Categories: Events

Impressions 2020 Recap

Adrienne Palmer had the opportunity to chat with Screen Printing writers and friends.

THE IMPRESSIONS EXPO Long Beach 2020 tradeshow and conference inhabited the Long Beach Convention Center January 17-19 for three days of educational sessions, hands-on learning, and networking opportunities. Here are just a few takeaways from Adrienne Palmer, Screen Printing magazine’s editor-in-chief and a first-timer of the tradeshow formerly known as ISS.

Rader Spitzer teaches a class on special effects

Tiffany Rader Spitzer, owner of Redheaded Step Shirt and board member of the SGIA Women in Print Alliance, led a class on special effects screen printing. “Who has a donut probe?” asked Rader Spitzer to the room of eager screen printers. “Every single hand should be raised.” She went on to say “hand guns are cheap and easy to use, but they are highly inaccurate. If it has to be 320 degrees for 30 seconds, it needs to be 320 for 30 seconds – the whole time.” Rader Spitzer is not a fan of paper test strips either because they can wildly change in accuracy. “You need to be between 325 and 380 degrees for high-density printing,” she said. “You want plastisol printing to stay on top of the garment, you want water-based to sit inside,” said Rader Spitzer to a room full of nodding heads.

Sustainability in the fashion industry: where is it headed? Marci Kinter, VP of Government Affairs, SGIA, explained circular fashion to a group of printers interested in going green.

Kinter touts the benefits of sustainable business practices.

She defined ethical or sustainable fashion as garments made from sustainably grown fiber crops or recycled material that seeks to minimize waste throughout the supply chain. “You’re the last person to touch the garment, so you have to know where the product comes from and what it’s made of,” said Kinter. She also stressed taking baby steps through the process of becoming a sustainable printer. “It’s all about transparency,” she said. “Develop a sustainability policy, engage your employees, and talk to your customers.”

Click here to read what columnist Andy MacDougall (another first-timer) had to say about the event and follow @Adrienne_Screen on Twitter as she shares insight from tradeshows and events throughout the year.

Adrienne Palmer

Adrienne Palmer is the editor-in-chief of Big Picture and Screen Printing magazines. She joined Big Picture magazine in 2012 after graduating from Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism with a BA in magazine journalism. During her time with Big Picture, she has held the roles of assistant editor, associate editor, and managing editor; she added sister publication Screen Printing magazine to her resume in 2019. She is a 2019 Folio: Top Woman in Media; spearheads Big Picture's annual Women in Wide Format Awards and Best of Wide Format Awards as well as Screen Printing's annual Women in Screen Printing Awards; is on the board of Printing United Alliance's Women in Print Alliance and the U.N.I.T.E. Together diversity and inclusion program; hosts the Screen Saver podcast; and represents the Big Picture and Screen Printing teams at numerous industry events year-round as a speaker, moderator, and panelist.