The Big Interview Better through research
Eight years ago, Direct Textiles + Bags introduced to its customers a new digital transfer. But without realising it, the team had unwittingly created a new product to rival the new direct to film systems currently flooding the garment decoration market. P&P editor Melanie Attlesey speaks to Clive Allcott, commercial director, to find out more.
O
n a sunny day in June, I was invited for a guided tour around DTB’s sites in Old Dalby and Lincoln to see first-hand just how tranSMART transfers are printed and to hear how they are changing the perception of digital transfers along the way. Before I dive into exactly what tranSMART is, let’s rewind and take a look at the background of DTB.
DTB’s foundations began in 2003 when Direct Textiles was founded. Direct Trade Bags followed in 2008 and over the following nine years the company acquired and purchased several print and embroidery businesses to grow substantially to the point where it is now one of the biggest bag suppliers and printers in Europe. In 2018, the company rebranded to become Direct Textiles + Bags, the company that we know today, and now offers customers a complete range of decoration options from screen printing to embroidery.
To give scale to the size of the operation, here are a few facts: • The Old Dalby head office is the size of three football pitches.
• 160 staff members are employed across both sites.
• Three million items are in stock at any one point.
• 70,000 products are created daily. (That’s 1.5 million per month!).
Evolution and growth It’s off the back of this evolution and growth as a business, that tranSMART was created for DTB’s customers. The direct to paper product’s origins can be found in the early adoption of digitally printed screen backed transfers. During the last eight years, transfer specialist Nathan Jones, managing director Ian Ault and their team have tirelessly researched and developed the tranSMART product for it to become the quality transfer it is today – making a product that’s ‘better through research’. Since 2014 millions of products
| 20 | August 2022 The tranSMART team
Nathan Jones, transfer specialist
Ian Ault, managing director
have been decorated using tranSMART, which is surely a testament to its appeal. The tranSMART product is made possible through carefully managed and precise variables of printer, paper, screen, backer, adhesive, time, temperature and pressure – something which Nathan and his team have worked to perfect over the years. First, FSC approved paper is digitally printed using a modified commercial grade laser printer. Nathan has worked with ink specialists to produce a specific formulation of water-based ink suitable for the transfers. This printer is capable of printing at around 900 A3 sheets an hour, making it faster than a lot of current DTF print systems available. These sheets of paper are then fed through a modified rotary screen print machine where a white backer is applied. After this the adhesive is applied and the papers are automatically
Clive Allcott, commercial director
Stuart Blair, account manager
stacked at the end of the production line. Depending on customer requirements, the artwork on the sheets of paper can be cut to size using an industrial guillotine. At this point, customers can either choose to have DTB apply the transfers to products in-house or receive the transfers in the post to apply themselves for their own customers. Turnaround time currently is a maximum of seven days, with most orders being fulfilled in three. The ultimate aim is to get this down to 24 hours.
The right time
Given the recent influx of direct to film systems to the UK market over the last 12 months, the team at DTB felt that 2022 was the right time to introduce this product to a wider audience. “We saw DTF suddenly take off and thought, hang on a minute we’ve been
Direct Textiles + Bags’ Old Dalby site is the size of three football pitches
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
