Where the action is

When the UK’s only show dedicated to the garment decoration and promotional product decoration industry, Printwear and Promotion Live, opens its doors at the NEC, Birmingham on February 26th, more than 150 exhibitors, including over 20 first time exhibitors, will be showcasing their products and services.

Now in its 28th year, and owned and organised by Datateam Business Media since 2003, the show opened on a Sunday for the first time in 2005 and has grown substantially since then. With over 5,500 visitors attending the 2015 and 2016 shows, 2017 sees a move into the larger Hall 20 to accommodate its continued growth.

Event director, Tony Gardner explains: “The garment decoration industry is very buoyant at present, with a lot of garment decorators experiencing growth in their own businesses; so, after a period of growth over the last four to five years, we have moved halls to enable the show to grow further. Hall 20 has enabled the show to grow by a further 5 percent on the 2016 show.”

“Printwear and Promotion Live has developed to become a source of inspiration and advice for the thousands of visitors who attend and return year on year to enjoy all the show has to offer,” continues Gardner, who adds: “The garment decoration industry is a very exciting place to be at the moment and is certainly a market area worth investing in for those in the sign industry looking to grow their own business and bottom line.”


This statement is clearly endorsed by both new and regular visitors to Printwear and Promotion Live. Following the 2016 show, visitor Connor Beckworth, co-director at Chaos Print comments: “I have visited the show before and use it to find new suppliers. We were looking at investing in a new embroidery machine and the show provided us with the opportunity to compare options.”

Regular visitors Neville and Marilyn Jelfs, proprietor and embroiderer of Acorn Creative also weighs in: “We come to the show most years and always find it useful. We come to make sure that what we are doing in the business is being done right and to see what is new. It is great to visit because everybody is under one roof, which enables us to talk to suppliers as well as to touch and feel new products. We also come to seek advice on machinery.”

First time visitor, John Marshall, owner of Direct Print Deliver, also affirms: “The reason I came was to seek out new ideas about how to improve the business. I was looking at different methods of decoration that I could introduce into the business, such as embroidery, as we are looking at expanding the T shirt decoration side of the business. I am glad we came and would make sure that we come again.” 

Watch and learn

As well as the main event itself, there are many additional features and specialist areas to watch out for, where you can gain knowledge and insights, pick up useful hints and tips, and talk directly to experts.

The Screen Print Workshop is making a return in 2017 and will have plenty to offer for novices and experts alike.



A new feature at the 2016 show, it was very well supported, with one visitor commenting: “Having listened to various seminars in the Screen Print Workshop, we now realise that training is vital. As a new venture, we will be allocating a suitable budget to ensure that our printers are trained properly at the outset.”

Topics this year include artwork exposure, choosing the correct ink for the right job and a guide to emulsion selection. Another area that is always popular with visitors is the Seminar Suite.

“This is a first-class source of free inspiration and advice provided by industry experts from across the world,” observes Gardner, who adds: “Sectors covered include embroidery direct to garment printing, sublimation printing and marketing.”


Seminar programme presentations will also include an introduction to design software, harnessing print on demand, fine tuning for embroidery and superior sublimation for apparel. After each session delegates will have the opportunity to ask the industry experts any questions they may have.

The fashion show, sponsored by Regatta, will also showcase the latest printwear styles for 2017 from the industry’s leading suppliers. Models will take to the stage wearing selected leisure-wear, sportswear, and hospitality wear, enabling visitors to see how the garments move in a lively and upbeat manner.

Also returning for 2017 is the Bag and Headwear Decoration Advice Stand, sponsored by Beechfield Brands. Bags, hats, and caps are notoriously difficult items to decorate and the experts on the stand will provide plenty of advice for anyone looking to learn more about this area.
 
Showing up

Featured among this year’s 150 plus exhibitors will be Grafityp UK, The Magic Touch, Stocks Sewing and Embroidery Services, Exile Technologies, Adelco Screen Process, and Dalesway Print Technology.

Grafityp UK will be exhibiting its range of Siser garment transfer films for both plotter cutting and printing. These extensive ranges comprise films with numerous properties for application onto a variety of fabrics, and for a whole host of applications. There is also a range of Forever transfer papers for application onto light and dark fabrics for use on inkjet and laser printers and also copiers, including white toner machines.


The company will also be exhibiting cutting plotters from leading manufacturers such as GCC and Roland, with the latter showcasing the very latest in Roland print and cut machines and UV printers to print directly onto all manner of objects, a full selection of heat presses from Siser and Stahls, and laser engraving machinery from LaserPro. Laser engravers can also be used to engrave and cut a variety of materials as well as for certain garment films or for direct engraving onto fabrics.



“Printwear and Promotion Live is one of the key exhibitions for Grafityp and we have displayed our products at this event for many years,” says sales director, Neil Stevenson. He adds: “It has always been a very successful place to showcase our products as well as providing the opportunity to meet existing and new prospective customers, offer samples, provide demonstrations and offer valuable advice. There will be demonstrations of our materials and machinery carried out for the duration of the show to enable visitors to ascertain the benefits of our range.”



The Magic Touch will be introducing a selection of innovative and affordable image transfer solutions that offer new sales and marketing opportunities. For over 25 years the company has developed solutions for most aspects of garment and non-textile promotional product decoration and this year will see the introduction of new transfer papers incorporating the new white-toner technology. These include the award winning RST paper for ‘rough’ surfaces and the new T.One and T.Foil products for creating eye-catching effects on garments, bags, and most textile applications.



Under the Dyesub Magic brand, The Magic Touch also offers the latest in sublimation technology as acknowledged platinum partners of Sawgrass Technologies, and the company’s existing range of Magi Cut flex, flock and garment vinyls offer a comprehensive range of over 200 different colours and styles.



“Consider The Magic Touch as an important addition to your sales and marketing that enables targeted personalised samples for both existing and prospective clients to be easily produced for evaluation,” advocates managing director, Jim Nicol. He adds: “Pro-active marketing is very rewarding, cost effective and assists in building improved customer profiles.”

Stocks Embroidery and Sewing

Solutions, the sole UK supplier for ZSK embroidery machinery, will be introducing the new ZSK Racer 1XL 24 needle embroidery machine. This latest member of the popular ZSK Racer tubular machine series is available with from one up to eight embroidery heads and offers 24 colour/needles and a wide embroidery field of 650 x 700mm. It is suitable for all applications which need a larger embroidery field in combination with more colours than the standard twelve, such as producers of flags, banners, or just the rising demand of online-shop systems.

O Factoid: The era of custom t-shirts began in the early 1950s, when several companies in Miami, Florida started decorating t-shirts with the names of local resorts and other tourist attractions.  O

The Racer 1XL can also be used in the standard embroidery functions, such as border frame, cap or tubular mode, and the change between these different functions is fast and easy. “It is equipped with the thinnest tubular arm of the industry, measuring at just 43 x 44.3mm, offering more possibilities to enter into tiny tubular objects than other single head embroidery machines,” points out director Andrew Stocks.

Alongside the Racer 1XL will be the ZSK Racer 4S and the Racer 6S, the four and six head embroidery machines from the Racer series, and the much loved ZSK Sprint 6 single head embroidery machine.

“Engineered and built in Germany, all ZSK embroidery machines are assembled with the best reputation in the market for precision, reliability and resilience,” Stocks adds, continuing: “Whether you are starting your new embroidery business, or looking to upgrade or add to your existing machinery, ZSK embroidery equipment combined with Stocks’ expert knowledge and experience within the industry will take you to the level your production requires.”

Exile Technologies will be focusing on its computer to screen imaging technologies by showcasing the Free Styler and Spyder II Direct to Screen systems.


In addition the company will be showing the Techsetter 2 Thermal film Imagesetter for Flexo, PAD, and high-end screen printing applications that require high quality film positives or negatives.

“As a long time exhibitor, we value the opportunity that Printwear and Promotion Live gives us to access the UK specialist printing marketplace. By putting all the major equipment suppliers together in one place, the exhibition gives printing industry professionals a unique opportunity to see the latest technology in one place,” asserts managing director Mark Evans.


Adelco Screen Process will be showing the Kornit Storm Hexa for the first time at Printwear and Promotion Live.

“This latest twin pallet six colour plus white DTG printer from Kornit is almost twice the speed of its predecessor,” elaborates Adelco sales administrator, Deborah Terry. She adds: “It creates vivid prints with six colour, CMYK plus red and green ink channels and has an ink recirculation mechanism that increases system uptime and reduces maintenance and ink wastage.  It comes fitted with online pre-treatment, in-built climate control and the lowest DTG print costs on the market.”



Also on display will be the Kornit Breeze entry level machine. “In addition, we will be showing our world leading Ecotex Plus Gas Fired conveyor dryers, the most advance textile curing system on the market with the lowest running costs available,” Terry continues.

Alongside these will be the Adelco range of automatic drawer dryers, including the three drawer model, which can also be utilised as a stand for most makes of DTG printers, and the six drawer model with high curing capacity.

Both models are space saving options whilst offering an optimum quality of cure and finished printed product.

Following what the company describes as ‘two hugely successful shows’ in 2015 and 2016, Dalesway Print Technology will once again be showing the Vastex range of screen-printing machinery at Printwear in 2017. Visitors who have never screen printed before will be able to see entry-level, ultra-compact equipment that can be used for a professional start in the industry as well as the premium range offered by Vastex.

“Across the range, Vastex offers precision engineering that gives the user a press that can produce professional quality prints all day long without the need to scrap shirts because registration was lost, hence requiring the machine to be repeatedly setup which of course wastes time and money,” states managing director Andrew Stocking.



Dalesway’s master screen printer, Douglas Grigar, will be presenting seminars with live demonstrations on various topics in the adjacent dedicated screen printing workshop.

“As a consultant and educator, Douglas teaches a screen printing class that is unrivalled in the UK marketplace and this is a unique opportunity to sample his talents,” Stocking says proudly, adding: “If you are thinking of diversifying your company, a visit to the screen printing workshop and Dalesway Print Technology will enable you to see how easily you can add another profit centre to your business.”

Great expectations

So how can sign-makers and print-serviceproviders expect to benefit from a visit to Printwear and Promotion Live, in terms of discovering new opportunities to enhance or diversify their offering?

“For sign-makers wishing to diversify into other printing technologies Printwear and Promotion Live is a great opportunity to see all the latest product innovations in one place,” says Exile Technologies’ Evans.

Grafityp’s Stevenson concurs: “The show offers many new opportunities for customers to look at the ease with which they can diversify in new directions, whether it is moving into garment transfers for workwear, leisure wear, sports kits etc. to offer alongside their current business model, or just looking for new and exciting products.

“Garment decoration is an easy add-on for any sign-maker or print service provider,” event director Gardner suggests, who goes on to explain: “Most will find that if a customer has come to them for their sign services, they will be able to up sell other promotional materials to that customer if they offer other decoration services —for example, a work uniform or mugs to promote their services and company. This saves the customer from having to source their promotional materials from multiple companies.”


He continues: “A sign-maker or print-service-provider will be able to get started in the industry quite easily with a sublimation printer and a heat press or a direct to garment printer at relatively low cost, and return on investment will quickly be seen. Exhibitors of interest here will include The Magic Touch, Amaya Sales UK, Resolute DTG, GS UK, Nova Chrome UK, Xpres and many more besides. There are many new and innovative products being demonstrated at the show for the first time to help sign-makers and print service providers to branch out into the garment decoration and promotion product industry.”

Printwear and Promotion Live is certainly a great place to learn more about the garment decoration and promotional product decoration industry, and any sign-maker or print-service-provider looking to expand their business will have abundant opportunities to garner more information about this buoyant industry at what promises to be the biggest show yet.



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