by [TC]²
A summary of a presentation by the Computer Integrated We have all heard the saying “A picture tells a thousand words”. No one knows this better than designers. We have based our careers around presenting an image to sell a product. The design image is the first step in the life of a garment, and it sets the stage for all processes beyond it. And while we put lots of emphasis on making the picture perfect, we often forget about ways to capitalize on the investment of an image we have labored over.
Textile Design Association (CITDA) given at Bobbin Americas 2000.
By Katy Chapman
With the advent of technology, there are many ways to re-purpose a computer-aided design image so that it can benefit areas of your business outside of the CAD room. With a little advanced knowledge and planning, you may find your images have many lives and are worth more than you expected!
Leveraging for Use in the Supply Chain
With the proliferation of computer-aided design for textiles and apparel, there are now numerous ways to leverage your images for improved communications throughout the supply chain. CAD images enable you to communicate ideas visually with few limits to accuracy and detail.
There are many areas where a business can benefit from the communication of ideas visually. Sales, marketing, merchandising, production, web commerce, and display/packaging can all utilize CAD images, when they are presented correctly. The challenge comes in understanding the needs of each area, and what image types, sizes, and formats will be most beneficial.
Textile Sampling and Production
While most companies understand the value of sending images created on CAD to the mill for sample making and production, many are still fine-tuning the extent at which a file should be prepared by design for a hand-off to the mill. To further complicate matters, designers and mill specialists are now experimenting with digital textile printing as a way to speed up the sampling process and facilitate sales in a competitive market.
A very critical point to creating “digital strike-offs” is that it needs to closely simulate the results of production, so that the final product will meet your customer’s expectations. This can be achieved through continuous design-to-mill collaboration, where both parties are addressing needs and limitations before the first sample ever reaches a customer’s hands. It also helps to utilize a CAD system or service bureau that has accurate production simulation capabilities, so that you hit the mark early in the design process.
Whether you are working with traditional or digital textile sampling, the most important aspect to preparing CAD images for use in production is to understand the extent at which to edit an image before you send it, and the preferable repeat and resolution sizes required by the mill. Files that are too low in resolution may result in many extra hours of rework on the mill side, thus eliminating any potential cost savings. Yet large images require more time to save, load and manipulate. Most engravers require files to be no smaller than 300 dpi, but it’s a good idea to ask in advance of image preparation.
Garment Sampling and Production
The use of product data management systems (PDM) is on the rise in the apparel industry. These systems enable a collaboration of information from design to sampling to production to shipping, and most steps in between. These systems create accountability check-points for information, enable better communication of issues and concerns, and provide clear and concise details for all to see and use.
“A picture tells a thousand words” has never been better illustrated than here, since images and information are married to each document utilized in the process, thus eliminating mistakes.
These systems create accountability check-points for information, enable better communication of issues and concerns, and provide clear and concise details for all to see and use. “A picture tells a thousand words” has never been better illustrated than here, since images and information are married to each document utilized in the process, thus eliminating mistakes.
Most images from CAD can be re-purposed for PDM use, whether they are in raw sketch form or design/color filled “mini-bodies”. The resolution of the image used really depends on whether the image will be part of a printed report, or viewed by monitor only. Images for print should be no smaller than 150 dpi, although many systems will utilize a 72 dpi image for faster monitor viewing, and will retrieve the higher resolution file only when that image is going to be printed.
CAD images may be re-purposed for product data management systems (PDM), to improve the sampling and production process. Image courtesy of KaratCAD.
Sales, Marketing and Merchandising
Beyond basic CAD sketches exist capabilities to enhance sales, marketing and merchandising presentations with realistic product and store images. While these capabilities have existed for many years, some designers are just beginning to harness their power.
Texture-mapping is one such capability that enables a CAD user to simulate pattern, print or color on a product image where it does not exist. Starting with a photo of a product (on a model, furniture in a room scene, etc.), the technology utilizes a series of borders, draping grids, and light/shadow to superimpose an image with realistic results. When properly implemented by a designer with a trained eye, these images can be used in place of traditional photography for both print and web applications. Possibilities include sales sheets, market books, catalogs, packaging, multimedia or CD-ROM presentations, and e-commerce (both B2B and B2C). Beyond saving time and money over traditional photography, texture-mapping gives you realistic collateral with which to sell a product concept, well before the first sample is stitched.
Building upon the concept of simulations are visual merchandising systems. These systems employ 3-dimensional rendering engines, combined with an image database, to create fully interactive “virtual” store environments. Many types of images can be used, including flat CAD sketches, digital photography, and/or texture-mapping. Users pick and choose their product from a database of images, populate or change store fixtures, and navigate around a 3D space. The systems can generate reports that are used by visual merchandising teams to communicate in-store product placement across multiple stores and regions. With both information and images, the integrity of a brand is reinforced through precise merchandising control.
Whether you are using texture-mapped images, CAD sketches, or 3D store images for your sales and marketing purposes, it is important once again to know the medium in which the image will be used. Images meant for print can vary in resolution, from 150 dpi for internal salesman sheets, to 350 dpi for catalogs or packaging sent directly to consumer. On the flip side, images meant for monitor viewing, such as e-commerce or CD-ROM presentations, will usually only require a 72 dpi size.
Texture-mapping produces realistic photo simulations of product for sales and marketing use.
Image courtesy of Nedgraphics.
A virtual, 3D store environment created by a visual merchandising system. Image courtesy of Logikos, LLC.
Keeping it all in Check
When re-purposing the same image with different sizes, styles, and resolutions, it is possible to get overwhelmed with multiple versions. This is where a little organization comes in handy, especially in the form of databases. Image Archiving, or Digital Asset Management (DAM for short) systems, are central data repositories that enable you store and locate files intelligently. They are built to think like you do, and most offer customizable library fields so that you can name your “file drawers” how you want to. These systems help you keep track of an image in all of its various forms, and can be placed on a server for multiple users or departments to access.
There are many third-party providers of DAM systems out there, since the desktop publishing world came to a file-management crisis long before the textile and apparel industries did. Many CAD/CAM providers also have a database component that works with their design software. Regardless of the solution you choose, you will be able to find files and formats faster, thus adding time back into your process.
Thinking Ahead
When working on images that with an intention to re-purpose them, it is always a good idea to think ahead as to how the image will be used, and the best resolution, dimensions, and detail required. While the higher the resolution the better for printing, you should also be weary of files that are too large, requiring more file space and time to manipulate. Files that have to be enlarged in either dimension or resolution may loose image clarity or have to be re-worked on the receiving end. The work you do now will save time later when a crunch hits.
The best plan of attack for re-purposing an image is to get to know the people and processes you will be handing your image off to. Create some guidelines that everyone can adhere to, so that your workflow is smooth and doesn’t hinder the creative process. The idea is to create an image that is so powerful it can be leveraged to get results across the supply chain: from the design room all the way to the consumer’s hands!