Images_Digital_Edition_February_2020

www.images-magazine.com FEBRUARY 2020 images 41 IS DECORATOR PROFILE every bag helps fund an initiative to free women from sex trafficking and slavery – EasyPrint donated a cool £25,000 in the first few months of the new business relationship. “Anyone in the industry should be embarrassed not to be using our bags,” Dan adds. “They come with a story and a provenance, but are at a competitive price at no additional cost.” Back at EasyPrint’s base in Wickford, new equipment is filling up nearly every bit of the available space. One highlight is a 14-colour MHM S-Type Xtreme, which was installed just before Christmas and which is capable of printing up to 1,000 bags per hour. It replaced two other presses and now works alongside a 14-colour Tas and two MHM Synchroprint E-Type machines: one eight-colour, one six- colour. “MHM is a fantastic company to work with,” Dan adds. “Fantastic machinery, the technicians are second to none, and the service is impeccable.” A departure into digital print EasyPrint also has four Roland print- and-cut vinyl machines, a Lotus Holland automatic screen cleaning system, a new Ricoh C7200 transfer printer, and a new Galaxy Columbia Transfer 6-2 heat press carousel. The company moved into digital printing nearly four years ago when it acquired a Roland VersaCamm SP-300i printer/cutter from ST Graphics. With a background in screen printing, Dan decided that the best way to expand his company’s expertise in this area was to buy ST Graphics: the acquisition took place nearly three years ago, with ST Graphics’s owner Scott Parry subsequently becoming EasyPrint’s head of sales. The digital set-up has now grown, supported by four more printer/cutters: a Roland VersaCamm SP-300V, a Roland SoIJet Pro III XC- 540, a Graphtec CE6000-60 and, as of January, a new Roland VersaCamm SP-540V. “We are already looking at additional machines,” Dan says. A year ago, EasyPrint also introduced a new, bespoke content management system with software that allows customers to track their orders online. As well as recruiting more people in 2020 including a night shift manager, the company is on the look-out for new (freehold) premises to accommodate its growing production facilities and the extra business on its order books. Another addition to the business is Kelly Tullett, who has joined as business development manager. With 18 years’ experience in the industry, she was most recently at leading promotional bag supplier DTB Europe, having previously worked at Parker Pens, Crazy Bags and Ram Branding. She will be out on the road building EasyPrint’s client base and working with Scott to boost the company’s marketing activities, Our main focus this year is to really look to grow the bag side of the business EasyPrint’s new MHM S-Type Xtreme [left] and two MHM E-Type presses The new Galaxy Columbia Transfer heat press carousel The company’s Tas auto