www.images-magazine.com 04 images OCTOBER 2026 Published by: 360 Communications Ltd Images, 360 Communications Ltd, Suite 4, Floor 6, Vantage Point, New England Road, Brighton, BN1 4GW, UK 01273 748482 | www.images-magazine.com Advertising: advertising@images-magazine.com Editorial: editorial@images-magazine.com Production: production@images-magazine.com Subscriptions: subscriptions@images-magazine.com Publisher/advertising: Jonathan Vince | jonathan@images-magazine.com Features editor: Rachael Glazier | rachael@images-magazine.com News Reporter: Mark Ludmon | mark@images-magazine.com Design/Production: ATG Media | production@atgraphicsuk.com Printing: Stephens & George Ltd| Goat Mill Road, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, CF48 3TD(issn 0966 7512) Opinions expressed by contributors in this magazine are not necessarily shared by the Publisher. Editorial contributions are invited, on the understanding that the Publisher has the right to alter or abridge all such material as he sees fit. While the greatest care has been taken to ensure accuracy, the Publisher accepts no liability for either errors or omissions. SIGNUP! Register now to receive your ownFREEmonthly copy of Images magazine: imagesmag.uk/sign-up OCTOBER 2026 VOL.35 NO.10 DIGITAL / SOCIAL 1-31 August, 2026 Impressions: 7,380 It seems impossible that it is now five years since our first ‘State of the DTF Market Report’. Back in 2021, DTF (directto-film) printing was still an emerging new technology with untold promise. Unlike previous new garment decoration processes, however, the DTF revolution was driven not by the large established printing equipment brands, but by Chinese manufacturers and agile domestic suppliers working closely with forward-thinking print shops that grasped DTF’s potential early. It is fair to say that some of that early technology was, to put it mildly, a bit rough and ready. And yet the incredible pace of development saw equipment and machinery making giant leaps forward – not on a traditional annual basis, or even on a quarterly basis, but month by month. Each year and in every report we saw radical changes in the DTF landscape. Fast-forward five years and we are now faced with a very different DTF environment. Diego Ramella, marketing manager at consumables manufacturer B-Flex, sums it up: “The gold rush phase is behind us: DTF is now an established technology, and the conversation has shifted from ‘how do I get in’ to ‘how do I print reliably, every day, at consistent quality’... Growth is becoming quality-driven rather than novelty-driven.” You can read Diego’s other comments, along with insights from Jim Nicol of The Magic Transfer Company, Resolute’s Colin Marsh, Encarna Luque of Roland DG, Jamie Turner of 1ClickPrint, Epson’s Phil McMullin and Ben Richichi of Xpres (amongst others) in this year’s report, starting on page 34. As well as surveying equipment manufacturers and suppliers, we also Readers: 593 Views: 18,293 digital edition INDUSTRY EVENTS interviewed two print shops – Identity Printing and Bolt Uniforms – which have adopteddifferent, yet equally successful, approaches to the business of DTF transfers (page 47). As Identity’s Harry Matthews points out, “There are now a lot more suppliers in the market, so simply being able to print DTF is not enough anymore. Customers are increasingly looking at quality, consistency, colour, turnaround time, specialist products and service.” What all the contributors agree on, however, is that demand for DTF transfers shows no sign of slowing down, while the market is becoming ever more competitive. For anybody involved in the supply of schoolwear there is one industry event that you simply have to attend this month – The Schoolwear Show at Cranmore Park in Solihull (11-12 October). As Mark Woolgar, show director and Parently Group MD, explains in our event preview (page 28), a visit will deliver more than just the chance to view the latest schoolwear styles from the industry’s main suppliers; it will also offer an invaluable opportunity to educate yourself on the wider issues affecting the industry and to share experiences with other schoolwear businesses. We preview some of the products you will be able to find at this year’s event in our Schoolwear Showcase (page 29). We also bring you up to speed on The Schoolwear Association’s work around the uniform cap, which came into effect on 1 September, plus how it is responding to current government schoolwear policy and further proposed changes to statutory school uniform guidance (page 21). Jonathan Vince Views: 4,158 Pageviews 1,528 The DTF gold rush is over EDITORIAL OCTOBER 11-12, 2026 The Schoolwear Show, Solihull UK theschoolwearshow.co.uk/ OCTOBER 15, 2026 The Big New Products Trade Show & Wearables Trade Show, Heathrow, London, UK thebigpromotionaltradeshow.co.uk OCTOBER 20, 2026 Print & Stitch, Esher, London, UK printandstitch.org OCTOBER 22, 2026 Print & Stitch, Liverpool, UK printandstitch.org DECEMBER 16, 2026 PenCarrie Presents, Exeter, UK pencarrie.com/pencarrie-presents JANUARY 12-14, 2027 PSI 2027, Cologne, Germany psi-messe.com/en-gb.html JANUARY 21-23, 2027 Impressions Expo, Long Beach, US longbeach.impressionsexpo.com FEBRUARY 2-4, 2027 CTCO & C!Print Lyon, Lyon, France salon-ctco.com/en FEBRUARY 21-23, 2027 Printwear & Promotion Live! 2027, Birmingham, UK printwearandpromotionlive.co.uk MARCH 3, 2027 The Big Promotional Trade Show & Wearables Trade Show, Dublin, Ireland thebigpromotionaltradeshow.co.uk MARCH 11, 2027 The Big Promotional Trade Show & Wearables Trade Show, Glasgow, UK thebigpromotionaltradeshow.co.uk APRIL 6-9, 2027 Fespa Global Print Expo 2027, Munich, Germany fespa.com/en/events Impressions: 14,034
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