ImagesMagUK_March_2022

possibilities when evaluating customer art for potential stitch-saving changes: Remove unnecessary elements If your design consists of a graphical logotype or seal flanked by text, consider removing unnecessary lettering, or conversely, only using lettering in the design. Create a collection If you compose a coordinating apparel ‘set’, you could use the full design and text combination on only a single garment, using one of the significant elements of the design on each piece to create a collected version that provides clear identity without reproducing an entire logotype on every item. Outerwear worn repeatedly may be a better choice to receive decoration than clothing in contact with the wearer that’s changed daily. Single-colour simplification For designs with strong outlines and readily identifiable silhouettes, omitting colour fills and rendering the design as an open, outlined version can vastly reduce both the stitch count and overall decoration density. Understated, single-colour versions can be less expensive and have a softer, more comfortable hand. Even more savings can be achieved by using a tonal rendition of the single-colour design. Using colours that don’t heavily contrast allows you to reduce densities even further, though this is contingent on individual customer approval of a less visible, lower impact look. Use a simpler brand symbol Ask your customer for simpler designs associated with their school, company or brand. You may find they have a less stitch-intensive symbol or other graphical element that they’d be willing to use either on secondary apparel or as a replacement for their primary design. Making the case Value is largely defined by perception. Although you can and should make sure that you are solving customer problems with fairly priced, quality apparel, you can craft the way you present your product to appeal to customers’ perception of value. As you are increasingly forced to contend with customers purchasing direct from discount stores, you will need to refine your messaging to support why you should be supplying their garments while simultaneously preparing for orders that require you to use customer-supplied apparel in your mix. Look at longevity Rather than only presenting least expensive options, showcase higher-quality apparel that’s made to stand up over time. In the case of schoolwear or workwear promote the advantages of garments designed for durability, comfort features, laundry resistance, and the like. Tune your embroidery to match with stitch types, settings, art interpretation, and materials created to hold up to abuse. Value can be expressed as cost divided over the useful life of the garment, with the added benefit that such clothing will be kept out of the fast-fashion landfill. Calculate the quality When your apparel is up against less expensive options, you need to make the case that the value for cash expended is higher with you. By presenting a good-better-best model, you can explain the qualities of better construction, materials and features in your higher-end products while leaving This simple single-colour rendition makes good use of light fills and overlapped satins to produce a textural rendition of the Cottonwood tree from which the school gets its name, and all without excessive stitch counts In this logo, using the garment colour increases efficiency; a 9,500 stitch logo [left] becomes a 7,600 stitch logo [middle] by reducing the blue fill to a light, texture fill without underlay. This allows the blue area to appear stitched without full coverage. For further savings at the cost of the texture, the fill can be removed to produce the 6,000 stitch version as seen on the right When stitching is too time-intensive or individual customisation is required, pre-edged patch blanks can be sublimated in-house to provide a versatile, textural product for self-decoration or application www.images-magazine.com MARCH 2022 images 67 KB BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT