After three days of packed sessions and buzzing conversations at PRINTING United Expo 2025, the Apparel Zone left decorators with more than just inspiration. It delivered actionable advice from better ways to set up an e-commerce store to how the difference fabric types impact your decorating method.

From mastering technical decorating efficiencies to choosing the perfect blank, Apparel Zone sponsors shared their top rapid-fire tips for producing standout prints and staying ahead of fast-evolving technologies. Here’s what the experts had to say.

American Print and Supply: What to Look for in Your DTF Transfer Vendor

Rob Super, CEO and co-founder

Make sure they’re using expanded gamut, or have that as an option, that way you can hit those corporate colors if you need to. Also look for OEKO-TEX certification so you know you’re using the product safely. And you want to look for an instant hot peel so you’re having a five- to seven-second press, and it makes a really good workflow. If you’re cold peeling right now, throw that in the trash and get on that instant hot peel.

Hirsch Solutions: Achieving High-Quality Embroidery

Jeff Hayes, sales representative

You need good products and good, quality equipment. It’s all a combination of good design, good product, good equipment.

ISW: Benefits of White Toner Printing

Tim Allen, sales for Coastal Business Supplies

If you don’t have the business to support a large machine or a large investment, white toner is a great machine. I can print on it today, and if I don’t need to print for another four weeks, I can go and pick it up just like I did weeks before. The paper and technology have grown so much in the last 10 years that that’s really what’s made it a viable solution. Now, instead of it feeling like paper, it feels like a DTF transfer. It’s a very versatile system, so it’s not just apparel. It’s kind of like sublimation, where I can get into hard goods like woods, metals, ceramics, and things like that.

Embossing machine in the Practix Mfg. booth. Credit: Allee Bruce

SanMar: Think Unique with Embossing and Debossing

Monty Mimms, strategic account manager – Decorator & Tech Solutions; and Kyle Eslinger, strategic account manager – Decorator Solutions

Mimms: Think, what else is out there? It’s almost a very analog thing, because you’re making these plates and such, but embossing and debossing is making a bit of a comeback, and we’re seeing some companies here that do that. It wasn’t a thing anybody was showing or talking about two or three years ago. But retail, as all things start, has been showcasing that trend.

Eslinger: We’ve recently met some great partners who provide the emboss/deboss service, and we’re learning that it’s not just applicable to sweatshirts. That is the most common category of embossed/debossed decoration, for sure, but I think it’s valuable to think outside the box. You can emboss bags. We have a great Travis Matthew bag, a wine tote, that we have seen success with. Even headwear! As long as it’s five panel and the weave isn’t too tight, we’ve seen success there. Knit beanies, especially with the cuff that rolls up. That’s another category that you can emboss/deboss in. When you look at this elevated style of decoration, assume maybe two weeks to get a mold or a plate made for that job, and then you’ve got that plate forever, and you can emboss/deboss multiple categories.

Mimms: It’s tactile. I almost see it as like a very kind of raw analog thing because of the way you move the fabric, compress the fabric, push, pull, all of that stuff. But it starts with machine metal plating and applying heat pressure. However, in a world of 1,000 digital prints, this is standing out as something that’s emerging as a trend.

Eslinger: And you can also incorporate mixed media, right? Embroidery plays a role. You could outline the emboss/deboss with an embroidered element. You can also add a little bit of foam in there to create a three-dimensional effect that adds to that tactile aspect of it.

STAHLS’: Buying High-Quality Equipment Pays Off

Shauna Soom, director, Global Sales – Hotronix

The reason you want a high-quality heat press is, first off, certification. Our presses are certified UL, UK, UKCA, and that gives you confidence that you have a safe heat press for yourself and your employees. You also want a high-quality heat press to be able to do a lot of different garment types with our interchangeable platens. And then the third tip is, it’s going to last. We at STAHLS’ in particular back it up with 24/7, 365, support, so in the event that a wear part does break, you can get it fixed.