Rugby retailer First XV has bought the UK’s first SureColor SC-F2100 DTG (Direct to Garment) printer from Epson reseller Xpres to help grow its own brand products business.
Customers can now buy a wide range of colourful T-shirts with slogans like “Eat Sleep Rugby Repeat” through to “Harry Propper”, from its web site (rugbystuff.com) and Facebook page.
“Earlier in the year we came up with a few T-shirt designs and at that point we wanted to speed up the process,” says Adam Clark, partner of First XV. “We wanted to control all the steps rather than relying on others to do it for us. We had known Xpres for several years; Their delivery is quick and they provide good training and support, so we listened to their advice. Furthermore, everyone we asked seemed to point us in the direction of Epson.”
Edinburgh-based First XV estimates it will produce about 100 T-shirts a week initially, but this figure will increase over time. Launched earlier this year, the Epson SureColor SC-F2100 builds on the success of the SC-F2000 and includes new features including improved speed, lower total cost of ownership and the ability to create and print designs using Epson’s Garment Creator software. It has five colours, the four process colours (CMYK) plus white, and it uses Epson’s own PrecisionCore TFP printhead.
“Now we can offer our own merchandise as well as branded products which gives us something quite unique. We plan to expand our in-house production because we believe we can generate extra profit margins from this type of work,” says Mr Clark.
Damon Piall, sales director of Xpres, says: “We are obviously delighted with the release of the second generation DTG machine from Epson. The original SC-F2000 machine was very popular with our customer base so we are glad to see the new and improved SC-F2100 retains the ease of use that gives it appeal to a wide audience. DTG has been a very strong market for Xpres which continues to grow year on year. Making the first SC-F2100 sale in the UK is a brilliant result for us and our continuing relationship with Epson.”
Phil McMullin, sales manager of Epson UK, says: “DTG is the ideal technology for one off or short run production of cotton-based garments and bags. We live in an environment where everyone wants to stand out from the crowd so we anticipate growth and many more SC-F2100 orders to follow. Congratulations to First XV for being the first UK user.”
