News
Clarke Murphy Print (CMP) has moved into the apparel market, installing two Epson garment printers – the Epson SureColor SC-F3000 direct-to-garment (DTG) printer and the Epson SureColor G6060 direct-to-film (DTF) printer – supplied through Pozitive.
CMP director Benn Murphy said the move followed his own research into the category, along with comments from Gelato CEO Henrik Müller-Hansen at the recent Gelato Summit, where Müller-Hansen predicted the apparel space would grow to three to five times the size of the traditional print market.
"I travel overseas to America and to Europe, going to a number of conferences. I've been to Dscoop and I've been to the Gelato Summit. Plus, I've looked at the data myself and apparel is just another version of print in our space," Murphy said. "So we talk about the basket of goods and what people are spending with us. We're just trying to make that basket bigger."
CMP surveyed around 10 clients before deciding to install both DTG and DTF technology.
"So for apparel DTF – direct to film – you are printing and you're pressing that onto hoodies, t-shirts, bags, tote bags, polyester sportswear – which can all be corporate gifting. Then we have DTG – direct to garment – where you print directly onto the garment. So these are two completely different applications and we felt that we had to have both," Murphy said.
Why Epson
Murphy said the decision to go with Epson built on 15 years of working with Pozitive across CMP's other equipment.
"When I knew we needed a fabric printer, I reached out to Phil Trumble at Pozitive because of our long-standing relationship with him. He's a trusted friend of the business and a personal friend as well, and when we knew that we wanted to get into fabric printing and not knowing a lot about this, we contacted him," Murphy said.
"I looked around the market and did my own research on all the options. Phil advised us that the Epson machinery was the right solution for our business."
Pozitive managing director Phil Trumble said the five-year warranty backing Epson's equipment was a key part of the recommendation.
"We like Epson not only because of their print quality but also because they back their equipment with a five-year warranty. That gives us the confidence that Epson has our back. Because in the end, as Benn said, if there's an issue, he's going to ring me, and I need to know that we've got the backing of our suppliers," Trumble said.
Trumble said Pozitive has worked with Epson for more than 20 years across its eco-solvent, signage, DTF and dye sublimation ranges, but DTG marks a new area of the relationship.
"We've worked with Epson for 20 years or more. We've done a lot with Epson on their eco solvent and signage range, and on their DTF range – but also in their dye sublimation range," Trumble said. "DTG is something that we hadn't represented Epson on so far, but seeing the opportunity to work with Benn, that's been an opening for us as well to work with Epson more on this front."
Murphy said having both machines under a single brand strengthened the case further.
"I think another real strength of this installation was to be able to have everything under the one Epson flag – so we have a direct to film machine and a direct to garment machine – all under the Epson brand with Epson backing. I think this made a very strong case for why Epson was the right choice in the end."
Demand has already outpaced the first installation. CMP has ordered a second Epson SureColor SC-F3000 DTG printer, due to be installed in October.
A familiar pattern of growth
Murphy said the move into apparel echoes other expansions CMP has made over the past two decades.
"Look, I'm happy to put it on the record – this is the most exciting time to be in this industry. The rate of change is accelerating very quickly," Murphy said. "I reflect on this move into apparel being similar to wide format print 20 years ago – and now wide format represents 25 per cent of our turnover. I think of roll labels five years ago when we started up in the middle of COVID and this is similar again."
"CMP, as a business, is across all forms of print – offset, digital, wide format, and labels – and now apparel printing. We're working with a lot of long-term clients, and this is now an opportunity to say, 'Hey, we do all of this for you. Now we can do this too.'"
Trumble said the category is set to grow as more businesses discover the applications.
"It's probably going to become more and more popular as companies get to know how they can use it. For Pozitive, this is a great opportunity to work along with CMP to further expand what we do together. We've got a great long-term relationship and it's exciting for us as well to see them growing into a new space and to be here to support that growth."
Explore the Epson range at Pozitive.
