The Big Interview
Kaizen – a business philosophy to live by
Epson has a strong foundation in manufacturing and lives by the Japanese business philosophy of Kaizen, which means ‘continuous improvement’. To learn more about Epson’s continuously improving print technology in the garment decoration market, P&P editor Melanie Attlesey spoke to Phil McMullin, head of sales commercial and industrial at Epson UK.
Epson’s garment and textile printing showroom in Hemel Hempsted A
decade ago, Epson’s primary focus was manufacturing printers for the photography market. Epson’s printers were also used as a method of proofing by companies producing brochures on a large-scale capacity because the print quality was that consistent all thanks to Epson’s piezo print heads. Recognising the exemplary qualities of the piezo print head, the R&D team in Japan set to work to find other uses for it. They quickly discovered that almost any ink type can be put through the print heads and they will perform at the same level as the water-based ink used for photo printing and proofing.
Expanding product line up “Suddenly in the space of about 18 months our product line up expanded dramatically. We moved into signage,
| 38 | July 2024
label printing and textiles,” explains Phil. In 2013 Epson transitioned into the dye sublimation transfer market with the SureColor F-Series of printers, and garment T shirt printing with the launch of the SC-F2000.
“We didn’t invent dye sublimation, but thought how can we take our ability to consistently produce the best possible print quality with the widest colour gamut, how do we take that from the photography and proofing market and move it into the dye sublimation market? And that’s when we started to have a really big impact globally and our number of sales expanded dramatically,” explains Phil. By seeing where Kaizen could be applied, it comes as little surprise to learn that 11 years on Epson is on the third generation of the SC-F2000 – the SC-F2200, a hybrid DTG/ DTF
printer. Launched in January, the SC-F2200 was designed specifically for start-up companies or medium-volume businesses. It uses Epson’s advanced PrecisionCore Micro TFP print head technology to provide faster printing and data processing speeds, resulting in a productivity increase of up to 25% over its predecessor, the SC-F2100. It also features a brand-new chassis.
Phil McMullin pictured with the SureColor SC-F2200
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
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