NEWS

ASP bringing brightness to the beer tent around South West England.

ASP love beer, we love beer tents, festivals, live music, surf and living in Cornwall more than just about anything else. So when we noticed that the prints on some of the black promotional T shirts being produced for our local brewers did not reflect the exuberance of their product, we wondered if we could help.

After all there’s nothing dull about Cornish Beers and Ciders so why should their T shirts be anything less than popping. Phone calls were made and discussions about beer and colour took place in the print shop.

Rick, our Prodcution Manager is as passionate about Cornish Brewing as he is abut printing, this was clearly going to be a match made in heaven and Rick declared that a simulated process was needed to do our Cornish brewers justice.

Simulated process printing requires expertise, it isn’t a job for amateurs in their garages with homemade kit.

Rick explains…. “Simulated Process is an advanced technique that uses halftones of a few ink colors to represent the colors in the original design. This process differs from 4-color process in that the inks are solid opaque colors usually printed on dark colored shirts. Because the shirts colors are normally dark, simulated process requires the use of an underbase, this will lift the colours and make them leap out from the dark background.”

OK Rick thanks, but as we are simple people and it’s nearly opening time can we just see an example of a simple four colour print job and your special simulated process for our beloved Cornish brewers? “Of course here’s one I made earlier, what do you think?” Pics to follow………

Embroidery is not boring!

ASP have got into embroidery, lets face it embroidery is a great and cost effective way to get lots of colour into a design without it costing the earth. You don’t believe us?

I bet you are all thinking of those little crests we stared disconsolately down at through double maths and English at school. Yes they are embroidered and anyone would be forgiven for thinking they should be kept strictly for uniforms, especially if you have been staring at the same one for hours in a bid to avoid algebra.

Well things may not have changed much in double maths but they certainly have in the application of embroidery and we have been having a lot of fun with it, we have and if you don’t believe us ask the National Trust.

We do our fair share of colourful crests and heraldic type embroidery work but it was really nice when the National Trust came along with an interesting and unusual design and said can you do this?

We looked it at it and said “Absolutely yes” We love a challenge at ASP, but we also know that the quality of embroidery is all in the digitizing. Digitizing is how we convert a design into a computer file that an embroidery machine can read.

Cheap in house digitizing is bad, it results in a poor quality piece of embroidery that can look scrappy and lumpy. This is the downfall of many a cheap embroidery job. We have our digitizing done professionally for us so we KNOW our embroidery machine will have the best possible design file to read from and our customers will be thrilled with the results.

This is why we were able to say with all honesty to The National Trust,  “Yes you can trust us to get this right for you and not only will it be right, it is going to be a really fun job to do because it is such a COOL design!

Well I think you need to decide for yourselves whether embroidery can be exciting and fresh, so here it is the National Trust Oak Leaf embroidery produced by ASP.

Identifying the needs of our customers is fundamental to our business. We don’t just offer some of what people think they need. We offer everything necessary to produce a printed garment, from in-house concept and design through to print production.

But what happens when different customers have different requirements?

• What happens if you haven’t got a design but need printed / embroidered garments?
• What happens if you just need a cost effective print or embroidery and are “good to go” ?
• What if you want bespoke garment production ?
• What if your business needs advice on retail margins and your business plan?
• What if you need 10,000 shirts for an event but the artwork needs tweaking ?
• What if you want to take your own brand to the next level and need quality design?

We’ve sat down and asked how can we change the way we do things in order to meet YOUR individual requirements and budget without compromising OUR quality?
We found a solution, by breaking apart our start to finish process of Concept 2 Creation in order to offer a bespoke solution that meets the exact needs of YOU our customer.
We’ve created systems that allow YOU to choose” from our excellent range of services – you choose how much influence and input you want from the experienced team here at ASP.
We’d like to share with you our new identity – not many miles away from where we were in terms of look and feel but light years away in terms of our message.
Welcome to The New Improved ASP Concept AND Creation. New website will be coming soon………..

From time to time you get customers that if you could – you’d do it for nothing.  That’s how all of us here feel about SURF ACTION and what they are trying to achieve.  If you’ve got two secs please read below….

“Surf Action is delighted to have been selected as a finalist for the Big Lottery People’s Millions awards for 2010.

Surf Action is an award winning and pioneering project that uses surfing and the beach environment to help people deal with the ongoing problems of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and amputations.

Surf Action specifically works to support ex-service, serving military and blue light services, to overcome these potentially life destroying afflictions.  The core aim is to put smiles on faces and from there to help direct as appropriate to other organisations which can assist in a holistic approach to healing the wounds.

The founder and Director Rich Emerson is a former member of the armed services and saw active duty in the first Gulf War. Rich subsequently suffers from PTSD, but found that the focus provided by surfing helped him make huge positive changes to his ability to manage and live with his disorder.

Surf Action has been running for just over a year and has organised several surf camps for veterans and their families and two camps specifically for amputees injured in Afghanistan.

“We are delighted to be through to this next stage and are asking people to vote for Surf Action, so we can help others overcome major issues and challenges in their lives. Winning the vote will allow us to make a huge difference to lives of people, who have given all in service of their country.” Rich Emerson, Director of Surf Action”

The vote will take place by phone on Thursday the 25th of November. People can vote by telephone between 9am and midnight for this one day. The number to call will only become available on the day of the vote and will be on the Surf Action website www.surfaction.co.uk

Or www.peoplesmillions.org.uk  and then click on Westcountry region. To register your support and comment click on:

http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/2010-finalists/westcountry/surf-action

University AWDis Hoodies

University Hoodies Direct Web Site Launch

The UHD website has just been launched and has gone done a storm with unis and colleges all over the country.  With all students now settled in, the clubs / societies are recruiting like mad and all needing hoodies.  The AWDis range fits perfectly into this niche – there is a wide range of choice – the College (JH001); Varsity (JH003) and Street (JH020) hoodies are all selling well.  As we have previously posted, the amount of colours available is second to none – just look at the swatch card!!

The specialist is set up to handle all the enquiries from schools, colleges and universities.  We have a dedicated team here at ASP that manage everything from providing advice. supplying design / visuals to quoting and taking orders.  Why not check out the University Hoodies Direct site and spread the word!

ASP is constantly looking to source the best garment ranges to meet our customers requirements.

Consistency is a key factor, being able to get the same colour and size ratio across a range sounds obvious, but until now it hasn’t traditionally always been so.  That is until SG Clothing stepped into the gap.  ASP constantly check with suppliers of apparel, we never stop being on the lookout for ranges that offer a great quality vehicle for print & embroidery at a competitive price for our customers.

But that isn’t nearly enough, we also want the best service and distribution from our suppliers, so that our customers can rely on numbers and colours being available for print and embroidery speedily and in  small & large volume for repeat or top up jobs.  Consistency is a big deal to ASP.

This narrows down the field but we keep on looking and last year we were delighted to discover AWDis hoodies.  Our customers have been very pleased with the success at retail of their comprehensive range when combined with the bespoke design, print and embroidery that ASP provide.

Well that was the hoodies taken care of but………..

“Wouldn’t it be great,” we said, “If someone did a range of T shirts just like AWDis, with the same level of quality and vibrancy of colour, BUT making sure the same styles and colours go across all three ranges consistently.”

Enter SG Clothing. In the words of the woman behind this innovative new range “With SG you’ll never have to stop and think “Is this style available in this size and colour.” It will be and it will be of the same quality, colour and availability as the men’s, women’s or kids range that you may have used and had printed already.

This is great for retailers who may want to add kids to a bespoke designed adult tee shirt range, clubs who have a range of club clothing and need to re- stock or any other client where consistency of style and colour and availability is needed as an ongoing thing. It’s great for ASP as well because we can bring this range to our customers and improve our service further.

The use of embroidery to decorate fabric has been around since man began to wear clothes.   Embroidery as an art form has origins that can be traced far back to the Iron Age.   Several excellent examples of beautiful embroidery work are still surviving to date – samples can be found from Ancient Egypt, China, Persia, India and England.

Here at ASP Industries, we thought that it was about time we entered this market and invested in new machinery to offer a top quality embroidery service to our existing clients.  It also opens up many new opportunities  – i) to attract new customers and ii) to supply a wider range of decorated garments including a whole range of jackets and fleeces (more news to follow shortly).

Embroidery is quick, relatively cost friendly and still sets a garment apart from the crowd by adding that special touch. However when a provider works only to price, garment quality is not always of a high standard & despite the best efforts of modern embroidery technology this can result in a poor end of line product that disappoints the customer.

ASP is committed to providing cost effective print and embroidery but never at the expense of the quality of our product.  How does ASP offer unparalleled quality and still remain cost effective?

Top notch customer service at all stages of concept, design and production saves customers money without sacrificing quality.  ASP have an in house graphic designer experienced in selecting embroidery friendly designs and logos saving money and time.

Some of the most expensive and costly embroidery mistakes are made in the design stage.  ASP will make sure that your artwork is going to deliver a quality and cost effective, sound end product.  Quality digitizing is paramount and all logos are sampled before going into full production.

Sourcing the best apparel on the market is something we never stop doing as prices and fashions change, we change too.

ASP are constantly seeking to update their range of apparel in order to offer customers the absolute best quality that is on the market at an affordable price.

Don’t take our word for it…… look at the images below.  One of our existing print clients is also a member of a local Golf Society.  He brought in a polo shirt that had been sourced by ‘one of his gang’ and paid £15 for it.  Naturally disappointed by the quality of the shirt and the embroidery he asked what we could do.   We’ll let the pictures tall the story – suffice to say you get what you pay for.

If you are interested in embroidery and want to see what quality garments are available why not give us a call on 01637 879 873

Summer is an exciting time to be a business based in Newquay, there are lots of events and visitors, the weather brings out the best of the coastline and everyone hits the beach, even the Chevrolet dealers.  

We had a surprise phone call from the PR manager for Chevrolet UK based in Luton asking if we could source and print some rash vests for them for a July deadline. “Of course we can” we said and being curious we asked what he was planning.  It turned out that Chevrolet were planning to hit the beach just like everyone else and were going to bring along their boards on the roof of their one off, surf styled ”Chevrolet Spark Woody”

 The Chevrolet “Woody” is a spin on the best selling Chevy Spark supermini, it recalls the iconic, timber framed surf wagons of California in the early fifties and sixties. Though timber framing became obsolete due to expense and difficulty, the cars remained a huge part of American Culture as a symbol of surf and summer as immortalised by the Beach Boys in Surfing Safari. Chevrolet have cleverly captured the retro wooden feel using Di-Noc wood grained vinyl panelling whilst still fulfilling the modern surfers need for an environmentally efficient set of wheels.

 Chevrolet went one step further than talking, by bringing the “Woody” to Newquay for the Boardmasters Event complete with racks, boards and a team of keen Chevvy surfers, it made a fun addition to the vintage campers and trucks and proved its worth as a vehicle that does the job as well as looking the part.

 We were very pleased Chevrolet UK brought their business to Cornwall.  It’s great when our ‘out of county’ customers actually come to Cornwall and see why we are so cheerful about what we do. The Chevy team sent us a photo of themselves thoroughly enjoying working here as well. Hopefully they will come back for more. 

 “ASP were great – superb value and able to work to an incredibly tight deadline. As you can see from the attached pic, the rashies looked fantastic!”   PR Manager Chevrolet UK

It’s not everyday that ASP gets a customer like Russ Pierre.   When we do it’s a chance to be involved in a project where any potential financial gain is immaterial.  It was only after Russ asked for a quote for some T Shirts and rash vests that we found out what his organisation “Surf Action” does.

“We take them surfing and put smiles on their faces” is how Russ Pierre described it.  He is referring to the returning combat veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or disabilities – such as amputees – whom Surf Action takes surfing.  Surf instructor Russ, 40, set up the company with ex-British Army soldier Rich Emerson, 43, last September.  Mr Emerson, who served with the Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars in Desert Storm, suffered from PTSD after serving in the Gulf War.

Russ explained: “What we do is use the beach environment as a way to escape daily barriers faced by the veterans and their families.  ”It’s hard to say what it is about surfing that is so therapeutic. They say that only a surfer knows the feeling – it’s either the anticipation of going surfing or the excitement.”

Last month, The Western Morning News featured a group of Marines from Plymouth who took part in a surf therapy course organised by Russ and Surf Action.  Ben McBean, 23, who lost his left arm and right leg during combat; Nicolas Gibbons, 19, a below-the-knee amputee, and Jay Hare, 29, who lost his leg below the knee, all managed to stand up on their surf boards by the end of four days instruction.  The Marines, based at HMS Brave in Plymouth, said surfing boosted their confidence – and gave them a massive sense of achievement.

As a result of meeting Russ and hearing about all the positive stuff he is doing locally with returning combat veterens, we offered to print Surf Actions Rash Vests for free.

ASP enjoy working with all of our different clients, but when we get one like Russ who gives so much of his time and energy to others for no profit, we’re stoked to be able to help out.  If you are interested in finding out more about Surf Action, or going along as a group or individually, go to www.surfaction.co.uk or call Russ on 01736 811920.

Despite the awesome weather and being based temptingly close to the beach we have been hard at work.

Whilst it seemed everyone else in town was packing for Glastonbury we were packing several hundred of our own representatives for the festival, but not the human sort.  Following a call from the National Trust, ASP were given the task of printing a design specially created by Pop Artist Peter Blake to commemorate The National Trusts attendence at the festival for the first time and celebrate the successful re-introduction of the large blue butterfly back into the Somerset countryside.

Peter Blake may not be known to everyone, but the cover of Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band is!!  The T Shirt Peter designed, evoked a vintage transport poster whilst combining the diverse elements that make Glastonbury the special place it is. As a really colourful and interesting piece of art, the job of converting to screen print, gave graphics team something to get really excited about.  Especially as Amelia was going to the festival as well and would see her T shirts live.

The whole team went to work and ASP even learned a bit about the large blue as a result.  We were thrilled with the end result, it did the fantastic artwork justice and we were especially proud when the T shirt design was featured in the Guardian Newspaper and National News and TV.

It’s great to have been able to provide the expertise needed for such a special job and in such a good cause and now we are looking forward to taking on more challenges.

“ASP were an absolute saviour - having been given a short deadline to produce high quality organic fair trade T shirts designed by Peter Blake for our Glastonbury stand and having no experience of ordering or designing T shirts, Chris and Amelia were fantastic. They offered practical advice from their years of experience as to what would look best, sent images for approval quickly and were happy to make changes as and when needed right up to the print run deadline.  We achieved some fantastic highly coveted T shirts that our staff and festival goers were proud to wear and made the whole process stress free by their friendly approach and their great communication.”

Colette - NT Project Manager

Peter Blake on YouTube - Peter discusses Glastonbury and more about the design