Top It Off – A Little Out of the Ordinary

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When it comes to golf tournaments, seems everyone gravitates towards the traditional golf cap. Be it structured, unstructured, 5-panel, 6-panel, or performance fabric, they’re all pretty much the same:

Why not mix it up a little bit and try something totally different this year, make your event the one that gets remembered for the item they’ve never received before.

How about a straw hat, ala Greg Norman?



Choose from a variety of styles and colored hatbands to fit your event. Bands can be embroidered or screen printed.

A hat like this won’t likely get tossed in that stack of caps in the closet. Every time the recipient puts it on, they will be reminded of the great time they had at your golf event!

And that’s what marketing is all about!

Camo + Activewear = Fun Performance

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Camo-themed items has been a hot design trend the past couple years. From coolies and tumblers to hats and bags, it seems to be everywhere.

Now, new for 2015, camo is taken a step further:  incorporated into trendy, fashionable designs in active and sportswear, from our favorite warehouse supplier, Sanmar.

They’ve rolled out a new line called Camohex – a sublimated digital camo design which uses hexagons in a tonal pattern. Available in a variety of colors on several styles, it’s a great way to update your activewear look.

All items are moisture-wicking 100% polyester – a great base for screen printing or heat transfer imprints.  And with a variety of colors, there’s plenty of options available. The tees make a great alternative to standard tshirts. Tagless and lightweight, they perform wonderfully for runs or special events.

Sport Tek Camohex Colorblock Hoodies
Sport Tek Youth Camohex Tee

 

Sport Tek Camohex Ladies Tees
Sport Tek Camohex Tees
Sport Tek Camohex Hoodies
Sport Tek Camohex Caps

Wear Tested – The Softest Sweatshirt You’ll Ever Own

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What says fall more than a soft, comfy sweatshirt? We ran across one that can’t be beat.

Its 80% cotton/20% poly brushed-back jersey fleece makes you feel like you’re wrapped up in your favorite plush blanket. And like Goldilock’s porridge, it’s medium weight of 7oz is just right.

Add a tagless label, rib v-notch and locker patch, and your run-of-the-mill sweatshirts just can’t compete. We can’t say enough about how much we love this particular sweatshirt.


 

And, to top it off, it comes in 3 styles:  Crewneck, Pullover Hoodie, and Full-Zip Hoodie.

 

We also love this creative decoration – laser tech patch appliqué.
Tech patch is a flexible, smooth, vinyl-like material that can be laser cut to any shape.
It’s thickness creates a 3D look, which when used in an outlined shape as shown below,
creates a truly unique look.
Combine it with embroidery, and you can really have a custom look.

Wear Tested – The “Not for Polo-Wearing Women” Polo

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I am NOT a polo-person. No, not someone who plays polo, but one of many women who don’t like wearing polos. Being in this industry, I see a lot of polos. I see a lot of polos I think look nice. But try as I might, whenever I put one on, I just feel like I should be headed out to the golf course. It’s just not a shirt style I find fits with MY style.

However, I did just recently try out a new style from Sanmar, that I can truthfully say, is now one of my favorite shirts. Never did I think I’d have a polo that made it’s way not only out of my closet, but one I would find myself wanting to wear almost weekly.

What made the difference? A few key things:

L558 Fine Stripe Ladies Polo

 

  • It doesn’t scream “POLO SHIRT.” The raglan sleeves with ruching give it style women will appreciate. It’s not a man’s shirt.
  • The fabric is soft, light, but not too light, and stretchy.
  • It’s got a contoured silhouette so no more boxy men’s look.
  • The fine stripes give it a rich look.
  • A self fabric collar make it dressier looking than your typical ribbed collar.
  • Its longer length hits just right and doesn’t ride up.
  • Looks great with dressier pants or jeans.

 

K558 Fine Stripe Men’s Polo

This style also comes with a companion men’s style, which looks and performs just as well. The combination of the two would make a great addition to any employee apparel program or purchases you might have coming up. When buying corporate apparel, you want your employees to look great and feel good about what they are wearing. This definitely fits both of those needs.

For a little more creative touch, think about decorating a small icon on the collar or sleeve in a tone-on-tone thread, instead of the usual left chest. Keeping the decoration professional yet unobtrusive ensures the item will be worn more than just around the office.

Check out all the available colors and more details:  Click here for More Info

Heat Seal Decorating

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Everyone’s used embroidery for decorating polos, bags, jackets and other items, but have you ever considered, or even heard of heat seal as an alternative?

At first listen, heat seal may conjure up memories of tshirt imprinting of the past – those thick, plasticy transfer imprints that would crack and peel over time. Today’s heat seal or transfers are much more durable and offer a variety of materials.

Heat seal is an excellent option for full-color graphics with great detail. If you’ve got a complicated logo or one with many colors, digital heat seal transfers are a very cost effective solution. Often heat transfer can be a less expensive option than embroidery, especially for imprints with lots of detail or solidly-filled areas.

Transfers are usually digitally printed on a transfer paper or onto printable heat transfer material which is then heat sealed or pressed to the fabric. Photo-quality images can be reproduced for unlimited options.

In addition, since the transfers can be applied to practically any location on an item (as long as it can lie flat), the options are endless for a more creative approach to decorating.

Locations
Consider these ideas for imprint locations:  pockets, hem, collar, upper back shoulder, sides, trim areas, or shoulder tops. You are only limited by the ability to lay the heat transfer flat for pressing.

Materials
There are a variety of heat seal materials available such as glitter, reflective, rhinestones, sequins, foil, felt, and twill.

Ask about using heat seal decoration as an option on your next apparel project. We’ll brainstorm with you to come up with some unique and creative ways to make your apparel stand out from the rest of the crowd.

 

Cotton Prices on the Rise…Again

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An article released today by www.business-standard.com details the rise of cotton prices over the past two months. Apparel manufacturers were waiting to see if prices would fall or stabilize, but instead, have seen an upward tick in pricing, causing them to consider 10-15% increases to apparel.

In the promotional products business, we see the effects of such price increases mainly in the week-to-week costs of tshirts. Tshirts are considered a commodity item, and pricing can fluctuate wildly when cotton pricing is unstable. This can cause it to be extremely difficult to hold pricing on quotes for longer than a week or two.

At The Creative J, we have many sources for our blank apparel, which help us to keep your costs down. When quoting apparel pricing, we search through a multitude of vendors to find the best current pricing so we can pass the savings on to our customers. You can be assured that the price we quote has been thoroughly researched by the time it reaches your eyes.

Click here to read more about the current cotton situation.

 

Make it Soft to the Touch

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Tshirts have become an integral part of today’s fashions, and a common item for companies to advertise or promote their business or brand. One of the popular trends in tshirt design is to use softer materials and imprinting methods that are soft to the touch. The goal is to have an imprint that doesn’t feel like a plastic sticker, but retains the softness of the material as much as possible.

At The Creative J, we have numerous imprinting and decorating techniques available which gives us the ability to offer our customers unique and memorable ways to design their apparel. To achieve an imprint which retains that soft, almost worn feel, even when the design covers a lot of area, there are three main methods to use. Below are some of the options and details about each:

No Underbase

Using regular Plastisol inks without an underbase can achieve a more worn look with a slightly softer feel.

Final Appearance
Depending on the color of the shirt and the ink colors being used, the imprint can have a vintage/worn look with a slightly softer feel since there is not a layer of white underneath. There will still be a detectable imprint to the touch.

Detail
Imprints will retain their detail within the limits of standard screenprinting.

Cost
Either the same or a bit less in some cases than standard printing.

Minimum Quantities
No restrictions other than those for standard printing (usually 12, depending on imprint colors and locations)

Fashion Base

An additive is mixed with regular Plastisol inks to achieve a softer feel. After washing the shirt, you won’t be able to feel the imprint.

Final Appearance
The imprint will have a more transparent, washed-out look, which will allow the color of the shirt to show through. For this reason, printing a dark imprint on a dark shirt will not work as well since the shirt color will overtake the imprint color. However, if printing a lighter color on a dark shirt, the imprint will have the worn, distressed look of a vintage tshirt.

 

Fashion Base Print

Detail
Since Plastisol inks hold good detail, imprints will retain their detail in finer areas.

Cost
A bit more per imprint color and placement than standard inks, but still an affordable option.

Minimum Quantities
Since inks need to be specially mixed and cannot be saved for later use, there is a minimum of 48 pieces.


Water Base Inks

These inks have a softer hand to them then standard Plastisol inks and has a softer look to the imprint also (colors will not be as bright).

Final Appearance
The imprint will be a bit more transparent than standard inks and does not print well on white underbases, so works best on white or light colors. Pantone colors will appear a bit lighter than they appear in color books, so if you want bright, vibrant colors, waterbase is not the direction to go.

Detail
Since the ink has a tendency to dry more quickly, there can be a loss of detail in some fine areas.

Cost
Usually no extra cost to run waterbased inks.

Minimum Quantities
No higher minimums than standard printing.

Discharge Ink

Discharge ink is the process and waterbased ink used for dark garments. It’s extremely soft when compared to standard inks. It uses a chemical which bleaches the dye from the garment before depositing the ink pigment on the material.

 

Final Appearance
After washing, the imprint will feel just like the garment’s material. Imprint colors can be vibrant since the garment color does not show through the ink. Only SOME 100% cotton garments will work for this process. Some rich colors such as royal blue, red, purple, etc. can be very unpredictable as the inks can become contaminated by the shirt dye. When used on the right type of garment, it has a wonderfully soft and vibrant appearance.

Detail
Since these are waterbased inks, fine details may appear soft or fill in some due to drying issues.

Cost
Due to the special mixing of inks with chemicals, they must be used right after mixing. In addition, the chemicals tend to break down the screens, which depending on the size of the order, can require additional screens. Therefore, the cost for discharge is much higher than standard inks. You can figure an extra $.60-$.75 per imprint color, per location for discharge.

Minimum Quantities
Due to the factors above, discharge printing using requires a minimum of 72 pieces or more.

Using the methods above, along with other techniques and decoration methods, we can help you to create a tshirt design that will stand out from the rest.

Zockets in Your Pockets

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No, it’s not a Dr. Seuss book, it’s what our favorite apparel company, Vantage, calls their embroidery pockets – Zockets!

What are embroidery pockets? They are a feature usually specific to apparel that is made to decorate. It’s a hidden zippered pocket, usually found on items such as jackets which have a lining. In order to embroider a jacket without going through the lining, and having the backing show, the Zocket allows the embroiderer to open the lining.
After the embroidery is completed, zipping the pocket hides the embroidery backing, leaving nothing showing but the lining.
In addition, Vantage’s Zocket also doubles as a functional inside pocket – a feature most other brands don’t have. (Usually the embroidery pocket is just an opening to lining, allowing anything you put in it to fall to the bottom.)
When ordering apparel such as jackets that have lining, it’s always good to check on how the embroidery will look on the inside of the jacket. If the jacket does not have a lining or it does, but no embroidery pocket, you will see the backing of the embroidery. The only other option is to have the embroiderer rip out the lining seam, then sew it back up – which can be costly and create the possibility of damaging the apparel.

Laser Etching – Decorating Methods #1

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Since there’s so many decorating methods for apparel, in addition to the standard embroidery and screenprinting, I thought it might be a good idea to talk about some of them.

One of our favorite decorating methods is laser etching. Instead of adding something to the apparel, like stitching with embroidery or ink with screenprinting, laser etching actually changes the fabric’s surface. The result differs depending on the type of fabric it’s applied.
For a quick little video showing a fleece being etched, click here.
On most laser etching, you’ll want to stay away from fabrics that are really dark in color, like black or navy, as the effect will not show up well on those colors, since the imprint takes on a tone-on-tone look for most applications.
Fleece fabric probably creates the most dramatic effect since the laser actually etches part of the top layer away. This leaves a 3 dimensional effect for the imprint. It can be really dramatic when used as a full imprint on a blanket or the back of a fleece jacket or pullover.
On wovens or knits, the effect is more subtle, usually darkening the fabric color a bit to create a tone-on-tone look. Since it is a more subtle effect, it offers the ability to be more creative with placement and sizing as the imprint can then become part of the design of the apparel. One example would be to take a graphic element from a logo, enlarge it, and position it possibly at the bottom of a shirt, overlapping a zipper, or extending off the item. View some of the out-of-the-box etching placements here.
Denim creates a whole different look since the laser removes the pigment, leaving a lighter-colored imprint. This would be a very affordable way to imprint the full back of a jean jacket.
Laser etching tends to be very cost effective too. Set ups range from $0 to $32 and run charges are right in the range of embroidery, but usually don’t vary based on size. We have some items which can be ordered at just 1 piece with no set up charge — a great idea for gifts or thank you’s.
And, we offer laser etching in our online webstore – no set ups, no additional run charges, no minimums. Check it out here. Items which can be lasered include blankets, awards, glassware, sportswear, jackets and more.

The Wicking Myth – Performance Fabrics

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What are “performance fabrics?” These are fabrics which are engineered to offer some special feature, usually moisture-wicking capabilities.

Most moisture wicking fabrics are comprised of dual layers, usually an inner layer which wicks the moisture from the skin and an outer layer which allows the moisture to evaporate quickly.
This helps to keep the wearer drier and more comfortable, especially during activities such as golf or running.

 

There is a wide variety of performance fabrics in the industry and not all of them perform equally. One of our favorite brands, Vantage, tests every lot of their fabrics to make sure they meet their standards for moisture management. We really recommend their apparel not only for their quality standards, but also for their great style and price points for every budget. View them all here: Vantage Performance Apparel
Here’s a great little video they’ve put together which explains the wicking process: Wicking Test Video

Our customers who have purchased these products have responded enthusiastically about how well these shirts work at keeping them comfortable and dry, even when working outside most of the day.
Here’s our happy customers from Bellevue University at a recent golf outing, wearing their Vantage polos. All smiles!!