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There is an old adage about only doing something if you are going to do it properly, and that has guided the investment decisions of Example UK, a Leicestershire-based garment printer and embroiderer, as it has entered the direct to garment market.
Established in 2002 by managing director Paul Commons, the company has been using heat transfer, screen printing and embroidery to meet customers’ needs. In April 2014 however, it decided to look into the comparatively new DTG field and assessed the technology that was available.
Mr Commons explains: “I thought there was definitely a gap in the market and even if, worst case scenario, I stopped doing all of my vinyl work and went to DTG we would save time and money.”
He looked at the output from some alternative machines before deciding to purchase a Kornit Digital Breeze system from Lineker Machines. The machine is Kornit’s entry level device, capable of a throughput of up to 40 garments per hour, or 25 per hour if a dark garment is used. The Kornit printers are noteworthy because the fixation process happens inside the device.
Mr Commons added: “Two things put me off when I looked at an alternative system. The company I went to see had heat pressed the finished garment to cure it and that flattens the image straight away; you could still see the fixation liquid, even after washing. Also, you had to spray the T shirt outside the booth, which seemed very messy to me. You had to spray it, cure it, print it, and cure it again on the heat press, so it was very long winded.
“The cost of inks and fixation liquid with the Kornit is very cheap. Although the Kornit entry level machine is expensive, you’ve got room to grow and get very big with it. You also get a far better quality image when you put it through a dryer. I believe you get what you pay for, and if you’re going to go into this properly, then get the proper equipment. That’s why I opted for Kornit.”
The investment in the Kornit Breeze has been so successful that eight months after it was installed Example UK bought a second Kornit press, this time the bigger and more powerful Kornit Avalanche, which can produce up to 200 light garments, 100 dark garments, per hour. It has given the company a good deal of spare capacity to grow into.
Mr Commons says: “We are getting up to about 2,500 to 3,000 T shirts per week now.
“We thought the Breeze would last us for a good year or two but it’s gone really well for us. We’re nowhere near full capacity at the moment; we could probably double our output because the Avalanche gives us that potential.”
The DTG equipment has enabled Example UK to establish a thriving trade service for screen printers who cannot economically take on jobs of 20 or 30 garments. Mr Commons is certain though that DTG is going to be massive for the UK market, and that the surface is barely being scratched.
He adds: “My advice to anyone buying DTG equipment is not to think about what they are doing today, but where this will take them. How big do you want your business to be? If you are just doing a few T shirts on the internet, certain DTG machines will suffice, but if you want high volume, you want better systems.
“It’s also about knowing which garments to use. On some garments the ink will not fix. We did lots of tests and we still do now: we print them, wear them and wash them. You get to know your garments and what gives you the best image, and that comes from just using the machine.”
