Having spent the last month visiting companies and events in the business, it's clear there are some impressive developments heading our way this year. Many of these new product and equipment advancements and far more besides will be revealed at the P&P exhibition which is fast approaching.

Some of the biggest names in the printwear world turned out with new ranges at the UKL trade exhibition. The three-day event at the company's Swindon base gave buyers and industry insiders alike the chance to check out what's likely to be big in Printwear this year.

Specialist suppliers of large format lamination products, PFS (Print Finishing Solutions) has appointed Damon Piall, as its Southern Area Sales Manager.

A new distributor is emerging on the Printwear scene with plans to offer major label garments. Warrington based Fit Apparel will be the only distributor in the UK to offer the complete range for the B&C collection, from Men's and Women's T shirts, Ladies fashion products, Corporate shirts, children's garments and a complete jacket collection. Also included is the Biosfair organic collection.

Checking colours correctly

A set of metameric samples has been produced by the SDC which form a simple and effective educational tool for use anywhere that colour plays a vital role.

Representatives of AJS Embroidery Services Limited who have been the distributor for Tajima embroidery products for over 14 years, recently visited Tajima Headquarters in Japan.

FESPA's Digital Print Awards 2009, supported by HP, has extended its entry date for award-winners until February 15.

Multi-brand distributor PenCarrie is expanding its business development team with the appointment of Charlie (Charlotte) Berry.

Roland DG Corporation has announced the launch of the company's newest entry level desktop engraver, the EGX-30A.

TheMagicTouch continue product innovation within the print world with as it expands its product offering with becoming authorised distributors of the latest "Print & Cut" solutions offered using the new Mimaki CJV30 range.

The UK launch of Katshu's innovative BabyTree takes place at the Promotional Marketing Exhibition, 24 to 26 March 2009. BabyTree is a miniature plant housed in a transparent recyclable capsule. Less than 5cm long and 2cm diameter, the capsule holds the BabyTree for approximately six months before it is moved to a larger pot.

Promoting your company effectively and imaginatively lies at the heart of any business's success.

The 20th International PROMOTA Show 2009 is building up to be a memorable event with plenty of surprises for those in the promotions industry.

This month we'll be looking at squeegee technique, thanks to a letter from Larry Le Touche at Screen Queens in Soho, 'Dear Doctor, is there any science behind a printer's squeegee blade pulling action? Should it be a pull, a flood and a pull, a pull and a push, or a flood and a push and a dry stroke?

There are many issues facing embroidery companies today, so P&P aims to tackle some of the most taxing. This month, printwear expert Tony Whitmore speaks to managing director of Your Embroidery Service, Roy Burton about designing patterns.

It's set to prove the must see event of the printwear calendar as the major players of the industry gather to unveil their latest range of products. Last year the show attracted a thousand new visitors, offering plenty of opportunity for generating fresh business.

2008 was a fantastic year for Fairtrade. The market is now worth over £500million in the UK alone and several mainstream companies have made significant commitments to support Fairtrade.

Get out there and sell. If there's one message that's coming through more than any other in these tough times it's the need for businesses to get back to some old fashioned selling.

"The T-shirt market is one that is growing in the promotional sector as digital printing technologies become more sophisticated and in turn, lead to a wider range of design opportunities," explains Gordon.

New additions to the Blue Max Champion T-shirt colour range are destined to be among its biggest sellers, says the company.

A new name to the BTC activewear stable is Fanshirt - one of the leading suppliers of imprintable T-Shirts and tops in Europe, specialising in designer fit and feel garments.

Epona will be carrying through 2 t-shirt styles into 2009, the women's W002 fitted cut W002 and the Men's M001 classic cut.

T-shirts have always been a simple yet highly effective way to display or advertise your  team name or club logo and the Finden+Hales range for 2009 features some fantastic teamwear t-shirts. Perfectly coordinated for men, women and kids.

With nearly 30 years experience in the t-shirt business, Fruit of the Loom's strong reputation precdeeds it. The company now manufactures 1.6 million T-shirts every week for its European market and has plenty to offer in 2009. Its new product launches for 2009 are dominated by fresh interpretations of the humble T.

Gildan offers an impressive 8 styles, 60 colours and 16 sizes in its T-shirt range making it one of the leading choices for printers across the world.

The influences of fashion trends are playing an ever-increasing role in the design and development of styles for the corporate wear market, says Henbury.

The latest James & Nicholson shirts offer a diverse selection of colours which are perfect for your Spring wardrobe, says the company.

Jerzees Colours from Russell Europe has come a long way since setting up three years ago. For 2009 the brand replaces its ZT160 range of adults long, children's T with the ZT150 range. With a slightly narrower cut than the 160 the ZT150 is 10 grams lighter making it the perfect promotional and summer product.

The Larkwood Baby and Toddler Collection offers some of the cutest range of young kidswear around. It s garments are styled softly and made out of the comfiest most wearable fabrics with lovely little details to make them extra special.

If you're looking for a t-shirt that's simple yet stylish with an added twist, then look no further than Okarma. Offering three styles of t-shirt - OK10 for men, OK11 for ladies and OK10B for children, what makes Okarma stand out from the rest is that its products are made from 100% Control Union certified organic cotton, which is great news for skin (as it's kinder on skin than conventional cotton) as well as consciences, as organic cotton doesn't use harmful chemicals in its production.

From basic t-shirts in a multitude of colours, to high performance tees for sports activities, the range of t shirts available at Ralawise offers a wide variety of choice.

Prestige Leisure has added 31 new t-shirt styles to its 2009 Brochure Collection. This continues the general upward trend in the amount of new t-shirt styles offered year after year.

Skinnifit's range of women's t's includes the bestselling Modern Essential range, now available in 26 colours in the short sleeve (new colour for 09 being jade), and now 5 in the long sleeve (new colours being fuchsia, chocolate and bright red). The Modern Essential range is defined by the fabric: a perfect blend of 96% cotton and 4% elastane giving supreme fit and comfort to this modern fitting range.

The 2009 U S Basic Range includes a great new collection of kids and women's T shirts. With stylish designs, flattering cuts and an extended colour palette we have a range of garments that cross the age and gender spectrum, offering matching T shirts, polos, fleeces & jackets for men, women & kids.

Stedman stands for first rate quality, unbeatable prices and precisely the cuts and colours the market needs. But there's something else that distinguishes Stedman: we listen to our customers. And in response to popular demand, we've supplemented many items in our product range by especially successful colours. As far as you're concerned, this means a wider range for even higher turnover.

Fruit of the Loom introduce two new men's t-shirt styles for 2009, so look out for the Hooded and Organic Cotton T's. For ladies there is the new soft Lightweight T and an Organic T with a matching Organic T for children too!

When a business owner is analysing the sales performance of the past year and looking at the growth plan for the year ahead, one item that should always be highlighted is potential new markets. More often than not, this area is ignored because of the amount of work that needs to be put into a new product category for the business. However, due to the challenging times we face in 2009 and maybe even into 2010, any activity that can capture new business must be investigated and considered.

The theatre and events industries are an ideal resource for those within the promotional merchandise industry. Theatres and venues need products to promote their productions and promotional merchandise provides excellent opportunities for branding. Many companies within the promotional merchandise industry may not have thought to address this market before, but it is an important customer base as there is opportunity for large orders of various products all year round.

From starting out working a Saturday job at Harrods as a student, Atul Lakhani has come a long way.

Mystery surrounds the release of Your Embroidery Services' latest machines, which look set to be one of the highlights of this year's Printwear and Promotion Exhibition at the NEC next month.

After being in the industry for nearly 50 years, Newport firm J and B knows a thing or two about sewing machines. With a huge range at its disposal, the company seems in fine health.

Embroidery production carried out efficiently can save you £1,000's per year. Many factors contribute to making this process as economic as possible. Area's such as the type of machines you are using, the way designs are created, threads, backing, framing and the organisation of your production room.

There are many ways productivity may be increased, you may look at machines that stitch faster, have more needles or more heads. A new machine that stitches quicker will almost certainly help increase production, but that's an expensive solution to a small problem. There is a far more cost effective way, if you know where to find it.

Even in these troubled times sales of new and used machines are on the increase as more clients discover the benefits of investing in Barudan UK's quality product range, and with the recent addition of Wilcom software, it's looking to be a promising year for the company who celebrates it's 50th anniversary.

Slick Stitch has become one of the first companies to in Europe to put Barudan's latest V series 18 head machines into operation.

Acouple of months ago we brought you a story about how Roy Burton, Managing Director of Your Embroidery Services Ltd., had become increasingly disappointed that training had seemingly disappeared from the embroidery industry.

"They offer the quality necessary in this market with garments that look good and perform superbly. Look for styles in multi-colourways - red, black and white for example. Jackets and caps are usually top of a buyer's list; offering a matching holdall can bring in useful additional sales," she advises.

If there's one item of branded clothing that any professional motor sports driver would never be seen without it's their baseball cap, suggests promotional headwear specialists, Beechfield Headgear.

As one of the leading teamwear specialists Finden+Hales knows that looking cohesive and feeling great in what you are wearing is an integral factor in the performance and wellbeing of any motorsport team, club or society.

Gamegear has established itself as a leading contender for those seeking unbranded team wear combining performance and value.

I.S.Enterprises has featured the new TECHPerformance range from RESULT in its 2009 brochure. TECHPerformance is a new 3 layer softshell multi-activity collection designed to provide ultimate weather protection and comfort.TECHPerformance offers a range of clothing that is fully waterproof, breathable, has 3-layer performance and is affordable. The range includes innovatively styled softshell jackets, tops, trousers and gloves.

Simon Alfandry of The Monogram Group assess the promotional and embroidery potential which TEAMWEAR can offer.

For those looking for quality and performance on the track from their clothing, then Tombo's range of gear is well worth checking out .

Picture the scene: Friday night, at the end of any bar on the outskirts of any town, and two men discuss the current financial crisis. Resplendent in stripey shirts, un-tucked of course and perhaps with a light seasonal dusting of dandruff. At least one of them will have spent too much time in the jewellery section of the Argos catalogue, but we can't see him - we're half blinded by his aromatic friend, who's just had his head in a bucket of Rhino Thrust (for men).