The Big Interview What an innovative transfer printer!


Did you miss the InnoPrinter in action at P&P LIVE! earlier in the year? Well Simon Holt and his business partner Steve Ward didn’t. The two men were so impressed by this innovative transfer printer that they formed a distribution hub in the UK for it.


P&P editor Melanie Attlesey reports.


InnoPrinter. This machine combines the simplicity of transfer application with the efficiency and low print cost of screen printing.


S


panish company Thermapren is responsible for the development and the creation of the


But how did two garment decorators by trade come to set up a UK distribution point for the InnoPrinter? The answer is simple – it all started with a visit to Printwear & Promotion LIVE! back in February.


Testing the water


Thermapren decided to see if there was a demand for the InnoPrinter in the UK by debuting at the show. This is where Simon and Steve saw the printer for the very first time.


Simon has been a garment decorator since starting his own business eight years ago in his parentsʼ loft printing T shirts. As a regular visitor to the show over the years, he had no real intention of purchasing any new machinery and visited solely to keep abreast of whatʼs happening in the industry. He wasnʼt even aware that the InnoPrinter was going to be demonstrated at the show, but seeing it by chance on Thermaprenʼs stand has changed the course of Simonʼs business for the better.


He says: “Steve and I must have walked past about three or four times and couldnʼt get over how impressive it was. We just thought we have to have one. It really was a no brainer.”


Simon and Steve purchased the first InnoPrinter sold in the UK and it was during the installation three weeks later that Thermapren asked the pair to become a UK distributor – of which they agreed and formed InnoPrinter (UK). Laura Montoliu, area export manager


for Thermapren, explains: “After testing the waters at P&P LIVE! 2017, it was clear that to streamline the sales and service of our machines, we needed to appoint a distributor in the UK. “Having Simon and Steve working with us in the UK means the customer receives the support and attention they require much faster than would be possible from Spain. We are extremely pleased and thankful for all the hard work they are performing, they have gone beyond all expectation. We are glad to confirm that our innovative technology is in the perfect hands for the high demanding and


| 34 | October 2017


Simon Holt with the first InnoPrinter purchased in the UK The hardest issue we face is trying to get


across to the customer that this printer does everything in one go. – Simon Holt, InnoPrinter (UK)


challenging English market.”


But what is it about the InnoPrinter that is so appealing? Itʼs the speed and simplicity that is key. Using an innovative continuous roll system, the machine can transfer print a four-colour design in as quick as 0.8 seconds. All the user has to do is line up the garment on the platen, step on a foot pedal to activate the heat press and hey presto the print is complete is less than a second and the garment can be worn instantly. The printer uses optical registration to ensure the print is lined up in the same place each time on the platen and as a result the user can comfortably produce in excess of 500 prints an hour.


All in one


“The hardest issue we face is trying to get across to the customer that this printer does everything in one go. Although the transfers cannot be produced in house, the overall cost saving in production time is phenomenal.


The pre-prepared roll transfers require no pre-treatment, no curing and no weeding,” says Simon.


The printer is not designed for one offs or short runs as a minimum order of the transfer roll is 50 prints of the same design. Instead it is ideal for bulk orders from schools, businesses and sports teams where repeat orders are almost certainly guaranteed. It works out approximately 90p a print for 50 small prints using one basic colour and for 1,000 small prints it works out approximately 16p a print using one basic colour, so ultimately the greater the order the cheaper the print costs.


And as Simon says above, the specially formulated ink transfers cannot be produced by the user in house and instead have to be ordered through InnoPrinter (UK) directly. They can be with the user within four days. The reason for this is because the transfer rolls are created using a top secret process. The transfer roll is easy to fit into the feed at the top of the printer and as each


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  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96