Archive for September, 2007
We here at polo-shirts.co.uk always strive to bring you the best service, and now we’ll be doing it literally. Due to an increase in web traffic we have decided to upgrade to a new dedicated server. With the dedicated server we will have total control, a vast improvement over our old system. We had little bandwidth, and combined with a recent sharp increase in web traffic to our site this led to sluggish performance and a few crashes, leaving customers facing a blank screen.
The benefits of the new server will be immediate and noticeable for any user of the site. Crashes should be eliminated, performance will be much quicker than it was previously and there will be far less downtime – leading to an easier and more enjoyable experience for you.
> - 1x Intel Woodcrest 5310 quad core CPU
> - 4x 160GB Raid Edition SATA HDDs
> - 3ware 9550SXU-4LP SATA RAID controller
> - 2GB RAM
September 18th, 2007
Psi Paris September 4-6th 2007
Paris PSI is a national show for the French promotional market.
With Paris only two half hours from London this show is certainly doable in a day if you live in the south of England (although the tube strike delayed my arrival at Waterloo and nearly ended my trip).
It covers the usual promotional products and promotional clothing. Compared to previous years the show seemed much quieter and smaller than previous years. This exhibition does not compare with the huge international PSI exhibition in Dusseldorf.
None of the major brands such as Fruit of the loom, Hanes or Gildan were exhibiting. Of the better known promotional brands only JHK, Sols and Fanshirt were present.
The German promotional brand Promodoro had an interesting exhibition stand which featured a rustic screen printing set up and an enthusiastic screen printer who has producing screens and printing them on t shirts and sweatshirts on the exhibtion stand.
Walomo had some interesting products including a “soft shell” jacket which is now a mainstream product offered by Jerzees and Regatta.
The strongest trend event at the exhibition was organic products. Several companies including Sols could be seen dipping there toe into this growing market place.
The full exhibitor list was as follows:
2FPCO F10 31.12 A52 3M FRANCE B62 656 EDITIONS D70 A-STIM SARL B42/C41 ABC PLASTIC B.V.B.A F11 ACMP S.A A02/B01 ADDEX SOFRIE E22/E26 ADDI SELECT INTERNATIONAL B54/E53 ADE F64 AK EMBALLAGES F44 ALBERT NESTLER OHG A22 ALBON C19 AMP E20 AMSICO GROUP A58 ANTALIS PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS D06/E05 AQUAFORM B54/E53 ARISTOS gmbh B25 ARNAUD BIZAC S.A. E53 AUDEIS A14 AUXENCE SAS C25 BALLON EXPRESS - VIDECO E57 BELMAR PUB B54/E53 BGA DIFFUSION A57 BHC B75 BIC GRAPHIC EUROPE D42/E41 BLEU KELSCH A50 BOOMERANG SA E40 BORACAY SARL D48/E47 BPLUS S.A B54/E53 BROTHER F69 BWS SPRL F27/E28 CALENDRIERS ALEXANDRE B47 CALENDRIERS BOISSIER C06/D05 CALLI CARTES A11 CANADIAN KITS A16 CARE PROMOTION A07 CARPE DIEM B12/C11 CARTAMUNDI France B54/E53 CG WORKWEAR E63 CHERCHEUR D EPONGE C16/D15 CHOCOLAPRINT A09 CLIPY / ARTUR-BEGIN S.L C46/D45 CMC Sarl A64 COLOR CLUB A45 COMPAGNIE FRANCAISE DES CRAYONS B46/C45 CONCORDE ET CREATION E12/E14 COREPLAST OY A31 CORIOLIS SARL B54/E53 CORTHOGREEN F56 COTTEL.COM SA A62 DAG IMPORT B22/C21 DELTA SAS B02/C01 DEONET BV F25 DIANEL F12 DISENO Y APPLICACIONES DEL NO TO DO SL E60/E62 DISTRI COUTALE F38 DNS WATERBELT.COM F58 DREAMPEN DARMAR F51 DREAMTEX GMBH F34 DUAL PROMO B66 ECOSPHERE EUROPE C25 EDIS SPA E70 ELASTO FORM KG E16 ELEM S.A A54 EPHEMERIDE B53 EPIC F60 ERGA SRL E54 ESKESEN A/S E52 ETS WALDMANN B33 EUROBJET F74 EUROPE MATCH GMBH B48/C47 EUROPEAN SOURCING C42/D41 EXTRAPACK LTD F39 FALK & ROSS GROUP France B64/C63 FLEQS A36 FRANCE CRAVATES F35 FRANCE IMPORT PRODUCTION E71 FUSTABLOC S.L B52/C51 GENEDIF A35 GIVING EUROPE E42/F41 GK TECHNIQUES B60 GOODIES PUBLISHING GORENLER F21 GOVA DISTRIBUTION F50 GOYA SL F47 GREGCO SPRL E69 GUSTAV DAIBER Gmbh D22/E21 HAINENKO LTD F56 HEADWEAR F71 HEPLA GMBH & CO K.G A28 HERI GERATE PRODUKTIONS GMBH F61 HERON SAS A60 HUB DIFFUSION A33 IMBRETEX E64 IMPRIMERIE OLEFFE SA F14 INDUSTRIA Y DESAROLLO GAMAX D19 INMEVASA, INDUSTRIA MECANICA VALENCIANA SA B59 INSPIRION GMBH E06/F05 INTERTEX SAS F52 INTRACO TRADING BV F62 JHK TRADER SL C64/D67 JK ESPRIT PAPIER A05 KATSHU B71 KELNET E58 KLIVER B21 KM ZUNDHOLZ INTERNATIONAL D34 KODELLE F46 KONITZ PORZELLAN GMBH F14 L’OBJET PLUS A32 LA BOULE OBUT SAS B54/E53 LECCE PEN COMPANY SPA B16/C15 LENSEN TOPPOINT BV F33 LEXON A27 LITEX A17 LM ACCESSOIRES Gmbh A06/B05 M-SHIRT F30 MACMA WERBEARTIKEL OHG D36/E35 MAGNA SWEETS GMBH F27/E28 MAILLET SA F57 MAILLET VETEMENTS SA D60/E59 MAJOR NOW B54/E53 MANUFACTURE GENERALE HORLOGERE A60 MARC GAY SA B68/C71 MARTEXWELL GROUP SARL A53 MARTOR A21 MASTER ITALIA Srl B36/C35 MEDITERRANEE INTERNATIONAL D28 MEMOCOM B4 METRICA SPA A12 MID OCEAN BRANDS D16/E15 MIQUEL RIBAS ORIOL F13 MPI CPB A13 MURAT TEKSTIL SAN TIC LTD.STI C27 NOEX WALDEMAR NOWAK A16 NOUVELLE VISION D77 OCTOGONE SARL E33 OEM EUROPE PROMOTIONS B68/C69 OMYACOLOR E48 OROTIME SPRL A02/B01 P&P PRODUCTION B67 PASSOT INNOVATION SAS C61 PF CONCEPT C22/D21 PILOT CORPORATION OF EUROPE F15 PIXIKA B28 PLASTORIA SA C52/D51 PMS GLOBOS ET FESTIVAL C59 POLY A19 POPINT F59 PROCLAMA W. SCHMUTZ KG F06 PRODIR France SAS E36 PROMO SERPENTIGRAFF SA A20 PROMOCLIP INTERNATIONAL BV A41 PSI DUSSELDORF PSL FRANCE D64/D68 PUBOS F36 PULLTEX France C02/D01 RAM PROMOTIONS A26 RASTER F19 RAXY LINE S.R.L B51 RAYNARD A47 REGAL DIFUSSYO A61 REGINE ELASTIC E.K B27 RITTER PEN GMBH B06/C05 RJP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED A37 ROLAND DG MID EUROPE SRL D74/E75 SACLA E27 SAMARKAND B54/E53 SAMATEX A51 SAMDAM DISTRIBUTION NV D54/D58 SANJUAN HERMANOS S.A B10/C09 SARL KALCO A23 SARL RAYNAUD A49 SAS CSI F28 SCHNEIDER SCHREIBGERATE F61 SELTEC SAS F54 SENATOR ROU BILL France A42/B41 SHOPPING ON LINE F48 SHYGAON F49 SIGNALETHIQUE C48/D47 SIPEC S.P.A A40 SMALT BRNO E74 SOCOMAGE B69 SOCRIMEX B54/E53 SOL’S C12/D11/D12/E11 SOLDAPLASTIC SA B52/C51 STAEDTLER MARS GMBH CO E28 SUDE COMMUNICATION A21 SUPREME FRANCE F20 SUSSE WERBUNG GmbH C20 SWISS TRAVEL PRODUCTS B73 TAMPOPRINT F53 TEE.COM D48/E47 TEETEX B15/B19 TERRA HUMANA F55 THERMOFLAN E72 TS COM’PACK F18 TWIN PRODUCTION sro A59 UNICYTAN SL B20 UNIVERSAL SPA B11/B13 VALETTE FOIE GRAS B63 VANPARYS CHOCOLATIER S.A. C03 VERTE COMME L’OXYGENE A34 VICTORINOX B35/B39 VIVA PLUS B61 WAGENMANN AGENDAS PROMO F27/E28 WALOMO B54/E53 WERKO SARL A48 XINDAO BV B34/C33 YES FRANCE
September 14th, 2007
With the green trend being given a high priority in both the retail and promotional sectors of garment selling many different solutions to the organic clothing question have been mooted. The three main raw materials that have emerged as a base for organic clothing are Soy, Bamboo and Organic Cotton. Each have their benefits and drawbacks, and it is worth examining each one closely to see which option will be best for you.
Soy:
Soy fabric is made from tofu production and is similar in texture to cashmere. This material is not as strong as Organic Cotton or material derived from bamboo and is susceptible to stretching after prolonged use.
On the plus side the material does not need to be specially made as it is a by-product of tofu production therefore it has the least impact on the environment of the three. The resultant material is extremely light, UV resistant and antibacterial in nature.
Bamboo:
Bamboo grows exceptionally quickly and can be grown without pesticides, therefore it is an extremely healthy and sustainable base for material production. Clothing made from bamboo pulp will be similar to texture as silk and be highly breathable, UV resistant and antimicrobial in nature.
Bamboo loses 60% of its strength when wet, so it’s not suitable for durable clothes, prolonged washing or industrial uniform programs.
Organic Cotton:
Organic Cotton is Cotton grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers and other chemicals. A full explanation of the process, how to identify it and the difference between organic and fairtrade cotton can be found Here.
Similar in texture to Standard Cotton, if a little softer, a t-shirt or polo shirt made using organic cotton will easily absorb moisture and be simple to embroider or print on.
When deciding on our Organic Range we here at Polo-Shirts decided that t-shirts made utilising Organic Cotton offered the most reduced environmental impact, whilst still maintaining the high quality and affordability of our traditional t-shirt range.
September 12th, 2007
Diary dates for promotional clothing, event clothing and uniform 2007 and 2008
11 September, 2007 Trade Only National Exhibition - Donington, UK
13 - 20 September, 2007 ITMA 2007 - Munich, Germany
25 - 27 September, 2007 The National Incentive Show 2007 - Birmingham, UK
02 - 03 October, 2007 Brand Licensing Europe 2007 - London, UK
16 October, 2007 Footwear & Clothing in the Workplace
9-11 January 2008 PSI Germany Dusseldorf
25 - 27 January, 2008 TV 2008 - Textile & Promotion Trade Fair - Germany
29 - 30 January, 2008 Trade Only National Exhibition - Coventry, UK
17-18 February 2008 Printwear UK Cranmore Park
02 - 04 March, 2008 Printwear & Promotion 2008 - Birmingham, UK
02 - 03 April, 2008 Workwear & Corporate Clothes Show - Birmingham, UK
September 7th, 2007
According to Internet Retailing the internet will account for a full 25% of ALL retail sales by 2009. this is attributed to consumers growing faith in established selling sites such as ebay and the security of the internet in general.
“In 2006 sales made online, together with those made on the high street or through a contact centre after products had been researched online, amounted to £80 billion”, and online figures are only expected to grow, with a 40% increase predicted in 2007. As more and more people become computer literate previously inaccessible markets will be available through internet trading, where once the internet was the preserve of the youth now the internet, and selling and buying over it, is truly a global phenomenon.
“E-commerce is no longer a part-time or experimental activity in the Marketing Department, nor is it a matter of just showing the best products on a website” says Internet Retailing. More and more people are coming round to this way of thinking and are finally beginning to view the internet as a primary retail outlet for everything from t-shirts and polo shirts to socks and Underwear. As one of the first UK-based retail companies to deal exclusively online, we don’t like to brag, but we told you so.
September 5th, 2007
ITMA, the International Exhibition of Textile Machinery, is the world’s largest exhibition for textile machines and accessories. Held every four years since 1951 and always taking place at a different location, and the consistent quality of the exhibits, has led to the show being described as the “Olympics of the textile machinery industry”.
“New and further developments in textile and clothing machinery” will be the focus of the exhibition with a staggering number of exhibitors attending, more than the 1,300-odd of the last show are expected. Progress is very much the focal point for this years show, with a ‘Research & Education Area’ provided for the first time. This will take place in conjunction with the main event and will consist of about 30 research institutes for textiles and clothing as well as colleges, universities and other educational institutions, all presenting their service offers and research activities.
A series of lectures will also be provided for those who wish to learn more about the industry or keep up to date with continuing developments, numerous experts will also present current projects and visions for textiles and clothing in more than 25 speeches in the ‘Speaker’s Corner’.
This year ITMA is set to be held in Germany at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre on 13–20 of September 2007, opening hours are from 9:00am to 06:00pm daily for trade visitors.
September 3rd, 2007
