Pozitive Sign & Graphic Supplies ‘customised’ its own Emu Plains showroom to demonstrate its growing range of small to mid-size Direct-To-Film (DTF), heat transfer vinyl, and cutting solutions for the burgeoning Apparel and Customisation market.
LtoR: Bradley Ward, Sales manager for Peter Wright Golf Agencies with Chris Pettitt (Equipment Specialist) and Alfred David (National Sales Manager) from Pozitive
Bradley Ward, Sales Manager for Peter Wright Golf Agencies, was amongst the 30+ potential customers who came to the open day to better understand the ROI and technical knowledge they might need if they were to take the next step towards bringing their apparel and merchandise printing inhouse. “This type of event is ideal for our sort of business, as it gives us the opportunity to look at each of the technologies we could use, from hands-on DTF, vinyl to heat press workflows, and to better understand the associated production costs. Because we currently import a lot of our headwear and other promo items, the US tariffs have been particularly damaging to our own pricing model, so the timing to look at bringing production in-house couldn’t be better.”
Ward’s logic was shared by other potential customers – like Jenny from Pi Workwear, pictured here with Epson’s Ryan Warby – and Pozitive’s National Sales Manager, Alfred David adds: “The reality is that today’s technology means that you don’t need to be a trade printer yourself to produce high quality print transfers or even Direct-To-Film solutions. We can sit with people using the kit for a few hours and quickly help them get up to speed with the equipment. It does not take too long before they are up and running and able to produce quality merchandise, hats, caps, T-shirts, golf towels, etc themselves, personalised or tailored to meet the typical demands of their customers.”
Epson's Ryan Warby with Jenny Pi WorkwearBrayden Kean, Mutoh’s Technical Applications Specialist, pointing to an industrial grade Mutoh / STS XPD-924D DTF Printer, complete with STS DTF S-20 Powder Shaker finishing unit, echoes David’s sentiments: “At first glance, I can understand why customers might look at this set-up and feel a bit daunted by the technology. But once they realise it is pretty much a press-and-go set-up, after some initial familiarisation, and that it is capable of dual-head, direct-to-film, 1200dpi resolution, high-volume output, and built-in white ink circulation, the logic behind printing their own apparel, accessories and custom textile transfers, quickly stacks up.”
Alfred David goes on to note: “When we originally decided to pull this design to press experience together, we envisaged a largely trade-only event, aimed at existing commercial printers, sign shops, and small apparel businesses. But it has been great to also attract a number of local merchandise businesses, who saw the event advertised through our socials and have come here genuinely considering bringing production inhouse.”
Looking down the list of those who had registered for the day’s event, David confirmed that around 70% of them were new to Pozitive, acknowledging: “This is a great result and the event has far exceeded our expectations and shows that there is a lot of interest out there, not just from your existing Print Service Providers, proving that this market for personalised garment and merchandise customisation is really opening up.”
The event saw plenty on offer on the finishing side too, with Pozitive also demonstrating advanced pressing techniques on the Heatrix and how to achieve premium finishes and special effects on fashion, sportswear, and promotional apparel.
A Summa cutter was running live contour-cut demonstrations to show how registration accuracy and workflow integration can reduce waste and speed up delivery times. For apparel decorators adding DTF or HTV to existing sign and display operations, this part of the program is likely to be critical.
As a footnote, the spacious, front-of-house showroom of the Emu Plains facility that Pozitive moved into this time last year, showed up really well for the event….freshly stamped ‘bucket hats off’ to the Pozitive team for taking the initiative and pulling this showcase together.
Pozitive Sign & Graphic Supplies
