ImagesMagUK_December_2021

INDUSTRY NEWS www.images-magazine.com 14 images DECEMBER 2021 Stay in the picture with our Instagram feed: @imagesmaguk With Cop26 last month and Christmas this month, it seemed fitting to feature an excellently festive alternative to wrapping paper – reusable gift bags from Squiggles & Ink. Owner Joanna Noyce creates all of the designs then screen prints them by hand using water-based ink from Hunt the Moon. “I create a vinyl stencil using a Cricut machine to print with, which works really well and allows me to change things up and make tweaks and improvements as I test ideas.” The designs are printed onto Premium Cotton Stuff Bags (W216) from Westford Mill, which are then finished with Jo’s signature ink splats “to bring a bit of colour and life”, she explains. “Every T-shirt or bag I produce incorporates these ink splats as it means that no two items will ever be the same.” Jo is offering the ink splats in three different colourways (neons, berries and festive) on the Christmas bags, although she’s also happy to take custom colour requests. “I print everything to order and love mixing new colours so this is usually an easy adjustment to make, and on my other items people have free rein to request any colours. On my Instagram I have also been showing how the bags can be embellished further by people at home with some quick and easy extras.” The reaction so far has been “wildly positive”, notes Jo. “I think as a whole we are becoming more conscious of the huge amounts of waste that we produce, with Christmas being a massive contributor – 227,000 miles of wrapping paper used every year in the UK alone! – and these reusable bags give an alternative to the mountains of wrapping paper that cannot be recycled. My hope is that these bags will be used by families year after year or that they will travel the country between groups of friends.” www. squigglesandink.co.uk DECORATED PRODUCT OF THE MONTH These reusable festive gift bags from Squiggles & Ink are a great substitute for wrapping paper Essential Workwear This stylish workwear was printed by Essential Workwear in Dunstable for Forest Eco Systems. imagesmag.uk/EW-Forest-Eco GS UK launches new website after rebranding GS UK, a supplier of embroidery, print and laser-cutting equipment and consumables, has launched a new website as part of its rebranding. The fresh and modern new site, still at gs-uk.com , makes it easier for customers to find the products and services they need and includes more information, especially on its in-house Merlin Pro embroidery machine range. It includes new features such as the Business in a Box tool combined with a Finance Calculator which allows visitors to easily select a business start-up option suitable to their requirements and budget. imagesmag.uk/gsuk-website Ricoh partners Aeoon to extend DTG offering Print specialist Ricoh has announced a global partnership with Aeoon Technologies to help extend its direct- to-garment (DTG) offering. Ricoh plans to use the partnership to move more into higher-productivity segments of the market and further demonstrate its commitment to the garment and textile market. It particularly wants to focus on improving sustainability and cost-efficiency in DTG printing, especially in the arena of on-demand garment decoration. The partnership is intended to bring solutions to the market that actively support print service providers with “modular growth strategies”. The future portfolio is set to include systems that drive sustainable on- demand textile production and respond to the growth opportunities presented by decentralised fulfilment operations and centralised online businesses. imagesmag.uk/ricoh-aeoon Aeoon Technologies has teamed up with Ricoh The home page of GS UK’s newwebsite