Four Things You Should Know When Buying Hi-Visibility Workwear

1. Why is it that some hi-vis workwear is less/more expensive than others?

In the area of workwear the old adage “you get what you pay for” has never been truer. With so many brands competing for market share how do you work out which brands are good value for money and what is just a cheap product at a cheap price? This can be done by doing three easy things:

Visually inspect the garment to see if the appearance, stitching and finish of the garment look presentable and is of retail quality.

  1. Try the garment on to ensure that it is comfortable and fits well.
  2. Wash the garment to make sure that it holds its shape and colour.

Hi-Visibility Workwear2. Compliance with Australian Standards

The most important point with hi-vis apparel is that it meets the correct Australian Standard for the conditions under which the garment is to be used. The standards vary depending on whether it is for day use, night use, aboveground, underground, fire retardant, antistatic etc. Snappy Uniforms uses reputable workwear manufacturers who only supply garments which comply with the relevant Australian Standards.

3. Branding

On a worksite everyone looks the same in their hi-vis clothing so many businesses differentiate themselves by using decorative options to indentify their staff and promote their brand. These garments are essentially no different to other work uniforms other than the tighter constraints in terms of meeting fairly strict Australian Standards. The two most common methods of decorating hi-vis clothing are embroidery and screen printing.

Embroidery

The advantages of embroidery are the longevity of the decoration, the professional image associated with this type of branding, the relatively low cost compared to other forms of decoration and the quick production time. It is also important to recognize that there is embroidery and embroidery. To ensure the best result, get your logo professionally digitized. Beware of cheap digitizing setup costs as you very much get what you pay for. A logo which is digitized correctly will sew out beautifully time after time. The quality of threads can also make a significant difference to the overall outcome. Low quality embroidery threads will lose their colour and the dye from the thread can run into the shirt fabric. The use of backing material also affects the comfort of wearing the garment and the stability of the embroidery itself so that the logo does not become distorted with movement. When embroidering fleece type fabrics it is important to use Solvy embroidery topping to prevent the embroidery nestling down into the fleece.

Screen Printing

This option is commonly used in conjunction with embroidery. The logo is embroidered onto the front and then a larger screen print on the back. Screen printing provides a nice crisp image and is more cost effective to use when covering a large area such as on the back of a jacket or shirt. Some of the disadvantages with screen printing include slightly longer turnaround times, more expensive for smaller runs due to the screen setup costs, and the longevity of the application. Sometimes the garment will outlast the screen print. The prime reason for this occurring is in the type of ink used and application chosen. For example most inks which are used on a polo shirt or cotton drill shirt cannot be used on say a wet weather garment as the ink does not adhere in many instances causing the flaking and peeling that some people relate with screen printing.

Hi-Visibility Workwear4. Different types of Hi- Visibility Apparel 

There is a large range of hi-visibility clothing to suit every situation. Singlets and polo shirts are available in lightweight polyester or microfibre moisture wicking fabrics which are great in hot and humid conditions. These shirts are also offered in poly cotton blends and 100% cotton. For those who want something different there are now some modern stylish designs. Cotton drill long and short sleeve shirts are available in different fabric weights and also include additional venting and mesh to allow for more ventilation. Fire retardant and antistatic fabrics are the best choice for hazardous working environments. There are jackets to suit all temperatures and weather conditions along with polar fleece vests, hoodies and jackets. Whatever the conditions we are able to provide you with hi-visibility apparel that complies with the Australian Standards and is comfortable for your staff to wear.