5 'Other' Ways You Can Imprint a T-Shirt

T-Shirts are a big part of my business and the main reason for that is they are such an effective promotional tool.  After all, a T-Shirt is literally like a blank billboard. You can fill it however you choose, and your message will be seen by anyone who comes in contact with the shirt.  If the shirt is imprinted a clever or memorable message, it will be noticed.

However it's also easy to stay in what I call the 'One Color on a White Shirt' mindset. I'd say the vast majority of orders that any printer prints on a given day will be of the one ink color variety.  And that makes sense, as one color imprints work perfectly fine. Your target audience still gets the message and the per shirt cost gets kept down, so everyone wins.

But there are other imprint techniques available that can transform a simple T-Shirt into art, and if your budget allows, you may want to at least consider one of the following techniques for an upcoming order:

Four Color Process

This print method literally uses 4 Process Inks (as opposed to spot color inks) -- Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black to achieve a multi-colored design. The transparent inks are applied directly on the shirt in a dot format that uses half-tones and the blending of colors to achieve a look with many colors, shading and fine details.  High Resolution Screens are needed due to the nature of the inks and expect some significant art prep. But whether it's a design like the one shown above, or one with a photo, 4 (or full) color process is the technique to use.

 

 

Heat Transfers

This is a great alternative to 4 color process screen printing when small quantities of multi color designs are needed.  There are some limitations with this technique, but for many full color designs this is an option worth considering. Basically you're printing a full color digital image onto a piece of vinyl transfer material. That material is then heat transferred onto the shirt via a special press. You pay more per shirt, but you don't have an screen charges. Need a dozen shirts with a complex art design for an event next weekend? Your most cost effective option is a transfer imprint.  

 

Vintage Soft Hand Screen Printing

This technique prints with a washed down appearance and vintage quality, especially when combined with distressed artwork.  To achieve this look a soft based additive is incorporated into the ink mixture and the design is printed without the use of an underlay of white ink.  The National Football League has done a terrific job marketing vintage apparel with versions of team logos that were used in past decades. This is the imprint method they use.  

 

Foil Ink

This is an overlooked, yet terrific technique to really make a logo shine (literally). It involves an adhesive, that looks like a white paste, getting screened onto the shirt. Then a special type of foil is heat transferred onto the white adhesive. Run it through the dryer and you get a look like the one pictured above.  

Reflective Ink

Got an event happening outdoors at night?  Consider reflective ink.  This is an ink that literally contains microscopic glass particles.  Shine a light on it in the dark and your design really pops.

These are just a few of many imprint techniques which can help turn your T-Shirt design into something that people are going to want to wear. There are many more. If you need some help with the creative aspect of this, please contact us.

Cotton Prices Going Up - Details

More on my post from December 29 about rising cotton prices. The details of this come from an online article put out by the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) last week.

Higher demand and recent poor weather in Asia have driven up the price of cotton, an increase that industry experts say will be felt by consumers within three to four months. Additionally, world cotton production is now expected to fall short of demand in the current crop year, which runs through July 31. "It's not something anyone can run from and there's no place to hide," says Rainer Friedrich, vice president of production at industry supplier, Charles River Apparel. "There won't be a price change until there's a leveling off and the demand evens out. That could be six to eight months from now."

According to Friedrich, in just the last two months the price of cotton produced in Pakistan has jumped by 40%. Overall, the cost of cotton has increased roughly 15% globally. "In general, consumers will pay more at some point," says Friedrich. "By March or April, the effect will be there. Manufacturers will try to spread out the increase, so there may not be a large difference at first. Distributors will probably have to charge more."

Because a larger number of apparel items, like polo's, are now commonly offered in synthetic fabrics, the greatest price volatility is expected to occur among suppliers that produce T-shirts. "In our industry, it probably affects the wholesalers more," said Chris Clark, vice president of sales at Ash City, another industry supplier. "When we use cotton, our pricing stays fairly consistent since we buy on the futures market."

Despite the surge in the cost of cotton, Friedrich believes there is a twist of good news to consider. "It means the economy is coming back," he says. "Demand for product is going up and you have to stock the shelves."

My take: It looks like we will see prices on T-Shirts and probably wearables in general creeping up a bit come the spring. T-Shirt prices tend to fluctuate week to week, much like commodities, so those figure to be a bit more 'fluid'. Not so however with polo's, jackets and other forms of apparel. The prices for those generally are set the previous fall and won't change midstream unless the suppliers are forced into it.

So if T-Shirts are in your budget for 2010, you may save some money by ordering them 1st quarter and holding onto them till needed. How much is difficult to project but if I had to guess, possibly 10-20%, at least for the short term, may not be out of the question. But this of course is subject to change and sometimes without notice. I will continue to monitor and post updates on this blog if there's anything new to report.

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Some Cool Trade Show Giveaways

These come courtesy of MSNBC. A recent edition of the network's Your Business with host J.J. Ramberg covered the topic of unique Trade Show hand outs. The guest was Rich Fairfield, VP and Publisher of ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute), the largest media and marketing organization serving the promotional products industry.

Obviously lots of factors need to be considered in assessing whether any promotional product will be the right fit - things like target audience, intended message, budget etc. - but there are some pretty cool items shown in this clip which may give you an idea or two for your next event.

If you would like additional information on any of the items shown, just drop me an email at sboyages@promoresource.com. Geiger, incidentally, is ASI's biggest customer.




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