PPB December 2017

T- sh i r t s | DECEMBER 2017 | 23 INNOVATE Directions In Decorating Stahls’ (PPAI 189660) began as a family business in 1932, specializing in letter, screen printing, chenille and apparel decorating. Today, it is respected throughout the sportswear, custom apparel and promotional products industries for high-quality equipment, materials and service. PPB asked Courtney Kubitza, manager of educational content at Stahls’, to weigh in on what’s new in the ever-changing apparel market. She outlined the following design trends that will influence t-shirt decorating in 2018. Textures And Tonal Prints Streetwear’s influence on t-shirt decoration has led to sleek, modern t-shirts that are edgy. Popular texturized fabrics create a perfect canvas for tone-on-tone prints. The textures within these t-shirts give the illusion of blurred motion, a popular design style among top sportswear retailers today. Create a minimalist look pairing a dark textured shirt with a like color heat transfer. Using different textures in the same color such as foil with a flock heat transfer adds a level of dimension to the artwork. Matte, translucent heat transfers also create a tonal effect. Customizable Patterns New patterns in blank garment and decoration will be on trend in the new year. An increased desire for t-shirt enthusiasts to be unique and fashionable leads to more customization of patterns. This is evidenced by the rise in custom full-color blank apparel manufacturing with all over sublimation. New customizable heat transfer vinyl pattern generators allow decorators new ways to create custom patterns to fit their customer. Split Design Effects Splitting text is a popular typography style that will continue into 2018. This design style creates designs from simple text artwork by splitting the text with colors, or horizontal or diagonal lines to form a unique design element. Going forward, this design style will be elevated by splitting the text with different colors and finishes. Pairing together multiple finishes such as foil, glitter, flock and matte effects will bring t-shirt designs to life. Terry Ramsay is associate editor of PPB. Tonal foil with a flock heat transfer Tonal matte translucent heat transfer Customizable heat transfer vinyl patterns Split text foil and glitter Split text foil and matte