All Father’s Day Gifts Are Not Created Equal

For most of us, shopping for the perfect Father’s Day Gift can be a difficult, if not impossible
task. Father’s Day initiates the annual conundrum of what to buy the man who already has everything
he needs.

As a gift professional, I can assure you the last thing Dad wants or needs is another tie to
hang in the closet; and while the matching “World’s Greatest Dad” t-shirt and coffee mug was
a thoughtful gift, it doesn’t stick out in his mind for the right reasons. Finding the perfect
Father’s Day gift requires a little bit of effort and maybe a little bit of homework, but the
smile on Dad’s face when he opens the perfect gift is truly priceless.

Looking for the Perfect Gift for Dad? Think Backwards.

The perfect gift requires “reverse engineering.” In the gift business this means starting with the
recipients’ tastes, preferences and hobbies and working backwards towards the perfect gift. Instead
of finding the perfect gift and then trying to match it to the recipient, we start with the recipient
and work in reverse. Understanding this simple principal will instantaneously make you a better gift
buyer for any occasion.

When a regular client calls in frantically and says, “I need a gift for my Dad,” my first question
is always, “What can you tell me about him?” What kind of food does your father like? Is he big on
Barbequing? Does he love chocolate? Does he drink coffee? Does he love Italian food? Does he play
golf or fish? Is he a ‘Snack-a-holic?’ All these defining characteristics of Dad are paramount when
selecting the perfect gift. The more questions you can answer the better off you’ll be in making your
selection. When you get a gift that matches his preferences, your chances of him burying your gift in
the closet are significantly reduced.

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Resources for

Custom T-shirt Printing

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You can create your own t shirt in a matter of minutes simply by taking an old shirt and adding something to it. Many teenagers shop at the local thrift stores for used t shirts and create their own logos and designs on them to make them stand out in a crowd. Creating your own t shirt can be a fun and rewarding activity for young and old alike. Some call it 'wearable art.'

If you are adventurous enough and have the time and own a sewing machine or can borrow one, you can start from scratch and make your own t shirt, then create the design on the t shirt. Most fabric stores carry t shirt material and you can find a pattern which are usually very simple to navigate and then sew together to make your very own t shirt. Then the fun part is creating the design or what you want to put on the t shirt to make it stand out from the rest of the everyday, ordinary t shirts you see from day to day. There are countless items you can sew on to a t shirt, such as buttons and patches or ribbons or charms to make a unique and one-of-a-kind design t shirt.

There are many websites on the Internet which allow you to create your own t shirt using a template or your own design which you would be asked to upload in to their program and once the custom t shirt is completed, you will be sent the shirt in about a week or so. If you choose to go the route of using the template, the computer will walk you through the process step by step and give you options along the way.

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Resources for

Custom T-shirt Printing

In nowadays ever evolving business apparel industry, performance is the big topic that shirts manufacturers are pushing everyday.  So what exactly are we talking about when we say performance in regards to business apparel?

    Easy-Care garments are virtually wrinkle-free, no ironing is necessary.  They are machine-washable.  There are designed to keep their shape wash after wash.  Most of the Easy-Care garments are made of  polyester-cotton fabric .  Easy-Care garments are available in both jersey fabric and woven fabric.  In some cases, fabric is treated so it becomes stain-resistant.  In short, you can count on your performance business apparel, uniform to give you the same fresh look day after day without dealing with the dry cleaning and ironing.

       Microfiber polyester fabric with moisture management technology allows moisture underneath your shirt to evaporate faster.  This technology is specially good for outdoor activities.  Garment collection with moisture management covers short sleeve t-shirts, long sleeve t-shirts, short sleeve sport shirts and long sleeve sport shirts. 

       Solar Shield is a collection of clothing that protect your skin from the Sun.  Solar Shield collection of clothing is treated with a patented Ciba treatment providing UPF 30+ protection.  This technology benefits countries such as Australia and Canada, currently has skin cancer as the number one cancer; and the U.S. which has skin cancer as the number four cancer.  In Australia, children under 18 are required to wear protective clothing.  Solar Shield collection provides protection against the Sun, it also provides moisture management which increase breathability of the clothing, wicks moisture away from your body and quick releases moisture into the air.  Last but not least, the whole Solar Shield collection is wrinkle-resistant, so you never need to iron these shirts to look good.

Left: Ladies' Stripe Snap Placket Polo with UV protection

Right: Men's Pin Point pique Sport Shirt w/Mesh Collar, UV protection

http://www.customtshirtsprinting.com/CTP/

 

Adding distressed crackle to your artwork is a quick and easy way to add a vintage feeling to your t-shirt designs.  Our art department can do this for you free of charge.  Just provide us your original artwork, we will send you back a version with a vintage touch.  Below are some samples of them.  All prints were done in silk screen printing.  Color separations were either manually done in channels or by Simulated Process.  Production were done with M&R automatic 14-color press.



Left: 6 color imprint on black tshirt
Right: Vintage version

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Adding distressed crackle to your artwork is a quick and easy way to add a vintage feeling to your t-shirt designs.  Our art department can do this for you free of charge.  Just provide us your original artwork, we will send you back a version with a vintage touch.  Below are some samples of them.  All prints were done in silk screen printing.  Color separations were either manually done in channels or by Simulated Process.  Production were done with M&R automatic 14-color press.



Left: 6-color imprint on black tshirt
Right: Vintage version

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Glow in the Dark t-shirts are great ideas for evening events.  It's specially effective in dimmed condition, such as night club promotions, lectures, concerts and theatrical presentations.  Glow in the Dark imprints work well on white background.  So as long as your designs provide a white background to the area you want to apply Glow in the Dark imprint, you can use any colored t-shirts you want.  You can use Glow in the Dark as a tool to highlight, or to send a hidden message (see below for example).  All prints shown below were done in silk screen printing.  Color separations were either manually done in channels or by Simulated Process.  Production were done with M&R automatic 14-color press.



Left: 1-color white imprint, full heart.
Right:In the Glow in the Dark view, it shows a broken heart image.

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How many favorite colors do you have?  At least three if you are a koi fan.  Red, black and white are the three basic yet the most important colors in nishikigoi.  The three most popular koi types, Kohaku, Sanke and Showa are perfect examples.  Kohaku (red pattern on white ground), Sanke (red & black spot pattern on white ground) and Showa (red and black stripe pattern on white ground or red and white pattern on black ground) together are so called Gosanke.  Value in a koi depends on it's body conformation, color completion and pattern.  Because of my hobby in koi keeping, I was able to work with some local reputable koi dealers on their custom company t-shirts.  Below are some samples of them.  All prints were done in silk screen printing.  Color separations were either manually done in channels or by Simulated Process.  Production were done with M&R automatic 14-color press.



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What would look the best on black t-shirts?  How about rock bands, race cars or even wizards and medieval knights?  A lot of designs can look good on black t-shirts, but there is some magic between skull designs and black t-shirt that makes them the perfect match.  Don't agree with me?  Take a look at the following samples and see if they change your mind.   All prints were done in silk screen printing.  Color separations were either manually done in channels or by Simulated Process.

Left: Skull and cross bone on black t-shirt.

Right: Flaming tri-skull on black t-shirt.

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During the past ten years of screen printing business, I was fortunate enough to work with many talented t-shirt graphic designers.  Many of them were highly specialized in their fields.  Even though specialization doesn't always benefit them in our dynamic clothing business,  they really master what they devoted themselves over time.  Among many designs, dragons are always my favorite.  Below are some samples of what we have done in the past.  All prints were done in silk screen printing.  Color separations were either manually done in channels or by Simulated Process.  Production were done with M&R automatic 14-color press.



Left: Japanese dragon with ocean wave on white t-shirt.
Right: Ghost dragon in airbrush on black t-shirt.

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Discharge in screen printing technique means removing the pigment from fabric through the printing of discharge ink.  Discharge ink is a mixture of water-based-color base and discharge agent.  Once a dischargeable fabric is printed with discharge ink and pass through a heat dryer, discharge agent in the discharge ink will be activated by the heat and either reduce or discharge the color pigment in the fabric.  Therefore the printed area becomes so-called naked (without being covered by color pigment).  The resulting color of the printed area is usually in canvas color, which is the natural color of the fabric before it was dyed into different colors.  The hand feel is very soft since it’s not an additive process.     

Discharge technique works very well with vintage looking designs because of the natural look and soft hand feel.  It also works better with dark color t-shirts since the dark color t-shirts will set a stronger color contrast with the natural canvas color.  The discharge technique can be applied with water base pigment.  Therefore discharge printing in color can be achieved.  It still gives you all the advantages including vintage look and soft hand feel.

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