Back in November The TFIA Digital
Print Cluster launched the 1st part of their very exciting Licence
to Print project and I was lucky enough to get myself a spot in the first
workshop.
Now I don’t know much about
making T-Shirts and even less about digital printing but here was the perfect
chance to make the T-Shirt (and sell it!) all the while learning about printing
….perfect.
I am always looking
for opportunities to bring a new angle to the products I can offer and had been
looking at the possibility of incorporating digital print textiles for a long
time but have always put it on the backburner.
If I am honest it has always seemed a bit terrifying.
Is it terrifying? Yes and no, there
is a lot more to it than I thought but it is also pretty easy to get started.
By the end of the workshop, with some very helpful advice from Tiffany and
Chole I had a file ready to go to the printer. During the workshop we did learn
about how to set up files for printing, how to manage colour, inks and all the
important technical lingo but it was all the insider info from Tiffany about
printing that was really invaluable. Who knew that fabric shrinks when you
digitally print? Well, now I do!
So, the story behind
this workshop is great, once you have got your t-shirt design ready and printed
the group plan to get them made up locally, exhibit them during LMFF and then
each designer can sell their T-Shirts online. My business isn’t about clothes,
it’s all about handbags! While I probably am not going to be making my millions
from T-Shirt sales I really love the promotional opportunity this could offer
me.
Image 1 – Tiffany Treloar working through the 1st
steps of getting the T-Shirt design ready.
Image 2 – Chole Kerr, the Textile & Fashion Hub digital
print technician, showing the placement and cutting of the T-Shirts
Image 3 – Tiffany Treloar and Argyro Gavalas checking the organic
cotton jersey ready for printing
Image 4 – Georgia Chapman and Christopher Hamblin looking at
the way files translate into actual prints
Image 5 – Tee designs coming to life
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