California Apparel News

The Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif., was once again home to Impressions Expo, returning for its first on-site show since the onset of the pandemic, attracting thousands of attendees to see the latest offerings from manufacturers and apparel companies.

“All of us at Impressions Expo were thrilled to bring the decorated-apparel and imprinted-products industry back together for an in-person event Jan. 21–23. Over the three days, the industry was able to reconnect, see the latest industry innovations, attend educational sessions and network with peers. It was great to see relationships rekindled,” said Show Director Russ Turner.

Michael Johnson, director of marketing at Hanesbrands Inc.,said this was the company’s first trade show in two years, and it was nice to interact in person. Attendees were very hands-on with the company’s products and asked a lot of questions. Hanesbrands went into the show with the goal of building brand awareness in addition to seeing new technologies being developed in the industry.

“Our goals were threefold: provide a showcase where printers could interact with our product launches from the past two years, build awareness of our brands Alternative, Hanes, ComfortWash and Champion with new customers, and learn what’s new in the industry,” Johnson said.

It was nice to see a good amount of business focused on making the industry better by providing sustainable solutions and products, added Johnson.

“There were a lot of businesses that were highly versed in sustainable materials, and we probably had the most traffic for our Alternative brand, which consists entirely of eco-friendly materials at an affordable price, something we like to call Earthleisure,” Johnson said.

Los Angeles–based Awkward Styles, a print-on-demand, drop-shipping and fulfillment company also welcomed the return to in-person events. Social Media Specialist Alex Galindo said trade shows are important to the industry and that Impressions Expo was a great opportunity to meet with potential clients and partners in person as opposed to through email or on the phone. Galindo said digital customization was a popular topic and was seen throughout the showroom floor.

“Digital customization and decoration are getting very trendy. The ability to take a photo on your digital device, edit it and have it printed on anything you like is very popular,” Galindo said.

Anthony Jackson Jr. was attending the show from Memphis, Tenn., and said he felt like a kid in a candy store when presented with all of the incredible products and technologies at the event. Jackson runs his own business, Prolific Hands, where he creates custom crafted designs for apparel.

Jackson first heard of Impressions Expo through Stan Banks’ T-Shirt Side Hustle, a program designed to help people start their T-shirt businesses. With his company beginning to gain traction, Jackson is building his customer base, so he wanted to attend the show for advice regarding the business’s direction.

“I was hoping to meet Stan Banks if for nothing else than to say thanks for giving me the confidence to start my T-shirt business, and I got to do all of that and more! To meet one of the men I admire the most in Stan Banks was a dream come true. Getting to talk to him and receive his advice I will never forget,” Jackson said. “I also got to see Josh Ellsworth of Stahls’ Transfer Express in action with the Hotronix 360 iQ Hat Heat Press. He even complimented my sublimated trucker hat!”

Jackson also mentioned the vast number of innovative technologies from companies including Epson, OmniPrint, Crio and NUsign Supply and how some of the wholesalers he met with opened his eyes to new possibilities for blanks.

As for new trends, Jackson said he noticed there were more direct-to-film printing companies exhibiting. According to Impressions Expo, DTF printing is the buzz in the decorated-apparel industry, and the event offered a great opportunity for companies to showcase their latest technologies in the space including printers, film, software and adhesive-powder shakers.

“One thing I noticed was that there were so many DTF companies—way more than any other style of printing—proving that it is truly the new wave in the T-shirt industry,” Jackson said.

John Drake, co-owner of Quackerbox Creations, Ltd.,in Dallas,along with his wife, Betsy, said they had attended the Long Beach Imprinted Sportswear Shows since 2010, before the rebrand to Impressions Expo. John and Betsy started their business in 1982, where they mainly print T-shirts and apparel for advertising specialty companies but also work with some local businesses and schools.

“The big trend this year is DTF. We went specifically to research suppliers and machinery for DTF,” Drake said. “We’ve used outside vendors to make transfers for the last year but are investigating whether to print them in-house.”