Digital Garment Decorating OVERVIEW

Transcription

1 Digital Garment Decorating OVERVIEW 1

2 Since the dawn of man. People have demanded custom printed garments! Enter the local entrepreneur. And the development of traditional analog screen printing 2

3 Slide 3 You are Part of a Revolution Digital printing has revolutionized the way we apply images to a variety of substrates. Analog Printing (Mechanical) Digital Printing (Numerical) We live in a digital age. Look at how far we've come. [Talk about some of the technological innovations we have today. e.g. cell phones, Palm Pilots, digital cameras, mp3 players. It's a brave, new world.] No longer is getting full-color products out the door a mechanical process involving teems of workers. A single user can run a full-line sublimation business from a home office with a single printer, computer and heat press. 3

4 Analog Technology: Limited Expansion & Capabilities Prior to the advent of Digital Technology, the process equipment was the focus of the business. Businesses tended to have one process (solution) Additional processes: High capital cost Steep learning curve Unique design software 4

5 Digital Technology: Expanding Business Potential The hub of Digital Printing technology is the computer Allows for many additional processes Low capital cost Short learning curve Common design software Promotional Products Screen Print Embroidery Direct-to Garment Printer Transfer-to Garment Printing 5

6 How Does It Compare? Slide 6 Screen Printing Lots of Clean Up Start Up Cost -High Specialized training and experience required Working with Chemicals Better for Long Runs with Limited Colors Lower image cost in high volume production Cannot Reproduce Photographic Quality Images Short Runs Difficult / Impractical Large footprint Future environmental issues? Good time to engage some of your students who might be screen printers or working with heat transfers. Ask them what their minimum runs are for screen printing. 6

7 How Does It Compare? Slide 7 Digital Printing No equipment clean-up no down time Start Up Cost Low Simple pre-print and print technologies No Chemicals Better for high resolution graphics and customization Capable of photographic quality images Short run efficiency Advancing technology improvements Good time to engage some of your students who might be screen printers or working with heat transfers. Ask them what their minimum runs are for screen printing. 7

8 Two Basic Types of Digital Imaging Direct Create image with computer graphics software Print directly on shirt or substrate Set image with heat press Transfer Create image with computer graphics software Print to transfer media Transfer image from media to substrate with heat press 8

9 Direct-to-Garment Printing Advantages Lower cost per image Higher Ink saturation No image feel or hand No over-print or halo around printed image Disadvantages Higher capital investment & start-up Limited image placements Limited to flat and/or relatively thin materials 9

10 Slide 10 A Typical Direct-to-Garment System 2. Personalize & Customize 3. Print Using Direct-to-Garment Printer 1. Generate Image 4. Set Image Using Heat Press 5. Make Money Selling Wide Variety of Customized Garments Focus on Step 2, the personalization aspects. 10

11 Transfer-to-Garment Printing Advantages Lower capital investment & start-up cost Flexibility of image placement Ease of use / familiar Small footprint / portable Disadvantages Higher cost per image Noticeable feel or hand in some applications Occasional visible over-print in some applications 11

12 A Typical Ink-Jet Transfer System 2. Personalize & Customize 3. Print Media Using Ink Jet Printer 1. Generate Image 4. Transfer Image Using Heat Press 5. Make Money Selling Wide Variety of Customized Garments Focus on Step 2, the personalization aspects. 12

13 Slide 13 Why Is Digital Garment Imaging So Revolutionary? It goes where no technology has gone before! Short run orders and rush jobs are cost effective Create one-of-a-kind items -- great for the gift market! Customers can see prototype before committing to long runs Photo-realistic and other complex images are possible Images are wash-fast! Depending upon materials, decorated area doesn t have traditional transfer paper feel 13

14 Slide 14 Technology Meets the T-Shirt Market Trends for T-Shirt Decorating $1 ¼ Billion Mass Production T-Shirt Volume Mass Customization (with Digital Technologies) Moving Forward (The Revolution is Happening Now) Mass customization means that you can take a "blank" mass-produced item and customize it according to an individual's wants or needs on a mass scale. In other words, there are mass produced t-shirts that all have the same phrase or image, and there are mass customized t-shirts that have a personalized saying or image. 14

15 Slide 15 Who Should Sell Digital Garment Decorating? Anyone who already owns a heat press Anyone currently working with heat transfers Anyone currently screen printing or embroidering Anyone with a photo-gift or customization business Anyone who wants to add full-color to their products Anyone who prints on anything other than paper! Anyone already in the digital printing business. A sublimation system instantly turns you into a "one-stop shop" by adding thousands of new products to your line-up. 15

16 What Can You Make? Slide 16 16

17 Can I make money in Digital Garment Decorating? Cost of t-shirt $ 1.25 Cost of ink / paper $ 2.25 Cost of Materials $ 3.50 Sales Price $14.50 Gross Profit $11.00 /t-shirt 17