Impressions Expo Long Beach Delivers Next-Generation Game-Changers
Thursday, February 9th 2023
At the conference, attendance was high Impressions Expo, held Jan. 19–22 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif. “The response and turnout has been great,” said Impressions Show Director Russ Turner, who added, “There’s awesome energy and buzz on the show floor—we’re back and happy to be here.”
Many innovations were displayed by the 250 companies in the print-industry who showed off the latest digital designs, screen printing, embroidery and software, along with apparel and direct to film programs.
“This is a great show for us,” said Damir Gajiani, president of the Anaheim, Calif.–based Tees Styled, who added, “We’ve had so much success with our industry-trending 9-oz. T-shirts that we’ve expanded into tank tops and long sleeves. We’re also offering pigment washes and acid washes and will soon launch a youth line.”
The Torrance, Calif.–based Next Level Apparel The company received an overwhelming response to the soft-wash line. It uses a unique treatment that gives shirts a vintage, garment-dyed look.
L.A.-based Behind-the Scenes ApparelPremium-blank Company displayed an array of colors from its line of garment-dyed products in a variety of sizes and colours. “This is the first time we’re here, and it’s been really good to connect with people and to show them our sensational high-fashion tees and hoodies,” said General Manager Daniel Oh. “Who doesn’t want to create their own colors?”
A big supplier of blanks in the decorated market is Bowling Green, Ky.–based Fruit of the LoomIt included new colors like blush pink, frost warmthher, and even cloud blue. “A big story this year is our new fleece products such as eco fleece with recycled polyester And ring-spun cotton,” said Jeff Traen, director of marketing for Fruit of the Loom, Jerzees and Russell Athletic.
L.A.-based Supacolor manufactures water-based heat transfers, a digital hybrid product that’s a versatile and speedy decorating method to print unlimited colors and gradients. “The new product film we use works like butter, and the product peels off easily and is more user-friendly to work with on all types of presses,” said Supacolor President Rum Walia.
“This is game-changing,” said Victoria Nelson Harris, senior textile segment specialist at the Suwanee, Ga.–based Mimaki USA Referring to the textile pigment transfer-paper printing firm Texcol from the Netherlands Neenah Coldenhove. “It’s a simple heat transfer to any fabric using a waterless process—high quality, low investment,” added Nelson Harris.
“We haven’t seen this much buzz in our booth in six years,” said Winston-Salem, N.C.–based Hanes Senior Product Manager Chris Guard, referring to the company’s new PrintNOW technology. “Our Hanes pretreated 4.5-oz. Ring-spun Tee is completely pretreated. You can simply take the garment out of its box, press one time and load it onto your direct to-garment printer. We know this is a game-changer and a huge time saver.”
“I’m impressed with the show,” said first-time attendee Marc Zimmerman, owner of the Snohomish, Wash.–based Promotions and Prints from 4Z Design. “I’m seeing a lot of stuff I didn’t know existed for decorating, including applications from my first vendor, Supacolor. The apparel and decorating methods now available are inspirational.”
The Los Alamitos, Calif.–based Epson America It featured its latest 44-inch dye sublimation systems and a DTG printer to print high volumes of garments. Senior Product Manager Tim Check said, “This is a really cool application because the DTG printing on a fashion tee gives you a great-feeling shirt with a soft hand. It breathes and is a comfortable, amazing wash.”
Eric Holm showed off Epson’s portable SD-10 spectrophotometer, a color-measurement system that allows people to go anywhere and measure color objectively. “It’s a powerful tool to capture the actual color, which you can sync to a smartphone app and communicate those colors back to production.”