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Ask The Experts
By: Lisa Horn, Editor
Issue: 2005jun
From tees and fleece to polos and jackets, apparel claims the largest slice—nearly 30 percent—of the promotional products sales pie. And while some processes are relatively easy (think one-color imprint on a white tee), there truly are many complexities to selling apparel. Is a lack of product knowledge—on garment construction and decoration processes—keeping your apparel sales in a slump? Check out our experts’ answers to your most pressing apparel questions and see your sales soar.
Q: Fabric choices can add to the perceived complexity of apparel sales. What are the differences between the most popular fabrics—piqué, jersey, interlock and mercerized? Additionally, what are the best ways to decorate these fabrics?
A: David Bebon, Vice President, Capital Mercury Apparel
The promotional knit apparel market all began with the “almighty t-shirt.” Tees in 100-percent cotton and cotton/poly blends were available in a multitude of colors and were always easy to decorate.
As selection grew, the collar and placket knit shirt, generically known as the golf shirt, became more widely available in different model treatments, fabric types, colors and patterns. Today, the two basic knits are the jersey and the piqué:
The jersey is a plain stitch knitted cloth made on a circular knit machine. The jersey knit has the least amount of shrinkage of all knit stitches. It is, in fact, a very stable knit.
The piqué is a medium-weight fabric with a raised dobby design. Piqué fabric can be a single piqué with high and low stitches or possess a honeycomb effect, such as a hexagon shaped stitch.
There is a third variation of the piqué fabric, which is widely used in today’s branded knits—the birdseye piqué, a raised dobby design that incorporates alternating two-color yarns for the surface of the fabric (A and B colors). As such, the birdseye world has this surface: ABABABABAB (two alternating colors). Thus, the pattern created appears to be a “bird’s eye.”
Both the jersey and piqué knits are easy to decorate through screen printing or embroidery.
With the emergence of retail brands and golf-dedicated knitwear, our marketplace is experiencing new and exciting knits, such as jacquard. The jacquard knit is created by an intricate knitting method originally invented by Joseph Jacquard in 1801. This knit is comprised of intricate geometric patterns on the front side of the fabric, which are created by passing and tucking floats along the reverse side of the fabric. A jacquard knit machine is used to create a pattern on the face of the fabric, while “floats,” or yarns that float from one catching point to another, are passed along the back of the fabric and are tucked to the front, creating the effect. Each needle on a jacquard knit machine can be individually controlled via a computer or tape in order to make extremely intricate designs. Thus, the jacquards have provided us with a more patterned golf shirt in a market that was historically dominated by the solid knit.
In addition to the patterned knits and stripes, new knitwear fabric treatments, such as mercerized and wicking, have been introduced.
Mercerization is a finishing process used on cotton yarn and cloth that requires the use of a flame on the yarn to singe away the excess fibers. The yarn or cloth is then run through a cold, strong sodium hydroxide (caustic) solution. This caustic soda bath is the actual “mercerization” of the yarn or cloth. This treatment increases the strength and affinity of the dyes and, if done under tension, will increase the sheen and luster of the yarn/fabric.
The “performance” knit, especially in golf-dedicated brands, mainly includes knitwear created by the moisture transfer or “wicking” process, which enables the fabric to carry moisture from inside the fabric that is close to the body to the outside of the fabric so wetness will disperse and evaporate. The fabric is typically a cotton/polyester blend. The wicking process can be accomplished using two methods, either through the yarn itself with a special shaped polyester or by applying a chemical solution, which aids in the transfer of moisture from the inside to the outside of the fabric/garment.
Today’s knit offerings in our market have afforded us a much greater selection of available products. We can provide stripes, patterns, performance and special-finish knits—products found at retail and on-course pro shop arenas. These new fabrics and looks can be decorated appropriately. However, it must be kept in mind that when working with stripes and some patterned shirts, embroidered hooping must be straight and level.
Because a solid knit shirt possesses no sight lines, there can be a slightly crooked embroidered logo, which will go unnoticed. However, a striped shirt with sight lines must have a front panel embroidered logo that is hooped clearly in the center.
Q: Many people link garment quality to fabric weight—the heavier the fabric the higher the quality. Is this true? Are there benefits associated with apparel weight and decorating processes, or does it really boil down to choosing garments to meet the client’s personal preferences?
A: Ira Neaman, President, Vantage Apparel
Fabric weight plays a contributing role in garment and decoration quality, but weight is not an independent property. Weight must be partnered with fiber content, yarn type, knit or woven stitch construction and texture in addition to other considerations such as how the garment will be used. A heavy seven-ounce jersey-knit fabric would be excessive and uncomfortable for a basic t-shirt, but it is an ideal weight for year-round comfort, quality and durability in a piqué knit golf shirt.
Heavier fabric weight does not always translate into higher quality apparel. Optimum wicking and quick dry properties of technical fabrics call for lower fabric weight for best performance and comfort. Similarly, lighter weight, fine microfiber fleece is ideal for layering warmth without added weight or bulk.
Conversely, heavier fabric weight and denser thread counts can benefit fabric’s long-term durability and other performance features. Water repellency properties, wind resistance characteristics and UV protection of jackets are all improved as the fabric weight and density increase.
Fabric weight is one of many factors influencing embroidery presentation as well. Embroidery artwork must be digitized and stitch density adjusted based on the weight and texture of the fabric. A densely stitched design may overwhelm lightweight knits, loosely woven fabrics or fluid fabrics with high drape. However, dense logo designs with a high level of detail can be successfully applied to stable, medium- to heavy-weight knit and woven fabrics. Of course, digitizing for fabric weight alone will not assure the best logo presentation. Color and thread selections, backing and topping choices, well maintained embroidery equipment combined with operator experience and hooping skills, and finally, logo finishing processes are all critical considerations for optimum logo appearance and quality.
Q: Some distributors claim one of the reasons they don’t sell more apparel is that they don’t understand the artwork requirements. However, are artwork requirements for apparel significantly different from other promotional products’ decorating specifications?
A: Tom Vann, Chief Operations Officer, Target Graphics, Ltd.
The short answer is no—the art requirements do not differ significantly for apparel than for other promotional products. Regardless of the product you intend to decorate, it is always a matter of quality vector or raster art.
Vector art is typical for logos since it can be re-sized without any change in final resolution. Typical vector files are Adobe Illustrator (.ai) and Corel Draw (.cdr). Raster art is the image type you have after a scan or digital photo and will decrease in resolution when enlarged. It is usually used for four-color process photos and illustrations, but raster art can be converted to vector with a little graphic work—if the image is not photographic. Typical raster files are Photoshop (.psd), .jpg, .gif, .tif and .bmp. As for the highly regarded .eps file, it means nothing until opened by the supplier since it can contain vector and/or raster images.
Regardless, artwork does not need to be designed specifically for apparel—the same rules apply in relation to image quality and resolution for all suppliers, with the exception of size. Vector art will not pose a problem with size, but a small raster image, such as a logo sized to three inches and saved as a jpeg, may work on a magnet, but the image would look horrible at 12-inches wide on a t-shirt. The bottom line: follow the PPAI sm@rt Artwork Guidelines and the art will work for a variety of products. It is up to the supplier to tailor the art to its specific needs.
Q: I’ve heard of sublimation, but I’m not sure what it is. How is this decoration technique used with apparel?
A: Norm Bishop, President, Bishop Garment Company
Sublimation is a decorating process that achieves the permanent permeation of dye into the fabric of a garment (instead of lying on top of the fabric as in the silk-screening process), eliminating the “hand” or feel of the decoration on the apparel. Other benefits of the sublimation process include the vivid coloration that the process achieves when compared to other techniques, and the fact that the process does not affect the breathability of the fabric in the garment. Sublimation can only be done on white or very light colored 100-percent polyester. The sublimation process is essential when there is a need to cover large areas of an apparel item with an image.
The printing process goes something like this: using the actual pattern for the various garment pieces to be printed, an image layout sheet is created. This sheet is translated into single or multi-colored printing films and then to printed paper. Pre-cut and graded fabric panels are then imaged through a rotary heat drum. The fabric pieces are laid into the printed sheet as required by the image layout. Specified time, temperature and pressure are calibrated to transfer the ink to fabric. At the completion of the process, the panels are ready to be sewn into garments. Because the printing takes place before sewing, distributors need to work with a custom manufacturer familiar with this process.
However, sublimation can also be accomplished on finished garments with location prints on a flatbed press. The advantages in this case are not as significant as with printing entire panels, as other processes such as screening maybe more cost effective with location prints on polyester. The economics of print methodology are reasonably complex and require in-depth analysis.
Sublimation is most commonly seen in sports-related apparel items such as bicycle and hockey jerseys that require an all-over print. It can be accented with other types of decoration—appliqués with tackle twill or embroidery over the top of the sublimated fabric—without any negative affects to the sublimated decoration.
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