Special Report
Green Cap in burgandy
Far from generic
Fred Craze, owner and founder of London-based Master Stitch has firsthand experience of decorating Atlantis’ NFC-integrated caps. Here P&P editor Melanie Attlesey finds out if these hats are going to be the next big thing in printwear.
For those worried about decorating the cap, fear not. They are suitable for any decoration that would usually be used for headwear items. The NFC chip is built into the visor of the cap and can withstand a heat press of up to 200⁰C.
If you visited Printwear & Promotion LIVE! earlier in the year, you may have been one of the lucky visitors that managed to pick up a free sample of the hat. Absolute Apparel, the exclusive UK stockist, preloaded the hats with its full catalogue and handed them out to visitors to test the water.
Going forward 2020 will see NFC technology integrated into all of Atlantisʼ caps. Nadine concludes: “NFC technology will definitely be the future and we expect to see it become an integral part of branding for high ticket items such as outerwear jackets or technical garments.” Intergrating NFC technology into printwear is a big step forward for the industry, as the technology elevates everyday promotional items into something beyond average. It will be interesting to see what else this technology will be integrated into and how it will be utilised in the promotional industry in the coming months and years.
F
red describes Master Stitch as a facilitator for brands, doing everything from start to finish, including design, production and fulfilment. Despite Master Stitch being a relatively new business, having been formed in December last
year, Fred himself comes from garment decoration pedigree stock, having grown up in and around one of the biggest T shirt printers in London. Already in this short time, Fred has worked with grime artists such as Giggs, P Money and Stormzy, sourcing and branding their merchandise. As an urban company, Fred is always on the lookout for something new and
different that sets Master Stitch apart from other garment decorators. It was during a conversation with Sanjay Jheinga, commercial director at Absolute Apparel, that the prospect of Atlantisʼ NFC caps was raised. “I was looking for something different and I had not seen anything like these hats on the market before. When I saw them my jaw dropped, I was like wow,” exclaims Fred.
Fred explains that the hat itself is a good, solid hat, but itʼs the NFC chip that really sets it apart. “You can set the chip to link to a website, Instagram picture, anything really. They are great to hand out at events or festivals, for gig-goers to find out more about the band or artist,” Fred explains.
As the vast majority of hats that Master Stitch decorates are embroidered to give a premium finish, it was essential that these hats were just as easy to embroider as other hats on the market. As the chip is inserted in the underneath of the peak, there have been no issues so far. “Some brands do like to decorate underneath the peak, so we just have to be careful in that area. These hats hold themselves really well in the frame,” explains Fred.
But as for NFC and wearable technology in general, Fred says that other suppliers are starting to cotton on, but the cost of these garments is not at a point yet that interests him. So heʼll stick with the hats for now.
“By offering these hats to our clients, it gives us the upper edge. In our industry itʼs all about not being generic,” concludes Fred.
Simply type in where you would like the chip to take users once they have scanned the chip
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
You will then see this
screen which shows the app is waiting to write the chip
The app will then ask you to confirm that the link you have provided is correct
By scanning the newly
programmed chip you will see the new website that has been programmed in
August 2019 | 77 |
25% of the world’s population is inclined to buy wearable technologies
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