The Big Interview Start-up in 2021
P&P editor Melanie Attlesey sat down for an exclusive interview with Phil McMullin, UK sales manager Pro Graphics, Epson UK, to find out more about what the company is doing to help start-up businesses in the UK during 2021.
Phil McMullin, UK sales manager Pro Graphics, Epson UK
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or workers in any sector, the coronavirus pandemic meant last year was unpredictable to say the least. Despite the government’s furlough scheme, redundancies reached a record high of 395,000 in the three months to November 2020. The Office for National Statistics predicts that UK unemployment is likely to reach 2.6 million by the middle of 2021. That’s 7.5% of the working-age population out of work. Given these statistics is it any wonder that the number of start-up businesses is also on the increase in the UK? Despite the events of 2020, nearly half a million new businesses were registered in the UK, according to Companies House. It seems that with 9.9 million UK jobs furloughed during 2020 and redundancies on the rise, many UK adults are using this circumstance as the perfect springboard to pivot their careers and start their own business.
Ideal career path And that’s where garment decoration comes into its own. With relatively low start-up costs and with very little training required, it is the ideal career path for someone who wants a flexible job, working from home.
Epson recognised this as a movement several years ago and as such over the last few years has introduced products geared towards home workers and start-ups.
Before going into detail about these products, here's an insight into Epson’s background. The company began in the photographic sector with the aim of developing printers that produced highly photographic prints that looked as good on
paper as they did through the lens. Utilising this technology and expertise Epson took this knowledge and moved into the dye sublimation arena with the launch of its first printer around a decade ago. “This was borne out of a demand from the market for a printer that produced high quality prints, but was also reliable and consistent,” says Phil.
Dye sublimation printers at the time were water-based aqueous printers that had been adapted to use dye sublimation inks. Phil explains these worked to a point, but created a lot of issues for the operator. When Epson introduced its first dye sublimation products into the market, Phil says that they were instantly successful, in particular the 44in model, as there was nothing out there that was matched in quality and consistency. Every part of the printer was manufactured and developed from the ground up by Epson, including the print head, the chassis and the inks.
Global R&D
Fast-forward a decade and today, Epson spends $1.2 million a day globally on research and development to ensure a continued raft of high-quality products enter the market. The company’s most recent innovation aimed at small businesses and start-ups was the SureColor SC-F100. Launched last autumn, this is the company’s first A4 dye sublimation printer. With many start-up garment decorators finding their feet in the personalisation and gifting sector, this desktop-sized printer is perfect for producing promotional and personalised goods such as mugs, key fobs, phone covers and other small merchandise items. “There was never any doubt in our mind that now was the right time to launch the SC-F100. Particularly with what we were
The SC-F500 is included in Your Print Specialists’ Business in a Box | 52 | March 2021
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
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