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This
book is written for the benefit of screen printers, embroiders,
and other garment decorators who are interested in digital
apparel printing using inkjet technology. We have seen a
great number of entrepreneurs entering the garment decoration
industry thanks to this emerging technology. Thus, we also
devoted a part of the book to give an overview of the industry.
This may be also beneficial to those who are already in
garment decoration. There are vastly different operational
characteristics and economics at play with direct-to-garment
printers compared to traditional screen printing. Thus,
garment decorators will have to adjust their business model
when they adopt direct-to-garment printers. We devoted a
significant section to sales and marketing to show how decorators
can best utilize new digital printers to enhance their business.
Finally, we added a chapter about the promotional wear industry,
which is the fastest-growing sector of the decorated garment
industry.
Although
we frequently use the term "digital apparel printer,"
we are really referring to specifically the so-called "direct-to-garment"
printer - an inkjet printer that prints graphics directly
onto the garments and other substrates like mouse pads,
typically using water-based pigmented inks. In essence,
this technology is the future of the garment decoration
industry; we expect most garment printers will switch to
direct-to-garment printing over the next twenty years for
reasons of performance, costs and environmental consideration.
Some people use the term "direct-to-garment" printing
to distinguish from earlier attempts to use (dye sublimation)
inkjet or laser printers - both digital printers - to print
images on a transfer sheet which will be applied to garments
with heat. Although practiced in specialty shops and by
hobbyists in the past, such methods lacked the technical
or commercial merits needed to be widely adopted for commercial
garment decoration. As we will discuss in detail, such non-direct-to-garment
digital printing is in decline. When we say "digital
apparel printer" or "digital printer" in
this book, the terms are interchangeable with "direct-to-garment
printer."
This
book is an outgrowth of our interactions with many folks
in the garment decoration industry. We both have occasionally
participated in the distributor training sessions at AnaJet,
and some of the materials were developed for presentation
at those seminars. As the company grew, we both largely
moved on from the training programs - but our interest and
fascination in this burgeoning industry continues. According
to a 2007 industry study by Impressions magazine, it is
a $44-billion business (wholesale value), conducted by 55,000
entities in the U.S. Since we estimate the value added by
garment decorators is about 60%, the garment decoration
is indeed a fairly large industry. A market research firm,
I.T. Strategies, estimates the worldwide market retail value
of decorated apparel is as much as $121 billion. This gives
an idea on the magnitude and importance of this industry.
The
two primary traditional methods of decorating garments are
screen printing and embroidery. Commercial embroidery went
through the "digital revolution" more than twenty
years ago. Although a digital method of screen preparation
has been developed, today's screen printing process is pretty
much as it has been for hundreds of years. We believe direct-to-garment
printing technology is the key to the digital revolution
of garment printing. Economics aside, one of the most troublesome
parts of screen printing is the plastisol ink, which contains
PVC and phthalates. These are some of the most environmentally
damaging materials made by man, and phthalates used as plasticizer
is highly carcinogenic. Efforts to develop more environmentally-friendly
screen printing ink have not been very successful. We believe
that digital printing's gradual replacement of screen printing
with more environmentally-friendly water-based digital ink
will be good for the environment. But the driving force
of the change will be economics.
Direct-to-garment
printing technology is still evolving. During its short
existence, some early entrants have over-sold and hyped
the technology. Many in the industry are concerned about
its future. We will soon see a shakeout of the industry,
and then it will move on to the next level. The key to success
is customer education and full disclosure of any limitations
by the manufacturers. Nothing can be more important than
good customer education and continuous technical support
regarding this technology. As of this writing, most of the
purpose-built textile printers perform well if they are
maintained properly. It is our hope that this book can contribute
to the education of and about the industry.
For
proper disclosure, we should mention that we are co-founders
and officers of AnaJet, a manufacturer of direct-to-garment
printers. We made every effort not to let this book be an
extension of our day job, but rather to be a balanced reference
guide for the industry. We limited mention of the AnaJet
experience as best we could, and fairly presented all products
in the market. But on a few occasions we were obliged to
mention AnaJet brand names, such as ARTprint™ and PHOTOshirts™
as there were no generic equivalents; AnaJet is the only
maker offering such products. You, the reader, will be the
final judge how well we have done in making an unbiased
presentation. We should also mention that Melco Embroidery
System, a division of the huge Swiss corporation Oerlikon,
is a private brand customer of AnaJet for the MelcoJet printer.
We discuss the MelcoDirector production management program
and Melco LiveDesign program, as we are just familiar with
these products - and frankly, they are among the best products
in the industry.
We
are indebted to many people in writing this book. Although
we cannot list all those who have contributed to our efforts,
we wish to acknowledge the following reviewers. Johnny Shell,
SGIA Vice President for Technical Services, has reviewed
and commented on parts of the manuscript. Patti Williams
of I.T. Strategies also reviewed some chapters and provided
valuable advice. Our good friend Dr. Franz Bosshard - CEO
of the world's third-largest appliance manufacturer, BSH
Home Appliances, and marketer par excellence - reviewed
the sales and marketing chapters. Dr. L. W. Gertmenian,
Distinguished Professor of Economics at Pepperdine University,
also provided valuable advice on economic subjects and presentation
of the material. Our acknowledgements do not imply that
the above reviewers agree with our views. Of course, any
remaining errors and biases are entirely the fault of the
authors.
We
are most grateful for the five direct-to-garment business
operators who are featured in our success stories in Chapter
Four. They sacrificed their privacy and revealed some of
their business practices to help other direct-to-garment
printers and advance the industry. We are also indebted
to some of our colleagues at AnaJet. Among them, Edward
Joseph contributed to the mixed media decoration section.
Paul Green provided advice regarding graphic preparation
for direct-to-garment printing, and also prepared most of
the charts and graphics that appear in this book.
We
would also like to thank several organizations that generously
gave us permission to use their survey results and research
analyses. Impressions magazine's 2007 Decorated Apparel
Industry Universe Study was indispensable for providing
a grasp of the industry. So were the studies by I.T. Strategies.
We also used studies by SGIA, ASI and PPAI. Whenever possible,
we provided proper credit in the text or Endnotes. The Endnotes
also contain the bibliography.
Finally
we would like to thank our wives, Dee Roh and Karen LaVita,
to whom this book is dedicated. We had to write and refine
this book entirely while in airplanes and on evenings and
weekends, as we have day jobs. During this period, our wives
had to live and run households largely without our help.
Dee, being in this business, read most of the chapters and
made many valuable suggestions to improve the presentation.
Chase Roh
David A. LaVita
August
24, 2008
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