The DTGColumn Breaking through with DTG
At a DTG Breakthrough event Amaya Sales UK held back in July, the team incorporated into the day a question- and-answer session with experts from DTG manufacturers, garment manufacturers, as well as in-house experts. In this month’s article, Charlotte Darling, has gathered a selection of those questions from customers which were fired at the experts.
Q. What trends are print on-demand companies seeing? A. The larger DTG fulfi ller companies are being approached by brands of all sizes, who are looking for a more sustainable solution to their fulfi lment and supply chain model. When I say more sustainable, I’m not just talking in an environmental sense, but from the aspect of the amount of stock being held, the speed and availability of it and the reduction in wasted product that does not sell. These are the multiple benefi ts that print on-demand offers. Ultimately the trend will over time fi ltrate down through all levels of fulfi lment whether industrial or mid-level.
Q. Why is everyone talking about DTF? A. Well, it fi xes a problem. It offers a multi-colour digital print of a reasonable quality, with more cost-effective consumables than other digital transfer processes on the market like white toner. It is weeded and will print onto multiple fabric types. The technology is not really new, direct screen transfers have been around for many years.
I do think it would be a mistake for any business to solely rely on this as the only way to decorate a garment. It’s just not the magic bullet – it can’t fade into black like DTG and screen print, the application on polyester is questionable and the transfer fi nish does not meet certain guidelines set out by some brands and end consumers. Lastly, the future of the transfer on a fi lm carrier I believe is short lived from an environmental perspective.
Q. When is the right time to scale a DTG business? A. If you are looking to expand and grow your DTG, print on-demand business I would look for two key indicators. The fi rst is simple when your demand exceeds production on a regular basis. Secondly is based on cost per print. To attract larger volumes will require you to be more competitive with your digital print so there is a turning point when you will need to move to a more industrial system for the bulk ink feed cost benefi ts. Entry level DTG works great for B2C business, like your own brand for example, but if you want to move to B2B and attract bigger accounts you will need the right solution for cost per print.
Q. What drives DTG growth? A. There are many factors that have driven DTG growth in the last seven years and the continued improvement in effi ciency and speed of systems on the market, makes it the number one solution for sustainable print on-demand. Aside of this key factor, I would say the market is looking for supply chain effi ciency, with localised production as near to the end consumer as possible. Small production runs and the need to print per order instead of mass production is driven by the end consumer and the growth of new sales channels like infl uencers on social media and different platforms.
| 54 | September 2022
Q. Why someone would prefer DTG over other methods? A. Direct to garment printing offers a digital solution, with unlimited colours and minimum set up. It’s generally compact in size so let’s many businesses offer print on-demand in-house. Another big advantage is colour accuracy for repeat and returning customers, and also how easy it is to offer different size prints within an order of different sized garments. I would also argue that with the right training in the operating software on the systems you can achieve better high-quality prints than with other print processes on the market. Due to the lack of set up time required, the cost per print is also usually lower, and competitive at all levels of business. Finally, it’s become an accepted decoration method by many brands, compared with say a transfer process, and very often it is the market that drives the demand.
Q. Why is digital printing and on-demand fulfilment getting more and more important for textile brands? A. Because of the supply chain disruption, which took place during the last two years, the trend clearly moved towards near shoring and a wider range of application which can be applied post fabric production. This is also refl ected in the option to have virtual products, visual representations of designs on fabrics which can be offered to clients but do not exist before an actual order is placed. The whole philosophy of print what you sell, not sell what you print.
I hope you have learnt something new. If you have any further questions about DTG, technical or otherwise, we at Amaya will be happy to answer them for you.
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
