University of Rhode Island  
Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design

Richard Malachowski showing off some of Cranston's fine printing

TMD 402K The Art and Science of Fashion - Speaker Summaries

Richard Malachowski: The Art and Science of Textile Printing, by Denise Neyhart 

Richard Malachowski led the “Art and Science of Textile Printing” seminar. The lecture took on a different approach than the last two lectures. The topic focused strictly on textile and raw materials rather than fashion and finished apparel. The textile process of designing and creating is an extensive one. Malachowski discussed his involvement as the technical manager at the Cranston Print Company.
            The Cranston Printing Company produces 35 million yards of textiles every year, but looses about 5 percent of the goods. The performance of textile production is dependent on this factor known as production quality. The smaller amount of lost goods means a better production quality. Intrinsic and artistic quality also factor into a textile company's performance. Intrinsic quality is based on performance and color fastness. Artistic quality is the basis for physical attractiveness.
            Artistic quality is an important part of Cranston Printing. They have two studios, one in New York and one in Cranston that work with about 20 to 25 artists. The company does not use any freelance artists and does not license many designs for their products. The only designs they license are big sellers like the Care Bear designs. When a company licenses a design for their textile products, a stylebook is included in the process of obtaining the design. A stylebook lays out guidelines for the artists to use their characters or designs. Cranston Printing has also copyrighted a design. This design of  American flags has a unique flow that makes it suitable for many objects: ties, hats, etc. About 400,000 yards were sold after 9/11 and 2.2 million since it was created in 1991.
            The designs are printed on mostly cotton fabrics. Only about 2 percent of the fabric is poly-cotton. Designs are transferred onto the cotton with the use of 6 rotary screen printers. These printers are located in Webster where only 5 are run at a time while one is being checked for maintenance. The rotary screen printers use pigments and dyes and separate the designs into 16 distinct colors. Cranston Printing also uses inkjet printing where pictures are scanned into a digital file. This digital file is then printed onto the fabric using a special printer for textiles. CAD is also an important technological part of Cranston Printing. The designs are created on the program as well as color identification.
            Although Cranston Printing has become successful in the textile industry, they still face their leading competitor, Springs. Springs has become the leading textile printing company because it does a lot of sourcing outside of the country. The company is also in charge of many Disney licensed textile products.
            Besides competition, Cranston Printing faces textile and economical constraints. About 90 percent of apparel is done off shore in China and Korea. Some eastern countries charge less for textile production, which prevents companies from buying American made textiles. Textile supply is the biggest problem because the low supply creates higher cost. The raw materials are then decreasing the quality due to this problem.
            The topic of textiles and printing was thoroughly covered by Robert Malachowski. He explained the process and the problems with textiles today. The process of artistic design and licensing was the most interesting because the strictness of the stylebook depends on whether a company will use a design for their textiles. Overall a presentation about a local textile printing company is pleasing to see with all the competition and economic problems with textiles in the United States.