THE DTG COLUMN The art of the ‘Old Masters’


In August 2012 the DTG column case studied a Manchester company, Identity Printing. At the time, they were pioneering direct to garment printing supplying into large high street retail stores using five direct to garment


printers supplied by Resolute DTG Ltd. Resolute’s managing director, COLIN MARSH, visited Identity Printing eight months later and found more unique direct to garment printing methods…


D


uring a visit to this years Printwear & Promotion LIVE, Identity Printings Leo Stanley and Zahid Ali


told me about pioneering products they were developing using the direct to garment printing process. Curious to see what they were talking


about, I arranged a visit during the first week of April and dropped in to see exactly what they were up to. Bearing in mind Identity Printing


generally break the mould and go the extra mile in anything they produce I was prepared to witness something pretty impressive. Anyone who viewed the winning results at the P&P Garment Decoration Awards (DTG category) will know what I mean. Having seen the sweater printed by Zahid Ali, printing knitwear was obviously no longer impossible using direct to garment technology, even on dark garments. The image of Leo and Zahid receiving


the award shown in last months Printwear & Promotion magazine was not a close up but clearly showed the sweater showing a fine detail print of a tattooed body printed using one of his R- Jet 4s onto a dark knitted jumper. The first thing I noticed upon arrival was


that the company had grown considerably into another two units. Leo told me that the extra room was to accommodate garment orders being produced in excess of 10,000 at a time. This is an incredible number of pieces to be produced and required the installation of automated folding and bagging equipment to cope with the volumes. In general, the design used to print a


garment is always a large part of its success no matter what process is used. The garment Leo presented to me was something I have never seen before. Produced using a combination of direct to garment printing and gold foil applied


Quick DTG tips from Resolute – not just cotton


| 60 | May 2013 P


after the print is complete has created a range of what Leo calls “Old Masters” with a unique look and feel – and theyre selling in large numbers. Theyre certainly unique. The actual


process looks like the gold foil is printed during rather than applied as a second process. It has very fine detail not possible by using a vinyl cutter and this is the clever part of the process. Leo of course did not want his production methods revealed as this is cutting edge stuff that Identity are selling into many of the high street stores by the thousand. Said Leo: “Since teaming up with


Resolute our business has grown in leaps and bounds. Dealing with a large number of orders like this means we need the confidence in not only the products we use but the resources to support them.


rinting onto polyester sports garments is becoming more and


more popular using the direct to garment process. By simply using a different pre-treatment, bright vibrant CMYK prints can be achieved using the same ink in your


INNOVATORS: Identity Printing’s Leo Stanley and Zahid Ali with one of the DTG printed T shirts featuring gold foil applied after the printing process. Leo calls these his “Old Masters”.


“The most reassuring point for me is the


fact that the largest garment supplier in the country, Ralawise, sell all Resolutes products including the R-Jet range. We have three of the new R-Jet 5s on order bringing our total up to eight. We are fully aware that we are not Resolutes largest customer, but I think all would agree they are made to feel that way.” Success stories like these keep


appearing on a regular basis. It is very pleasing in the current economic climate to see parts of the fashion trade thriving again in Manchester especially, which was once the heart of the rag trade.


textile printer. This opens up the product range you can offer, including printing onto the popular AWDis Cool Tech


range. n If you have a general direct to garment question or would like further information on the direct to garment process or


points made in this article please contact: Resolute DTG Ltd, Unit 2, Turnoaks Lane, Chesterfield, S40 2HA. Call 01246 202686, email info@resoluteink.co.uk or visit www.resolutedtg.com


www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk


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