Images Magazine Digital Edition July 2018

www.images-magazine.com JULY 2018 images 49 WIDE FORMAT DIGITAL PRINTING Telling it like it is: Wide format printers Fatree5: Roland DG Texart RT-640 from Xpres This month, we talk to two decorators about their wide format printers and how they are working out for them Paul Parker Butler, director Tell us a bit about your business We design and manufacture clothing for motocross, trials and extreme biking, as well as leisurewear and teamwear. We’re in our third year of business and we’re growing very quickly. We print for a wide range of people, including large motorcycle manufacturers and the motocross federations, as well as individuals who have had us recommended to them. What wide format printer do you use? We have the Roland DG Texart RT-640, which is brilliant. We also have a Roland DG TrueVis SG-3000 printer/cutter. Why did you decide to buy the RT-640? We went through every machine out there and this was the best, and it looked more robust and made for the job than the others. You look at some stuff and think, ‘What a load of crap.’ Xpres sold it to us, and they’ve been so helpful, and Roland DG [whose headquarters are near Fatree5] let us pick up ink from them if we run out of it. We’ve hardly had any problems apart from a few teething problems – the machine runs like clockwork. It’s bulletproof. Is there anything you’d like to see in an upgrade or don’t particularly like about it? No, not really. There’s a new one now that prints twice as quick, so we’ll be upgrading soon. What’s it like to use? We do a lot of our printing overnight. We can trust it to be left printing by itself: the software rips the design, you press print and that’s it, it goes from roll-to-roll. What is it used for? We do 60-100 shirts overnight. What machines do you use in combination with your wide format? We’ve got a Texpres Piece & Roll Calendar Press (XP1270) from Xpres, it’s a bloody good machine. What would be your advice to others thinking of buying a wide format printer for garment production? Get the Texart RT-640 and the calendar, they’re the best bits of kit, and buy both from Xpres, they’re lovely people. www.fatree5.com Paul from Fatree5 with the Roland Texart RT-640