Most small businesses take years to be successful, but the company has experienced overnight success thanks to its innovative, personalised self-adhesive polyester patch, which, once printed, can be applied directly to the skin.
Type One Style is a diabetes accessory start-up business that creates premium, personalised patches, and stickers for Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM) aimed at people with type 1 diabetes, allowing them to express themselves to the fullest and wear their CGM with confidence.
For Type One Style owner, Charlie Cawsey, a premium quality finish that can withstand regular use has always been central to the business.
When assessing the opportunity to sell premium patches, Charlie reached out to several international suppliers but was left disappointed with the low print quality he received. His next move was to outsource to local third-party printers who tripled their prices despite the low-quality output. When outsourcing, it was also impossible for Charlie to predict what patterns or shapes his customers would want and he quickly ran out of stock of several shapes.
“Often third party print businesses would reject us because of our medically-regulated fabric, which is not blade-friendly and had to be printed with UV, so was incompatible with solvent printers straight away”, he says.
Roland DG’s VersaUV LEC2-330 was launched just as Charlie decided to bring production in-house. It was an easy decision for Charlie to purchase the machine, which can print designs directly on a self-adhesive polyester material and cut decal, as it was the only machine on the market with the capabilities he required.
The roll-to-roll printer not only produces a premium quality product but is also reliable and simple to use.
‘Without our LEC2-330, we wouldn’t have a business at all’, comments Charlie. ‘The machine is exceptionally sturdy and reliable, running 12 to 16 hours a day. The software is so easy to use that you could teach a chimpanzee to operate its features within an hour.’
Print Quality at Faster Speeds
Following the decision to go in-house, Type One Style purchased a Roland DG printer with print equipment dealer, Grafityp. The decision was revolutionary.
By introducing a UV printer/cutter, the start-up can now print directly on various medicated self-adhesive patches and sharpen the output quality and vibrancy.
This has led to an increase in new orders and reduced the company’s manufacturing costs by 70%. Another business advantage is print-on-demand can now happen in-house, without the need to keep track of stock.
Type One Style also takes advantage of the ink’s cost-effectiveness thanks to the EN-71/3 certified ECO-UV EUV5 ink supply system.
‘The ink is well-priced, saving itself double its fee every month with a 25% reduction in the cost of ink,’ adds Charlie.
Thanks to the VersaUV LEC2-330, the company has boosted its reputation as a medical sticker and label specialist. The start-up venture has also sidestepped some of the industry's challenges, such as the surge in shipping costs and outsmarting its competitors that face double-digit price hikes when importing from China, with no flexibility on pricing.
“We can now be much more strategic in our marketing and choose when to smartly discount our items as our prices aren’t reliant on import or third-party manufacturing costs,” adds Charlie.
In the future, Charlie hopes to branch his business model for more revenue opportunities and start a print on demand clothing and wall art with the Roland DG machines to stay closer to their customers.
Versatile Machines for Reliable Quality Output
Roland DG’s VersaUV LEC2-330/640 printers are extremely versatile and provide exceptional UV print quality for packaging prototypes and premium labels.
These machine models can print onto a vast array of substrates for customers like Charlie, who demand absolute perfection with their designs and can now cherry-pick the types of material to print for bespoke designs, saving businesses time and money.
The LEC2-330 model is an excellent option for print professionals branching into personalisation options, delivering unparalleled UV print quality, accurate colour reproduction, integrated precision cutting and extensive media compatibility.
