There's a New Craze Out
and it's brought renewed interest to some old screen printing
technology.
All over printing is in big demand these days and it
seems in part because of a pretty hot apparel line out there that's
flooding the malls and high end retail stores. We
get many inquiries from clients who want to be the next Affliction or
Sinful. The problem is, Nobody wants to pay their dues to be
the next big thing. The misconception is that any screen printer
can do all over printing or special effects printing, but I believe with a little
education I can expel some of the mysticism of Custom Apparel
Manufacturing.
First Thing is, Yes!
We Can Design and Manufacture for
You a Unique One Of a Kind Garment.
I have a
background in custom made apparel and to this day still have many
contacts in the garment manufacturing industry. Most of my
experience is with body building garments such as Boat Tops and Rag
Top garments, but I have designed several really cool All Over T-Shirts and
Sweat Shirts that Never Made it Past the Prototype Stage to
Manufacturing. I don't claim to be an expert, just a creative
designer. I would love to help you design and produce very
unique garments, but when it comes to
custom manufacturing shirts and apparel the first thing you should know is
your minimums.
The normal minimum of Custom Made
Items is 12 dozen and it's very difficult to find a company that
will accept orders for less. I won't entertain the thought for
any quantity less. In brutal honesty if you are not
looking to produce a sample run of at least 144 pieces, its not
profitable for anybody. The client or the manufacturer. If
money is a big issue and your funds are limited, you might have to do
like I do and break out your sewing machine and stitch your designs up
yourself or pay a long overdue visit to grandma.
FYI* Our focus is more on
the design side, while I'm not ashamed to admit I can sew, I must
confess my skills are somewhat lacking. We do not manufacture
our apparel in-house we have a professional contractor we contract out
our work to.
When prototyping, some issue you have to consider are
sizes of garments. Each size carries different measurements and
specs for cutting and sewing as well as with All Over Screen Printing.
For example, an image
printed on a small shirt needs be blown up to fit an extra large shirt
unless you've compensated for that in the art. These are all
items that need to be addressed upfront and taken into account while
designing the garment. Only after I produce several successful
samples will I send out the prototype for manufacture.
All Over Printing...
Two Basic Types... type (a) is
where the garments are printed in pieces such as front body, rear
body, left sleeve, right sleeve and then sewn together at the end.
I've also heard this process referred to as "All Over
Manufacturing." Most of this kind of work has moved south of the
border. A fact you have to accept is any manufacturing company
you find stateside will be higher than Mexican or Chinese
manufacturing. Americans just won't work as cheaply as you'd like them
to. (even if they employ cheap immigrant workers.)
Before You Consider
this Method of Garment Production, be prepared for a Minimum Run of
1200 Pieces.
Type (b) is where we print right
over seems, hoods, buttons, zippers, sleeves etc. on pre-made apparel
such as t-shirts, hoodies and whatnot. This method is cheaper than
type (a) and has lower minimums.
***When
You Consider this Method of Garment Production, be prepared for a
Minimum Run of at least 300-400 Pieces.
Private Labeling...
A big part of custom apparel
manufacturing is Private Labeling your product. That's where we
remove a standard label from say a Hanes Heavyweight T-Shirt and
Insert Your Nylon or Woven Label. Essentially we convert a
standard garment into a private labeled product with more perceived
value than any old standard garment. Your apparel is now unique
to you. This is also a great way to spot knock-offs and counterfeit
t-shirts. (Tommy Hilfiger doesn't print his logo on T-Shirts
with a Hanes or Jerzees Label.)
Private Labeling Info.
More to come...
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