Have you ever noticed that some people can put together outfits that just say something? Some look organized, some relaxed, some just don’t care, and others care too much about trappings. You may invest a fortune and spend hours picking out that one outfit that just matches you mood. It may cost a fortune, or not, but chances are printing is involved somewhere along the way.
Have you ever noticed that some people can put together outfits that just say something? Some look organized, some relaxed, some just don’t care, and others care too much about trappings. You may invest a fortune and spend hours picking out that one outfit that just matches you mood. It may cost a fortune, or not, but chances are printing is involved somewhere along the way.
Every time I think of fashion statements, I think of my daughter’s first say about what is best to wear on a given day. She could never decide which outfit looked best, so she changed several times before the bus arrived, barely making it after lots of prodding on my behalf. Once I decided not to worry and let her miss the bus. When she saw it roll past, I dragged my feet, and talked about how upset the teacher would be when my daughter strolled in late. From that point on, she began picking outfits out the night before so that indecision wouldn’t cause such an outbreak.
My daughter was trying to make a fashion statement, but wasn’t too certain of how to do it. Fashion takes time, after all.
To save you some time in your quest to produce fashion, the whole June/July issue of Screen Printing magazine is devoted to garment printing. Ed Branigan of International Coatings (always a cool dresser) presents a timeline that documents changes in garment-graphic designs and market demands. His article isn’t identical to one you might read in the pages of GQ magazine, but it’s really interesting. The modern man has definite ideas about how to dress and what to buy in printed apparel. You must read this one.
I wrote an article about direct-to-garment inkjet printing that quotes many of the major suppliers and notes the changes in the industry from just a few years ago to the present. The trend of producing T-shirts on inkjet printers is a growing one. Modern inkjets can do so much more than their predecessors.
Michael Beckmen’s article about special-effects screen printing focuses on inks designed to produce special outcomes. Ben Rosenfield’s article covers the automatic garment presses designed for high-speed, high-quality, high-volume apparel decoration.
Don’t miss the upcoming issue. Not only will you learn about the garment-printing industry, but you also will learn how to develop your fashion sense.