Images Magazine June 2018

INDUSTRY NEWS www.images-magazine.com 12 images JUNE 2018 Rowlinson announces Art in the Workplace winners Rowlinson Knitwear has announced the winners of its inaugural Art in the Workplace competition: Kesha Dabrowski won the illustration category; Jade Montague won the graphics category; and Cherie Vaughan won the photography category. The entries from Nicole Astbury and Marina Latzanaki were highly commended. The winning entries will now go on permanent display in meeting rooms and open-plan workspaces at Discovery Park, the employee-owned garment manufacturer’s newly refurbished headquarters in Stockport. www.rowlinson-knitwear.com Direct Trade Bags Europe acquires Direct Textile Designs Garment decoration business Direct Textile Designs has been sold to Direct Trade Bags Europe. “The acquisition has created the largest trade-only T-shirt, bag, embroidery, transfer and digital textile business in the UK,” said Mark Somerfield, director at Direct Textile Designs. “We now have a combined £13 million turnover, and employ over 140 staff full time.” The company is also opening a purpose-built embroidery unit with 25 eight-head Happy embroidery machines. www.dtbeurope.com www.directtextilesltd.co.uk The new embroidery unit houses 200 embroidery heads Vastex unveils new pin registration station Mark Vasilantone, president of Vastex, has announced the launch of the new Vastex VRS Pin Registration Station for rear- and side-clamp screen printing presses. The new station features a mobile base with flat files and a storage shelf as standard. Mark said this allows film positives to be registered off-press with increased efficiency and using less floor space. He continued: "The addition of four drawers and a lower shelf keeps tape, T-squares, film positives, emulsion containers and other supplies readily at hand, eliminating the need to leave the station for supplies or take up space with side tables or utility carts. The new mobile base also allows the entire station to be rolled away when not in use." The VRS system allows an operator to align all film positives in registration on the pin board, and maintain that registration when transferring positives onto each printing screen held in position against plastic round screen stops. Once screens are exposed, the pallet jig is secured to one pallet of the press, allowing each screen to be held against stops before being secured to the rear or side clamp of each respective print head, maintaining screen-to-screen registration. "In addition to cutting registration time by 70% to 90%, the system improves registration accuracy while reducing rejects and creating a shop registration standard." The system includes a pinboard to align artwork onto screens, 24 pre-punched set-up sheets, a pallet jog and mobile base with drawers. The VRS system accommodates wood, aluminium or retensionable screens up to 58cm x 79cm, and pallets 35cm to 53cm wide. www.vastex.com The new Vastex VRS Pin Registration Station The winners of the Art in the Workplace competition at Rowlinson’s headquarters Print & Stitch publishes 2019 show schedule The organisers of the Print & Stitch UK roadshows have released the details of the 2019 events on their website. The roadshows have been travelling the UK for the past three years, giving demonstrations of machinery and equipment, and speaking to business professionals about their products. The events have expanded over the past 12 months and now include six of the industry’s leading suppliers: Stocks Embroidery Solutions, TheMagicTouch, Wilcom, Madeira, DecoNetwork and Glenway Products. It’s free to attend the Print & Stitch roadshows, simply register online at: www.printandstitch.org/register/. For the dates and venues of the current 2018 roadshows, please turn to page 21. www.printandstitch.org