TEXTILES.ORG
The U.S. National Synchronized Swimming Team (USA Synchro) performed high-energy swim routines in a 17,000-gallon multi-colored swim tank in New York City’s Times Square to kick off two important events. The first is the “Road to Rio,” a series of public performances preceding the team’s competition in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The second is the launch of a sponsor’s print media super tanker, the Epson EcoTank™ printer that comes loaded with up to two years of ink. The September Times Square promotion, aptly titled “Swimming in Ink,” was sponsored by Epson America Inc., Long Beach, Calif., and Staples Inc., Framingham, Mass.
To demonstrate the colorful capacities of the new Epson printers, swimmers in the September Times Square promotional performance wore swimsuits printed by Epson SureColor® F-Series dye-sublimation large format printers. USA Synchro’s designer, Triflare, a St. Louis, Mo., expert in triathlon swimwear, created custom suit designs for each of the team’s four routines. The designs— Butterfly, Happy, Chaos and CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black)—make the most of a rich color palette.
Epson received pdf files of the designs and, using the SureColor F-Series 9200 printer and UltraChrome® DS ink, printed the designs onto a transfer sheet. The images were moved to a poly-spandex blend via heat press, which cooks the ink into the fabric for 30-45 seconds, bonding it to the fibers. The 24 suits were printed panel by panel, with seams built into the panels. A Triflare seamstress made certain the seams would stand up to the swimmers’ rigorous performances. During the Times Square event, USA Synchro demonstrated athleticism and precision during hourly performances, giving New Yorkers a preview of the 2016 Summer Olympics and the glamour of Rio.