Uniform as individual as the child who wears it

School uniforms may be a hot topic but they are not a new concept. Pupils and students from nursery school through to university have been donning uniforms for many years now. The first recorded use of a uniform in England was in 1222 but they didn’t become commonplace until the 16th century.

Originally a British concept school uniforms are now much more commonplace overseas as well. Uniforms began as a way of giving schools an identity, instilling a sense of pride and creating cohesion among the school community. Today most educational establishments add a badge and logo or school name with kit for sports and games also part of the integrated look.

Within that corporate identity the need for individuality and diversity is also recognised but until now personalisation of uniform items has been an expensive and time-consuming luxury. The DST process offered in the UK and Ireland by Yorkshire-based distributors Global Print Solutions, offers a dynamic and efficient way of achieving this goal. DST combines the advantages of both screen and digital technologies to produce high quality, sharp, durable transfers that will withstand the rough and tumble of the playground that school wear items have to put up with on a daily basis.

Printers throughout the UK and Ireland are upgrading to the Ricoh 5100S as the cost effective solution for producing high quality in house DST transfers on film and paper.

Such is the versatility of the DST system that in just one pass a single screen can contain a range of indi

vidual designs contained in one basic outline shape such as school logos in house or college names and colours or pupil names. The screen stays the same – the design is changed digitally and the result is a more diverse range of options for the customer.

Time saving + flexibility = cost saving + happy customers

The DST system produces the quality, flexibility, productivity and detailing that digital can provide alongside traditional screen- printing technologies. The specially developed water-based and plastisol-based inks allow for the production of transfers which have stretch, are soft to the touch and are above all durable. The range of different adhesives makes it possible to decorate many types of textile or fabric that you can embellish with a traditional transfer. T shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts, PE kit, book bags, caps coats all can benefit from uniform branding using the DST system in order to help develop a cohesive sense of identity and belonging that all schools and educational establishments wish to foster in the youngsters in their care.

DST produced transfers can withstand high temperature and repeated washing up to 60°C for branded clothing and 90°C for industrial workwear. This makes them ideal for all forms of school wear ensuring that the transfer images stay sharp and clear right through to the natural end of a garment’s life.

In a world where image is everything and corporate identity are key components of the way in which we live, then being able to provide high quality, durable and above all versatile branding is something we all expect. Using the DST system your uniform items can fulfill their role for much longer than normal thus providing excellent value for money.

For more information call 0114 321 6596, email paul@globalprints.co.uk or visit www.globalprints.co.uk