzville, MO 63385(636) 724-6400 • (877) 724-6400


Ryonet Corp.11800 NE 60th WayVancouver, WA 98682(800) 314-6390(360) 546-1454 (fax)[email protected]

Stahls’ Hotronix1 Paisley ParkCarmichaels, PA 15320(800) 727-8520(724) 966-7880 (fax)[email protected]

SWF Central1066 Crosswinds Ct.Wentzville, MO 63385(636) 724-6400 • (877) 724-6400


Texmac3001 Stafford Dr.Charlotte, NC 28208(704) 394-0314 • (877) 335-5206


Workhorse Products3730 E. Southern Ave.Phoenix, AZ 85040(602) 437-2305 • (800) 557-7889


All machine vendors with machines included in print and online are listed here.

Machine Guide Company Listings

stitches.com




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custom patches & pins

custom patches & pins digitizing

RS No. 102

RS No. 128

RS No. 120

RS No. 119

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RS No. 133

RS No. 109

RS No. 77

RS No. 125

RS No. 105

RS No. 106

RS No. 113

RS No. 101

RS No. 115


SUPPLIES

TRANSFERS

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CLASSIFIEDS Circle reader service number on reply card or visit www.stitches.com/freeinfo

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RS No. 145 RS No. 143

RS No. 104

RS No. 127

RS No. 139

RS No. 137 RS No. 138

RS No. 130

Stitches reader service numbers

In Your Face Apparel 154 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

MV Sport 152 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Royal Apparel 151 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

TriMountain 156 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29


Advertiser Index

ADVERTISERS/SUPPLIERS

CompAny nAme RS# pG#

Blue Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3Bodek & Rhodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Brother International Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Cotton Fruit Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Dexin Emblem Factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Discount Embroidery Blanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Flexfit Llc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Fruit of the Loom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BCGildan Activewear SRL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1Hanes/Champion/OuterBanks . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFCJerzees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5Outdoor Cap Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31S.M. Cristall Company, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16SanMar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Stahls’ ID Direct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Sunstar USA Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBCSWF East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49, 50, 68 . . . . . . . . . . .17, 25, 35Transfer Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Uniontex Promotional & Corporate

Clothing Industries Inc Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

CLASSIFIEDS

CompAny nAme RS#

A-B Emblem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119Apex Embroidery & Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Bc Supply Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Bito . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128Chl Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106Cliff Hix Engrg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138, 139, 143Cstar International, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137DJS LABELS INC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Express Digitizing.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131, 132Fastdigitizing Dot Com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112Fawn Embroidery Services Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Freehand Graphics Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104General Label Mfg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Graphics One LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130Groovy Holidays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113Gunold USA Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145Ideas Plus Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126, 133Mazama Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120Microart Co LTD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127Pacific Sportswear & Emblems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Pizzazz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102SGI International (Pvt) Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141Shamrock Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101Southern Digitizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

GO ONLINE! Get valuable product information by visiting us at www.stitches.com/freeinfo. It’s fast and easy!

Stitches February 2012; Vol. 26, No. 2 (ISSN 099-5893) (USPS 2387) is published monthly, except bi-monthly in March/April and September/October, by Advertising Specialty Institute, 4800 Street Road, Trevose, PA 19053. Periodical postage paid at Langhorne, PA and at additional mailing offices. Subscription rates: free and controlled circulation to qualified subscribers. Non-qualified persons may subscribe at the following rates: USA, 1 year, $35, 2 years, $69. Canada, 1 year, $39. Outside USA and Canada, 1 year, $59 ($95 airmail delivery). POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Stitches, PO Box 2197 Skokie, IL 60076.

On-Location Swimwear Shoot Gear your clients up for the

summer season with the hottest

new swimwear and logoed ac-

cessories they can use in their

poolside promotions. Plus, read

about decorators who sold big

swimwear programs.

Get Organized We’ve got top tips for getting

organized for mom-and-pops,

contract shops and everyone in

between, from how to organize

your workspace to keeping track

of your clients’ orders.

Plus … How to create freestanding

embroidery

How to find the graphic artist

of your dreams

How to be successful selling

emblems

Coming Next IssueWhat’s coming up in March/April Stitches

................................................

ne

ed

le

wa

tc

h

Slick Is a Survivor

In the December issue, Slick hid in “The Entrepreneur’s

Survival Guide” article on page 53 in the decorated

apparel industry statistics sidebar. Pat Millet of

Bogota, NJ-based Eye of the Needle was chosen

at random from a grand total of 23 responses. As

this issue’s winner, Pat will receive Madeira USA’s gift

certificate. Keep your eyes peeled for the industry’s

favorite game of hide and seek!

By Nicole Rollender

Needle Patrol Our friend Slick (an embroidery machine needle)

has hidden himself somewhere in this issue. He

might be in an editorial photo, graphic or text – he’s

not in an advertisement. If you find the needle, send

us a note that says, “I found the February needle

on page XX,” along with your name, company,

address and phone number (or e-mail address)

so we can contact you if you’re the winner. Mail or

fax it to us at Stitches, Attn: Needle Patrol, 4800

Street Rd., Trevose, PA 19053; fax: (215) 953-3107.

Also, tell us a little about your business. No phone

calls please; you must respond in writing. Hurry!

Responses for the February needle are due by

February 29. From the correct responses, we’ll

randomly select one winner who’ll receive a $100

gift certificate, courtesy of , Laconia,

NH. Please submit only one entry per drawing. We’ll

announce the winner in the May issue.

................................................

And much, much more!


ask an expert your most pressing business dilemmas solved ask an expert your most pressing business dilemmas solved

Q I’m a home-based embroiderer and after the holiday rush didn’t meet my business expecta-

tions, I’m having a hard time being motivated. I’m getting orders and dealing with my tried-and-true customers, but I’m not focused. With the economy stuttering and only a trickle of customers keeping me working, how can I get myself motivated?

A As an in-house digitizer, I have a constant stream of people relying on me; for some that’s enough motiva-

tion to keep limping along. That said, in my work as an e-commerce manager, I’m required to be a self-starter, and I’ve often been in the place where you are – filling orders but not making progress. You must break free of this pat-tern. Staying still might as well be backsliding if your com-petition is making strides. There are simple, concrete steps that can have your motivation, and eventually your rev-enue, on the upswing.

1. Set clear goals. Many decorators get in the habit of simply processing orders after they manage a modi-cum of success. They find that when work slows, they haven’t formulated a plan to use that inevitable down time for business growth. The time to start thinking about tomorrow, and frankly years of tomorrows, is now. Set clear goals; make them more concrete than “get more orders.” Even if that’s your aim, break it down into actions that you can immediately start exe-cuting. Change “get more orders” into “cold call three businesses today” and “talk to the local business council at Wednesday’s meeting.” Start long term, and break it down into actionable tasks you can start immediately. Don’t wait for the perfect time – now almost always beats later.

2. Set boundaries. Home-based workers sometimes find the constant availability of entertainment and busywork surrounding them difficult to ignore when work slows. If you have the space and resources, set up an office. Make it clear to your family and friends that when you’re in your space, you’re “at work” and that it has to be respected. Even without a dedicated room, it’s worthwhile to prepare a space daily as a working area. Whether it’s your dining room table or a fully-appointed office, making a place ready for work and keeping distractions out of that space while you work will help you stay focused.

Now that you’ve set physical boundaries, do the same with your schedule. Set regular work hours, and “go to work” during that time. If you make an effort to

keep anything you do while you’re “on the clock” and “at work” focused on either fulfilling orders or making progress on your goals, it’ll be easier to keep yourself on the job. You’ll be surprised how a businesslike envi-ronment, however small, can change the way you think.

3. Make it fun. I know, the other tips sounded so much more serious, so why do I care if it’s fun? It’s pretty simple, really: If you’re a home-based embroi-derer, there was likely something about this craft that was fun or interesting that brought you here. If you can take some time, however little, to engage in that

fun, it’ll bring you back to that initial interest and keep you from burning out when the business of embroi-dery gets tough. Besides, you never know when some-thing fun might become a niche market for you. Find that fun, show people what you can do and chase the business that you enjoy. It’ll likely not replace those logowear staples, but it may well become a welcome jolt of excitement and perhaps even a nice additional revenue stream if you can find the right customers.

In the space of this page, I can’t diagnose or treat every trouble that might plague you when your moti-vation flags, but I can say this: The fact that you’re concerned means you’re aware, and that’s the first, and sometimes the hardest, step to getting out of your rut. All you need now is the first step. Set a goal, take one action, and when that fear of slowing down returns, as it surely will, remind yourself how you took that step, and take another. Walking blindly might not get one to a destination, but even one determined step in the right direction will always get you closer than standing still – just make sure to enjoy the journey as you go. .

ERICH CAMPBELL is a 10-year industry veteran and award-

winning embroidery digitizer with experience in designing, im-

plementing and maintaining e-commerce websites. A longtime

technology fan, ad-hoc IT staffer and constantly-connected Inter-

net dweller, Campbell is in the process of adding social media to

the marketing arsenal of Albuquerque, NM-based Black Duck Inc.

(asi/140730). Contact: [email protected].

Got a decorator dilemma? E-mail your

question to nrollender@

asicentral.com. We’ll request

your permission to print

your question and our

expert’s response in Stitches.

Note: Unfortunately, we’re

unable to answer each

individual question.

By Erich Campbell

Looking ForwardIn the next issue, you’ll

learn how to market

your new garment-

printing services to

your existing clients.

See you next issue!

➠Learn it Live!today’s marketing climate presents many opportunities. Learn how to leverage new, economical and easy-to-use marketing tools by attending “20 Budget-Friendly ideas to Build Business now” on Monday, april 2, at 1:30 p.m. at the aSi Show San Diego. this session will explore 20 innovative marketing ideas that can be implemented with relative ease at minimal to no cost. Visit ASIShow.com to register for free.

You’ll be surprised how a businesslike environment, however small, can change the way you think.

©2012

Fru

it o

f th

e L

oo

m,

Inc

.

fresh C O L O R S

Our new Heavy Cotton HD™ Collection offers a selection of colors that are fresher than ever.

With up to 29 stylish shades available, ranging in size from Youth XS through Adult 4XL, our color

offering is the perfect complement to your creativity. Now, having more of what you need means

choosing from a rainbow of looks that offer something for everyone. And the collection boasts one

of our densest fabrics yet, along with the same level of consistency and superior decorating

surface you expect from the always fresh, ever-colorful Fruit of the Loom® Activewear.

FruitActivewear.com | 888.378.4829Circle 24 on Free Info Card or visit www.stitches.com/freeinfo

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