Graduation Projects You Don’t Want To Miss
Graduation season is approaching, and with its big ceremonies and constant photography soon to arrive, it’s nothing short of a perfect opportunity for any customization business. When graduating students find that their plain apparel won’t be enough for commencement, this time of year is ripe for customization work. And there will definitely be students or relatives seeking anyone that can complete their desired customizations quickly before the day. If you run a customization business and are up to the task, this season can serve as a good test of how well your business can deliver, especially within a short time. But what exactly are some worthy items to customize for graduation?
Graduation Caps
Of course, graduation commencement wouldn’t feel complete without a cap. And as caps are typically of a singular color matching the gown, they’ll be ready to hold well contrasted heat transfers of the right material. Graduation caps are essentially semi-rigid items typically covered with a soft cotton or silk fabric. This leaves caps ready to be customized with custom heat transfer vinyl designs on top, or directly below near the outer edges. You can not only apply standard colors, but also specialty vinyl with metallic, glitter, and holographic finishes for further flair. Depending on the cap’s color, it’ll even be possible to apply light or dark heat transfer paper to apply more detailed designs. Just keep in mind that if you can’t remove the tassel piece at the center of the cap, you’ll need to press the cap with heavier pressure, placing a pressing pillow below it.
Graduation Stole
Another piece of graduation apparel worth considering is the stole. As most schools enforce no modifications to caps and gowns for commencement, stoles are a less regulated workaround using much of the same fabrics. Serving as a large piece placed around the neck, stoles will be capable of holding the same heat transfers as a cap, and are even perfect for sublimation if rich in polyester. In terms of what type of transfers are made for both caps and stoles, you can create something as simple as someone’s name and their “Class of Graduation Year” in an elegant font that’s either straight or arced. But you can also be extremely creative in what you apply, especially if customers desire details like a motivational quote, or imagery that suits their personality.
Mylar Balloons
Now apparel won’t be the only item to customize for graduation season. A typical staple that guests bring to graduation commencement are mylar balloons themed for the occasion. Sure they can grab these from the local grocery store, but did you know that you can grab blank uninflated versions ready for customization? Rather than applying heat transfer vinyl, you can cut and apply adhesive sticker vinyl to both sides of these blank balloons with one or multiple colors. When the typical choices from the store aren’t enough, you can create truly custom balloons with the graduating student’s name, plus any other details like their graduation year and emblems. A couple tips for customizing mylar balloons however: be sure to not layer your cut design too much to where the balloon can’t float up, and always smoothly peel your adhesive vinyl downwards instead of upwards to avoid any ripping.
Custom Picture Frames
When graduating students and their relatives are looking to save their commencement or afterparty memories, they can always be further enhanced with custom made picture frames. You can find a ton of sublimation picture frames in regular and offset styles ready to hold standard photograph sizes like 4" x 6" and 5" x 7". And as these are sublimation blanks, you can apply just about any sort of image using sublimation transfers. For graduation season specifically, you can use elements that match the colors of the graduating student’s school, and add lines of text naming them, their alma mater, and graduation year. Using an offset frame can also provide enough space for any larger portions of text like the school’s motto or a memorable quote.
In the end, graduation season essentially works like any other holiday for customization businesses. It clearly doesn’t have to be limited to apparel, and with your design chops and ability to create quick results with heat transfers and adhesive vinyl, graduating students and similar customers will definitely be coming your way before commencement. Keep in mind that the customers that you can deliver sooner to will be the most local ones, as you can provide them the option to pick up the items in a single or even the same day. But if you’d like to share your custom graduation projects with us, alongside a large community of customization enthusiasts, be sure to join our HeatPressNation Creators Facebook group. But to learn more about the tools and materials in this blog, please visit us at HeatPressNation.com. For any questions about them, feel free to contact a MyExpert representative at heatpressnation.com/support.
