Shirtworks adopts Kornit Digital DTG Workflow Software Solution to grow its sustainable, on-demand fulfilment operation
“We feel DTG is now a solution for lower volumes of garments we’d traditionally screen print,” says Arron Harnden, Shirtworks’ managing director. “We’ve had an alternative DTG machine, but it couldn’t match the cost-efficiency of screen printing. We expect the Kornit system to help reduce our wage costs, while meeting the very high quality control standards necessary to maintain strong customer service.”
Shirtworks’ success story
In the 1980s, United Kingdom-based Shirtworks started selling screen printed T-shirts locally to Oxford University students and tourists. In 1996, it became one of the first screen print businesses to use a website. In the decades since, it’s grown to meet the challenges and opportunities of a tech-native, interconnected world, and its success as a growing apparel fulfiller reflects its commitment to innovative technologies and responsible business practices.
Today, Shirtworks services brands and consumers on five continents and offers a wide variety of personalised apparel and workwear, including sportswear, sweatshirts, caps, jackets, children’s wear, and other pieces.
“Shirtworks supplies decorated garments to all industries,” says Arron. “We have a very diverse customer base, from consumers ordering one-offs to small brands and ethical-conscious B2Bs needing up to a thousand pieces or more. We are known as an ethical decorator, GOTS-approved for both screen and embroidery.”
With DTG, a piece can be imprinted, dried, and ready to ship or wear in mere minutes
Shirtworks’ on-demand fulfilment operation is based around the Kornit Avalanche DTG printer
Having supplemented its screen printing capabilities with embroidery, Shirtworks recently implemented a Kornit Digital direct-to-garment (DTG) production system for sustainable, on-demand fulfilment in a manner that meets its quality standards and is profitable in all quantities.
Kornit’s DTG technology uses a proprietary single-step print process and eco-friendly pigment inks that produce no waste water, imprint a variety of fabrics at the push of a button, and deliver vibrant, photorealistic digital impressions with a durability for wash, rub, and lightfastness. As the system requires virtually no set-up time or labour, print costs are low and consistent, making runs profitable from the first piece, simplifying the production of samples, and making any design specifications repeatable with precision.
“We turned to Kornit because it offered a one-process solution, and its inks are GOTS-approved, which is very important to us,” says Arron. “Being able to match Pantones is also very important to us, and key to moving our screen-print clients over to DTG. We also wanted a retail-ready product that would enable us to expand into drop shipping.”
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