Course Outline

This event is for small business owners who would like to increase peoples awareness of their business by building their own brand and producing their own merchandise.

During the day we will provide you with a small number of mugs, t-shirts and other merchandise for you to practice creating your brand image. Additional items can be purchased from us at very competitive prices.

Tea, Coffee, Squash and Biscuits will be provided. Please bring your own lunch.

Pre-Requisites

It is assumed you already have a company logo in a JPEG, PNG or SVG format. This course is not about designing you logo but more about taking that logo and looking at creating merchandise that builds on your small business brand.

Dye Sublimation

Dye Sublimation is a process where a digital image is printed onto dye sublimation paper. On heating at high temperature the ink turns to a gas which is then sublimated onto polyester or polyester resin coated products.

Examples of items that can be typically dye sublimated include T-Shirts, Sweat Shirts, Coffee Mugs, Drinks Bottles, Mouse Mats, Clipboards, Scarves, Ties, Bags and Sports Clothing.

A dye sublimation printer uses the C(Cyan)M(Magenta)Y(Yellow)K(Black) color model. Because it does not use the color white dye sublimation is best done on light colours.

Direct to Film (DTF)

Direct to Film is often shorted to DTF which is a process where a special inkjet printer prints onto DTF film. A white layer is sometimes added followed my a hot melt powder. The film is then dried before the designs can be cut out and heat pressed onto fabric. As this process allows for the printing of white ink it can be used on many fabrics including cotton, polyester or cotton/polyester mixes and can be used to produce images on dark fabric.

At the moment we do not do our DTF printing inhouse, instead we use a specialist supplier of gang sheets. A gang sheet is a large sheet usually one metre long. It’s width can vary from supplier to supplier but is often half a metre or more wide. We use a gang sheet template to lay out all our images in the most space saving way we can.

During the day we will show you how to create/modify artwork and put it on a gang sheet to be printed externally onto film.

Working with a Heat Press and Mug Press

A Heat Press can be used with Dye Sublimation and with Direct to Film (DTF) to adhere your artwork to your clothing or fabric.

A Mug Press is used to Dye Sublimate your artwork to mugs or drink bottles.

We have a selection of elements available with our tumbler/mug press which allows you to dye sublimate a variety of mug and drink bottle sizes.

UVDTF Transfers (Ultraviolet Direct to Film):

UVDTF is similar to DTF but it uses Ultraviolet light to cure the ink onto the film.

UV DTF printing is typically used on glass, mirrors, metal and other hard surfaces. Unlike DTF the transfers do not need a heat press to adhere it to the surface they are being applied to.

Embroidery and Embroidery Patches