Images_Digital_Edition_January_2019

www.images-magazine.com JANUARY 2019 images 29 KB INDUSTRY ISSUES With personalisation in print now quicker and easier than ever, and with clients being “so exposed“ to their customers, she reveals that Tshirtify will be introducing more customised elements to their prints. She also reports clients and customers are already asking more questions about traceability of products, a trend that she expects to grow in 2019. “With blockchain – which is essentially a digital ledger that documents the supply chain of everything – looming, there will be even more of a demand for fully traceable and ethical products,“ she says. “There’s an expectation from the consumer to know exactly where garments come from and blockchain gives full transparency of the supply chain at every step of the way: from where cotton is grown, to who picks it, how it gets transported and who manufactures it into clothing.“ People opting for ethically sourced, organic cotton garments is Zsolt Petrik‘s wish for 2019. Zsolt, who is managing director at Fifth Column, says, “Fast fashion is all over the media nowadays. More people realise what the real cost of a cheap T-shirt is when it comes to using cheaper materials, forced and/or underpaid labour and non-sustainable processes.“ Choosing more ethical, sustainable garments would, he believes, “be beneficial for all of us living on this planet“. 2019 will be a challenging year, he says, mainly because of Brexit and the uncertainty surrounding it. “What will the future relationship between the UK and the EU look like? The UK‘s access to the single market and free movement of labour are key parts. If the pound sterling drops (further), businesses will struggle because of higher costs of garments, inks, machinery etc. Small businesses are likely to be hit the hardest.“ Despite not knowing what Brexit will bring, he is looking forward to industry developments in 2019. “I believe DTG technology will improve further in speed, more economical ink and pre-treatment usage, and lower maintenance costs and downtimes. Hybrid machines [where DTG is added onto screen printing machines] may become more popular, which would make this method more competitive on larger runs too.“ Cautiously optimistic “Dealing in retail merchandise means that next year will be a very tough year because of the uncertainty of Brexit,“ says Simon Banister, owner of Then Print. “Just-in-time delivery is going to be more crucial and the ability to adapt to an ever-changing scenario will be critical in meeting customer requirements. However, I see this as a great opportunity for small and medium businesses who have the ability to adapt more quickly than a larger outfit.“ He reports that transfer papers such as T.One and RST have led to more high- end products becoming available at price points more attractive to retailers, and believes this will continue to grow throughout 2019. “On the whole I am positive about 2019, tinged with a wee bit of caution and will tread carefully in the first quarter of the year,“ he comments. Rod Sessions, sales manager at Hampshire Flags, also has a positive outlook that is tempered by the political situation. “The coming year brings lots of hope and promise for us, tinged with a little uncertainty around Brexit and the economy,“ he says. “We are focusing on what we can affect ourselves in the short to medium term, and hoping that the government can sort a suitable Brexit compromise.“ The company is planning to launch several new product ranges in 2019. Expansion hopes The last decorator, Kerri Jamieson from Warrah Workshop in South Harbour in the Falkland Islands, is understandably the only one who doesn‘t mention Brexit. Based in an incredibly remote spot with no roads or services, her needs and hopes are always going to be a little different to those of decorators based in the UK. “Our wishes are basic,“ she confirms. Top of her wish list would be an all singing, all dancing, robust, low power, small footprint, minimal chemical, no-weeding colour print system, but until someone designs that, she would like a bigger workshop and stockroom with more Barudan embroidery machines – she won‘t consider another manufacturer, she says. “We‘re running at over 120% of maximum capacity at the moment and desperately need more space. In the rest of the world this would seem a relatively simple thing; here it involves months of planning and complicated logistics, physical hard work (you can’t just call a builder), neighbours with diggers, a hundred setbacks and a long, slow supply chain.“ She‘d also like a job management system that is suitable for a small business that runs without the internet, as their internet is too unreliable and expensive to run online applications. Compostable embroidery backing and more solar panels also make the list, as does a trip to the UK to visit suppliers. A single half hour chat with Wilcom reseller and trainer Dean Roscoe opened up opportunities that Kerri had no idea existed, making her wonder what else is out there that she has yet to discover. Her final, and most important, entry on her wish list is “happy customers“. Like Kerry of Tshirtify and Fifth Column‘s Zsolt, her prediction for the future, if not 2019, is about sustainability and the environment. “My feeling is we are going to see a response to the micro- plastic crisis in the form of customers demanding natural fibres or at least more eco-friendly man-made fibres.“ As for what she expects over the next 12 months, her answer is simple. “The sun always shines on South Harbour, everything else is subject to change.“ Small businesses are likely to be hit the hardest Kerry Flanagan, co-founder of Tshirtify Zsolt Petrik, managing director at Fifth Column Simon Banister, owner of Then Print