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4 G R A P H I C S P R O • M A R C H 2 0 2 3 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M ON THE COVER: Direct-to-film printing is the hot new trend in apparel decoration. Find out if it's right for you, and what it takes to make money with this latest technology, Page 8 (image courtesy Vanessa Nilsson, Equipment Zone). Bottom right: This month's GP+ is all about wide-format printing, Page 33. ©2023 National Business Media, Inc., all rights reserved. GRAPHICS PRO (ISSN 2766-953X) is published monthly by National Business Media, Inc., 10170 Church Ranch Way, Ste 400, Westminster, CO 80021; (303) 469-0424, Fax (303) 469-5730. Periodicals Postage Paid at Broomfield CO 80020- 9998 and additional mailing offices. USPS/National Business Media Automatable Poly. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to GRAPHICS PRO, PO Box 460794, Escondido, CA 92046-0794. All items submitted to GRAPHICS PRO become the sole property of GRAPHICS PRO and National Business Media, Inc. and cannot be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Advertisers and/or their agencies, jointly and severally, assume all liabilities for printed advertisements in GRAPHICS PRO. Opinions expressed in GRAPHICS PRO may not necessarily reflect the opinion of the magazine, its management or its advertisers. Letters, pictures and manuscripts welcome. 6 IN MEMORIAM Sign Columnist Rick Williams Passes A W A R D S & C U S T O M I Z A T I O N B U S I N E S S S T R A T E G I E S 68 HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR ABRASIVE Don't judge by cost alone because re-use is also important By Ruth L Dobbins 72 STARTING A LASER ENGRAVING BUSINESS The importance of understanding your equipment By John Morman 58 MAKING THE MOST OF CNC How shops can use CNC routers and digital finishing systems to grow their business By Paula Aven Gladych 64 VERIFYING SUBSTRATE COLORS IN THE FIELD How painting by numbers can help with consistency By Matt Charboneau 76 SOFTWARE TIPS & TRICKS Keeping up with your program By Doug Zender 80 DON'T SETTLE FOR GOOD AND LEAVE GREAT ON THE TABLE By Paul Ingle 84 STITCH SOLUTIONS Are you going to do the same thing? By Jennifer Cox 86 THE DIGITAL EYE AI's IQ By Stephen Romaniello 28 PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS 92 PRODUCTS 93 AD INDEX 94 MARKETPLACE 96 WEB EXCLUSIVES FEATURES C O L U M N S D E P A R T M E N T S 68 V O L U M E 3 7 | M A R C H 2 0 2 3 | N U M B E R 7 CONTENT S I G N A G E & P R I N T I N G 54 GRAPHICS PRO EXPO IRVING, TX PREVIEW