Track 03 · UV Technology

Gloss, matte, texture. Stacked in one build.

UV printing builds an image in layers. Master the layers.

Where Santa Fe Springs, CA

Seats 20 per session

Level Not for beginners

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The technology

Two platforms

Master the layers and you can put decoration on things a garment printer can't touch, and charge accordingly.

This session covers both UV platforms we run: the Grando for TPU, and the Mimaki UV printer for rigid and flat stock, including skate decks, stickers and posters.

The foundation

Art setup in Illustrator

UV printing builds an image in stacked layers, and every one of those layers is decided in Illustrator before the press ever runs. The day is built around that file: separating gloss, matte and texture onto their own layers, placing white ink to build opacity over dark or clear stock, and using clear ink as a raised texture pass rather than a varnish.

Get the layer structure right and the press does what you drew. Get it wrong and no amount of press time will recover it.

The problem it solves

Most UV jobs fail in the art file, not on the machine. Shops send flat single-layer artwork and then cannot work out why the result has no dimension, no opacity over dark stock, and no texture that repeats. You leave able to build a correctly separated white-and-clear layer stack, which is the part no operator can do on your behalf.

IllustratorWhite inkClear inkLayers

Platform 1 of 2

Grando: TPU

Layered TPU patches: gloss layer, matte layer, texture layer, clear and white ink. TPU patches are heat-applied, so the technique runs straight back into your existing embroidery and apparel work. It is a production technique, not a novelty.

TPUGlossMatteTexture

Platform 2 of 2

Mimaki UV: hard goods and flat stock

The same layering discipline applied to rigid substrates: skate decks, stickers and posters. Where the money is, what the press will and won't hold, and how to set the file up so the result is repeatable.

Skate decksStickersPosters

Who it's for

Three kinds of shop get value out of this day, and all three need to be comfortable in Adobe Illustrator first.

Print-on-demand shops. UV reaches product a garment printer cannot touch, so skate decks, signage, coasters and phone cases sit on the same storefront as your apparel at a much better margin.

Production managers. Layered TPU patches are heat-applied, so they drop into embroidery and apparel work your floor already runs. UV adds margin to existing jobs rather than competing for machine time.

Established decorators adding a line. The layer discipline is the same on both platforms we run, so one day covers TPU and rigid stock instead of one machine.

If you are new to decorating, start with the DTG and DTF hybrid track, which runs as a hands-on Friday session ahead of each Saturday workshop, and come back to UV once your Illustrator layer work is solid.

Ready to book? See upcoming dates.

Twenty seats per session. Pick a date on the workshops page, or tell us what you're decorating and we'll point you to the right session.

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