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Reflections at the End of the Trade Show Season – Part II

By Rick Roth

Here is my second post, some refections as the busy trade show season is mostly over.

The biggest trends of the past ten years have been related to digital printing and to concerns about the effects of printing and garments on the environment. Developments in the environmental realm seem to have slowed down, but still do continue and I assure you they will not stop. We have to find increasingly safe and sustainable ways to do our work. Digital printing continues to innovate and to grow.

The next round of developments in our industry are going to be in the area of systems. You may be able to print one shirt at a time quickly, however you will eventually find a bottleneck not in the time it takes to print, but rather in the time it takes to transfer information. What print, what garment, and where is it going? How are those payments going to be processed? The rise of companies like Jakprints that process thousands of orders accurately is the future and the future is here now. Much of that happens on the back end, which is not a particularly photogenic area, so I don’t have many photos in what follows.

With that commentary, I’ll now get into what I do have photos of. Thanks to Ashley Marie Myers and Pam Ikegami who took quite a few of these photos.

Companies like pulse for embroidery and Kornit for Direct to Garment printing are increasingly both providing easy interfaces for users and systems for the rapid process of orders.
Companies like pulse for embroidery and Kornit for Direct to Garment printing are increasingly both providing easy interfaces for users and systems for the rapid process of orders.
MHM's Oval Press Design was one of the most unique developments in the industry. Nearly infinitely expandable, safe, and opening whole new worlds of ways you can print.
MHM’s Oval Press Design was one of the most unique developments in the industry. Nearly infinitely expandable, safe, and opening whole new worlds of ways you can print.
Kornit Direct to Garment (DTG) Presses have begun to approach the quality of screenprinting and also the effective production rates are approaching those of some types of traditional shops.
Kornit Direct to Garment (DTG) Presses have begun to approach the quality of screenprinting and also the effective production rates are approaching those of some types of traditional shops.
The Kornit Paradigm II is a unique pairing with screenprinting which allows for new creative types of soft prints done rapidly.
The Kornit Paradigm II is a unique pairing with screenprinting which allows for new creative types of soft prints done rapidly.

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Unionwear is one of several companies making garments and bags in the US of A. They are doing it well and thriving. There are consumers that care about the conditions that their products are made, and unionware's union employees are treated with respect. It not only is the right thing to do, for Unionware it is good business.
Unionwear is one of several companies making garments and bags in the US of A. They are doing it well and thriving. There are consumers that care about the conditions that their products are made, and unionware’s union employees are treated with respect. It not only is the right thing to do, for Unionware it is good business.
Want to improve your shop? A simple but effective tool is to add a Lase-It system so you can load your garments accurately. Their system is precise, accurate and most importantly easy to use.
Want to improve your shop? A simple but effective tool is to add a Lase-It system so you can load your garments accurately. Their system is precise, accurate and most importantly easy to use.

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