Images Magazine Digital Edition July 2018

www.images-magazine.com JULY 2018 images 39 BRAND PROFILE People really appreciate the fact that we’ve got a heritage as printers The company operates one of the largest digital print facilities in the UK Magnus Mighall building a screen print table at the company 25 years ago find a lot of our business is for smaller, niche fashion and design bureaus that want to print their samples on to silks and naturals. It’s a big sector for us, and the educational sector is also extremely important to us.” Manufacturing is making a welcome return to the UK, though, he reports, with a high end fashion company planning to move its production back to the UK later this year. They’ve ordered a Monna Lisa as well as all the finishing equipment. “It’s really exciting, and a massive step for UK production,” Alex comments. A bread-and-butter machine for the company remains the Mimaki TX300 – R A Smart installed more than 150 of its predecessor, the TX2. The company has recently been appointed as sole UK agent for the new Impres dye sublimation range from Dover Group, and also offers the Epson F-series. As well as adding the Impres, the company has recently started distributing an innovative signage framing system from Australia, called RexFrame. Turn to the wide format showcase on page 44 for more information. The company sells finishing equipment too, from steamers to calendars. The calendar heat presses and the heat fixation units are mainly Transmatic, and the industrial steamers and washers are mostly Setema; the company is the UK distributor for both brands. R A Smart also makes batch steamers from scratch – those wanting to try reactive or acid printing can opt for a small bullet steamer, which can hold two to three metres of textile at a time and is priced at around £1,200 to £1,300. The screen printing takes place in the second unit on the site. The noise of the digital printers in the first unit is replaced here with the noise of washing machines as huge swathes of fabric are washed to remove any excess dye and coatings remaining after going in the continuous steamer, which can hold 70m of fabric at a time. Steaming is used to fix the print when reactive or acid dyes are used. On the far side of the unit are four enormous screen printing tables, each measuring 26.5m in length, which Magnus built. “This is where we do our specialist printing, things like Devore, where a special fibre etch is used to eat away the cellulose part of a mixed fabric to create a textured textile,” says Alex. He continues: “We used to have a full screen making facility, but now it’s not big enough business to warrant all that space that it used to take up. The screen side won’t completely go, but it will probably continue to get a bit quieter. There are still certain things, however, that you can do only by screen print. I think there’ll always be a market for it, people love screen printing.” People power There are 70 people working at the site in Macclesfield, but despite its size, it remains very much a family business. Alex’s uncle is a production manager, while Ron’s daughter Alison is the director of print and his grandson Dan is the print room manager. Ron’s wife Carole was also heavily involved with the business and her cousin David Clements runs screen manufacturing, while his wife Joy works in accounts. Although the industry is moving towards automation, skilled workers are Mimaki and Aleph are two of the brands R A Smart sells a huge part of what R A Smart offers its customers, and many employees have been with the company for more than 15 years. “They are artisans in their trade – there are not many places in the UK that can say that anymore,” says Alex. As well as screen and digital printers, finishers, designers, screen makers and customer service personnel, there are skilled sewing machine operators who quickly run up teatowels, aprons, cushions, oven gloves and tote bags in one sewing room, and silk ties, squares and scarves in the other. The six print machine engineers have a combined experience of over a hundred years. There is a dedicated room where they can refurbish the printing and finishing equipment that is being sold secondhand, and work on parts as needed. They are trained on all the brands that the company sells, from Epson to Mimaki. “It’s quite unique to have such a well-established support team,” states Alex. “It can be a bit of a minefield getting into digital printing, so customers get full training and support from us, and there’s always someone here to talk to them. “I think a really important consideration for someone when they’re buying a piece of equipment is not necessarily ‘Is this a really good printer?’, because a lot of the manufacturers out there make very good machines, but should be ‘Am I buying equipment from a company that can support me throughout this process?’ We are definitely not a box shifter, we provide a complete solution for all of our customers.” www.rasmart.co.uk