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Free Seminars! No Pre-registration required to attend (must be registered to attend DAX to attend free seminars)

Seminar Room 3

Johnny Shell

Digital Technologies and the Apparel Decorator
Presented by Johnny Shell of SGIA International

The arrival of digital technology has broken many of the common barriers for entry into the decorated apparel market. The consumer market is rapidly becoming aware of micro-run capabilities and possibilities, so the move from analog to digital is essential for the success of any business in today's economy. This seminar will uncover the capabilities and limitations of digital technologies as they relate to decorating apparel and is a "must attend" for anyone looking to expand their current product lines or create entirely new ones using digital technology.

Seminar Room 3

Dave Demoret will show you how to create designs quickly and easily with the basic tools in CorelDRAW. See how you can cut your design time by 20 to 30%, then use your designs to  embroider, screen print, sublimate, print direct to garments, or for transfers.

Getting into digitizing? Make it simple and easy with the new DRAWings 4 Software. Find out how to digitize corporate logos from a scanned image, use existing clipart, and even add to, or edit stock embroidery.

Already digitizing? See features in the ‘Advanced’ Level of Wings to quickly and easily save time, energy, and money. Marcus Lou will show you how to digitize with ease, merge and edit .dst and other files, and use "branching" to speed up your digitizing. These features and more will be shown at this seminar. We will be available after the seminar to answer questions or see us at Booth #34.

Seminar Room 3

Learning CorelDRAW is the main focus of this class and the majority of this session will be spent training you on the most popular design tools of CorelDRAW such as scanning and artwork reproduction, text effects, distortions, printing color separations and more. This class will also explore the capabilities of CorelDRAW and how it can be used in specific types of businesses: Embroidery, Screen Printing, Heat Applied Graphics, Sublimation, Sign Making and much more. We will compare CorelDRAW to other design programs and explain the advantages of CorelDRAW and why it should be a key component of your business. Finally we will discuss how you can learn CorelDRAW quickly and easily and gain control of your design process.

A FREE 80 minute CorelDRAW Video training CD will be provided to all attendees!

Optional Seminar Packages for Purchase:

Seminar Attendance Key:

Seminars are graded using a color coded system based upon who should attend and level of experience required to get the most out of each seminar.

Space is limited in ALL seminars, some seminars sold out before the show last year.

Extended Length Seminars! (Not included in DAX Full Workshop Ticket) Must register in advance - Not sold on-site
Thursday, Feb 28, 8:00AM - 11:30AM	Matt Holstin Starting an Embroidery Business        Audience: Embroiderers Are you considering getting into the embroidery business? Perhaps you've recently started a business and you think you've missed something? This seminar will be a general overview of the process of starting a business. We'll try to touch on a number of items you should plan for, or watch out for in the course of starting your business. We'll consider whether you should incorporate, what machines to buy, how many employees you'll need, and how to get the word out to potential customers. Who will you need to know - Accountants, attorney's or just bankers? How will you finance your venture? Will you use your money or will your friends become partners? There are a lot of questions in starting a business. We will try to answer some of those elusive questions everyone should ask - but you may not have thought of. Come spend a half day with us. Strap yourself in for more information than you can handle from an expert who has been there and done that. Class size is limited to 25 participants to ensure individual attention to your questions. Admission to this class is NOT included in the full-workshop ticket.	Charlie Taublieb Intro to Screen Printing        Audience: Screen Printers Are you looking to start a screen printing shop, or to add screen printing to your existing business? Perhaps you're already printing garments, but you are looking to refine a number of details, or wondering if there is a better way to do the things you "figured out" for yourself? This is the seminar for you! Screen printing can be a great way to generate a lot of extra cash flow, but without the proper skills, it can be a fast way to ruin a lot of shirts and alienate your best customers. Get the skills you need to print like a pro from the best instructor in the business at this half-day workshop. You'll learn to judge what to look for in artwork, and what constitutes viable art. You will also learn about making screens, and how to avoid the numerous pitfalls that result in bad screens. You'll participate in setting up a press, and learn how to register multiple color work. Once the press is ready, you will print a multiple-color job. Afterwards, you'll learn tips & tricks to speed cleaning up screens and you'll learn about proper reclaiming techniques so your screens are ready to go again. A press, Ink, and a flash-dryer will be set up in the seminar room for you to experience printing first-hand. Other hands-on opportunities will be presented as you take your first steps toward becoming a commercial screen printer. This is a special extended-length, hands-on seminar, and is limited to 25 persons. (Admission to this seminar is not included in the "full workshop ticket.") You'll receive instruction, a wealth of information, and a certificate of completion when you finish. All needed equipment, shirts and materials are provided. You will actually print garments in this seminar, so please wear work clothes - just in case you get a little too involved!	Cost $150.00
Thursday, Feb 28, 12:30PM - 4:00PM	Leslie Holstin Intro to Digitizing    Audience: Embroiderers You've got an embroidery machine, and you know how to embroider. You've got digitizing equipment, you went through the factory training as to how to use it - and you struggle with trying to make heads or tails as to how to create designs with it. If this sounds like your situation, help is right here. In this special, extended length seminar created for the beginning digitizer, you'll spend time with the head digitizer from one of the top digitizing firms in the US. This class does not focus on any particular digitizing system or brand of software. Instead, it focuses on what you didn't learn from the factory training - how designs should be created when you digitize. You will be learning the process of digitizing and the basic theories needed to begin a design. You'll cover topics from creating underlays - what type you need for specific jobs, and why you need them - to how to use the basic stitch types to your best advantage when creating jobs. You will digitize a design on paper as well as learn the fundamentals of lettering. Most importantly, you'll learn to avoid the pitfalls that make most people lose uncounted hours creating bad designs while trying to learn how to digitize. Class size is limited to 25 participants to ensure individual attention to your questions. Admission to this class is NOT included in the full-workshop ticket.	Charlie Taublieb Special Effects Printing Workshop          Audience: Screen Printers What does it take to make your printed designs outshine your competitor's work? How do you turn boring prints into "adrenaline on a shirt?" Special effect inks have been around for some time and they continue to be a popular resource that profitable printer's use to set their work apart. But many printers just don't understand the inks and how to get the particular "looks" they desire. If you feel you're missing some pieces to the special effects printing puzzle, then this workshop will get you back on track. We'll address some of the techniques and inks you can utilize to boost your print popularity. We'll also take time to fine-tune your ability to turn fewer screens into more colors by printing half-tone artwork and then we'll combine it with special effects for a mind-blowing makeover of your printing repertoire. A variety of "looks" will be discussed and analyzed and the workshop will finish up with hands-on printing. Class size is limited to ensure individual attention to your questions. Admission to this class is NOT included in the full-workshop ticket.	Cost $150.00

Regular Session Seminar Listings
Your Choice of any of these seminars is included in the Full Workshop Ticket.

Time & Date

Seminar Title / Description Track A

Seminar Title / Description Track B

Cost

Friday, Feb 29

8:30AM - 9:50AM

Tom Moore

Stop Threadbreaks Dead!

Designs that look great are good, but designs that run well – not stopping your embroidery machine every thirty seconds – are profitable and a pleasure to produce. You really can have designs that look great and run great too, if you know the right tricks. In this seminar, master embroidery designer Thomas L. Moore, Jr. will cover the five most commonly made digitizing mistakes that lead to "threakbreak-heck," and provide useable solutions. This course will provide detailed instruction which will aid in creating designs that run well. A portion of the class will also be devoted to things embroiderers can do to reduce threadbreaks not caused by design flaws.

Matt Holstin

Getting started with Promotional Products

Friday, Feb 29

10:15AM - 11:35AM

Ruth Guenther

Hooping & Embroidering Difficult Fabrics

Discover the tricks of the trade that make embroidering difficult items easier. Learn how to pretension your embroidery hoops for best design registration; the advantages of hoop-less embroidery for some difficult applications; tips for choosing appropriate backings, toppings and needles for various fabrics; plus rescue techniques for correcting embroidery mistakes. Bring in your biggest embroidery challenge.

Dane Clement

Getting the Most out of Photoshop 

So stop struggling and wondering how to make prints better. Come to the class and in a little over an hour go home with the knowledge needed to blow away your competition and keep your customers coming back for more!

12:30PM - 1:50PM

Johnny Shell

Direct to Garment Printers

Scott Ritter

Pricing Decorated Garments

70% of garment decorators use pricing systems and formulas that have fatal flaws. In fact, if you're like most in this industry, your pricing procedure actually causes your profits to decrease as the amount of work you perform increases! How would you like to set a profit goal at the beginning of the year, and know that you will make at least that much money this year? The correct pricing formula for this industry allows you to do just that. Discover the formula used by major manufacturers to ensure profits, and adapt it to your embroidery, screen printing, or digital-direct-to-garment printing shop!

2:15PM - 3:35PM

Ruth Guenther

When the Doorbell Rings - Your guide to Running a Successful Home-Based Business

Are you afraid to tell customers you work out of your home? Do you feel like your business is "something less" because you don’t leave your house to go to work? Start feeling better and working more profitably! In this seminar, you’ll discover simple, low cost ways to promote and present your home-based embroidery business. Create the professional business image you crave by narrowing your niche, connecting with people who need your services and making your services so remarkable that people talk about you and your company. Bring in your biggest business challenge.

James Ortolani

Printing Light Ink on Dark Garments 

Printing on dark garments involves a multitude of variables not
encountered when printing on light or pastel garments. This seminar is geared to show you the main points associated with printing light inks on dark garments including art designing tips, screen mesh selection, ink considerations, color print order, flash curing and more. Learn how the pros approach printing on dark backgrounds and be miles ahead of your competition. Also learn the basics of discharge printing in this session as a bonus!

8:30AM - 9:50AM

Embroidery Maintenance

There are many things that go together in this world: "Death and Taxes," "Politics and Corruption," and "Embroidery Machines and Maintenance." So what would you like to know about maintaining your embroidery machines and what might you learn by spending an hour or so with a technician who repairs your brand of machines? We've arranged for technicians from the major brands to answer questions and demonstrate solutions for your specific needs. Current Technicians: Barudan, Melco, Tajima, ZSK

Carl Baldwin

The Evolution of Garment Decorating: What the Future Holds

If it seems like whenever you blink, you miss something in the world of garment decorating, you’re not alone! Globalization, changing technologies and the shrinking marketplace has made making money in the world of garment decorating harder than ever. In this seminar, we will discuss different strategies to help prepare the garment decorator for the ever-changing environment of screen-printing and embroidery. Staying profitable is hard, but armed with the proper knowledge; it is possible to stay ahead of the curve.

10:15AM - 11:35AM

Leslie Holstin

Digitizing Lettering

Want to refine your digitizing skills? Come learn the process of putting together letters from scratch. This will be your chance to learn the components of lettering, including alphabet-based effects. We'll try to provide  class time to offer digitizers of all levels an opportunity to get your own digitizing questions answered by the digitizer.

Carl Baldwin

Printing on Alternative Surfaces

It has been said that doing one thing and doing it well is the key to success in business. Unfortunately, if the shop down the street offers something that you don’t, it could spell disaster as customers leave for the convenience of getting all their work done in one place.

Many technologies have evolved and blurred the lines of what a shop defines itself as. By carefully scrutinizing a customer base and the surrounding demographics, it is possible to add a number of substrates to your repertoire of products that you imprint without having to spend a lot on equipment. In most cases, little or no money is spent to take on products that perhaps were not considered in the past.

This seminar will demonstrate that with a little ingenuity, it is possible to stay competitive and attract new clients and be the go-to shop in your area.

$50.00

Saturday, March 1

12:30PM - 1:50PM

Tom Moore

Designs Alive!

Do your digitized designs spark excitement? The better your designs look, the easier it is to sell new orders and get new customers. Creating photo realistic designs requires sound blending techniques. Master Embroidery Designer Thomas L. Moore, Jr. will show you the techniques used in such award-winning pieces as the EMB Honors Grand Champion Award "Strength Within," as well as "The Leopard," "Cockatoo," and 2004 People's Choice Award "Resurrexit." This course will spark the creative spirit in experienced digitizers who may be looking to break through to the next skill level.

James Ortolani

Transfer Printing

This seminar is an overview of the various processes involved in making heat transfers for textiles. Learn the fundamentals necessary for making hot split and cold peel Plastisol, Flock, Foil and special effect heat transfers. Also covered in this session are the most common ink systems, papers, and supplies needed to be successful in transfer printing. Plus learn the latest technology available for producing digital heat transfers including ink jet, laser, and sublimation transfers. If you are considering offering heat transfers in your business this seminar is a must!