Why digital fabric printing has taken over from screen printing in Brisbane

Over the past few years, the rapid increase in digital fabric printing has meant that printing companies have tended to moved away from the more traditional printing methods, particularly in Brisbane. Screen printing is now less popular and it can be difficult to find a company that offers this method of printing.

So are there really any reasons to use the older methods, like screen printing, rather than the more modern digital fabric printing? Well here at Everything Vibrant, we only offer digital fabric printing, because our customers find that this is the best option for them.

There are however, some instances when screen printing might be the better option, so let’s take a look at how the two printing methods stack up against one another.

Screen printing: In this older method of printing, layers of different coloured inks are laid down on a specially created stencil that represents the design. You need a different stencil for each colour (so you are usually limited to 3 or 4 colours) and between creating the stencil and having to apply the colours one after the other (once each layer has dried), this is a long drawn out process. It does produce a lovely, handcrafted quality to the designs, but can also be costly because of the craftsmanship required in creating each stencil and the length of time it takes to complete the job.

Digital fabric printing: This newer method of printing simply involves uploading your design to a PC and printing the design onto the fabric, using a specialised printer. It is much faster than screen printing (as you can imagine) and creates photo quality images of complex designs, which can have as many colours as you like.

One problem with this method is that whilst the number of colours is infinite, the actual colours of the design depend on the type of pre-loaded colours in the printer. Also, the size of the design is limited by the size of the printer, whereas, within reason, with screen printing your design can be as large as you want.

So at Everything Vibrant in Brisbane, screen printing is not a method we use for our clients. We focus on producing high photo quality images, at low cost and fast. You are most welcome to call us on 07 3386 0536 to discuss your needs or visit our website.

How high visibility clothing improves safety

Did you know that high visibility clothing was first used in the United Kingdom in 1964? Apparently they were first issued to rail track workers in Scotland and were so successful that they were rolled out throughout the U.K. to all rail workers.

Now of course, high visibility clothing is essential for council workers and any situation where there is low light and poor visibility for workers. They are particularly essential when working around moving vehicles and we have all seen road workers wearing these high-vis vests, during both the day time and night time.

 So if you are a business owner, how do you know that your employees need to wear this type of safety gear? Well the Australian Standard AS/NZS4602.1 sets out the types of high visibility clothing and the situations when it must be worn. There are three different classifications:

• Class D: A high visibility garment for outdoor daytime use, which sets out the type of florescent colour that must be used in the material. It also states that at a minimum, the clothing must encircle the upper body.

• Class N: Designed for night time use only and must include retro reflective elements on a non-retro reflective background. The retro reflective elements can be easily seen by drivers in their headlights. The Standard sets out the size of the retro reflective strips that must be incorporated into the clothing and the style and location of these strips on this type of clothing; text or symbols must occupy additional space. The clothing must encircle the upper body down to the waist.

• Class D/N: These are a combination of the above garments and can be worn in both high and low visibility environments, in other words, during the daytime and night time. They must combine all elements from both Class D and Class N high visibility clothing.

If you believe that your employees need high visibility clothing then check the Australian Standards and then call us at Everything Vibrant in Brisbane. We can print high visibility reflective vinyl onto your work wear, which means that we can print the reflective strips and your company name and logo onto your safety wear.