Ted will be hosting question and answer sessions in the Stahls’ Heat Printing Zone on Wednesday, October 19 and Thursday, October 20 at 1:15 pm. Ask Ted any questions you may have on heat printing and garment decoration and benefit from his over 35 years in the garment graphic industry.

So get to the Heat Printing Zone and see Ted – he wants to hear from you.

Find the complete schedule of events in the Heat Printing Zone here.

To most consumers, garment decoration is a mystery. Somehow, somewhere, people take plain shirts, jackets, and hats and Shazam! make them into great-looking apparel. You can see the magic happen firsthand at the 2011 SGIA Expo in New Orleans, October 19-21. Nobody will be wearing top hats or capes, and no rabbits will be pulled from hats, but there will be hands-on demonstrations, informational sessions with industry experts, and even prizes and giveaways.

It’s all happening in the Stahls’ Heat Printing Zone.  There you’ll find refreshments, samples, demonstrations, and forums with world-class experts. You’ll learn how to decorate your customers from head to toe – literally. Topics include printing on headwear, creating graphic T-shirts, and customizing shoes, as well as discussions on industry trends and innovations. Plus, you’ll have the chance to win a Hotronix® Fusion™ heat press at our Friday drawing.

And don’t forget to visit our other areas.

In booth #1245 you’ll be able to see samples of Transfer Express’ screen printed transfers and get more information on our products.

The Digital Apparel Zone(#3125) will have live demonstrations of cut and sew equipment, heat transfer and print/cut technology, and cutting-edge techniques in digital apparel decoration.

Cap off your day with a visit to the Screen Printed Apparel Training Zone (#3319). Each day at 3:30 pm Josh Ellsworth of CAD-CUT ®Direct will demonstrate the use of screen printed transfers and heat press machines, as well as a thorough review of heat applied materials.

Stahls’ is Heat Printing, so be sure to visit us at the SGIA Expo and on Facebook.

What you may not realize is that Transfer Express offers two distinct types of transfers: screen printed and digital. Screen printed transfers are limited to the traditional cotton and polyester fabrics, but digital transfers such as CAD-PRINTZ™ Opaque will go on almost anything you can fit in a heat press and can be created in unlimited colors.  

This opens the doors to a much wider range of apparel and promotional items including nylon team uniforms, umbrellas, swim suits, and leather goods.

When Illinois Glove Co., Northbrook, Ill., was looking for a solution to print full-color logos on gloves for its promotional product customers, CAD-PRINTZ™ turned into a great solution for the company.

Prior to using Transfer Express, the manufacturer was screen printing one-color logos onto gloves. “Screen printing was a mess,” notes Jay Shmikler, director of sales and marketing. “Because the glove was made of a knit fabric, the print would fall into the little mesh holes. We could do only one color with screen printing, and then we lost out on orders to other products that could offer multiple color logos.”

Today, the company uses Easy Prints for one-color orders and CAD PRINTZ for full-color logos. Another reason digital transfers have been such a great match is the wide range of materials that gloves are made of.

“We offer gloves for automotive, construction, farm, ranch, trucking companies, freezer gloves for people who are stocking shelves in the grocery stores, and safety awards; you name it, we have probably done it,” says Shmikler.

So when choosing a decorating process, it’s important to match the right method to the glove material.

“We have certain types of gloves that we use Easy Prints,” says the director. “If the glove stretches, we have to make sure we get Easy Prints because that stretches. If the logo has a lot of detail, we use CAD-PRINTZ. So when someone comes to us with an eight-color logo, CAD-PRINTZ looks amazing. You can get shading that you really can’t get in a screen printed transfer.”

As a steady customer for the past four years, Shmikler has been satisfied with the product and the customer service. “They are good at returning calls, they are professional and they’re easy to deal with.”

If you have a customer come in with a hard-to-decorate item, next time, don’t turn them away. Investigate if using a digital transfer may be the perfect solution!

Switching from direct screen printing to screen printed and digital transfers solved several embellishing challenges for Illinois Glove Co. faced when decorating gloves for promotional product clientele. Photo courtesy of Illinois Glove Co., Northbrook, Ill.

The grid lines on the back of our screen printed transfers help you align the transfer to the garment for easier application.

The grid lines are also beneficial when you are applying large legs or split fronts where you need to cut the paper for application, the grid lines give you an easy tool for lining your two halves back up.

You ask what is a Koozie? According to Wikipedia, “other names are can cooler, “beer sleeve”, stubby holder. It began as a marketing tool. The primary use of a beer koozie is to keep one’s hand warm while keeping the beer cold. A secondary use of a beer koozie is to easily identify one’s beverage from another. Many different companies have used the koozie as a promotional giveaway because it is not only inexpensive to manufacture, but its frequent use is more likely to bring the company’s name to a household presence.”

Custom transfers make personalizing a koozie easy—and it takes just 4 seconds. Be sure the koozie you purchase is either collapsible or the Velcro wrap type so that it lies flat in your press. Both screen printed and digital transfers can be used since this item is 100% polyester. Any color of koozie can be used; you are not limited to white only. Position the transfer on the koozie and press according to the directions provided with the transfer. Your custom printed koozie is ready for use.

Custom screen printed transfers work great on koozies and are perfect for parties.

After paying big rent at the Annapolis Mall in Annapolis, Maryland, for years, Hoffman and his partner decided they’d had enough of that. So the embroiderer, who lives in a three-level house, gutted 1,000 feet on the first floor and built his shop, a showroom, and an outdoor tiki bar instead. It’s now home to his one singlehead, one four-head, and two two-head embroidery machines and two Stahls’ Hotronix heat transfer presses.

The tiki bar garnered media attention from a local newspaper The Capital, Annapolis, Md., November 13, 2010 issue and March/April 2011 issue of Stitches magazine where it was the cover story.

“It looks just like a tiki bar you’d see on the beach in the British Virgin Islands,” says Hoffman. “We have water in the back yard. It’s enclosed in the wintertime so we can use it year-round.”

Although Hoffman doesn’t sell drinks, it’s used for entertaining clients and friends for all kinds of occasions. “It looks like a real bar, and we have mixed drinks,” he notes. “We throw big neighborhood parties and watch all the big sporting events. It’s a perfect man cave.”

In addition to offering embroidery, Hoffman also is a regular customer of Transfer Express. When he gets multi-color print jobs, he has found transfers the best way to go. “When we get an eight-color job for a dark shirt, if you screen print it, that’s eight screens plus a white underbase. When it’s a left-chest size design for 100 shirts, the only cost-effective way to do it is using Transfer Express CAD-PRINTZ™.”

“We’ve used them for a multitude of orders, and they have always done a great job with outstanding service at a price that is affordable,” says Hoffman. “We also get quick turnaround. We’re glad to have them on our team.”

Owner Tim Hoffman and production manager Amy Lynn Hall sit on a stool in the outdoor tiki bar that is used to entertain clients throughout the year. Hoffman built it at the same time he transformed the first floor of his three-story house into his shop and showroom.

The All Stars will want to be recognized so be sure so to be sure to add an Express Name above the number on the back. The 2.5” size is best for teen uniforms and the 2” size is perfect for younger teams. The number under the name can be ordered in two colors to match the uniform front, and with Easy Prints® numbers it is one application in just 4 seconds. For teen uniforms, an 8” number can be used and for smaller sizes use a 6” number.

If your team has a sponsor this can be added to the sleeve. Add this as well as a cap size print for your team caps to the front logo and create a gang sheet – all three logos are printed on one sheet for a great cost savings.

Add an American flag to the other sleeve and your All Star is ready to play!

All Stars layout QAS-2 with front number

On our page you will find photos, events, discussions and more! Come and post your photos and stories. Meet other businesses such as yourself in the industry and share comments about products. See what others in the industry are saying to get their perspectives and tips. Visit often – our page is updated regularly! You can find the latest news while it’s still hot (hot like a heat press!)

Join our community and get exclusive access to special deals for being our fan, latest industry news, design ideas and new products. And don’t forget to “LIKE” us, but hurry! The first 1,000 people to “LIKE” us will be entered to win a Hotronix® heat press! Stop by our page and check us out! You’ll be glad you did!

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At the show you will be able to print a 4 color design on a FREE t-shirt in just 4 seconds.   In addition, we will have hourly Number Races where two show attendees number 10 shirts 1-10 with Easy Prints numbers in just a few minutes, and the winner wins a $100 Transfer Express Gift Card.

There are also many show specials on heat presses, numbers and marketing kits so stop by booth 500!

Come by Booth #500 to see 4 Color Shirts Printed in Just 4 Seconds!

Also, watch or participate in our hourly number race. Two contestants will number 10 shirts in less than 4 minutes (if they are as fast as others who have tried!) The winner of each race wins $100 in free Transfer Express product, and everyone that participates gets an Easy Prints® number Express Pack! 

We will also have samples of all of our new products—stickers, banners, wall graphics, Pearl Prints, our new full color Cad-Printz™ products and the Cad-Printz bid kit.

The show is March 11-13 at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Show hours are 10-5 Friday and Saturday and 10-3 on Sunday. See you there!

Press a t-shirt in 4 seconds with a Heat Press!