The three-day event returns to Birmingham's NEC from March 1-3. It incorporates many of the world's leading brands available through UKbased distributors, together with manufacturers and distributors of embroidery machines and accessories, screen printing and digital printing technology and many other techniques for garment decoration.

The exhibition is also a vital opportunity for new and existing buyers to see and feel the garments and products ‘in the flesh', rather than just in a brochure format, and is often used as a showcase for new product launches and to demonstrate the latest technologies in printing and embroidery.

All of which really draws the crowds. Last year, while other exhibitions struggled to get the visitors in, at Printwear & Promotion they flooded through the doors to bring numbers on a par with 2007 - quite a result given the current climate. And exhibitors were delighted with the quality of enquiries and leads they generated as a result. Post-show feedback also told us that the number of new visitors to the show was extremely high, (43% in our survey) demonstrating not only the thriving nature of the industry, but also representing a healthy number of potential new customers for the exhibitors.

This year sees some new faces at the exhibition, such as Lewis Print, The Creative Nut and Unique Promotions, as well as all the regulars. So whether you want to enjoy a bit of networking and make some new contacts in the industry, or simply catch up with some old ones, this is an event not to be missed.

Seminars

Following the success of last year's seminar suite - which was full to the brim for every session - the seminars return for 2009, but in a bigger and better format. The seminars are given by industry experts and are designed to educate and inspire visitors, so they can leave feeling they have learnt something really valuable to help them in their business. Last year the reaction to these was fantastic. The suite has been enlarged for 2009 to meet the demand, so expect a varied and knowledgeable line-up over the three days. Keep a look out in the next issue for full details of speakers and topics.

Of course, the exhibition wouldn't be an exhibition without the on-stand product and machinery demonstrations and launches, showcasing the very latest in garment decoration technology, as well as a comprehensive array of samples, freebies and promotional giveaways to take away - so expect all of this again for 2009.

Confirmed Speakers for the 2009 Seminars;

Alex Papaioannou, Business Development Manager of Pulse Microsystems

Gordon Glenister, Director General of the BPMA (British Promotional Merchandise Association)

Joe Johal, Managing Director of Interworld

Peter Kiddell, Managing director of PDS Consulting and the President of the UK Screen Printing Association

‘The full list of the Seminar Speakers and Topics will be featured in the February issue of Printwear & Promotion'

Fashion Shows

Also making a welcome return are the daily fashion shows. Professionally choreographed to music, the fashion shows are an excellent opportunity for brands to showcase their ranges, and also provide an entertaining break from business for visitors and exhibitors.

Here's just a taster of what to expect at this year's show:

Lewis Print

Lewis Print will be exhibiting for the first time at this year's Printwear and Promotion show, and are pleased to introduce you to our wide range of products and services for the garment decoration and promotional industry.

During 2009 Lewis Print has out grown its existing premises, and moved to a purpose build site, where all of the services can be completed under one roof.

Some of the services offered by Lewis Print include: -

Garment Films Transfers (manufacture and application service available)
Screen Printing
Embroidery
Embroidery Digitising
Exhibition Printing

At the 2009 show Lewis Print will be introducing a selection of new styles of garment films to compliment its current range, on top of Lewis Print's heat presses.Lewis Print can be located on stand E40, between Pencarrie and BTC. Visitors will be welcomed to explore the stand, take samples and enter a competition to win one of many prizes. Our team will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about the various areas of our business.

Stand No: E40

BTC activewear

BTC activewear has increased its range by nearly 25% for 2009 and will be showing many of their 38 market leading brands at the forthcoming Printwear and Promotion Exhibition. And with a dynamic new corporate image the new look BTC activewear stand will not go un-noticed!

They are offering increased ranges from most of their existing brands, many of which they introduced to the industry, including Dickies and Denny's. Due to their considerable experience of the Workwear market with these brands, BTC activewear has recognised a considerable opportunity for Workwear both for restaurant/bar staff and tradesmen, such as builders, plumbers and electricians.

To cater for this they are offering a number of new iconic Workwear brands for 2009 including Snickers, Caterpillar, Mascot, Kelly Hansen and Panoply, to distribute its top quality workwear in the Corporate and Imprint industries. In addition they will be running the entire Kustom Kit collection including all of their new BarGear range.

As a consequence, BTC activewear believe they now have the most comprehensive workwear collection available in the industry.

The Stormtech range of technically advanced jackets has also grown considerably for 2009: alongside Regatta and Result BTC activewear offer probably the best selection of outerwear in the industry.

And there's no brand more iconic than Nike, heading up their new Golf section alongside a much increased GameGear range within their Sports section.

BTC activewear were the first and are still the largest UK distributors of both Fruit of the Loom and Gildan, and once again offer their entire collections for 2009.

For more information on their 2009 collection and to request a copy of their new catalogue, please call 0121 505 5177, e-mail marketing@btcactivewear.co.uk or visit www.btcactivewear.co.uk

Stand No: F30

Your Embroidery Services (YES)

Your Embroidery Services Ltd. are a regular sight for visitors at the Printwear and Promotion exhibition and this year will be no exception. As usual they will be showing a wide range of products from their extensive range of machinery, software and consumables but there will be a few things that demand closer examination.

On the embroidery front they will have a selection of machines from world renowned manufacturer SWF including the unique Dual Function machine. Although these have been around for a few years now they still promote interest from the astute embroiderer. Although built on one chassis the machine is effectively two production units that run independently of each other. When first launched the obvious benefit was the fact that it allowed for the user to embroider two different patterns and/or garments at the same time and there is no doubt that it does represent an important production feature. There are however two other benefits that, in their own way, could be easily considered as more important. Firstly there is the overflow or end of order situation that all embroiderers will face at some point. This is when you have that odd amount of garments left that will not fill up the machine and so you end up wasting the time of some of the heads. With the Dual Function the end of the order can be finished on one side of the machine whilst the next order is being started on the other. Secondly, and arguably more important, is what happens when the machine experiences a thread break. On standard machines the whole machine will stop but on the Dual Function only have the heads stop sewing. The others carry on regardless therefore limiting the loss of production.

Apart from these amazing machines 'YES Ltd.' will also show examples of single head and standard multi-head machines. It is worth remembering that SWF have produced the first multi-head embroidery machine to truly run at 1500spm once again offering a way to increase production. These days the amount of revenue your machine can earn may become even more important than before so it is good to see that SWF and 'YES Ltd.' are taking this seriously.

Although well known for supporting embroidery Your Embroidery Services Ltd. are also becoming equally well known on the digital print scene with their range of DTG direct to garment digital ink jet printers. This range has been around for a few years now but the manufacturers cannot be accused of sitting back. Instead they have continually worked hard to drive this technology forward to the point where they now offer a wider range of models than any other supplier in the market. Whether you want to a small footprint table top model or one of the larger floor standing production units DTG definitely has a model for you. With the advanced technology now used the production rates seen from these machines has increased dramatically. Even the smaller single unit models now produce at a rate thought to be impossible just a couple of years ago. The big news however on this front at the 2009 show will be the new WIMS and the Eco Solvent inks. Let's look at WIMS first.

For those that do not know all ink jet machine print heads have to be regularly cleaned. This is done by the machine following a set cycle and forcing ink through the jets to ensure that they do not become blocked. You will have heard your desktop model do this especially when you switch it on or off. The problem with this is that the ink that is used is wasted. With the four colours (CMYK) this is not so bad because each colour is only being forced through one set of jets. With the white ink however the amount wasted is 8 fold as that is how many sets of jets are used on some of the models. To alleviate this DTG have introduced the all new WIMS (White Ink Management System) which recycles the white ink back into the reservoir for future use. Not only does it do this though but it also sets up the correct amount of pressure needed to achieve perfect coverage. What more could you ask for?

The Eco Solvent Inks have a different purpose but one that will be just as important to some. These allow for better printing onto hard surface products as well as a wider range of items. Although some may still need pre-treatment this number is greatly reduced and will definitely offer the DTG user a wider market range. When you add in the software and consumables supplied by 'YES Ltd.' it is easy to see why they have become such an important part of the embroidery scene. To see these products and more make sure that you pay them a visit and talk to the folks from YES. For further information about any of the products mentioned here or anything else in the 'YES Ltd.' catalogue call 01623 863343 or e-mail them at sales@yesltd.co.uk You can alsovisit the web site at www.yesltd.co.uk

Stand No: F10

PenCarrie

Leading distributor PenCarrie is once again to be found at the centre of the exhibition on Stand D40. The generous 100m_ of space will be used to showcase many of the 325 new styles the company is stocking for 2009. Selections will include styles from four brands new to PenCarrie's portfolio, namely: Dickie's (durable workwear and industrial footwear); PenDuick (jackets and gilets that reflect the brand's strong nautical heritage); Stormtech (performance clothing for the outdoor enthusiast); and RTXTRA. Also on display will be a selection of new and best-selling styles from a further 50 or so of the quality brands that PenCarrie represents.

"We aim to make the stand a one-stop shopwindow featuring all that is best in promotional clothing and accessories," comments David Abrahams, PenCarrie's marketing manager. "Everything will be arranged so that visitors can handle the goods and take time to appreciate their particular features. Plenty of PenCarrie staff will be on hand to chat about the new products and to talk through ideas for new marketing initiatives designed to support our customers in 2009."

PenCarrie has always viewed the exhibition as a place to meet with customers socially and not just for business. Stand D40 will once again be a place to relax and enjoy a drink after exploring the impressive collections on view; and the PenCarrie team is looking forward to welcoming what they hope will be a record number of visitors this year.

Stand D40

Blue Max

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