How Technology is Used to Make Promotional Apparel

Businesses use many types of technology to make promotional apparel for brands of all sizes. Technology allows people to create, refine, adjust, and transfer logo files that work for each project. Each product may get an approved logo that has been adjusted to meet size, color, promotional, and style requirements.

The embroidery, heat transfer, embellishment, and sewing equipment all use technology during file transfer and manufacturing. Today’s machines use technology to adjust thread tension, follow color and thread change plans, and place images in the correct area. Many promotional products use machines that add decorations or do some of the assembly work using heat. Temperature regulators on embellishment and screen printing machines make the process more efficient, safe, and accurate.

Precision Cutting Through Thick Fabric

Technology helps ensure that pieces stay accurate by enabling automated or semi-automated cutting machines to use digital measuring equipment. The machines use die cutters in many cases to help ensure a perfect cut with the fabric grain running in the right direction. End cutters use different blades to keep the fabric neat at the ends of seams and unsewn lengths.

Electronic button sewing equipment produces a strong attachment without breaking buttons for regular and especially difficult styles. Some buttons come covered and may be sewn deep into layers of fabric or next to a stiff seam. Automatic equipment helps ensure a tight attachment to fabric that would be too thick and dangerous to sew by hand.

Technology allows producers to create intricate designs in a relatively short amount of time thanks to an advantage when it comes to precision. Embroidery machines, band knife cutters, and fusing equipment all work on multiple layers of stiff fabric. Many models will work on leather and small vinyl or plastic parts for clips, bands, pulls, tags, and more.

Accuracy Working With Multiple Layers

Fusing equipment adheres fusing to fabric layers that need to hold a certain shape after several uses and washes. Fusing sits between the outer fabric and the liner of many hats, collar areas on jackets, and embroidered sections. The fusing equipment correctly places and heats or sews the lightweight material to the base fabric. Fusing does not tolerate handling well until correctly set between other layers of fabric, so precision equipment reduces waste.

Promotional apparel tends to use multiple seams per edge and includes piping, folds, and trim that create stiff edges. This type of process helps ensure the use of stiff base fabrics that create a durable product with interesting lines and shapes. Band knife cutters use technology to trim seams, do cutout lace or punch work, and accurately trim curved seams. Automatic cutters can handle thousands of products per batch that would likely wear out or injure human hands.

Efficient Quality Assessment

Fabric quality assessment is an essential part of creating promotional apparel, and modern machines inspect thousands of yards at a time. The machines detect loose threads, thickness, pulling, weave consistency, and more using infrared sensors, rollers, and light-based measuring systems.

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