TEXTILE PRINTING
applied for signage, promotional products and garment marking. There’s now no need to constrain your customers to a limited number of products in limited designs so it’s time to let the powerful combination of digital print and the flexibility of textiles come to the fore. Consider the flag market. In the UK, we’re a long way behind our continental cousins in how we brand up our outdoor spaces. Maybe it’s the climate, or just that we don’t really ‘do’ flags in the same way, but at long last, there’s been progress in making use of fabric and the prevailing breeze!
The automotive industry is the leader – take a look at any car lot, where their showroom is often bigger outside than in. The use of feather flags to attract attention and brand the area is a powerful tool, and the same printer that produces the aforementioned rugby shirts can create these too.
The more forward thinking city councils are also using flags and suspended fabric banners on their street furniture – changing them to match the current event or season, and again, the advantage of a digitally printed fabric over a static screen printed sign are obvious to see. Not only do they attract the eye, but they’re cost effective to produce in relatively short runs and the freight and install costs are small too.
A moving message
The issue of transport and installation is a key driving force in the increased use of fabrics in the exhibition graphics and retail point of sale markets. Not only are they creatively more inspiring, but with the alternative being a rigid board print or PVC banner, the weight and package size of a fabric print is substantially lower. The potential for the alternatives to be damaged in transit is greater too – and once damaged, a board or roll of banner cannot easily be repaired. The worst that can happen to a
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packet of printed fabric is that it might benefit from a steam to lose the creases. Often too, fabric graphics (to fit on a frame or be suspended from a pole) can be installed by a relatively untrained person, with few of the manpower, lifting or skills required with other display graphics solutions.
What you can do today If the production of giant fabric exhibition graphics seems a bit too much of a step for you to take, the ink in your current solvent printer can get you into textile
The recent FESPA exhibition in Germany showcased the leading textile hardware manufacturers with printers, heat presses and other finishing equipment on show. Ranging from entry level solutions from well under £20,000 to staggeringly fast production models (think £500,000+ and speeds of in excess of 300sq m per hour!) there was something for everyone on display. Mimaki had an excellent response to the half dozen textile and dye sub machines on their stand, attracting attention from companies as diverse as exhibition graphics printers to haute couture fashion houses.
Think wide printing in a
number of other ways. Something as simple (but lucrative) as garment marking is possible with the use of the many garment marking films available nowadays and when combined with a printer/cutter such as the Mimaki CJV30, branding and promotional messages can be affixed to any number of different sorts of apparel.
From a straightforward corporate logo on hi- vis jackets, a batch of hen or stag do t-shirts or far more complex designs on fashion garments, the broad choice of creative films can deliver some great new revenue streams for your business. You can also use your solvent printer to produce canvas prints, and even some basic display fabric output (on materials with an appropriate coating).
Thinking wide about wide format textiles is the key to success in this growing sector. From fashion to furnishings and flags to fabric graphics, the opportunities to respond to customer demands, their increasing desires for an aqueous print onto recyclable polyester and the chance to stay ahead of your competition exists today. Current printer and heat press hardware can deliver a high quality product and create new profit centres for your company. If the options seem bewildering, specialist textile hardware manufacturers and their resellers will help you make the right choices, though ensuring your chosen partner has a long history in the market will pay dividends in the experience they can pass on. At the end of the day, making sure you’re part of the textile revolution could be as important for your business as your first investment in an outdoor durable printer…
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www.hybridservices.co.uk llll
www.bannerandflag.co.uk llll
www.uis.uk.com llll
www.bannerbox.co.uk
July/August 2011 l SCREEN PROCESS AND DIGITAL IMAGING 15
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