Zanzibar Production, a company specialising in sportswear and event clothing with a strong focus on water sports garments, has acquired an HP Stitch S500 printer to further grow the business.
The French company, run by Antoine Maury, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Since 2000, Zanzibar has been printing on all types of textile media: flags, T-shirts, sweat-shirts, surf Lycra, etc. Ten years ago, the company added dye-sublimation printing to the range of processes it employs to create events and sports textiles, an important choice for customers that require short-runs and flexibility.
Zanzibar Production took a gamble when it chose to integrate the processing of its products at its home site, but printing and packaging are largely carried out at its factory in Anglet, France to great success. The company, whose expertise and capacity have put it on the map, is very proud to be able to carry out most stages of production in-house which guarantees complete oversight of the production line.
“Our business covers two areas: subcontracting and distribution”, explains Antoine Maury, Zanzibar Production's founder and CEO. “Firstly, we act as service provider for many sports events such as Paddle Nautique Expo, Cirque du Soleil, Semaine du Golf and Derby des Pyrénées, and for a number of textile brands. As for distribution, we create customisable collections based on a short supply chain mapping intended for the retail market. We can guarantee the best service to our customers thanks to this great production tool, right here in France. Our design department is involved from the initial conception right through to the development of customisable collections – for example, our Hop & Down brand offers limited-edition accessories.”
Finishing processes in the textile sector raemain complex to master due to ever-evolving market developments, particularly rendering flat surfaces and work on recyclable polyester materials. “All this requires powerful equipment,” highlights Antoine. “I was looking for a machine that is really versatile to ensure greater flexibility and productivity. I wanted to move on from a traditional way of working to a semi-industrial scale,” he adds.
Zanzibar Production therefore decided to acquire a new HP Stitch S500 textile printer. It is dedicated to printing on polyester and large-volume production and is capable of printing both on transfer paper and direct-to-fabric, using just one printer.
The HP Stitch S500 offers colour uniformity across the entire machine fleet thanks to the HP Smart Color solution. With a symmetrical 2xCMYK printhead configuration and a lens support advance sensor, this 64” printer ensures a reliable saturated mode in a single pass, optimising the printing speed. Lastly, the HP Stitch S500 allows you to cut waste and improve task productivity.
To find out more about HP Stitch sublimation printing, click here.
