Images_Digital_Edition_January_2020

www.images-magazine.com JANUARY 2020 images 35 IS DECORATOR PROFILE Moving into embroidery After moving to its own purpose-built site in Fleetwood north of Blackpool in 1991, T-Print brought its embroidery production in-house rather than outsourcing it. It acquired two 12-head Barudan machines by taking over a local embroidery firm, also bringing on board the expertise of its workforce. “Before then, embroiderers and printers were always separate,” Alan says. “This was all new. That is when we really got motoring.” T-Print now has seven Happy and Barudan embroidery machines: a 12-head, an eight-head, four six-heads and one four-head. Fourteen years of expansion led T-Print to move to its current site in Bispham, halfway between Fleetwood and central Blackpool. Here, it has eight automatic screen printing presses – all MHMs – as well as transfer printers, an Epson SureColor SC-F6200 dye sublimation printer and a Mimaki CJV150-75 cutter/ printer. “We are always updating our machines,” Alan adds. “It is better to do that slowly but surely rather than having to update them all at the same time.” Noticeable by their absence, however, are DTG printers. “DTG has a great future but I can’t get my head round it,” Alan admits. “If we were starting a business now from scratch, we would be doing DTG. But we are in screen printing and it would be a hard transition. It would be a lot of money to produce what we can do now. Our machines are not as expensive and we can print more. I think digital has a long way to go to have the speed of screen printing.” He says T-Print currently has no plans to invest in DTG although it can outsource if required. “Digital machines are brilliant for the one-off but you can always use transfer for one or two pieces. Transfer machines are a lot cheaper. We stick to what we know.” Back to basics Digital printing is not the only change that Alan remains sceptical about. In the early days, the industry was made up of smaller businesses but “the independents have been disappearing and conglomerates coming in”. He also worries about the huge choice of products – T-Print’s own paper catalogue stretches to 972 pages, with nearly 100 brands from Adidas to Yoko. “The choice of products is vast and you can’t get your head round it. There’s a lot to be said for going back to basics.” Alan regrets that, after starting out developing sales and business, he now spends so much time looking at ways to save money. “Today there is so much It was simpler when you got the order, printed it, packed and sent it The embroidery department houses seven Happy and Barudan machines T-Print operates eight MHM automatics and five Adelco dryers in its print shop