Selling: Rugby/Netball


Sublime to the finish


Team Colours is introducing sportswear designs featuring dye sublimation fabrics as it looks to develop its work to provide custom kits and designs. David Pittman reports


T


eam Colours says its use of sublimation printing is part of its ongoing work to provide customers with different design options depending on their sport and its requirements.


It says that ‘innovation of products is an expected part of the custom design industry’, especially when providing products and services to a teamsport such as netball, as well as others like football and rugby.


As such, this summer it has introduced sportswear designs with a focus on dye sublimation fabrics.


Sublimation is the change of state from solid to gas without becoming a liquid, and


usually entails the use of heat to transfer the dye during printing, which for Team Colours creates


‘exciting opportunities’ compared to traditional printing and embroidery.


Team Colours says a full colour image can be dyed directly into the fabric of a garment using


sublimation printing, at any size and in any position. The image is also reproduced in a ‘virtually limitless range of vibrant colours’ which will not fade and cannot be washed out, Team Colours says.


It says: “A school, university or team logo, or perhaps a particular aspect of a badge could feature as a dynamic motif across the club jersey. A high- resolution photograph could compliment the team’s traditional colours or a stylish piece of artwork could fade into the fabric to give a subtle yet powerful impact.” However, it notes that it needs to educate the market to the benefits of sublimation printing as, although it sees the appeals of this technology as obvious, ‘marketing a


process of unlimited possibilities becomes a 32 www.sgb-sports.com


surprisingly difficult task’. “Firstly a customer needs to understand the process; how it can be more cost effective than printing a badge, team names and numbers separately, and how it appears on the fabric. Secondly the design can be too limiting or too confusing for a customer;


producing a set of template designs contradicts the custom element of sublimation, while asking the customer to design relies on their creative flair, and becomes a taxing alternative to traditional stitched designs.”


To overcome these education issues, Team Colours is offering its customers the opportunity to submit any image, design or description, along with other important elements to include and preferred colour preferences, to allow it to produce a visual of a proposed kit design. The DIY kit design process is intended to make the process of understanding and successfully integrating sublimation printing into kit design as simple as possible, Team Colours says. “Send us any image, scribbled design or brief description, along with your colour preferences and essential sponsors or logos, and then let us produce a high-quality visual of a proposed team kit design.


“This process helps to offer all the flexibility of unique sublimated design while also providing a personalised approach to each customer’s requirements.


“This is the Team Colours experience - DIY kit design - and for those with even greater ambition for their team, Team Colours sublimation could be the answer.”


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