Sawgrass Technologies is expanding its partnership with RICOH to continue its five-year relationship for desktop dye sublimation systems. With the extension, Sawgrass remains the only partner for RICOH in the desktop sublimation market. Through the agreement, RICOH supplies authorized print cartridges exclusively to Sawgrass.

Epson has opened its first Certified Solution Center in Canada, at TG Graphics in Toronto. Customers will have access to the Epson professional printing portfolio, including signage, dye sublimation, and DTG solutions for a hands-on experience.

International Coatings recently introduced its AXEON Non-PVC Crystal Clear Gel Gloss 1807. It’s colorless and very clear in appearance and has a wet look when printed on top of flashed AXEON or other acrysol and plastisol inks. It’s easy to print and works equally well on automatic and manual printers.

Brother International Corp. has partnered with the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) to support the next generation of fashion designers. The company donated more than $100,000 worth of sewing, embroidery and electronic cutting machines to FIT earlier this year. Many of the looks featured in a recent student fashion show were crafted using one of the donated Brother machines.

Expert Brand (asi/53404) announced that it has taken several measures to be more environmentally friendly, including going paperless and using energy-saving appliances and LED lighting.

Printavo announces the PrintHustlers Conf 2019, a multidiscipline educational conference for the apparel decoration industry now in its third year. The conference will be held July 12-13 at East-West University in downtown Chicago and features keynote speaker Mike Michalowicz, a prolific business author. Tickets are available here.

InkSoft is holding a Print or Die contest during the month of May, asking contestants to come up with a creative way to decorate a garment using a special graphic InkSoft commissioned. The winner will receive a $500 credit from Allmade Apparel. Click here for more details on the contest.

WildSide offers a May special on Americana designs. Customers will get a dozen screen-printed patriotic transfers in the design of their choice for free with orders of more than $200. Just add the product number to the order note section at checkout. The offer applies to stock transfers only and ends May 31.

Transfer Express (asi/91804) shares a video on how to create shirts personalized with class and team signatures using a custom signature template that lets group members add their names to a heat transfer. The company is also offering a new free ebook: The Heat Printer’s Ultimate Guide to Fabric Types. The company also announced that it received the 2019 Sustainable Business Recognition Award from SGIA, thanks to efforts it made to improve business efficiency and employee safety and health in 2018.

Brother DTG offers the T-Lock Wraparound Insert, allowing you to print designs that wrap around the front and back of a shirt. The insert’s U shape allows a shirt to be loaded with the side seam centered on the platen. The sleeve can be pulled inside, enabling the print head to come down on part of the shirt front and back without striking it. Watch a video of this platen in action here.

Hotronix offers a new Power Platen designed to reduce the risk of scorching heat-sensitive substrates when heat printing. The specialty lower platen heats garments from underneath, lessening the need for high heat from the upper platen. It features a built-in heat printing pillow enabling it to conform to any printing surface and press over irregularities such as buttons and seams.

HanesBrands (asi/59528) earned a 2019 Forsyth County Governor’s Volunteer Award for making a significant contribution to its hometown community, by volunteering more than 350 hours in 2018 at a soup kitchen run by Samaritan Ministries. Hanes employees also organized several days of service to distribute socks, underwear and other apparel to more than 500 people.

Vastex International has introduced what they say is the world’s smallest conveyor dryer, matched to the output of several popular DTG printing systems. The LittleRedX1D is the first dryer with a heater that spans the entire belt width and can cure up to 27 garments per hour that have been DTG printed with digital white ink. It can cure 81 water-based and discharge screen prints per hour and 162 plastisol prints per hour.