The question is, how diverse do you make your offering? Do you offer extra items on spec or do you wait until you’re asked? Do you outsource the extra items to a specialist or do you try and conserve your margins by doing it in house?

The answers to all of these questions will depend on your set up and what demand from your clients is like. But if you’ve thought about offering these items which, for now, we’ll term ‘sundries’, read on for some basic info and tips from those who know.

Which items?

Some sundry items are easy to print on using your current equipment, so it’s a no-brainer. Screen printers can easily branch out into printing on umbrellas, wallets, mouse mats and soft cases for sunglasses or MP3 players, for example. Embroiderers can easily take on ties, towels, socks, handkerchiefs, scarves, pet blankets or even seasonal items such as Christmas stockings. “This could end up as a long list,” says Tony Whitmore of Your Embroidery Services. “You don’t have to use special frames but, if one exists, the embroiderer will be more productive by using it. Most items are ‘easy’ to embroider as long as you have good quality materials and follow the technique associated with that product. Where small items are concerned such as socks, the quality of the design takes on added importance.”

Garment decorators who really want to expand their promotional merchandise inventory however, might consider investing in a pad printer. This vastly widens possibilities – pens, mugs, CDs, golf balls, key rings, calculators… it doesn’t matter if the surface is plastic, glass or metal, and a smooth surface isn’t necessarily needed to print on.

Another technique, of course, is transfer technology, which again, allows for decorating many more substrates than fabric. “The big advantage of using toner-based laser transfers is that the surfaces or indeed the colours don’t need any special treatment,” says Jim Nicol of TheMagicTouch, referring to the fact that the sublimation process requires a polyester base. “We currently have towels, socks and umbrellas in our blank consumable stock that can be printed in full colour using a standard heat press.”

With so much choice, it could be hard to try and narrow down exactly what you want to branch out into. So we’ve picked out five popular items that could be a suitable add-on to what you’re already offering your clients.

Ties

Ties are a great way of personalising a uniform or denoting allegiance to a particular team or organisation. They've been mentioned in many previous articles simply because they can form part of the offering to so many different markets: corporatewear, schoolwear, sports/clubwear, uniforms.... You could argue that ties are in decline, given the trend for ‘dressing down’, but there are plenty of traditionalists out there for whom ties can be the item that makes them a cut above the rest of the crowd.

So what are the options? On a practical (not to mention financial) level, it’s probably best to leave the silk ties to the MDs. Ties forming part of a uniform will need to be tied and retied hundreds of times, so will need to stand up to wear and tear. In these cases, a hardwearing polyester fabric would be the obvious choice. Many suppliers offer a structured clip-on variety for ease of use and in some cases, safety reasons. Kipper, skinny, or any other styles associated with certain decades, are probably best avoided.

Branding potential: Ties are more often left undecorated than not; it’s the colour or inherent stripe combination that will associate it with an organisation, school, regiment or club. However, if they are to be decorated, an embroidered crest, logo or lettering halfway down the visible part of the tie is a common method.

Umbrellas

Umbrellas are great give-away items, and given the summer we’ve just had, could be all-year round mini-advertising boards for any organisation. They’re sometimes used for protection from the sun as well as rain – in fact, the word umbrella derives from the Latin word for ‘shade’.

Umbrellas come in various forms – telescopic types that fold down so small they can fit into a woman’s handbag, contrasted with those that are so large that they can be used as a walking stick – and have the curved handle to match. There are also golf umbrellas, with the alternate white and colour panels, which are particularly popular for branding with a logo.

Branding potential: The panels give a substantial area to print on but as umbrellas are primarily nylon, printers need to be aware of the restrictions of printing on this fabric. Printers also need to bear in mind that while the panels are subject to being creased (umbrellas spend most of the time folded up), they are unlikely to undergo the trauma of a machine wash (unlike, say, a rain mac). The sleeve that covers smaller umbrellas when folded away is also a great place for branding.

Socks

If you’re supplying T-shirts, trousers, jackets and hats to a client, why not offer socks? There are plenty of sports socks (and plain ankle socks for corporatewear) to choose from, many of which could be embroidered or printed. Just remember that one size does not fit all and check sizes with your client. Branding potential: The outside ankle area is the most visible place for decoration. Sports socks with ribbing can have a plain knit area here to facilitate decoration.

Sunglasses

A cool add-on to any outerwear, beachwear or sportswear offering; sunglasses can range from the fashionable (such as the enormous face-covering lenses worn by the likes of Victoria Beckham) to the sporty, wraparound types seen on ski slopes, golf courses and tennis courts everywhere.

Branding potential: The glasses themselves can be decorated using a pad printer – the most common place is along the arm. Soft cases can be printed or embroidered, and if the glasses are kept in a hard case it can be pad printed (or laser engraved if the case is an alloy construction). The lens cloth is also an easy square of fabric to print or embroider.

Towels and bathrobes

A surprisingly large market exists for branded towels and bathrobes. Think gyms, sports clubs, saunas and health spas, hair salons, hotels and pubs and you’re only at the tip of the iceberg.

Terry toweling is 100% cotton and unmatched in its absorbency and performance. And the more it’s washed, the better its performance (although softness can become an issue with 100% cotton fabrics, and fabric softener affects absorption rate). Sizes range from face cloth or flannel size (approx 30x30cm) to bar towels (approx 50x20cm), hand towels (approx 50x100cm), bath towels (approx 70x140cm) and beach towels (approx 70x170cm).

Branding potential: The looped fabric of toweling can prove a challenge to embroiderers, according to Tony Whitmore. “The biggest problem with terry towel is the pile which pokes through the embroidery making it look untidy,” he says. “To overcome this the embroiderer can use water soluble material (Aquafilm) to hold the pile down during embroidery. After this the excess is ripped away leaving just the material trapped in between the stitches and the towel. The first time the towel is washed the material will dissolve. It makes the towel look better at the point of sale. Ideally, polyester thread should be used on towels as it withstands more punishment where laundering is concerned.”

It is possible to print on a towel (think beach towels), using water-based inks, although it’s probably best to get an expert on board unless you're thinking about making it your specialty. Consider the fact that a towel’s loops can move in any direction (in fact, it’s common practice to ‘shave’ the print side of the towel to get around this problem), and the potential problem of wicking... has this put you off yet? We wouldn’t blame you...

Further information

BPMA: www.bpma.co.uk

Your Embroidery Services: www.yesltd.co.uk

TheMagicTouch: www.themagictouch.co.uk

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