Four Years at WABA: DTF Designs, Brewery Merch and Conversations That Keep Us Inspired

For the fourth year running, we packed up the car and headed down to Fremantle for the West Australian Beer Association (WABA) Beer & Brewing Conference.

Every year, we try to bring something a little different.

The last couple of years, we took our live hat pressing setup. This year, we mixed it up with a table full of colourful DTF designs and spent the day making custom stubby holders on the spot.

The excitement around the table was unreal.

By the end of the day, we had pressed hundreds of stubby holders, shared plenty of laughs and packed the car feeling pretty chuffed.

But honestly, the stubby holders were not the best part of the day.

It was the conversations.

What Is WABA?

The West Australian Beer Association is the peak body representing Western Australia’s brewing industry.

Its annual Beer & Brewing Conference brings together brewers, brewery owners, venue operators, suppliers and industry professionals for a day of education, networking and industry discussion.

Looking through this year’s program, it was clear the brewing industry is about much more than making great beer.

Sessions covered sustainability, food safety, packaging, branding, business growth, operational efficiencies and better customer experiences.

For us, that is what makes the day so valuable. We are not just there to talk about printing; we are there to listen, learn and understand what WA breweries are thinking about next.

More Than a Trade Show

WABA has become one of those events we genuinely look forward to every year.

Sure, it gives us a chance to show people what we do. But that is only a small part of it.

We catch up with breweries we have worked with for years. We meet people launching new businesses. We chat with suppliers, hear what is happening around WA and spend the day surrounded by people who care about their craft as much as we care about ours.

One conversation might be about uniforms for brewery staff. 

The next might be about a seasonal beer launch, a venue fit-out, sustainability, packaging or staffing. After that, it could be festivals, AI, marketing or someone’s latest merch idea. 

You never quite know where the next chat is going to end up.

That is probably our favourite part.

Every year, we leave with sore feet, a head full of ideas and a reminder of why we love working with this industry.

Colourful DTF Designs, Custom Stubby Holders and Plenty of Laughs

This year’s setup gave people a hands-on look at how quickly a simple merch idea can become something they can take home. 

Direct to Film (DTF) printing is a good fit for this kind of activation because it can produce detailed, colourful designs and transfer them onto a wide mix of products and fabrics. For WABA, that meant guests could choose from a table of DTF designs and watch their custom stubby holder come together on the spot.

It was simple, hands-on and a lot of fun.

For breweries, venues and event teams, that instant reaction is a big part of why branded merchandise still works at conferences, festivals and launch events. A good piece of merch is not just something with a logo on it. It becomes a keepsake, a conversation starter or something people actually use after the event is over.

Why WABA Matters to The Fabric Printer

Great merchandise starts with more than just an artwork file. It starts with understanding the business behind the order and what the finished products actually need to achieve.

After more than a decade working with the craft beer industry, we have learnt that no two breweries are trying to do exactly the same thing. Some are building retail ranges people genuinely want to wear. Some need brewery uniforms that can handle long shifts, warm production areas and regular washing.

Some are getting ready for festivals, beer launches, anniversary events or venue openings. Others are refreshing their branding or testing a new merch idea before committing to a bigger run.

Those details influence everything we recommend, from the garment and print method to the quantity and finish. 

Brewery Merch Needs the Right Decoration Method

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A good merch range is not built by forcing every design through the same process. Different garments, designs, quantities and end uses need different decoration methods. 

The great thing is, we have all of these options under one roof. 

Screen printing is a great option for larger runs, bold logos and brewery tees, singlets and hoodies where durability, colour and consistency matter. Depending on the design, this is still the preferred method for those limited-edition pieces for a beer launch too!

Embroidery works well for caps, polos, jackets, aprons and staff uniforms where the branding needs to feel more structured and long-lasting.

Direct to Garment (DTG) can suit smaller runs, print-on-demand orders and detailed full-colour designs, especially when the artwork includes gradients, texture or photographic detail.

Direct to Film (DTF) is a flexible option for colourful designs, varied placements and a wider mix of garments or merch items, including products that may not suit DTG.

Then there are the details that help the finished product feel complete.

Sewing, finishing, relabelling and graphic design all play a role when a brewery wants merch that feels like part of the brand, not just a logo added at the end.

Having everything in-house also helps us keep colours consistent across different decoration methods (as close as possible!)

Each process has its own colour-matching tolerances, so ordering three different methods from three different suppliers can leave your colours sitting at opposite ends of those tolerances, which could stick out like a sore thumb on the merch shelf! 

We also have a full showroom in Osborne Park where customers can visit, compare garments and talk through artwork, decoration methods and finishing options with the team.

That means we can look at the whole job and recommend the method that actually suits the garment, artwork, quantity and end use.

Thanks for Another Great Year

To everyone who stopped by, grabbed a custom stubby holder, had a laugh, shared an idea or simply came over for a chat, thank you.

Some of our favourite conversations had nothing to do with printing.

They were about running businesses, trying new ideas, solving problems and seeing where WA’s brewing industry is heading next.

That is what keeps us coming back.

Congratulations to everyone involved in another fantastic WABA Beer & Brewing Conference.

Four years in, and we are still leaving inspired.

Now the only question is...

What on earth do we bring next year?