Apparel Materials Analysis March 2009

As many of you know Imprintables offers a pretty decent range of materials compatible with the Versacamm. I wanted to take a moment to breakdown what I think are the best materials for specific applications so that you can have a quick reference. This reference is only for base color materials, special effect materials such as reflect, metallic etc. are not included.

T-Shirts White > Use Solutions Airtech or Clear
T-Shirts Dark > Use Quickprint (this material is slightly thicker than Solutions Opaque, but offers a nice combination of price, ease of production and durability) You can use Solutions Opaque as well, however do not use on larger coverage areas due to possible wrinkling when the garment shrinks. Quickprint does not have this issue. Vivid print would also work here, but is considerably more glossy than Quickprint.

Performance Wear Dark (Polyester based) > Solutions Opaque or Sub-Block if dye migration issues are present
Performance Wear Dark (Nylon based) > Solutions Opaque
Performance Wear Light (Poly or Nylon Based) > Solutions Clear or Airtech

Nylon or Polyester Mesh Dark (Larger holes) > Colorprint (especially good for contact sports, where abrassion may occur) or Sub-Block if poly mesh poses migration issues
Nylon or Polyester Mesh White (Any size holes) > Solutions Airtech

Nylon Jacket > Solutions Opaque
Leather > Solutions Opaque w/Pellon cover sheet so leather isn't glossed up
Denier Polyester > Solutions Opaque
Polypropylene > Solutions Opaque Special instructions: 275 degrees, light pressure, 5 seconds, peel and 5 seconds
Spandex > Solutions Opaque
Soft Plastics > Solutions Opaque (hit or miss, must be tested)

This is not all inclusive, but hopefully at least it will help.