ImagesMagUK_March_2021

68 images MARCH 2021 www.images-magazine.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Colour spectrometer It used to be that colour spectrometers were incredibly expensive, so they were out of reach for most businesses in this industry. That has changed in recent years, and if you are printing Pantone colours in your shop, this device is another must-have tool. They are small, portable, and easy to use. Moreover, most are supplied with a companion app that works with your smartphone via a Bluetooth connection. Spectrometers measure colour and give you a reading as to whether you are actually matching the Pantone colour. So, no more guessing or worrying about the lighting conditions. The unit of measure is Delta E. The lower the Delta E number, the more accurate your colour match. By the way, the human eye can only detect fluctuations in colour somewhere between 3 and 5 Delta E. If you set your tolerance to matching with a 5 Delta E or less for your shop as your standard, you then can work on getting colour matches under better control. Production log is a tool If you are serious about managing your shop, increasing your efficiency and discovering exactly where you are stubbing your toe every day, having a production log in your toolbox is something you need. When you are leaking productivity, and your labour costs are out of control compared to the work that is being performed, you have to have a good understanding of what’s happening on the production floor. Your car has a speedometer. Serious-minded production managers use a production log as the tool of choice for measuring efficiency and output. If you need one, you can find an easy-to-use system in my book, ‘Shop Basic Info Pack’. digital printing equipment they are simply tools to decorate a garment. At the end of the day, you are a business person first. Will DTG printing replace screen printing? No way, buster. But here’s the thing – you can pick and choose what tool is appropriate for the type of work that your business cultivates. Use the right tool for the job As we all know, tools are expensive. Everyone usually starts with a basic set, and as we start adding skills and projects, new tools are added to the toolbox. It is the same way for your business. You need to use the right tool for the job. Sure, tools cost money. Upgrading your equipment or adding a new decoration process is expensive. All the gizmos that are out there for this industry add up to a good chunk of change too. But not using them has a cost too. How fast do you want to go? With the right tool, training and skill, what you are doing today can now be completed in a fraction of the time and at a lower cost. Which increases profit. Don’t skimp. Avoid the knock-off versions. There is a very good reason why the top professionals in this industry invest in and deploy particular methods and equipment. With the right tools you can accomplish anything. I can’t say the same if you are using the wrong ones. Your tools of choice Every shop is different. Different equipment, customers, staff, spoken languages, work ethics and cultures. Are the tools shown above all of those available for the industry? Of course not. My point with this article is to get you thinking clearly about the tools you use every day. What’s working? Is there something better? Just because you have and are using one particular tool today, doesn’t mean that you can’t upgrade or switch later. Surely you have replaced using a manual screwdriver with a cordless drill version for most applications. Right? Did you throw your old-fashioned screwdriver away? Nope. In some situations, that still works. Your worldview on tools For people that label themselves as screen printers, usually, the worldview of direct-to-garment (DTG) digital printing is suspect and not to be trusted. However, that sucking sound you are hearing right now is the entire online store world moving to print-on-demand using digital print applications. Why screen print shirts and hold them in inventory when you can stock blank goods for multiple stores and print the shirts as they are ordered? It saves time, money and labour, and the customer ultimately gets their apparel order faster. Whether you have manual, automatic, or Automatic screen printing equipment is best suited for larger print runs; be open to choosing and using the right tool for the type and size of job DTG equipment is perfect for print-on-demand applications and online stores Marshall Atkinson is a production and efficiency expert for the decorated apparel industry, and the owner of Atkinson Consulting and co-founder of Shirt Lab, a sales and marketing education company, with Tom Rauen. He focuses on operational efficiency, continuous improvement, workflow strategy, business planning, employee motivation, management and sustainability. www.atkinsontshirt.com