36 images OCTOBER 2026 www.images-magazine.com MARKET INTELLIGENCE to manufacture DTF inks [in March 2026] those sales have rocketed and increased three-fold.” The machine sales are coming from three areas, he reports: “New business is becoming popular, upgrades are an obvious sales channel as people have now been producing DTF for a few years. Also screen printers are migrating to DTF as it is technology they partially know and understand. The split is new 40%, upgrades 30%, and migration 30%.” Customers are looking beyond quick promises and focusing on solutions that can support their business as it develops, reports Joe Brammah, marketing executive at distributor Sabur. “We’ve noticed this and put our investment on systems that address two very different stages of the market.” The compact Sabtex SD70-2 with vertical dryer is ideal for start-ups, while the Sabtex SD704 – with four, five or six print heads – is for those with higher production requirements. At 1ClickPrint, Jamie Turner declares that his prediction last year – that machine prices would fall, “opportunistic companies who were chasing the excess profits” would leave the market and the demand for “the awful desktop conversion machines” would crash with attention switching to entry level production-grade machines instead – has come true. Demand for 1ClickPrint’s 42cm machines has stayed strong, he reports, adding: “We are also seeing increased demand for our trade printing as users bin their tiny desktop DTF printers.” The trade print service available from David Sharp is also booming, with MD Dominic Bunce reporting a 34% increase in sales compared to the same previous period. “In particular, our faux embroidery artworks are a huge hit with DTF customers looking for that embroidery look,” he adds. Japanese manufacturers The entry into the DTF market by established machine manufacturers has been welcomed, says Ben Richichi, product development specialist at distributor Xpres. “Just over a year ago we launched the Epson SureColor G6000, which we had high expectations for, and it’s safe to say the uptake and response to the machine has far exceeded our expectations. Demand for premium brand DTF solutions is on the rise and we expect this trend to carry on.” Epson has, in fact, just expanded its range with the launch of the Epson SureColor G9000 DTF printer. Phil McMullin, head of sales commercial and industrial at Epson UK, reports that demand for it “continues to outstrip supply. It has been very encouraging to see how quickly the market has developed and the value customers are placing on productivity, reliability and support.” Xpres says there is a 50/50 split between those buying the G6000 who are completely new to DTF, and those who are already established in the sector. “Due to the time in the market, a lot of printers out there are in desperate need of upgrading. Back then, the big Japanese brands had no offerings in this space so it makes sense to look at these when upgrading,” says Ben. Folker Stachetzki, head of marketing at the EMEA division of Japanese manufacturer Brother, agrees: “The large number of cheap solutions has created challenges around quality, reliability and consistency. Because of this, customers are becoming more selective and increasingly looking for stable, industrial solutions rather than simply the lowest entry price. “This means fewer technical problems, less downtime and, ultimately, fewer customer complaints.” Ben from Xpres says the demand for premium brand DTF solutions is on the rise InkTec has seen a notable acceleration in demand for DTF consumables
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