ImagesMagUK_November_2021

www.images-magazine.com NOVEMBER 2021 images 37 IS DECORATOR PROFILE It’s the first demo where there were no issues and everything went right the set-up now comprises two Kornit Breeze DTG machines, five single- head Happy embroidery machines, an eight-head Happy machine, a Roland VersaCamm printer/cutter and two Xpres heat presses. There are seven employees including Jeff and his wife, Nadya, with Vic still working as a part-time accountant. At present, screen printing is outsourced, but Jeff plans at some point to invest in a larger Kornit DTG printer to bring more of this work in-house. R-Jet Pro investment Jeff’s latest investment was the roll-fed R-Jet Pro DTF printer from Resolute, developed in collaboration with TheMagicTouch. He visited Resolute at the start of this year for a trial and was impressed straightaway. “It’s the first demo I’ve been to at any company where there were no issues and everything went right,” Jeff points out. “Everything I asked about, it worked.” Using pigment-based textile inks, it prints designs onto 600mm-wide PET film and lightly coats it with a hot-melt adhesive powder before curing it in an inline unit. The transfer is then ready to apply to garments using a heat press. Jeff has been using DTF for his own garment-decorating businesses, testing it on all kinds of materials. “So far it’s worked on everything. You can do it on hi-vis, bags, polos, T-shirts, caps, softshell. There’s nothing you can’t print on.” When he first got the machine, he found DTF could be used for printing white on red polyester running shirts, even without a blocker. The settings allow for very fine pinholes to be made through the design so it can be breathable – perfect for sports tops. “We enjoy using it,” Jeff adds. “It’s satisfying as you get what you want. The feedback from customers has been fantastic. A few of our customers going from direct-to garment to DTF much prefer the quality.” The benefits are many, he insists. “You have consistency, the colours are brighter, it can do fine detail. There are no limitations or restrictions like text or logos that are too small.” His list of plus points goes on: washability, durability, stretchability... Officially, DTF prints can be washed up to 30 or 40 times with no deterioration, but Jeff has tested them himself and has successfully put printed garments through more than 60 wash cycles. Costs are lower too, he says, from the price of a machine to energy use. The transfers can be stored for over two years in plastic drawers Free to decorators, the DTF Transfer sample pack contains five high-quality prints Jeff Doyle set up Hoodyworld in 2013 Hoodyworld’s Happy embroidery machines The company’s two Kornit Breeze DTG machines in operation