Multimedia garment decoration can bring a flat embroidery design to life with a splash of sparkle and color!
There are three issues to consider when looking to add brilliant rhinestones or spangles to embroidery and direct to garment printing.
Mixed media garment designs are an idea that is certainly not new. The practice of adding Brilliant rhinestones to embroidery and spangles to direct to garment printing has been around for years. You will see it on everything from popular brands to corporate apparel.
Although multimedia has been around a long time, have you considered offering mixed media garments to customers? If you haven’t, you might be holding off on success and missing out on significant profit potential.
Those who offer this fashion statement to clients are able to charge a premium for perceived value. Adding rhinestones to an embroidered cap or T-shirt in a few key spots will allow you to raise rates by a third of the original price. A touch of sparkle with the ProSpangle Hotfix spangle machine adds excitement to your product line to increase your market share.
What is involved in adding sparkle to embroidery or direct to garment print designs?
There are some terrific things about a good mixed media design. You have the opportunity to create something truly one-of-a-kind. With a fresh burst of energy, artwork or logos ban be seen in a new light! Done right, multimedia can even let you add new, creative elements to a design.
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With that, there are three main issues to consider when creating mixed media designs:
Type of material
The T-shirt is probably the most common material for multimedia decorating. However, adding appliques or heavy embroidery may not the best choice on a low weight cotton T-shirt. Selecting the material it is always good to look at the details. If a decorating process like high stitch count embroidery on a bargain basement fabric is pushing it as a single application, it probably won’t work well for a multimedia design either.
For heavier designs, use fleece sweats, shirts, aprons or hats, jeans and the like. Foils, spangles and Hotfix rhinestones work exceptionally well with direct to garment or screen printing. Adding crystals to light shirts, burnouts and thin garments with direct to garment printing should not weigh the garment down unnecessarily.
Mix it up with mixed media!
On the right fabric, there are no limitations to what you can do with mixed media! Rhinestones and direct to garment printer designs, embroidery with spangles or sequins, and so on. The list is endless!
While you are at it, why stop at two? Mix three or more different elements. Start with basic graphics as a base, and then improve it with your own style and imagination. Try several different techniques to see what looks best for you, and your customers.
One popular multimedia element is foil, which work excellently with direct to garment printers. DTG Foils are easy to work with, especially when using genuine DTG Inks. Simply use your heat press to add a little extra sparkle. It only takes a few seconds to turn a flat design to fabulous!
Other techniques can be used for multimedia designs, including laser etching, chenille, sublimation, puffy foam embroidery and reflective materials like embroidery with Madeira Metallic Threads. Take a cue from the fashionistas: If it looks good on the runway, use that for inspiration! Create a similar design and create something your customers will love.
Marketing Multimedia
The popularity of multimedia designs has dramatically increased demand in the last few years. Customers—especially female customers—are drawn to designs that are hip, creative and unique. Spirit wear, dance and cheer squads are natural markets for multimedia designs. For those clients, the more sparkle, the better.
Add rhinestones to embroidering or a few strategic spangles to direct to garment printer images and you will be creating unique designs that put you miles ahead of your competition.
Spirit wear and cheer squads are the obvious markets. Consider less apparent customers like corporate, club or casual wear. Service business owners want employees to look good and make an impression. Fashionable styles will improve a company’s image, encouraging customers to take a second look. Major corporations, even those seen as conservative use full-color direct to garment printer images with embroidery to call a bit more attention to their logos and business wear.
Sports teams, such as local recreation leagues, also share a enormous demand for mixed media designs. Combining direct to garment printer images with embroidery is a low-cost and easy technique that makes a mascot or logo stand out on hats, jerseys and other promotional products. Market trends are an prime indicator of what will work for your customers. Study trends to increase your understanding of new techniques in garment decoration.
Adding rhinestones to your product line is easy, with the Glitz Up application tool or the Brush-N-Bake Rhinestone Decorating System from Colman and Company. The CAMS Automatic Rhinestone Setting Machine is perfect for a shop looking towards mass production of multimedia designs.
Nothing can be easier for an embroidery shop to expand into mixed media than with direct to garment printers like the DTG Viper or DTG M2 Garment Printers.
Multimedia decorating up your customer appeal and build both business and profits. Start being creative and jump head-first into the world of mixed media designs!
For more information about embroidery, rhinestones, spangles and direct to garment printing, ColDesi Inc. is the perfect place to start! Visit ColDesi.com or call 877-793-3278 today!
Do you have some great tips for mixed media design? Let us know in the comments below!
