Heat applied decorations. Indirect prints. Transfers. Call them what you will. Heat transfers are a popular method of apparel decoration that has become accessible to anyone looking to enter the industry. With low investment and a relatively small learning curve, heat pressing has gained popularity among both beginners and experienced decorators. However, there are several…
Introduction Welcome to Fahrenheit AI, episode twelve. In this episode, we will explore the RAG process, also known as Retrieval Augmented Generation. RAG is a method that involves supplying data for reference, chunking the data into smaller parts, and then connecting the content to a Large Language Model (LLM) like ChatGPT. The goal is to…
It’s easy to get bogged down with the technical aspects of apparel decoration, but the real path to success lies in thinking like a business owner first. In this Shop Talk from the Impressions Expo in Fort Worth , Jennifer Cox of the National Network of Embroidery Professionals, explains that the key to success lies…
At the recent Impressions Expo in Long Beach, Dave Gardner was awarded the third ever Lifetime Achievement Award by Ink Kitchen and Impressions. You can read about it here in Impressions Magazine. Dave pioneered simulated process printing and has created t-shirt color separations and artwork that are the gold standard to which all other printers…
What’s so great about transfers? So many things! Their flexibility, scalability, reliability and viability as a decorating solution for literally any type of customizable product. This Shop Talk from Impressions Atlantic City features a dream team of transfer experts- Kyle Eslinger of SanMar, Josh Ellsworth of Stahl’s, Carrie Terwilliger of FM Expressions, Jody Mazade of Howard…
Screen printing is an art but it’s also science and chemistry. The more you understand about the fabrics you’re decorating and how they interact with different types of ink, the better your end results will be. There is so much terminology- ringspun, open end, carded, combed, singles, PDFs, garment dye, pigment dye and more! We…
Heat applied transfer technology has made great strides in the past few years. Now there’s almost nothing that can’t be decorated with a transfer. We gathered a panel of experts- Josh Ellsworth from Stahls ; Jody Mazade from Howard Custom Transfers ; Nathan Anderson from FM Expressions ; and Mark Bailey from SanMar– to share their insights about how transfers…
Back in the day there were cotton and 50/50 t-shirts and everything was either screen printed or embroidered. Those days are long gone. Now you need to educate yourself and your customers in order to give them what they want. You need to understand your substrates, your inks and the wide variety of decoration techniques…
You probably have a heat press in your shop that you use for decorating on performance fabrics that can’t handle a pass through the dryer, but did you know you can also use your heat press to decorate shoes, boots, slippers and other items? In this Shop Talk from Impressions Fort Worth, Josh Ellsworth of Stahls…
Transfers offer solutions for shops of all sizes- from home-based small businesses to multi auto print shops. Josh Ellsworth of Stahls Transfer Express, Stan Banks of T-Shirt Side Hustle and Jason Murphy of Sanmar talk in detail about how transfers and a heat press are valuable tools for shops of any and every size in…
