EnMart Embroidery Talk

Last week I wrote a post about the fact that everything that gets printed isn’t necessarily suited for embroidery. Later in the week I was discussing the post with the owner of our company and one of our embroidery experts, who had given me a lot of the information that had gone into the original post, when she said a very wise thing. “You know,” she said to me “every logo has its niche.”

What she meant by “every logo has its niche” is that every logo has a medium that will allow it to be produced in the best way. Our challenge as decorators is to determine which method will allow the logo to shine, and then to convince the customer that method is the best way to proceed. Unfortunately, that isn’t always as easy as it should be. That’s why, sometimes, a short demonstration is in order.  In order for you to see what I mean,  I’ve provided a demonstration here in this post.

Let’s start with the original artwork.  The instructions are hand written and certain items are to be deleted from the finished product.  The artwork also uses fades and shading to define the images.   Beginning with this artwork,  most shops generally have three options for creating the finished design,  embroidery, screenprint and sublimation.   Some shops may also have the option of direct to garment printing,  but most of the advantages of sublimation are also present in direct to garment printing so, for the purposes of this discussion,  we’ll put them in the same category.

This is the original artwork as an embroidered emblem.  Fades don’t generally translate well into an embroidered design. This look may be acceptable to some customers,  but it may not be the best choice for this particular design.

This is the same artwork as a screen printed design.  The colors and clearer and the shadows are more defined.  It is a better representation of the design and would probably suit the needs of most customers.

This is the same artwork as a sublimated design.  The shadows are clearly defined and the fades are crisp.  This is a representation of the original artwork that would satisfy almost every customer.

Granted,  this is a fairly simplistic example,  and was also done using emblems,  since that is the primary product of our parent company,  but the basic message is still intact.  Each logo has a garment decoration technique that is an ideal match,  and it is our job as the experts to help our customers find that match.  The more you know about how each technique works,  and what the strengths and weaknesses are of each technique,  the better able you will be to help your customers make the right decision when it comes time to choose how their logo will be represented.

This is a somewhat different post than what I usually write.  We had an experience recently that made me realize, yet again,  why we are on Facebook and Twitter and why I spend so much time connecting with people through those venues, forums  and our blogs.   I wanted to share that experience with you, not only to say thank you to those who helped us out in that particular instance,   but to remind all of us what social media is supposed to be about.

First I have to set the scene.   It was a hot Wednesday evening.  I was stranded in the Walgreens parking lot, with a car that wouldn’t start.  It was hot, did I mention that?  I was waiting for a tow truck that seemed like it might never come.  It was hot, in case you missed it,  and I don’t like being hot.   My evening wasn’t shaping up to be the best,  and my mood wasn’t trending toward happy either.

Anyway, to pass the time,  I was checking e-mails and Tweets on my cell phone when I received a direct message from Rodney at T-shirt Forums.   Rodney is a friend of EnMart, we are a sponsor of his forum, and we write for him occasionally,  so I thought the message might be about that.  Instead,  I opened the DM to read that someone in Orlando had just let him know that the EnMart booth had fallen over.   Catastrophe!

As it turns out,  the booth problem wasn’t a big deal.  I called our guys on the ground in Orlando,  they got the booth set to rights,  there was minimal damage and we went on to have a terrific show.  What really stands out to me about this experience is the fact that someone, I don’t know who, which is too bad because I’d like to say thank you,  saw our booth had a problem and took the time to contact someone they were fairly certain could get a message to me.   People I don’t even know, except through a forum or a social media site, were taking the time to look out for our interests.

I think, sometimes,  people get caught up in the number of fans and followers,  or the number of retweets or how many sales result from a post,  and don’t remember that the first word in social media is social.   Facebook and Twitter, forums and blogs, allow us to connect with each other,  to form relationships that exist even though we may be thousands of miles apart.   It isn’t all about making the numbers or moving the product,  social media is also about creating connections that will stretch from Orlando, where a booth fell over,  to Michigan, where a peeved Director of Marketing is sitting in her dead car in the heat waiting for a tow.

Personally,  I think this sort of community is awesome, and I’m proud and grateful to be a part of it.

P.S.:  One quick update to this post since I now know that the unknown person I mentioned above was actually Mark Bagley from www.multirip.com and www.perfecttransfers.com.  Just wanted to say thanks Mark.  Your alert was greatly appreciated.

Sometimes the most basic stuff is the stuff that’s easiest to forget.  If you run a machine embroidery business,  you don’t want to forget about Sprayway products.  These sprays are very useful for any shop and can save you a lot of problems and hassle.   If you haven’t checked out our Tools and Accessories section lately,  here’s a little refresher course on what Sprayway products can do for you.

Sprayway Anti Static Spray -  This spray helps counteract static electricity charges that can attract dust to you machines.   It can also be used on fabric to help eliminate static cling.    This spray can also be used to prevent static electricity shocks which could damage a computer memory.

Sprayway Clean Jet Lint and Dust Remover – This is essentially “canned air”.  It can be used to clean small or delicate areas in your embroidery machine.  Use it remove lint from bobbin cases.

Sprayway Fast Tack Reposition Spray -  If you don’t want a permanent adhesive,  this is the spray for you.   You can use this spray to make regular backing into an adhesive stabilizer.   This is non staining and non transferable.

Sprayway Silicone Spray – This product stops sticking and binding and protects your machines.   Silicone spray can also be used to speed fabric flow and reduce friction.

Sprayway Spot Lifter – If you’ve ever had to discard a piece of fabric because you got a spot or a stain on it,  this product is for you.  Spot Lifter removes stains from cloth.  It is safe and effective when used on cotton, wool, synthetic materials and silk.  Spot Lifter is also guaranteed not to stain the cloth.

Sprayway Spray Adhesive – For temporary bonds,  look to Sprayway Fast Tack.  For more permanent bonds,  try Sprayway Spray Adhesive.   This product bonds to foam rubber, cardboard, plastic, glass, wool, cloth and metal.  It has a quick and long lasting tack and is water resistant.

For those of you who work in shops where MSDS sheets are required,  I would also like to point out that EnMart offers downloadable MSDS sheets for all Sprayway products on our web site.  Just click the MSDS link on the top menu bar to see the list.

The idea for this post came from this quote:   “Just because you can print it, doesn’t mean I can stitch it” which I first saw on the ADF forum.   The quote was from a great forum member,  who does a great job of explaining what he means on his web site.   Truth be told,  I probably could just direct you there,  but then this would be a short post,  so I decided to go into some of the rules about printing and embroidery that our parent company has accumulated over the 30 plus years it has been in business instead.

Rule 1:  Thread has density, ink doesn’t – When you print a design,  the ink is flat, and doesn’t take up space.  Thread has dimensions,  it needs to wrap around the material and it takes up space.   A very dense design won’t reproduce well in thread,  since there won’t be enough space for all the details.

Rule 2:  Small lettering won’t be legible – As a general rule,  lettering should be no smaller than 1/4 inch.   The optimum size of the letter may also depend on the font you choose to use.    You may need to experiment with different fonts to find the minimum size for any lettering done in that font.

Rule 3:  Gradients and shading won’t reproduce well – Variegated thread may be a way to get around some shading issues but,  as a general rule,  designs with shading or fading or gradients won’t reproduce well as embroidery.  Solid color designs work best.

Rule 4:  Bad artwork results in bad embroidery -  At some point we’ve probably all encountered the customer who brings us a print of a low res design with fuzzy artwork and wants it embroidered.   Bad artwork results in bad embroidery.  Make sure you get the best artwork possible and that you get the best digitizing possible too.   The better the work that you start with,  the better the finished product will be.

Rule 5:  Ink color and thread color aren’t always the same – The colors in a printed design may not be exactly duplicated by the thread used to embroider the design.   If the customer wants an exact duplicate of colors,  ask them for PMS numbers.  Most threads,  Iris thread among them,  do give PMS numbers for their thread colors.  This may not give you an exact match since there will be variations in color between ink and thread dyes,  but it should be reasonably close.

Rule 6:  The material being embroidered also matters -  Embroidering on fleece is different than embroidery on a polo shirt is different than embroidery on an oxford and so on.   When determining if a design will work for embroidery,  you should also consider on what fabric it will be embroidered.

Obviously,  this is just a broad overview of the subject.   If you have any additional questions,  please leave them in the comments.

Wow,  I can’t believe July is over.  Time has just flown this year.  It seems impossible that Fall is almost here.

First up this week is a new series on the Black Duck Inc. blog.  They’re showcasing some of their past e-mail ads from a campaign that ran a few years ago.  I love this idea for two reasons.  First, it allows them to show off their work again.  Second,  it shows you that humor and a little whimsy does have a place in advertising.  Read the text of the ad.  They picked a theme and committed to it,  and it works.  It’s a great example for other businesses to follow.

Second on the list today is a great post by Kathleen Fasanella on choice and why the American way of the person who is affected by the choice making the choice may not always be the best way.   The second to the last paragraph is a great commentary for those who run a business and try to give good customer service.  Sometimes the best customer service is the kind where you tell the customer they’re wrong.  There’s a lot to think about in this post.

Third on the agenda today is a twofer for Erich Campbell (I mentioned his Black Duck Inc blog earlier).  This time I’m mentioning a great post about creativity he wrote for his Stitches blog.  He spotlights the fact that you have to experiment and play to keep your creative muscles sharp.  He also mentions EnMart’s colored metallic thread which he recently used to create some designs for a Stitches photo shoot.    Given that,  how could I resist mentioning the post?

Fourth on the list,  we have a reminder that the holidays are coming,  and we all need to be ready.   Although the tips from the Retail Minded blog are intended for brick and mortar stores,  they are also useful for those who sell online.  The main thing to remember is that the holidays will be here before we know it,  and we all need to be prepared.

Fifth today,  we have a post from Seth Godin’s blog about being first and why it isn’t always best.   Sometimes we get so caught up in being first that we don’t stop to think about how much value there is in being first.  If you rush a product to market so that you get to introduce it,  but the product has issues that you didn’t stop to consider,  have you really done the best thing for your business?  If you announce a new special or product offering before you’ve considered all the ramifications,  are you getting the most benefit from the announcement?  It’s certainly something to think about.

Finally,  I want to end this post as I seem to have ended most Friday Blog Round-Up posts lately, which is with a plea for recommendations for blogs.  I’d love to build a creative blogging community,  but it is hard to find blogs written fro those who are in business,  as opposed to blogs that deal with crafting.  If anyone has any suggestions,  please do share them.

I’m sure most of you are familiar with our blank patches,  but you may not be as familiar with our custom sublimated patches.   Today I wanted to take a minute to explain what our sublimated patches are,  and how they can be useful to your business.

First,  let’s talk about what a sublimated patch is exactly.   Those of you who read our other blog,  SubliStuff, should already be familiar with sublimation.   If you’re not familiar with the process,  sublimation requires the use of special ink to print transfers.  The transfers are then pressed onto polyester fabric,  and the composition of the ink is such that it turns to a gas and dyes the fabric.  The result is a colorful print that washes well and retains its color.    When the sublimation process is applied to a 100% polyester patch,  you get a colorful patch that lasts and lasts.

Sublimated patches are a great alternative for anyone who wants to put an intricate design on a patch.  As anyone who embroiders already knows,  designs with small letters or lots of detail often do not embroider well.   Sublimation allows you to print designs with small details and intricate lettering  while ensuring that the details will show crisp and clear on the finished product.  Buying sublimated patches from EnMart also means that you have a wide variety of patch sizes and shapes from which to choose.    Whether you’re looking for circles, squares or rectangles,  or if you need something like a shield or a diamond shape,  we can provide the shape you need in a variety of different sizes.

EnMart’s custom sublimated patches are also cost effective.    It is relatively inexpensive to create a colorful patch that is also durable.  Sublimation also means that there is no limit on the colors that can be put on the patch or in the detail that the patch design encompasses.    EnMart also offers quantity breaks on our sublimated patches,  so the more patches you purchase,  the more money you save.

Last, but not least,  EnMart has experience in creating these patches.  Our parent company has been working with sublimation since 2001.  Since then we’ve created hundreds of thousands of sublimated patches for all kinds of companies and with all kinds of designs.   We’ve had time to perfect our process and our patch quality,  while also discovering ways to create patches quickly.  This means our turnaround time is measure in days rather than weeks.   Of course the turnaround time will depend on the number of patches ordered and our production schedule but, overall,  we can generally turn around orders in less than 5 business days.

If you would like to learn more about our sublimated patches,  or to request a sample,  please contact us.   We’ll be glad to help.

Over the time I’ve been writing this blog I’ve talked a lot about the durability of Iris thread.  I’ve talked about the fact that it is colorfast and washfast.   If you’ve read this blog for a while,  you’ve certainly read about the strength of the thread,  how it has less thread breaks and has greater tenacity than some other threads on the market.   Iris thread is a quality thread,  made with the finest ingredients and created by a company that has over 50 years experience in making thread.   I’ve probably covered every aspect of the thread except, perhaps, for one, which is this.  Iris Thread is really, really pretty.

Our trade show booth design for this year features what we call the “wall o’ thread” smack dab in the middle of the booth.  The “wall 0′ thread” is simply shelves with cone after cone of thread on them.   We’ve never actually counted,  but in our average booth there are a least a couple hundred cones on display.  It’s quite a sight, and a huge attraction for people passing by the booth.

What stops the people walking by the booth isn’t the strength of the thread.  It isn’t the durability or the tenacity or the washfastness.  What stops those who walk buy is how gorgeous the thread looks.   In essence,  Iris Thread stops people in their tracks with the power of pretty.

Iris UltraBrite Polyester is known for its sheen.  In side by side tests,  many people can’t tell the difference between Iris Polyester and Iris Rayon.   Both have deep rich color and a brilliant shine.    When either thread is used in embroidery,  the result is a garment that pops with color and catches the eye.  What better advertisement for the work of the embroiderer than an embroidered design that makes people look twice?

To request a sample of Iris Rayon or Polyester thread and to put the power of pretty to work for your business, e-mail us at info@myenmart.com  or contact us through any of the methods available.

First up this week,  AKDesigns is having a sale.   You can get 40% off their machine embroidery designs.   There are a lot of cute designs included in the sale, so this is definitely worth checking out.

Second on the agenda is this post about sharing product details from the Retail Minded Blog.   Having an educated sales staff, and being educated about your products yourself is vital whether you sell online or have a retail store.  I especially like the idea about having a reference spot.  EnMart has created binders for all our CSRs where they keep all the information about our products that they receive.  It’s an easy one stop reference and makes finding answers to questions easier.

Third on the list today is a post from Sewing for Cash that asks what is embroidery digitizing.   The post, of course, then proceeds to tell you.  It’s a decent overview of the digitizing process.   It also mentions free digitizing software,  like the Stitch Era Universal Software that EnMart offers.    If you’re interested in learning more about digitizing,  this post is a good place to start.

In the fourth slot today we have a discussion of kids, creativity and indie designing.   I love this post because it points out something that worries me as well,  the fact that kids don’t pretend like kids did when I was growing up.   When I was a kid, my bike was a horse,  a garage was a secret hideout and some blankets and pillows made a terrific fort.  Today, kids have video games and computers and action figures.  Why pretend a ruler is a light saber or a tennis racket is a guitar when you can buy a “real” light saber or play Rock Band on your X Box?    I think this post makes a lot of good points.

Last on the list today is a plea for information about any machine embroidery or sublimation blogs that are out there.   I constantly do searches,  and also watch Twitter and Facebook, but I’m not finding much information.  If you have a blog or know of a good blog that should be on our blogroll,  please share that information with me.

Reason 1:  Color conversion is not fun – Let’s face it,  matching your existing color card to a new thread can be a lot of work and hassle.   Even if the new thread supplier offers an online conversion engine you still have to select the color numbers of your old thread to get a match.   Plus, sometimes the conversion engine doesn’t supply a match,  and then you have to call the conversion experts who’ve been color matching thread for decades and ask them for help in finding a close color match.   It’s a lot of time and work.

Reason 2: You’ll have to find new uses for the money you save – Your budget for the year is already done,  why would you want to have to readjust all the numbers and columns to reflect the cost savings you’ll experience when you purchase Iris thread?   If that’s not bad enough,  EnMart’s mix and match quantity discount policy means that you can save additional money when you buy as little as 12 cones of thread. You’ll have to find something to do with the extra money.  That requires yet more research and decision making.  Who wants to deal with that?

Reason 3:  Reduced down time means more production time. - Iris thread is durable,  experiences less thread breaks, and runs more smoothly than many other machine embroidery threads.   These qualities make it likely that you’ll have less down time when sewing and experience an increase in production.   More production time means you’ll have to find more jobs to fill that time.   Do you really need more work?

Reason 4:  The thread attracts too much attention -  Whether it’s the vibrant color and sheen of the Iris UltraBrite Polyester or the dazzling glow of our  metallic thread,  Iris threads tend to attract people’s attention.  Really,  who needs more people looking at and admiring their work?

Reason 5: Your work will last and last – Provided it is cared for and washed correctly,  Iris polyester thread is colorfast, wash fast and durable.  It has survived an industrial wash and dry with its color and shine intact,  so it’s sure to survive a home wash and dry.   This means you’ll miss an opportunity to speak with your customers when they stop by to complain about color runs and color fade.   You’ll only be able to talk to them when they tell you how great your work looks,  and all that praise could inflate your ego.

Every once in a while I like to do a post where I tie up a bunch of loose ends that aren’t really big enough to warrant a post of their own,  but which are annoying me by hanging out there.   Monday always seems like a good day to do one of these posts (plus Miscellany Monday has a nice alliterative feel to it)  as it leaves the rest of the week clear to forge ahead with new topics.

First up today is something you may already know,  the Ricoh GX e3300N printers are back in stock.   I mentioned this in the Friday Round-Up post as well,  but I felt it warranted another mention here.   Now that the Ricoh 3300 is back in stock,  we offer a complete entry level printer solution array.  If you want to do wide format printing,  we offer the Epson WF 1100.   If you’re only interested in printing smaller transfers,  then the Ricoh 3300 should suit your needs admirably.  Either printer is a great option for setting up your sublimation shop.

Second,  I wanted to mention the Electric Youth article in Stitches Magazine.  Much of the embroidery for this article was done by our friend Erich Campbell of Black Duck Inc.   The colored metallic thread used in many of the designs Erich did came from EnMart.   Sadly,  some of Erich’s most spectacular designs didn’t make the magazine.  I’m hoping to have pictures of those designs to share with you later.  Erich did some awesome work and it deserves to be seen.

Third on the agenda of miscellany today,  I wanted to remind everyone that EnMart is on both Facebook and Twitter.  If you want to keep entirely up to date on what’s happening here,  and be the first to hear our latest news,  it would be a good idea to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  While the blogs are a great source of in depth information,  the Facebook and Twitter profiles get updated more frequently.

Fourth up on this Miscellany Monday,  I wanted to remind everyone where EnMart will be this Summer.  We have quite an extensive trade show schedule over the next two months.   If you’ve been wanting to meet our sublimation and embroidery experts or to see the entire array of what EnMart has to offer,   please take the time to stop by our booth at one of the shows we’ll be attending.  We always love meeting our friends,  fans and customers and stopping by our booth will definitely be worth your while.

Finally,  I wanted to ask a question,  what sort of topics would you like to see covered on this blog and on the SubliStuff blog?   EmbroideryTalk has been around for almost 3 years now,  Sublistuff is seven months old,  and there are times when I’m stuck for ideas or wondering if I’m covering the topics you all want to see.  If you have a suggestion for a post or a topic you’d like to see covered,  please leave it in the comments section.   All suggestions will be considered.