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How to make the best out of your cutter or Print & Cut machine

How to make the best out of your cutter or Print & Cut machine

When someone new to the market is contemplating the purchase of a cutter or print and cut machine, they often ask the question “What can you actually do with it?” The answer is basically that you can do whatever the limit of your imagination is! Cutters and Print & Cut machines offer a versatility unmatched by other print methods – not only can you print onto a wide variety of garments, but you can also use other materials through the machine which will enable you decorate items such as window clings, sports helmets, vehicle wraps and banners! So you can offer to your customers the complete printing service – they don’t have to go anywhere else.

 

Materials are now available which will permit you to print onto what used to be considered specialist such as nylons, performance wear, swimsuits and leather. In fact anything that will go under a heat press. And the materials can be fully opaque. Plus there are novel materials now that include glow in the dark, metallics, sparkles, fashion and so on.

 

Cutters are usually used to produce single colour motifs (although some will permit overlay or butting to create multi-colour designs) which are perfect for short run work such as the sponsor’s name for the local football team (quite a few teams also have their own unique numbers cut perhaps incorporating the sponsors logo); or staff uniforms at the local restaurant. Nowadays everybody wants to display their corporate or team name – even the local pub’s darts team likes to wear their name on their shirt! This sort of production is so much quicker, cheaper and cleaner than screen printing and of course is much more environmentally friendly!

 

Print & Cut machines are more expensive, and require additional training, but in turn also offer a greater range of options. Machines can print everything from a single colour through to photo realistic designs, and once the printing process is complete, the machine will then cut out the design for weeding in the same way as the standard cutters. There are also methods contained within the software to maximise usage of the material to avoid waste. For example “nesting” is a process by which the software will arrange the designs for printing and cutting to use as much space up on the material as possible without the need for mechanically moving each design into position.

 

Once you have taken the plunge and bought your equipment, you will need to consider how to market your service to your potential new customers. It may seem obvious, but the first rule is always “Tell People what you do”. You will genuinely be surprised by the number of people who don’t know what services you offer unless you tell them.  Put a sign up stating what you do, and make sure that your business cards state exactly what it is you do. Wear staff shirts – become a walking advertisement for your business. Print your name or logo onto the shirts you and any staff wear – and be adventurous and show what can be done with the products you offer.

 

Another Golden Rule reads “Network Network Network”. Ask other business owners to put up a notice featuring your company. You may be asked to reciprocate – but that also helps build up your network. Remember too that all the businesses in your local neighbourhood are potential customers whether they require staff uniforms, or are running a promotion or maybe are helping a local charity raise funds.

 

To get good coverage of your business, make an effort to get friendly with your local newspaper. They are always looking for a good story, particularly if it’s benefitting the local readership. Maybe you can produce a shirt which commemorates a local event – or what about offering a reader service providing items through the paper? Hold an in-store “Design a Tee Shirt contest” in association with the local paper which will guarantee you good coverage. Go and talk to your local papers, once again you’ll be surprised at how much they can help you.

One tip that works really well is to offer something a little extra to the customer’s order. If they were to order say a dozen printed caps, give them an extra one free. The bakers dozen concept is a great way to keep customers coming back for more. Some people don’t see the benefit in giving away something that people are prepared to pay for, but being generous is a really good way to say “Thanks for buying from us, we really appreciate your business, please come again”.  And usually the customer tells everyone about it – and word of mouth is a truly great way to gain new business!

 

 

About the Author

About this Article: This is one of a series of occasional articles issued to help those active in the garment decoration and embellishment industry by Target Transfers. Target is a major UK supplier of Equipment, materials, custom transfers, garments and accessories to the imprinted wear market, and a member of GroupeSTAHL, the world’s leading supplier of Identity for Textiles. Please visit Targets website for more details at www.TargetTransfers.com. Posted by Martin Borley

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