Epson enters direct-to-garment t-shirt printing market

Epson Middle East has announced the launch of its first-ever direct-to-garment t-shirt printer, the SureColor SC-F2000. With the garment printing market expected to be worth over EUR 200 million by 2014, small to medium businesses can benefit from the SureColor SC-F2000’s revenue-generating features. Combining high performance with low maintenance and running costs, the latest addition to Epson’s textile printer line up enables businesses to offer new t-shirt design and print services. 

Online t-shirt shops, production t-shirt printers and even corporate users will benefit from the SC-F2000 as its ink is crack-resistant and is soft against the skin. Users can configure the system to suit their needs by choosing from two sets of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (CMYK) ink for white garments or CMYK with up to four white inks for coloured garments. 

Epson’s Garment Creator software is bundled with the package, which includes a cost calculation function that allows users to estimate the print cost by calculating the amount and cost of the ink used for each print job. This is useful when setting a tax rate or discount. The software enables designers to unleash their creativity and easily produce customised, eye-catching designs of up to 25mm thick on t-shirts, caps and bags. 

Shihab Zubair, Business Development Manager, Epson Middle East said: “This is a unique industry offering as it is the first system where a printhead, ink and chassis have been designed and manufactured by a single brand. The hardware and ink are designed to work together and users benefit from the reliability and high-quality output that Epson is renowned for.” 

“Aside from enjoying the new revenue stream, businesses can be assured that Epson has applied its years of print knowledge and know-how to deliver an eco-friendly device that excels in performance and delivers low running costs,” he added. 

Featuring Epson’s durable thin-film piezo (TFP) printhead, the SC-F2000 is capable of printing a single white t-shirt in 27 seconds when using dual colour mode and a dark coloured t-shirt in 111 seconds using white and colour ink, so production is quick without sacrificing print quality. 

When used in conjunction with Epson’s UltraChrome DG Ink (available in 250 or 600ml cartridges), the SureColor SC-F2000 excels on dark fabric due to the high-quality of its white ink. The white ink is circulated within the system and has been designed to reduce clogging, which increases productivity, allowing deadlines to be met consistently. 

The SC-F2000 offers a resolution of up to 1440x1440 dpi for accurate dot shape and placement, while its wide colour gamut produces vibrant colours, sharp contours and smooth gradations. 

Despite its ability to create a lasting visual impact, Epson's UltraChrome DG ink is eco-friendly. It has been awarded a part certification from Oeko-Tex^® Standard 100, indicating that it does not contain any harmful substrates.