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Sharprint Associated Press

Sharprint Associated Press

Recent Posts

December 2, 2019 8:00:00 AM CST

Tips For Choosing Pantone Colors When Printing Custom Apparel

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Flipping through a pantone color book is a popular way to choose hues for print products. When both the customer and the manufacturer are looking at the same pantone color, both parties know that they're on the same page. Simply saying "light blue" isn't nearly specific enough when it comes to promotional products. 

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November 26, 2019 6:00:00 AM CST

4 Reasons Soft-Hand Printing Remains A Popular Method

Screen Shot 2014 01 15 at 1.18.17 PMThe modern day apparel industry is forever changing & evolving with new technologies and techniques. Throughout these changes, there has remained a common technique most popular for printing on light garments and vintage apparel. The technique is called soft-hand printing, and it includes a method that uses fashion soft base additives and water-based inks. 

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November 25, 2019 6:00:00 AM CST

6 Considerations Before Ordering Embroidered Apparel

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When ordering embroidered clothing it is helpful to understand the process and become familiar with what is available and possible. The following six things to consider will help you to order the right clothing for your needs, fitting your budget, and in the time that you expect. 

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November 18, 2019 11:00:00 AM CST

Understanding Fabric Types & Threads For Custom Embroidery

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Before we get into various fabric types for embroidery, there is a term you should be familiar with - backing. Backing is a specialized piece of fabric used as a foundation for stabilizing embroidery stitches. Fabric, by nature, is very flexible. Backing has a stiffness and gives the stitches something stable to hold on to.

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November 4, 2019 9:20:00 AM CST

Turning Art Files Into Embroidery With Digitizing

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Ever wonder how a company logo or cool design goes from a digital art file to a beautifully embroidered shirt? The process is called digitizing and the artists that do it are called - you guessed it - digitizers. Basically, digitizing is redrawing a logo or design as stitches in a special embroidery software program designed to do just that. We use a program called Punto at Sharprint. Digitizers aren’t just digital artists, though, they have to be experts in the craft of embroidery.

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October 22, 2019 10:00:00 AM CDT

The Goods Aren't Good Without A PO

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One of the very first steps in the decorating apparel industry is purchasing the goods that need to be screen printed or embroidered on. Decorating companies are more than willing to order the goods for their customers, but promotional product distributors typically supply the garments themselves. This is certainly not a problem and 100% acceptable. However, if the customer does provide their decorator with the blank pieces, there are a few things that they should know and take into consideration.

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October 21, 2019 5:30:00 AM CDT

4 Simple Steps To Worry-Free Order Production

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There are many decisions to be made and details to be communicated when ordering decorated and promotional apparel. If you’ve ordered even once, you are well aware. The number of decisions and details is multiplied by each client you are working with and each item they are having imprinted. Wow. That’s a lot to keep track of.

You’re awesome and have it covered, we know. Regardless, we’ve got your back. The Four Simple Steps is a system for placing orders that helps organize the details and keeps you informed about the progress of your custom screen print, embroidery, and digital print orders. Our goal is to make working with us easy. By pro-actively providing you with status updates, you can continue getting business instead of being bogged down by the orders you already have.

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September 24, 2019 8:15:00 AM CDT

How Soft-Hand Printing Via Discharge Inks Works

soft-hand-printing-dischargeink2Discharge ink was developed specifically for soft-hand printing on dark garments. Discharge is a water-based ink that bleaches the garment weave while depositing pigment. The look of the final print is quite different from traditional plastisol prints. The end print is more muted, the colors are flatter, and the edges of the screen stencil tend to soften through the production run. Butt-to-butt registration is not guaranteed. Discharge is really great for vintage looking prints with lose designs. Tight logo style graphics aren’t ideal for discharge printing.

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September 23, 2019 7:01:00 AM CDT

5 Tips To Preparing An Illustrator File For Your Contract Decorator

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Screen printers love Adobe Illustrator because the graphics are so clean and perfectly scale-able. Certain features of the program were even designed specifically for the print industry. A screen print artist or separator prepares your design file for print production, but there are some steps you should take to prepare your file for the printer.

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September 17, 2019 9:17:00 AM CDT

The Advantages & Disadvantages Of Plastisol Ink

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Plastisol ink is a PVC (polyvinyl chloride) based system that essentially contains no solvent at all. Along with UV ink used in graphic screen printing, it is referred to as a 100% solid ink system. Plastisol is a thermoplastic ink in that it is necessary to heat the printed ink film to a temperature high enough to cause the molecules of PVC resin and plasticizer to cross-link and thereby solidify, or cure. The temperature at which most plastisol for textile printing cures at is in the range of 149 °C to 166 °C (300 °F to 330°F).

Plastisol is the ink of choice for printing of finished goods such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, and tote bags.

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September 16, 2019 8:32:00 AM CDT

How Staff Uniforms Can Have An Impact On Your Business

Staff UniformsStaff uniforms are a common feature shared by many of the most successful businesses in the country. Everyone from doctors to fast food workers are expected to wear a specific type of attire. Businesses can use staff uniforms for a variety of beneficial purposes.

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