Epson SureColor F2160

When boxing promoter and fashion designer Hannah Nasari decided to launch her own kids’ clothing line, she needed a direct-to-garment (DTG) printer that could translate her ideas into reality – and Epson’s latest machine proved just the thing.

Nasari is set to launch her label, Bowlilly, at the end of the year, with kids’ sizes from three to seven. “The whole brand is a beautiful bohemian luxe range,” she said. “I’ve got a line coming up of kids’ T-shirts, and hopefully some mummy-and-kid shirts as well.”

To support her new business, based in Padstow in Sydney’s southwest, Nasari purchased Epson’s latest garment printer: the SureColor F2160, one of the first of its model to arrive in Australia. “I’m looking forward to using the new machine. It can print within a timeframe of just three to five minutes, so the productivity is amazing,” she said. “I had to print out some shirts for a gala and market day last weekend, and I was able to produce at least 25 to 30 T-shirts within the hour. It was fantastic, and the quality was wonderful. I’m happy to have the machine behind my brand.”

Hannah also gave Epson’s Garment Creator software her seal of approval for utility and ease of use. “I can design my print on Illustrator and transfer it into the software, and it gives me an accurate estimate of cost. It’s very helpful and very useful.”

The second-generation SureColor F2160 is a follow-up to Epson’s previous model, the F2000, which according to Ryan Warby, business development manager for professional print solutions at Epson, was a very successful machine. “It changed the industry quite a bit with its low maintenance and its reliability,” he said. “We’re improving on that with the F2160, adding a cleaning cartridge, adjusting speeds and resolutions, and putting in variable-dot printing. It’s a good step up from the F2000.”

The addition of variable-dot printing is a significant improvement from the F2000’s single dot size. “We can print small, medium and large dots, which gives us better gradients and higher resolution without sacrificing speed – in fact, it speeds it up for us,” said Warby. “It also allows us to be more economical with the printing, as it uses less ink.”

Warby is very happy to work with Bowlilly, and looks forward to continuing to explore the fabric printing market. “Hannah’s doing some great work, and the quality that comes out is fantastic,” he said. “It’s been exciting for us being in this textile space – the textile market has been analogue for a very long time, and is now moving towards digital. We’re seeing that not only in DTG, but in the dye sublimation side of the business as well.”