Report from The Atlantic City ISS Show

For those of you who couldn’t make it, here are some photos and the latest news from the March 13-16, 2014 Imprinted Sportswear Show in Atlantic City. At first glance, the show seems very similar to the Long Beach Show which is held in January. However the key differences are the number of attendees (Long Beach usually attracts bigger crowds), and the weather. Although on Saturday the temperature did climb into the 60’s, it was below freezing and strong wind chill on the rest of the days. Enough about the weather! This is what I really want to tell you:

1) The Big Reveal! Remember I mentioned there would be an exciting new product introduction ? Well we introduced the Hotronix Dual Air Fusion at the show on Thursday. Ben Robinson and Brian Sukarukoff unveiled the press up in room 309 and the press was later moved downstairs to the show floor. Ben was

busy demonstrating the press all three days of the show, also showing off our new leg/arm platen that makes it easier than ever to print on pant legs and long sleeve shirts.  What did people like about the press? With two printing stations, this press can increase production by at least 50% with a single operator. The upper platen moves between heat printing stations, allowing operators to prepare garments on one station while the other is being pressed. And what about those lasers? You can purchase an optional laser alignment system with four independently adjustable lasers per platen! Talk about fool-proof precision decoration.Exclusive touch screen technology provides Position-Based Recipe (PBR) heating allows each station to be programmed to work in unison or independently. With

interchangeable quick change lower platens you can print full front designs on one station and sleeves, bags, pant legs, shoes, etc. on the other. Who should take a closer look at this press? It’s perfect for Direct-to-Garment printers, since it makes pre-heating, pre-curing, pressing, and post-curing easy. You can set your A station for pre-treatment and your B station for post-print curing. This cuts your set-up and production time in half.

2) Embroiderers understand the need for heat printing. I had the chance to talk to a

lot of customers at the show. Thanks to those of you who stopped by in room 309 to chat, grab a coffee or soda and a bag of chips or cookie. It was a great atmosphere to relax and try to take in all the opportunities that heat printing offers your business. I’m glad to hear that many of you are realizing more and more how important heat printing is to your profitability. I can’t tell you how many embroiderers are now breathing sighs of relief since they have found a solution for decorating performance wear. Embroidery and performance wear just don’t mix well, and when I saw your reactions to our wide selection of options for performance wear, I know you are going to be able to keep more customers happy. The same goes for screen printers although it

seems as if an overwhelmimg number of the people I spoke with owned embroidery machines.

3. It’s All About the Artwork. I’ve said this before but it can’t be repeated often enough: Artwork sells shirts! No matter what process you use to make a custom shirt happen, it all starts with the artwork. Greg

and Clint from Cadworxlive.com didn’t have moment to leave their demonstration station, they were constantly busy showing people how to use this free, online artwork design tool. Greg reports that there are over 20,000 registered Cadworxlive.com users. Think you don’t need it? If you have ever tried to create script with tails in either CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator, give the script with tail feature on Cadworxlive a whirl. You’ll see why it has so many fans. More proof that people want and need amazing artwork? A free, 1.5 hour seminar held by Dane Clement of Great Dane Graphics was packed. And it was

held AFTER show hours.

4. There’s Something About a Free T-Shirt. The long lines at the T-Shirt Shoppe on the show floor, where we had at least 6 Hotronix presses going at all times, didn’t dissuade visitors from joining the queue. We saw a lot of creativity in the way you were able to mix and match transfers from Transfer Express and

Wild Side with CAD-CUT Glitter Flake, Thermo-FLOCK and Fashion Film cut ups. Oh and don’t forget the rhinestones. The stacks of rhinestone transfers from the Wild Side were always the first to go, especially the Cheer design and the elaborate neckline bedazzlers .There were also a few sequin transfers that were very popular. Bling lives on. Especially in New Jersey. Good job on those custom shirts everyone.

5. In 2015, ISS Atlantic City will Co-Locate with PPAI Expo East! This was really big news, announced on Friday after the show. Next March, you will see PPAI and the ISS Shows combining at this venue. We believe it makes a lot of sense for customers, since there is so much cross over between promotional products and imprinted sportswear. This gives you more reasons to put this event on your calendar than ever before. We can’t wait to be a part of this collaboration and are already making plans for next year’s booths!

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