Embroidery and Screen Printing Services
When the company was formed all those years ago, Watteva started off with a single head embroidery machine. Now our Embroidery and Screen Printing Services department comprises of a 6 head, 4 head and single head embroidery machines taking the total heads to 11. With this range of different head machines, we are more flexible and efficient when full filling orders as we can run bigger jobs on the larger machines while completing the smaller jobs on the single head machine without compromising speed. This helps us complete orders quicker and therefore the lead time is dramatically reduced to generally 3-4 days unlike 3-4 weeks which some other companies quote.
With the Embroidery and Screen Printing Services single head we can offer one off embroideries and no minimum ordering. This allows us to carry on running the other two machines at full speed for larger jobs.
Although we are extremely quick at turning around an order, this does not affect the quality of our embroidery. Our fully trained embroidery specialists make sure every design that comes off the machine is to a high standard.
Unlike many of our competitors, Watteva do not charge any set up fees for digitising a customer’s logo. Our embroidery team are fully trained and experienced on a leading digitisation software product that can convert any logo into stitch form. So instead of sending the logo to a third party for it to be digitised and consequently increase the cost to the customer, Watteva can expertly digitise the logos in house for free and no extra cost to the customer. You can also make as many changes as you like free of charge.
All digitised logos are run off as a sample before to make sure the embroidery is up to Watteva’s high standards. Once the logo has been digitised and checked, the garments are then framed up and placed on the machine. Once the logo has been sent to the machine, the colour of the threads is inputted in so the job is ready to start.
Prices are based on the amount of stitches each design is and how long the design will take to embroider. As every design is different, we are unable to give you an accurate quote until your design has been digitised.
Printing
Our printing department has a wide range of materials and machinery to offer our customers different ways to print their designs/logos. We will offer our expertise to inform our customers the best way to print their design and the most cost-effective. We offer the following ways to print clothing:
Vinyl Printing:
This is generally for one colour logos or multi-colour logos that are slit up. This involves different coloured vinyl’s being placed into a vinyl cutter allowing the design to be cut out. To achieve this, the design is imported into our industry-leading software and converted into an outline ready to be sent to the cutter. Once the design has been cut out, the excess vinyl has to be hand-picked off the sheet, known as weeding, to leave just the design that is to be printed on the garment.
Our printing specialist then lines up the garment on 1 of our 3 heat presses, making sure the garment is straight and ready. The vinyl(s) is then placed onto the garment in the required position and pressed into the garment at an extremely high temperature for the required time. After the time has elapsed, the heat press is moved away from the garment, and the backing of the vinyl is carefully peeled off to reveal the design.
Digital Printing:
Very similar to vinyl printing, however, this is generally for multicoloured logos or extremely detailed designs. The design is imported into our software where it is then converted to a printable format. The design will then be set up with cut lines around and inside. The design will then be sent down to a wide format printer/cutter where it will then be printed onto an extremely high-quality material for clothing printing. Once the design has been printed, the printer will then follow the cut lines and cut the design out. Once again though, after this procedure the unwanted material around the design will need to be weeded by hand and removed, leaving the design on its own ready for printing.
Much like the vinyl process, the image will be placed on the garment and pressed down for a required time at extremely high heat. Once printed, the excess backing can be removed leaving the design printed on the garment.
Screen Printing and Embroidery Services:
This is a technique which involves pushing ink through a mesh onto the garment. Screen printing is generally used for high volume jobs and up to 4 colours. The process for screen printing can take longer to set up than traditional vinyl/digital printing but can produce the same high-quality results and be more efficient for high capacity jobs.
First, the design is again imported into our design software. It is then transformed into one colour (black) and printed onto an acetate sheet using a first-rate printer. This design is then placed on a lightbox, with a mesh screen covered in emulsion placed and positioned correctly on top. The light is then emitted onto the screen curing any part of the screen that is not blocked by the design. Where the light cannot get through the design to the mesh screen, this can then be easily washed off with a high-power jet of water to reveal the design.
The screen mesh is then placed onto the screen printing machine and positioned inline with one of the four platens. Once the screen is lined up, our experienced screen printer will place the garment on the placket and push the ink through the open holes of the mesh to expose the design on the garment. The garment will then be transferred carefully to a conveyor belt where it is then fed through a tunnel dryer which cures the design onto the garment at extremely high heat.
For multiple colours, after each colour, the garment will be cured without taking it off the platen, and then another screen can be used to print another colour onto the garment.
Banners
Our top of the range printer can produce eye piercing effects and stunningly vivid colours onto a range of different banner materials. We have a separate wide format printer that is solely used for banners, therefore not affecting the efficiency of the other departments. The different types of banners we can offer are PVC banners, pull up banners and one-way vision window stickers.
These banners are prepped by our design team to make sure they will print at the highest quality. Once printed, the banner will be left to dry for 24hours so the ink can harden and absorb into the banner material.
The PVC banner will then be welded together by our special banner welding machine so the edges will not come apart and last longer than normal taped banners. We will then grommet the banners evenly along each side (unless stated by the customer) allowing the customer to hang the banner wherever they like.
The pull-up banner will be trimmed to the correct size and attached to the cassette.
Canvas
Although Watteva’s main industry is clothing, banners and promotional products, they can also create canvas pictures to a high quality. Using the industry-leading printer, the design supplied by the customer is sized and sent for printing onto either the classic canvas material or premium material. Once printed, the canvas is left to dry overnight and then fixed to either the classic stretch bars or gallery stretcher bars. The gallery stretcher bars being slighter thicker to make it stand out that little bit extra.
There is a range of canvas sizes in both the classic and gallery stretcher bars and can be produced in either landscape, portrait or square.
Promotional Products
Not only do our customers use us for their clothing requirements, they also use us for our wide range of high-quality promotional products. Looking smart and offering customers promotional items can transform a business so why not get it all done with Watteva.
We have a wide range of promotional items and ideas that you can find in our online catalogue. They can all be personalised with your company logo, or design and details can be found with each product.
Can’t find an item you’re looking for? Just contact us and ask as we will probably be able to source it. There are so many potential promotional items that we could offer you but, in some cases, we have narrowed them down so you’re not too overwhelmed or uncertain which product to choose.