Grow your garment decoration business with Mimaki
For many garment decorators, growth isn’t about replacing existing production methods. Instead, it’s about broadening the services they can offer, keeping more work in-house and becoming an ever more valuable partner to their customers. Whether adding personalised merchandise to an embroidery business, complementing a direct-to-garment (DTG) printing workflow or expanding into sportswear and promotional products, investing in additional print technologies can unlock new revenue opportunities without moving away from an established customer base.
In recent years, dye-sublimation and direct-to-film (DTF) printing have each earned their place in today’s garment decoration industry. While they serve different applications, together they enable businesses to produce a wider variety of products, respond more quickly to customer demands and reduce reliance on outsourced suppliers.
Adding new opportunities with dye sublimation
For businesses looking to diversify, dye sublimation offers one of the most versatile additions to an existing garment decoration workflow. Alongside polyester sportswear, workwear and performance apparel, it opens the door to a broad range of profitable products including mugs, drinkware, mouse mats, coasters, keyrings and photo gifts, as well as soft signage, exhibition graphics and point of sale displays.
For many businesses, these products are already being requested by existing customers. Bringing production in-house not only creates additional revenue, but also provides greater control over quality, lead times and profitability.
“Designed to make professional dye sublimation more accessible, Mimaki’s TS200-1600 provides an ideal introduction to the technology without compromising on performance. Built on the company’s proven 200 Series platform, it combines dependable production with the image quality and colour consistency for which Mimaki is recognised throughout the print industry,” explains Hybrid Services, Mimaki’s exclusive distributor for the UK and Ireland.
The TS200 can be equipped with orange, violet and fluorescent pink and yellow inks, enabling businesses to reproduce accurate brand colours while also producing vibrant sportswear and fashion graphics where colour impact is essential. “Intelligent production technologies, including Mimaki Advanced Pass System (MAPS), help minimise banding and deliver smooth, consistent output across a wide variety of textile and promotional applications.”
For embroidery and DTG businesses in particular, dye sublimation represents a natural extension of existing capabilities. Rather than replacing established decoration methods, it complements them, allowing businesses to offer its customer base a broader portfolio of products from a single supplier.
The TS200 dye-sublimation printer from Mimaki
The Mimaki TxF300-75 DTF printer with built-in ink circulation
Why white ink makes the difference in DTF printing
Alongside dye sublimation, DTF continues to transform garment decoration by providing a flexible solution for decorating cotton, polyester and blended fabrics with excellent colour vibrancy and durability. As the technology has matured, however, it has become increasingly clear that consistent production depends on more than print speed or resolution alone.
White ink remains one of the defining factors in DTF performance. Because white pigment is naturally heavier than coloured inks, it can settle in the ink supply system over time, potentially leading to inconsistent opacity, increased maintenance and unnecessary production interruptions.
“Mimaki’s PHT50 white pigment ink has been developed specifically to overcome these challenges, delivering exceptional opacity while maintaining stability throughout long production runs,” says Hybrid. “Combined with the Mimaki TxF Series’ onboard MCTv2 white ink circulation system, it helps prevent sedimentation and ensures a consistently bright white foundation for vivid, accurate colour reproduction. Technologies including the Nozzle Check Unit (NCU) and Nozzle Recovery System (NRS) further support reliable production by helping maintain print quality with minimal operator intervention.
“Whether expanding into dye sublimation or investing in dependable DTF production, the objective remains the same: by creating new opportunities while maintaining the quality and reliability customers expect, Mimaki continues to help garment decorators grow with confidence by developing technologies that prioritise consistency, productivity and ease of operation.”
To find out more about Mimaki’s textile printing solutions, contact Hybrid Services or speak to your authorised Mimaki reseller.
