Thursday, February 9, 2023
At the conference, attendance was high Impressions Expo, held Jan. 19–22 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif. “The response and turnout has been great,” said Impressions Show Director Russ Turner, who added, “There’s awesome energy and buzz on the show floor—we’re back and happy to be here.”
There were many innovations and game-changers among 250 imprint-industry companies that displayed the most up-to-date in screen-printing, digital design and embroidery as well direct-to garment and direct to film software programs and apparel.
“This is a great show for us,” said Damir Gajiani, president of the Anaheim, Calif.–based Tees Styled, who added, “We’ve had so much success with our industry-trending 9-oz. T-shirts that we’ve expanded into tank tops and long sleeves. We’re also offering pigment washes and acid washes and will soon launch a youth line.”
The Torrance, Calif.–based Next Level Apparel The company received an overwhelming response to its soft-wash collection. It uses a proprietary treatment that gives shirts a vintage-look garment-dyed or pigmented look.
L.A.-based Behind the Scenes ApparelThe premium-blank company exhibited a variety of colors from its high-fashion garment-dyed product line. “This is the first time we’re here, and it’s been really good to connect with people and to show them our sensational high-fashion tees and hoodies,” said General Manager Daniel Oh. “Who doesn’t want to create their own colors?”
A big supplier of blanks in the decorated market is Bowling Green, Ky.–based Fruit of the LoomThe new colors included frost heather, blush pink and cloud blue. “A big story this year is our new fleece products such as eco fleece with recycled polyester ring-spun cotton,” said Jeff Traen, director of marketing for Fruit of the Loom, Jerzees and Russell Athletic.
L.A.-based Supacolor manufactures water-based heat transfers, a digital hybrid product that’s a versatile and speedy decorating method to print unlimited colors and gradients. “The new product film we use works like butter, and the product peels off easily and is more user-friendly to work with on all types of presses,” said Supacolor President Rum Walia.
“This is game-changing,” said Victoria Nelson Harris, senior textile segment specialist at the Suwanee, Ga.–based Mimaki USA Referring to the textile-pigment transfer paper printing Texcol by the Netherlands-based company Neenah Coldenhove. “It’s a simple heat transfer to any fabric using a waterless process—high quality, low investment,” added Nelson Harris.
“We haven’t seen this much buzz in our booth in six years,” said Winston-Salem, N.C.–based Hanes Senior Product Manager Chris Guard, referring to the company’s new PrintNOW technology. “Our Hanes pretreated 4.5-oz. The entire surface of the ring-spun shirt is pretreated. You can remove it from the box, press it once and then load it onto your direct to-garment printer. We know this is a game-changer and a huge time saver.”
“I’m impressed with the show,” said first-time attendee Marc Zimmerman, owner of the Snohomish, Wash.–based Promotions and Prints by 4Z Design. “I’m seeing a lot of stuff I didn’t know existed for decorating, including applications from my first vendor, Supacolor. The apparel and decorating methods now available are inspirational.”
The Los Alamitos, Calif.–based Epson America The DTG printer was used to produce high-volume garments. It also featured the company’s newest dye-sublimation systems (44-inch), and hybrid 2-in-1 DTG/DTF printing. Senior Product Manager Tim Check said, “This is a really cool application because the DTG printing on a fashion tee gives you a great-feeling shirt with a soft hand. It breathes and is a comfortable, amazing wash.”
Eric Holm showed off Epson’s portable SD-10 spectrophotometer, a color-measurement system that allows people to go anywhere and measure color objectively. “It’s a powerful tool to capture the actual color, which you can sync to a smartphone app and communicate those colors back to production.”