On April 6, 1987, boxing history was made when “The Super Fight” was scheduled at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. After a disappointing loss in 1984, two years of inactivity, and swearing the fight would never happen, Sugar Ray Leonard surprised the world by coming out of retirement to fight “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler. This announcement sent excited sports fans abuzz with Hagler as the clear favorite to win with 3-1 odds. Would Sugar Ray redeem himself? Did he have what it takes to reign once again as the Middleweight Champion of the World? After 12 grueling rounds, with neither fighter willing to give up, Leonard was awarded the fight by split decision. He indeed had what it took. He hit harder and landed more often. “The Super Fight” was named “Fight of the Year” and “Upset of the Year” by The Ring magazine.

The very same year, Hotronix^® took the world by storm, emerging as the newest champion in the ring of heat printing and setting the standard for heat press innovation and durability. This year at ISS Atlantic City, March 9-11, Hotronix will take center stage once again, and we want you to have a ringside seat. Something big is coming and you won’t know what hit you. In the sweet words of Sugar Ray, “Bruce Lee was an artist and, like him, I try to go beyond the fundamentals of my sport. I want the public to see a knockout in the making.”

Video: Something BIG is coming…

Stahls' Distressed Appliqué

As the saying goes, “Everything old is new again.” Well, these days everything new looks old. “Distressed” is a hot look these days, on everything from boots to T-shirts. While designers are making a mint selling beat-up clothing, most people are looking to get this fashionable look on more common (and affordable) clothing.

If you like the distressed look or have tried to create it, you know that a bright new design on an old-looking shirt won’t cut it. So how do you achieve the look without running each shirt through the washer (or rock tumbler)  1000 times or driving over it repeatedly? With Stahls’ Distressed Appliqué and Distressed Flock, that’s how.

Distressed Appliqué is available in uncoated chino cotton twill; if you’d like to tack your design to the substrate before sewing, it’s also available in pressure-sensitive twill or acrylic felt. There are many font styles, sizes, and colors, and words can be applied with or without a tail. If you’d like to try it out, sample kits are also available for only $19.95 and include sew files.

With Distressed Flock, you can get the same trendy look without embroidery equipment.  Made with our heat transfer Flock, it doesn’t require any sewing – simply apply it with a heat press. Available in 19 colors, it features a velvety, suede-like feel.

Each of these offerings allows you to choose from three levels of distress: “distress it,” which softens sharp edges and mildly blends straight lines, “melt it,”  which roughens straight lines, bites into corners, and provides an edgier look, or “destroy it,” which adds maximum distress to edges. The additional “Extreme Distressed” option makes each level of distress even more… well, extreme.

So, whether you embroider or not, you can offer your customers these fashion-forward looks on T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, bags, or any other new thing you want to make look old. You could even apply them to something old to make it look even older. The only limit is your (hopefully young) imagination.

Whether you own a brick-and-mortar store or do your business online, presentation is an important factor in helping to boost sales. A T-shirt featuring a sharp design in a special effect heat transfer material might look great and be reasonably priced, but if it doesn’t catch the customer’s eye, it won’t sell. How you present your merchandise and services will go a long way toward convincing potential customers to become actual customers.

One of the best store displays I have ever seen was at a small boutique in Northeast Michigan. The Fusion Boutique in Tawas  is a fresh and fun place to shop. Admittedly, I have not been there in a year and a half, but obviously, their display stayed with me.

Upon entering the store, you will see acrylic box-style shelving units. Each box showcases an ensemble of jewelry with a complementing nail polish color and usually a handbag or other accessory to go along with it.

The displays at Fusion “sold” me immediately. I didn’t have to make a decision to purchase, it was already done. When you put together your next store display or make changes to your website, consider your customers and your product line. Pair things up that might work well together or pair items together by color, who might be interested, etc.

The easier you make the buying process, including the decision to buy from you, the faster you will have profits in your pocket.

Bruce Hammond of NSGA with Ted Stahl at last year’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

San Antonio looks like a beautiful city to visit, which surely played a part in the National Sporting Goods Association choosing it to host their 2012 Management Conference and Team Dealer Summit. I’d love to go, but I’m not a member of the NSGA. If you are, though, be sure to register for the conference, being held May 6-9 at the Westin La Cantera Resort.

With 15 education sessions (split into a Conference Track and a Dealer Track), the 57^th Annual Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, the inaugural All-Star Awards Luncheon, and the Official NSGA Golf Tournament (held on Westin La Cantera’s Resort Course), there will be plenty to do and many opportunities for learning and networking. Keynote speakers at this year’s event include Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton, ESPN executive Sean Bratches, New Balance President and CEO Rob DeMartini, FUBU founder Daymond John, and Patriot Golf Day founder Maj. Dan Rooney. Hall of Fame member and GroupeSTAHL™ Executive Chairman Ted Stahl will be attending the conference, so be sure to say hello if you have the opportunity.

GroupeSTAHL Chief Sales Officer and Director of Operations, Dave Wheatley, will be taking part in the Best Practices in Decorating Panel, a must-see for any team dealer attending the conference. I’m sure he’ll mention the value of a heat press and all of the options offered with heat printing. Other dealer sessions will cover topics like brand-building, business planning, sales, and marketing. Despite all of the informational and, dare I say, motivational (see: “Climbing Back to the Top of the Mountain – One More Time with Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton”) sessions, I believe what I’ll miss the most is the inaugural Management Conference Table Tennis Tournament. I’d pretend to be management just to get in on that action.

In addition to all of this, if you register by February 17, you’ll receive a $150 Westin La Cantera gift certificate. You can use this to help pay for your room or anywhere else on the resort’s property.

As you can see, there will be a lot to do at this year’s NSGA Management Conference and Team Dealer Summit. If you’re a member, don’t miss out – make your plans for San Antonio now. And if you’re a history buff, remember the Alamo!

Start planning now for baseball season.

I know we are still in winter, but I am thinking spring right now…especially with the lack of snow we have received, here in Michigan.

Baseball and softball will be upon us before we know it and I wanted to touch on some items that I think can help generate extra sales for you.  When you fill your order you have the standard equipment and the standard decoration that you need to perform.  Now let’s throw on the add-on sales.

Don’t stop at just decorating jerseys and hats. With full color digital transfers you can decorate the player from head to toe. Nowadays most players have their own bat and, in some cases, their own helmet.  Offer custom stickers for this equipment.  A circular sticker with a centered player number can be placed on the bottom of the bat knob.  Helmet numbers can be applied to the back or front of the helmet bill.  This is usually dependent to the team preference.  You can also speak with the team manager about helmet logos.  Who wants to wear a plain helmet?  Push them to look more professional with a logo on the front of the helmet.

Let’s not forget about the parents.  Include some package stuffers with each uniform set you provide.  Some great fan items are window decals or bumper stickers.  How many times do you see a vehicle with a team name in the back corner of the window?  If you do not have the time to create the artwork, check out our quick decals – there are many template designs to choose from.

So as spring comes, bringing baseball and softball season with it, be sure to suggest these options to your customers. They’ll have great-looking uniforms and you’ll have higher sales.

Yes, time to clean house. For the purpose of this article I mean spring cleaning style…not the daily/weekly routine house cleaning. Most of us do this at home once or twice a year to get rid of things you haven’t used in forever and make room for new household items or clothing items you’ve been wanting. Maybe you don’t need to purchase anything new at all, but need to become more organized and eliminate clutter. The start of a new year often inspires us to focus on this sometimes daunting project.

Now apply this to your heat printing business. Whether you are set up in a storefront operation or working from home, you can probably do a lot to get rid of clutter and get organized. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Visit your back room or storage area. Are there boxes that you haven’t even looked in for a while? Take the eggplant colored XS T-shirts that have been sitting there for the past year and get rid of them. Donate them, sell them on the internet, or decorate them and give them to a children’s charity.

It’s kind of like cleaning out your closet and donating to Goodwill^®, right?

2. Change up the main area around your cash register. How long have those same products been on display? Remove everything, dust and clean your counters or shelving, and make it shine. Then, display a few small items like bumper stickers for the local school. These result in quick add-on sales. Just make sure you don’t overcrowd your display or you will overwhelm your customer with too many choices.

Hmm, sounds like cleaning out and reorganizing cabinets and bookshelves at home.

3. Time for an inventory check… Are your heat printing products and supplies in a bit of disarray? When we get busy, it happens, but we all need to find time to get organized! Use lettering storage boxes with sectional plastic inserts to keep things neat and orderly; they’re perfect for storing pre-cut letters and numbers. Use jewelry organizers to keep rhinestones sorted by size and color.

In addition to organizing your inventory, this will give you an opportunity to see what retail items, heat press accessories, heat transfer materials, and other supplies you may need. It never hurts to double-check your inventory numbers.

4. When in doubt, throw it out! Do you have transfers  or other heat transfer materials that are damaged by dust, debris, or humidity? Throw out any product that has been damaged. Don’t try to salvage anything that has been ruined, in the end it could result in a dissatisfied customer.

5. Keep your signage fresh and inviting; change it up often. Continue to give your customers new reasons to stop in. Window clings are inexpensive, removable, and repositionable – perfect for spreading news about sales, new products, or store events to passersby.

These are just a few of the ways in which you can organize your workspace and storage and retail areas. While it might seem like a chore, you’ll be glad you did it.

Sue Burgess and Nancy Graves of Stahls' ID Direct

When I started at GroupeSTAHL™, a couple of things stood out to me. One was how knowledgeable employees were about the company and its divisions. The other was how much the customer service representatives knew about the products and services available.

In the past, I’ve worked at companies where employees of one division knew nothing about other divisions. At one such organization, someone in the service department would have no idea what software products were available; software engineers had no idea what hardware was being sold, and so on. And this was a company with only a couple hundred employees. People on one end of the building often knew nothing of what was going on at the other end of the building. And customer service? Quite often they had no experience with the products they were supporting; more often they gave customers the wrong information about how to resolve their issues. As you might imagine, receiving any kind of help was a frustrating experience not only for customers, but for employees as well.

Kathleen Campbell and Jim Tersigni of Transfer Express

Recent “mini trade shows” accentuated the differences between Stahls’ and companies like the one mentioned above. “What are mini trade shows?” you may ask. I asked the same when I signed up for one. Essentially a smaller version of a trade show (hence the “mini”), booths are set up for employees to visit, each representing different divisions of GroupeSTAHL.  At each division’s booth, employees are treated to a presentation of new products, services, and a general overview of what that division does.

This format allows employees from each division to learn about what the other divisions do, meet folks from that division, and see (and feel) their products. Someone who deals with heat transfer materials every day for Stahls’ ID™ might not fully understand what a screen printed transfer is, or why Transfer Express^® offers them. Seeing these transfers first-hand gives employees valuable knowledge of the company as a whole, and often helps them understand their role in the “big picture.”

Jennifer Stadler, Stahls' ID Direct

This knowledge not only benefits the employee, it helps the customer as well. An understanding of the company and its goods and services assists employees in providing exceptional customer service at all levels. From heat transfer letters and numbers to heat presses themselves, GroupeSTAHL employees are expected to know company offerings and what makes them the best products available.

“Knowledge is power” is a popular adage. By providing them with the knowledge needed to excel, GroupeSTAHL gives its employees the power to provide customer service that outshines the competition.

Dane Clement of Great Dane Graphics

If you visit the Stahls’ Blog or are a fan of our Facebook page, All Things Heat Printing, you’ve heard that renowned Graphic Artist, Dane Clement of Great Dane Graphics is part of the GroupeSTAHL™ Family. Dane will be presenting several seminars at ISS Long Beach, so be sure to catch at least one.

We know artwork can be a challenge. Enter Dane. Experienced in prepping artwork for a number of decorating methods, he will have tips, tricks and techniques to share. Here are some of the topics Dane will cover:

Dane’s first session takes place on Thursday in the Digital Decoration Track. It’s an all-day seminar for beginners on mastering PhotoShop^®. He’ll present techniques for achieving consistent, quality results whether you are using direct-to-garment, dye sublimation, or simulated screen printing processes.

Friday, from 8:30 to 10 am, Dane will discuss the basics of creating and preparing your artwork for screen printing.

Dane then rounds out the weekend with two seminars on Sunday morning, Creating Killer Artwork for Digital Printing and the Ins and Outs of the Artwork Process.

Visit Dane at ISS and learn how to maximize your artwork’s potential.

Catch Courtney Matlick’s seminar, Remixing Uniforms for Sport and Spirit, in the Digital Decorating track on Saturday, January 21^st.  She will show you how to jazz up uniforms with CAD-CUT^® heat transfer materials, as well as how to decorate performance wear and other heat printing tips.  Watch the video below for a sneak peek.

Stop by booths 1308 & 1309 to learn Josh Ellsworth’s tips on using a heat press and heat transfer materials. Josh will be giving in-booth presentations throughout the show. Even after the show, you can keep up with the latest heat printing techniques by following @joshellsworth on Twitter or catch one of Courtney or Josh’s webinars from Great Garment Graphics.

Also, the GroupeSTAHL Sales Alliance will be presenting our new products each day throughout the show. Highlights include HotFix Rhinestones, Distressed Flock, and Distressed Appliqué.

With so much to see and do, be sure to  preplan to make sure you get the most out of Long Beach ISS. We’ll see you there!

CAD-CUT Expressions

Make an impression with CAD-CUT^® Expressions. This new product makes decorating fashion apparel easy. Choose from trendy designs created with CAD-CUT Glitter Flake, Fashion-FILM™ Metallic II, Flock, and Hologram heat transfer materials. All designs are  sized for application on T-shirts, with select designs also available in cap size, and are easily applied with a heat press.

Visit us in booths 1308 and 1309  at ISS Long Beach to be the first to see this new CAD-CUT offering. You can feel the different textures of the materials used and take a look at the color options. And be sure to request sample swatches of these materials to take with you.

If you won’t be at ISS Long Beach, you’ll be able to see CAD-CUT Expressions on our website this weekend.