Heat Press Yourself by: Josh Ellsworth

The Scary Truth About Decorating Team Sports Uniforms with Heat Press Vinyl

Heat applied film gets a bad name sometimes.  It’s easy to understand why when you look at the photo below of one of the most popular brands on the market (not Stahls’).

Washed just 2 times and put through the dryer on low heat.

Imitator's Heat Transfer Vinyl

The photo above can teach us quite a few lessons about decorating:

• There are countless brands of heat transfer vinyl materials on the market intended for t-shirts – cotton/poly fabrics.
• There are not many films intended for sports uniforms – polyester fabrics, nylon and mesh.
• Some suppliers will recommend their “t-shirt” heat press film for polyester, sometimes this does not work – just like the example above.
• So before committing to decorate team uniforms trust, understand and test your heat applied film brand.
• Likewise understand the fabric that you want to decorate – if it’s a nylon use a material that works on nylon.  Polyester – a material that work on polyester.  If it’s a mesh construction, verify compatibility.
• Lastly, pick a material that works for it’s intended sport.  If it’s football – odds are that there will be hard helmet contact on the lettering, make sure that the material will stand up to this.  The material above failed through basic laundering, imagine if it were worn on the field

The photo can also teach us a few things about selling…

• Based on the common problem above we need to do a good job of explaining to customers the advantages of the film we use (assuming you are using us) and how it has been lab tested for durability and performance.
• To avoid having to overcome the objection of using vinyl, you may want to identify the process simply as ‘personalization’ or another creative name that does not conjure up a negative connotation.

So to end on a positive note….how can you be assured that the scary situation above does not happen to you?

The answer:  BUY A HEAT TRANSFER FILM THAT YOU CAN TRUST.

As you may have guessed, Stahls’ CAD-CUT Direct has a material – actually we have two depending on whether your decorating nylon or polyester.

Take a look at Thermofilm® on the other side of the same exact polyester mesh jersey put through the same exact wash cycle.

Thermofilm® on a poly mesh team uniform

To conclude today’s post below are two videos demonstrating our solutions, Thermofilm® and Thermogrip® for decorating team uniforms.  You can buy these products by visiting CADCUTDirect.com

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To commemorate 2010, I’ll be putting out top 10 lists throughout the year…

Our first Top 10 is…

The Top Ten Reasons Why:  New Digital Print Cut Heat Press Technology and YOUR Customer will bring about the Death of Screen Printing for Team Uniforms

I urge you to share your comments at the end of this post.

Let’s look at the reasons why….

1. INVENTORY – When screen printing numbers you need to have a separate 20″ x 6′ (yes 6 foot) screen for every font that you want to offer in every size number.  So 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″ & 12″ numbers x 10 fonts = 50 screens.  Oh – if you want to do 2 color numbers in these fonts multiply 50 x 2 for 100 screens.  With print/cut technology, no screens.  You click and type your font choice and numbering size into a  software.

2. COLOR – Screen Printing requires inks.  These inks must be purchased in the proper color or mixed with another color to achieve the desired result.  This gets complicated, takes space, takes knowledge and takes dollars to stock ink.  With digital print/cut technology you select the color from your infinite color palette in your graphics program and the magic happens.  The printer mixes the CMYK inks to produce your color.

3. NAMES – Screen Printing names can be very difficult and lead to an even larger inventory of screens.  With digital print cut technology you just type the name over your number in your graphics program.  The machine prints and cuts the design in perfect registration.

4. TRAPPING – Most screen printers will use a process called trapping to produce a two color number.  Trapping can get complicated when you consider using a non migrating ink as a base color for certain light/dark combinations.  You also must flash cure in between colors.  With digital print cut technology – design a second color, a third color or even a fourth within the graphics program.  Then the printer produces all colors on a single layer for easy application with a heat press.

5. SPECIAL EFFECTS – Screen Printing special effects into numbers can get complicated.  It’s near impossible to produce numbers that include color gradients or unique effects within the number.  With digital print cut technology you can overlay any effect into the number or name and simply print it.  This is becoming popular with certain team sports – camo numbers, distressed numbers, club branding and more, all possible.

6. LEARNING CURVE - Screen Printing suppliers put on entire universities and week-long classes teaching new printers the basics with screen printing.  Digital print cut technology for apparel can be taught in its entirety in just a couple days and in some cases hours. 

7. FABRICS – Screen Printing mesh is a pain and a lot of uniforms are comprised of mesh.  Screen Printing pushes wet ink through the mesh holes and leaves it on your platen or in some cases cardboard insert.  When you remove the jersey you run the risk of contacting wet ink.  Digital print and cut technology uses a film – no wet ink to smear and damage a jersey.  Also – when you consider the wide range of fabric blends showing up in the team market it’s much easier to pick between just a few print cut materials with specific adhesives rather than trying to learn what type of ink to use and what additives are necessary. 

8. DURABILITY - Screen Printing once held advantages.  With solvent printers and lab certified films that gap has officially been closed.

9. SAFETY - A large part of the buying market for team lettering and number is under the age of 12.  New legislation will dictate that you must have a product that meets certain certifications if you want to sell to this group – see CPSIA.  Print cut technology features films (at a low price) that meets this certification and more.

10. YOUR CUSTOMER - Screen Printing has always been the choice product due to its mass exposure at a retail level.  With the rise of online retailing and mass customization, the public perception of heat applied graphics and digital printing has improved drastically.  Now  your customer is ready to be presented with a solution that meets all of their demands when it comes to look, feel, durability, safety and price…..

….and ultimately this why we will see the death of screen printing for team uniforms – your customer will lead the charge towards easier, cleaner, safer, simpler technology that fits their needs.

NOTE FROM JOSH

For a ready to apply sample of print/cut material for your team uniform of choice, drop me an email at josh@cadcutdirect.com Please specify whether you have a heat press, vinyl cutter or solvent printer when emailing your request.

As always thanks for reading and follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/joshellsworth to get all the content I publish including videos, blog posts, articles and more.

Please take the time to comment.

Just a quick post/video in response to a request I recently received.  Below is a 5 minute tutorial stepping you through the process of creating a 2 color name for output to your vinyl cutter.  More tips coming soon on how to apply two color designs with a heat press.  You may want to hit the little icon at the lower right of the player below in order to view this in full screen mode.

Thanks for reading and watching!

Josh