The ever-changing retail market has driven the apparel decorating industry to continuously change and evolve. Over the last decade, consumers have demanded retailers be socially and environmentally conscious of how products are manufactured. Retailers have become keenly aware of outside pressures and, as a result, mandated their manufacturing partners to meet compliance requirements in order to maintain the business relationship. 
Initially, phthalates and heavy metals had to be removed from plastisols inks. The result was a phthalate-free, non-toxic plasticizer that ended up as a substitution to the traditional plasticizers. The next wave of change was the PVC-free initiative. Major textile brands put the pressure on ink manufacturers to produce inks that were free of phthalates, heavy metals, and now polyvinyl chlorides. At the same time inks were evolving, so were the garments themselves. The days of 100 percent cotton garments controlling the marketplace were quickly disappearing. Performance wear was now becoming a standard part of the garment decorating landscape. As a result, the inks being used had to change as well. With the changing landscape, water-based inks were becoming the preferred method to meet these new requirements. Textile decorators were beginning to offer several options to produce decorated apparel on a variety of substrates and fabric compositions.

Are you frustrated by your employees lack of achieving stated goals, missing deadlines or keeping to an on-time production schedule?  Your people promise things and then don’t deliver.  Mistakes keep happening and the only answer is a lame shrug of the shoulders. The year is already half over and most of the top goals that you set in December or January aren’t even started yet. You name it.  There is a problem.
Some days you just want to pull your hair out.  
Here are five tips that you can use to push your crew into a better, more efficient mindset that delivers the accountability your shop needs to grow.  Get some actionable change started today!

There are a few ways create a security mark - something that isn't obvious to the naked eye but can be pointed out or revealed when an authentication is required - on a screen-printed garment or image. 

New article from Marshall Atkinson at Atkinsontshirt.com. Last week the Department of Labor officially announced the new FLSA overtime exemption salary cap at $47,476.  This rule is going to force many shops to choose between raising the salary of certain employees or granting them overtime pay.
This new ruling is expected to affect about 15 million workers in the United States.  Previously, companies could get away with not paying overtime by stating that the employee was an executive or manager, and not covered by the law regarding overtime.  Companies could have employees work over 40 hours not not have to pay them for their extra time just by citing they were executives.  In the decorated apparel industry, many “managers” actually handle a lot of the daily work load as well.

The print demands of today’s fashion trends continue to grow as consumers want more customization and uniqueness to the apparel they wear. As the demand grows, so has ink technology to create diverse effects that provide new and distinctive graphics. If you’re interested in learning more about special effects and how to print them, join Nazdar SourceOne and MagnaColours on Wednesday, June 15.

While owning your shop's equipment outright can be beneficial, it can be a major investment to start out with. As an alternative, some business owners and start-up entrepreneurs are choosing equipment leasing as their choice for financing their equipment. 

A statement once uttered by J. Paul Getty was “If it appreciates in value, buy it. If it depreciates in value, lease it.” This information still holds true today. While leasing your equipment may be more convenient than buying machines outright, the financing used to acquire the essential equipment could have a dramatic effect on your company’s bottom line, so it's good to be aware of the pros and cons. 

New article from Marshall Atkinson at Atkinsontshirt.com. Don’t look now, but you are being robbed blind and you don’t even know it.  This particular thief is sneaky, devious, and is virtually invisible.
If you could somehow make out the face of this culprit, would you recognize it?  Maybe.  Maybe not.
Here’s a tip: the thief has hands, but no arms.  He lacks a head, but has a face without eyes.  He can run, but never walks.  Sound familiar yet?
The thief is time, and looks like a clock.
Everyday in your shop, regardless of size, time is against you.  The better you manage your time, the more profitable the company will be.  Have you ever stopped to think about how your shop manages time or squeezes more into the day?
Probably.  Does this happen continuously?  Probably not.
If you kept better track of hidden time wasters though, maybe you could see the correlation between time and money.  This is worth training your staff to recognize it too.
Here are some thoughts on managing and saving time in your shop.  After all, time’s a wastin’…let’s get to it!

Along with the specialty-ink evolution, it's interesting to see how the advances or applications of other technologies have helped screen-printing industry veterans get where they are today. 
With new fabrics available on the market, ink suppliers are stepping up to the plate to offer new, enhanced products that enable decorators to make full use of their skills. Specialty printing has opened the door to innovative printing techniques, with customers enjoying the benefit of having garments with unique prints they previously couldn't attain. And printers, of course, profit from the diversification they can offer. 
Today's screen printers have many choices to add to their arsenals when it comes to ink, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming or complicated. Let's look at two ink types that currently are trending in the marketplace.

New article from Marshall Atkinson at Atkinsontshirt.com.

Almost to a shop, the decorated apparel industry is comprised of dedicated self-starters that make up this 

entrepreneurial industry.  People just like you.
You get up everyday and come into your shop.  Coffee is on.  Challenges are ahead of you.  You are ready to face the day.  What are you going to tackle next?
Some shops are lucky in that they have a great staff, awesome employees, and a great supply chain to back them up.  They do all the right things. Customers love them.  Their staff loves them.  The bottom line loves them.
Other shops struggle.

This article by Kieth Stevens, recently published in the April 2016 issue of Impressions Magazine is Part 1 of a 2-part article.  We’ll publish Part 2 later:
When it comes to screen printing — specifically inks — I am often asked, “What’s new?” or “What’s trending?” My initial thoughts are, “What has been forgotten?” or “What hasn’t the customer seen?”
Then, I reflect on discussions I’ve recently had with customers, what I’ve seen in stores and what I’ve discussed with our research-and-development department.The answers often are easy, but sometimes they’re not, because as soon as I think I have an understanding or clue of what’s ahead, I’m blindsided by what I see on the streets or retail racks.