Grimco recently showcased its full apparel decoration offerings at the highly anticipated Impressions Expo 2024 in Long Beach, CA, the kickoff event of the new year for the Garment Industry. The event, held from January 19th to 21st, proved to be a resounding success! From innovative inks to DTF/DTG printers and pre/post press equipment to even a ROQ Automatic Press giveaway that was the talk of the show, Impressions was the ideal gathering place for garment enthusiasts across the world. Keep reading below to learn about the noteworthy trends and innovations in screen printing and apparel decoration displayed at Impressions, highlighting the exciting developments and products.
Making a #ROQing Impression
This year, Grimco partnered with ROQ, a screen-printing equipment vendor, to offer a ROQ YOU automatic press for free to one lucky show attendee. For the first two days of the show, attendees could sign up for the giveaway by scanning QR codes that were scattered throughout the convention center.
On Saturday evening, during ROQ Fest, Grimco announced the winner right before the headliner, Eve6, took the stage. The winner was none other than Images Screen Printing, located just up the coast in Santa Maria, CA. Renowned for their vibrant and intricate car show prints, which have previously won an Impressions Award, the owners of Images Screen Printing expressed their surprise when learning about their win. “We were stunned and shocked! We run two autos and a manual right now, so it’s kind of going to be interesting how it integrates in,” shared the owners of Images Screen Printing.
“This year was really nice to see Grimco have such a large presence at the show, because as you bought Midwest and were trying to integrate that market segment, it's a lot different... It seemed like you were in 3 places in the show and I think that was a great presence to be out there to reassure a lot of us that have been with Midwest that you are committed to this segment. That you are committed to the screen printing, garment decorating side of things and it was good to see you there.” Grimco has one simple philosophy and that is to help our customers grow their business. It is a privilege to support and contribute to the growth and success of our customers like Images Screen Printing.
The Green Machines Amp Up Efficiency
At Impressions, Grimco and ROQ joined together for another exciting collaboration between their two main booths. ROQ's impressive machinery, covering all aspects of garment decoration, took the spotlight, demonstrating their commitment to advancing the screen printing and decorated apparel industry. Grimco hosted a few of ROQ’s innovative machines at our booths:
The dual-chain drive system on the ROQ NEXT enables "Go-To" platen features for simple setup, print-from-screen power for quicker strike-offs, and faster indexing for cycles with top speeds clocking at 1,200 per hour -- & with digital HYBRID capabilities on standby to unleash the possibilities of digital printing that await.
The ROQ NOW digital powerhouse streamlines a five-step process that includes pre-treatment, drying, pre-pressing, digital white, and CMYK+2 6 color gamut enhanced by DuPont Artistri Ink, into an efficient system, capable of producing over 200 unique photo-quality prints per hour, all with a single operator.
The ROQ OUT is a compact fold, package, and label solution with only a 10ft by 6ft configuration. Perfectly tailored for t-shirt production, this machine seamlessly fulfills retail apparel orders, ensuring they are ready to impress your customers and swiftly make their way out the door.
Direct-to-Film Makes Waves
The STS XPJ-1682D 64” DTF Printer, showcased at the Grimco booth, has a staggered dual-head design that provides ultra-fast print speeds. It produces smooth gradations while delivering high-quality printing even with reduced resolution. It boasts automatic bi-directional alignments, a user-friendly touch panel, enhanced LED lighting, and an improved media feed flange, aiming to enhance user-friendly operation and maintenance, all while ensuring high production and high-quality output quality. Powered by STS DTF inks, users are offered an excellent color gamut and outstanding durability.
Another show highlight was Shahar Turgeman, the Founder of STS Inks, along with his business partner Adam M. Shafran, being honored with the Impression Expo award for the "Best DTF 60cm Roll-to-Roll Printer."
Low Cure and High Possibilities with Avient’s Unimix
The Grimco booth featured a live demonstration using the ROQ NEXT Automatic Press, showcasing Union Ink UPLC Unimix—a flexible cure mixing system providing highly opaque and intense colors for distinctive screen-printing projects – creating a fun textured design using a puff additive to give more dimension to the print! Additionally, with 15 intermixable colors, UPLC Unimix ensures precise color matches for both small and large printing runs. The wide curing profile between 250°F - 320°F (121℃ - 160℃) helps to minimize the chance for dye-migration, while also lowering energy consumption, in turn lowering production space temperatures.
Thank You and See You Next Year!
Impression Expo Long Beach 2024 was a tremendous start to the new year for Grimco in the screen printing and apparel decoration industry. We want to extend a huge thank you to all our visitors, partnering vendors, and trusted team members for making it such a memorable event. The message that Grimco is here to help our customers grow their business echoed throughout the tradeshow, highlighting all the ways Grimco provides support and the products and equipment you need to succeed. Stay tuned for more as Grimco continues to work to be a leader in the screen printing and apparel decoration industry and we look forward to seeing everyone in Long Beach next January 23-25, Impressions Expo 2025.
Interested in a product from our booth or want additional information? Connect with a Grimco Rep for more information and to help get you what you need today!