"Our figures prove women like the unparalleled comfort of fine garments that are more flattering in the way they drape, fit and stretch providing freedom of movement and coverage that only added body length can provide," it says.  "The era when tees chafed, irritated, felt rough against the skin and felt heavy and bulky is over." With this in mind Bella has created an entirely new line of sheer jersey longer length styles (8101, 8102, 8150), which are in line with what it says is the latest trend for lightweight fabrics and longer length tees. These 100% combed ringspun cotton, 40 single fine knitted garments not only pick up the latest fashion of longer length tees combined with a relaxed jersey fit, they also provide a flattering fit for feminine contours.

Bella has also greatly extended its Sheer Mini Rib Longer Length Tee collection, adding three new styles (8703, 8750, 8780) and a greatly increased colour offering in the existing styles. "This line has been extremely popular right from its start due to its retail inspired lightweight feel and its form-fitting drape which is unlike anything else in the industry," says Bella.

Both the sheer jersey and sheer mini rib fabrics are well-rounded options with many applications offered in a wide colour palette, which picks up the latest trend of chocolate and pastel shades, says Bella.

Bella also believes that consumers are returning to high quality products. "In the past couple of years everyone noticed the flood of shirts coming from low labour cost countries in Asia with aggressive pricing but poor quality shirts," it says. "On one hand we see consumers more than ever reinforce the overall concept of ‘more for less', but on the other hand we see a reverse trend.

"People have tried these inexpensive products and come back to the understanding that it does not reflect well onto their business - delivering shirts with high shrinkage and knit holes which will most likely will not bring repeated sales. Customers realise that price is an important factor but not the only key to a successful business decision. We strongly believe businesses are starting to put more importance on quality to distinguish themselves from their competition and maintain their company image."

With its roots firmly in the screen printing industry, Bella has put together some suggested printing techniques for its 2008 range. These are designed to act as a helpful guide to printers, especially those who may not be familiar with Bella's garments:

Bella Printing Techniques 2008:

Baby Rib

Styles 1001, 1005, 1007, 1011, 1080, 2000, 2020, 2700, 5001, 4000, 1003

Printing:

Loading:
Load onto the pallet in a smooth manner without stretching the fabric too much.

Plastisol Ink:
- Add 5% - 8% spandisol to give the ink elasticity, 2% reducer to liquefy the viscosity.
- This will allow the ink to stretch and not crack.

Water Based ink:
- With its liquid base, it will saturate into the fabric and will naturally stretch.

Heat Transfer: Yes

Embroidery: Yes

Jersey Knit

Styles 6000, 6000H, 6050, 6020

Printing:
Standard print fabric and no special instructions needed

Heat Transfer: Yes

Embroidery: Yes

Sheer Jersey

Styles 8101, 8102, 8150

Printing:

Plastisol:
- Add a maximum of 5% reducer to sheer fabric
- this will give a very smooth hand to the ink
- If more than 5% is added, it could affect the washability strength of the ink

Water Based:
- Is naturally soft

It is recommended to print no more than 1-3 colours on these garments. You can print more than 3 colours but the design will begin to become heavy on this fine, supersoft fabric.

Heat Transfer: Yes

Embroidery: It is recommended to use a design no bigger than 2"x3". A large design could be too heavy for this fine, supersoft fabric.

Mini Rib Sheer

Styles 8701, 8705, 8770, 8703, 8750, 8780

Printing:

Plastisol:
- Add a maximum of 2% reducer to mini rib sheer fabric
- this will give a very smooth hand to the ink
- If more than 2% is added, it could affect the washability strength of the ink
- Add up to 5% spandisol for ink flexibility

Water Based:
- Is naturally soft, liquified, and will stretch

It is recommended to print no more than 1 - 3 colours on these garments. You can print more than 3 colours but the design will begin to become heavy on this fine, supersoft fabric.

Heat Transfer: Yes

Embroidery: It is recommended to use a design no bigger than 2"x3". A large design could be too heavy for this fine, supersoft fabric.

Cotton Spandex

Styles 600, 301, 491, 602, 302, 800, 807, 810, 820, 825, 840, 875, 960, 750

Printing:

Loading: Load onto the pallet in a smooth manner without stretching the fabric much.

Plastisol Ink:

- Add 5% - 8% spandisol to give the ink elasticity
- This will allow the ink to stretch and not crack.
- When printing a front chest print on the 960, pull the removable bra fabric from below the garment. This will allow you to print more than 1 colour.
- When printing over seams, follow the instruction at the bottom of this document

Note: the style # 750 is mini pique and may not be able to support detailed process prints as _ tones could be lost.

Heat Transfer: Yes

Embroidery: Yes

Fleece and French Terry

Styles 7017, 7007, 7010, 7207, 7217

Printing:

Plastisol:
- When printing on fleece and French Terry, add 5% thickener or base to give better opacity (coverage) to the print.

Heat Transfer: Yes

Embroidery: Yes

Velour and Thermal knits

Styles 7807, 7817, 8500

Printing:

Plastisol:
- Generally the only additive needed when printing on velour is 2% - 5% thickener for opacity. For Thermal knits, add 2% reducer to weaken in viscosity for better printability in between the waffle knit peaks and valleys.
- We recommend as few colours as possible. Printed velour and thermal fabric look best when embellished with only 1 colour and it is easy to print on.

Heat Transfer: With caution, consistency of velour and thermal knit fabric may not properly support a heat transfer.

Embroidery: Yes

Printing on Seam (with no ink build up)

For example, Style 491 back side

All side seams

Loading:

- Must be some stretch when loading onto pallet (pallet should be 3 - 6 cms wider than the garment)
- Artwork should be modified to account for a 5% -10% horizontal stretch on fabric.

Printing:

- First head should have a blank screen with base in it
- Pressure on squeegee on first head should be very high to flatten out the seam
- This first screen is not used to print anything, it is used to simply to help flatten the seam
- Each screen should be on a screen with mesh somewhat loose (not tight)

Ink:

- Add 5% reducer to make the ink more of a liquid substance so that it can't build up on (what's left of the) seam.

The above technique will make a print virtually look as good as it would if there were no seam. The result is far better when only 1 colour is printed (with the loose mesh it is difficult to register multiple colours). All Bella 100% cotton fabrics are dischargeable.

Products available from:

UKL: http://www.uklonline.co.uk/

Ralawise: http://www.ralawise.com/

PAG: http://www.pag-leisurewear.co.uk/

Note: the above are recommendations only and have worked in Bella' experience. Proper testing should be done at the sampling level by the screenprinter to ensure the quality of the print, before production.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---