On this edition of Terry Town Today, we’re going to take you through a brief history of printing on textiles and explain how the promotional products industry has evolved over the years. With print methods that now allow us to create wonderful works of art, we're continuing a centuries old tradition of one of the world’s oldest trades.
Before we could print beautiful, full color graphics, there was a time when printers were decorating textiles in ways that required time and patience. Known as Woodblock Printing, printers in China, Japan, and the East Indies would create fantastic works of art via wooden blocks. These designs were pressed onto cotton or silk and could not be replicated by any other method for decorating textiles, making each print that much more valuable. If we fast forward to the present day, we now have the ability to create stunning edge-to-edge graphics via dye sublimation. A process which started out in the late 1950’s thanks to a Frenchman named Noel de Plasse, dye sublimation has opened the door for printing possibilities that were previously deemed impossible. As print technology improved and became widely available for commercial use, the sublimation process slowly started to make its way into the promotional products industry. A Printwear article from back in 2009 explained the sublimation process and how easy it was to print on items like apparel, mugs, mouse pads, key chains, flags, and banners.
Terry Town first caught sight of this printing process around the year of 2012, when we realized that there was a void in our industry that needed to be filled. The main issue was being able to supply our distributors with 4-color process, edge-to-edge printed towels and blankets that could be ordered in small quantities, with a prompt delivery time. As things stood, the only sublimation that was being offered in our industry at the time was limited to small format. In 2012, Terry Town introduced sublimated beach and sport towels. These towels were made of 100% microfiber polyester and were fantastic in the fact that you could print graphics with stunning clarity and quality.
But as great as the imprint was, there were still a few roadblocks that needed to be addressed. One of the issues Terry Town faced was on the material of the towels. Since towels were made of 100% cotton yarn for centuries, distributors felt that sublimated microfiber polyester towels wouldn't match up against the softness and absorbency of a 100% cotton towel. Therefore, distributors were a bit cautious to show their clients these items. So, after many rounds of trial and error, Terry Town’s Product Development team introduced a beach towel with a cotton-poly blend. Known as the Subli-Cotton, Terry Town was able to offer a beach towel with a microfiber polyester face to print on, but which also had cotton loops on the reverse side. This allowed for a unique combination of materials that would grant you stunning graphics, while still maintaining the feel of a cotton towel. As popularity with the Subli-Cotton grew, Terry Town kept the wheels of innovation turning. The entire line of Sublimation beach towels has grown to offer different weights and sizes that are now rivaling 100% cotton beach towels. The new and improved Subli-Plush Beach Towel is the latest addition to the Terry Town line, which now offers colored, cotton loops on the reverse side – an industry first.
But Terry Town didn’t just stop at beach towels. The entire product line has grown and expanded to accommodate sublimation printing. With a wide range of products that now includes blankets, shower curtains, and even yoga mats, there seems to be no end in sight for what sublimation can offer to the promotional products industry.
The art of printing on textiles has certainly come a long way when you take a look at how printing was done prior to technology taking over. The creativity, dedication, and love for the art, however, has stood the test of time and can be seen in every corner within our industry. Who knows what kinds of new methods will soon become the standard and leave sublimation as just another page in the history books? For now, Terry Town will keep on leading the charge in product innovation. By offering unique items that cant be found anywhere else, you’ll just have to see the quality for yourself. - A.E.
