Ever decreasing

Shirts, trousers, jackets - you name it - if you don't get it right then there are going to be disgruntled customers you will never see again. So how to ensure customers will be beating a path to your door instead of away from it?

Leveraging its 20 years of experience and excellence in shirt finishing, Trevi has developed the TreviTandem double buck shirt finisher. The intuitive TreviTouch touch-screen interface and the ergonomically optimised work position make the TreviTandem extremely easy and comfortable to use.

Each form of the TreviTandem is equipped with the exclusive SideDry device, an absolute innovation by Trevil. Not only does it impress vertical tension to the side seams, but it also conveys hot air on them for faster drying.

The main features of the TreviTandem are:

¦ Double presses for front pockets

¦ Adjustment of the sleeve angle during the finishing cycle

¦ Sleeve tensioning arms with anti-stretch control

¦ Shoulder width adjustment

¦ Hood for shoulder and yoke drying

¦ Economiser for energy saving and faster overall drying, thanks to hotter air

¦ Short sleeve clamps

¦ Cuff placket dryers

Meanwhile, Trevil's Pantastar trousers finisher makes trousers finishing easier and more comfortable and promises high productivity even with an inexperienced operator; constant quality over time; and a 50% smaller footprint than the previous model has developed in a way that allows the operator to work in a standing position throughout the entire duration of the finishing cycle. The operator does not need to reposition the pants between finishing of the waist area and legs and can work comfortably with a minimum effort while manual operations are reduced to a minimum. The finishing cycle is controlled via a foot pedal, so operator's hands are free to handle the garment. At the end of the finishing cycle, the manual touch ups can be comfortably carried out thanks to a handy hanger.

One of the highlights of the Pony range, says the company, and one of its most popular solutions, is the Pony Formplus-S which is not only able to be used for solvent based cleaning, but also wetcleaning. Available with or without a built-in electric boiler, the Formplus-S allows fast garment loading and automatically tensioning systems which assure a spectacularly professional finish in a very short space of time. While some machinery from the Pony range is garment specific, Pony 404 shirt and jacket former produces, says the company, consistently excellent results in a smaller space than two machines dedicated for each garment type, as well as being cheaper in terms of capital outlay and energy usage. A recent addition to the Pony range is The Pony DLP Double Legger Press which can finish trousers to an excellent quality in one action.

Dr Marco Niccolini of Renzacci is adamant that: “For professional finishing the minimum equipment you will need is a professional ironing table, pro-steamer former and it is important, in addition, if you have a shirt service you will need to dedicate a corner of the the workroom to that. However, the situation in Europe is different in respect to shirts to that in the USA and South America markets. In Europe we don’t deal with as many shirts as they do. There is no sense spending many thousands of Euros on shirt units if you don’t need them.”

Renzacci also offers an ozone cabinet. “There are so many items that could be serviced, and not just traditional textiles. Renzacci has had a tremendous success in Europe and the UK with its ozone cabinet. The cabinet disinfects and eliminates viruses including complex pathogens and mould, for example. Items form daily life such as bags, safety helmets, gloves, even push chairs – and also garments, of course, can be sanitised in an ozone cabinet.

Chasing diversity

Meanwhile, ‘business growth through diversification is a smart strategy’ advises Sankosha which has developed a shoe and accessory dryer. The space-saving vertical dryers are available as a 35, 56 and 72 pair model and are 38” x 65”, 38” x 66”and 38” x 79” respectively. Items are easy to dry –simply put the individual shoes and/or accessories on the arms and walk away. There is a short drying time with strong air flow so no heat = no shrinkage. Operators can dry up to 35, 56 or even 72 pairs of shoes at a time. The units can be moved easily on their large castors.

ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO FINISHING EQUIPMENT

Ironing tables

The ideal table will have ironing surface steam, vacuum, variable volume air blowing, a sleeve arm and foot controls on both sides of the table (remember not all staff are right handed and others, depending on garment type may want to use the table from either side). All tables should have a good sized support tray, ideally height adjustable and a table mounted overhead light is a big advantage.

Irons

The choice is between a steam heated or or an electric steam iron. While steam heated irons are light and easy to handle and provide maximum fabric safety, their normal operating temperature is at best 110C, this is far too low for optimum finishing standards on many fabrics. Cotton textiles in particular require a temperature of 200C so a professional steam electric iron which can be operated with either hand is the best professional option. Heat settings must be adjusted as appropriate for other fibres.

Garment formers

There are numerous types/designs varying between tensioning formers, standard formers and rotor cabinet type finishers. Without doubt the best finish is produced by tensioning formers or rotor cabinet type formers designed to produce finishing temperatures in the region of 120C. Even using the best equipment, the vast majority of garments will still need additional finishing on the ironing table. Finishing is all about temperature so consider formers with a higher temperature potential.

Most types of former will come with the necessary finishing aids such as vent clips, T clips for trousers and sleeve extenders for jackets and coats.

Finishing aids

A range of finishing aids is essential if the cleaner is to produce good standards of finish on items such as ties, fur fabrics, satins, silks and some wool and heavyweight fabrics. A rod-type tie former, a Teazle (dog comb will do), a press mitt and/or mock iron (paddle) and soft medium and hard finishing brushes I consider to be essential. Sleeve plugs often produce a better standard of finish than traditional sleeve extenders and a pressers block can be useful to hold some garments in position when free steaming.