The cutting edge of technology

Can you give me a potted history of your time in the sign and print industries and also Resolute DTG?

From leaving school at 16 I joined the family printing business, which at the time was traditional litho. As time went on I witnessed the changes in the litho industry from typesetting through to CTP working with all the in between technologies, from conventional repro in the dark room and image setting.

Working with most processes through the years including screen printing, flexo, and then the first arrivals of digital presses, my knowledge in print as a generalisation is quite vast with now over 35 years’ experience. I started to focus on digital print in the 90s quite heavily and in February 2010 made the jump to textiles with the launch of Resolute DTG.

It is a fairly young company. We originally started as an ink manufacturing company, making the ink, and we did not even sell machines to start with. Then we had the opportunity to patent a design, which we did, and since then we have started to sell it. It is unique in the way it is fully patented and we are in control of its manufacture.

Promotional print has long been billed as a growth sector. What do you feel is driving this trend?

Personalisation and that feel good factor of a gift that is just for you is definitely the driving force behind its popularity. With modern inkjet technology and today’s inks it is possible to decorate pretty much any item.





Coupled with an online design website, you have a powerful tool to generate high profit variable data orders.

Offering textiles and promo items like phone cases and similar leads to a higher rate of customer retention, the one stop shop is definitely king in the web-to-print sector.


You have signed up to the first edition of The Print Show in October. What drove this decision?

Resolute DTG is a very forward thinking company designing and selling cutting edge technology. The Print Show is a bold step and that is exactly where we like to be. We will be launching a brand new product at the Print Show, as it is multi-functional, a varied visitor base from all corners of the print sector suits us very well.




You showcase your technology at other exhibitions such as FESPA, what machinery did you bring last year and what opportunities do they present for sign-makers?

Garment decoration is a very fast growing industry. The R-Jet range is something they will be used to using as an inkjet printer but obviously it prints onto fabrics with white ink. We went there to demonstrate to people why it is popular and how it is growing up and working its way into the sign market.



Sign-makers will all have an existing client base of which I guarantee will have company uniform, various different kinds of garments, which they can tap straight into so they have got a market already without having to go out and market the products too much. Apart from that, the most popular way of attracting work for direct-to-garment is web-to-print.

So what about your technology, can you talk me through some of your flagship devices?

The R-Jet 5 is undeniably the most popular DTG printer in Europe and has a very high reputation in the industry. It is tried and tested in the field for over three years now and still selling very well.



The R-Jet can print with white ink onto dark garments, it can print onto polyester and cotton t-shirts. What is unique about it is it is a fully patented system and it is about to be the first hybrid DTG printer where it can print white ink without pre-treatment, which is one of the DTG dreams come true.

UV technology was introduced at Resolute this year and this has also been a very successful product. The MVP range not only prints very fast onto most substrates, it produces ADA compliant Braille signs and textured printing. Seeing is believing with this product, and this will also be printing live at the Print Show on bottles and plastics.

How difficult is it to start up a t-shirt and promotional products printing wing?

Not difficult at all, in fact we help on average ten companies a month who are setting up in textile printing. These range from existing litho and screen printing companies to new starts and sign companies. Most printers already have enough knowledge to jump straight in; that is of course with the correct training and support.

How much of a revenue generator is direct-to-garment printing for sign-makers, and what is its potential?

It depends on the work. If you have the right kind of work then it is possible to quite easily, with one machine, turn between £8,000 and £12,000 a month per machine. It is a modular system so you can up-scale if your volumes demand it.

It will definitely grow because the technology is pushing it along. With the hybrid system coming along now with no pre-treatment, it increases the speed of the machine. So you will no longer print 15 shirts an hour, you will be able to do 60 to 100, which is still variable data because it is digital.



Key stats

• UK staff of 12, global inc partners 36
• Company founded in 2010
• Annual growth rate on average 40 percent
• R-Jet close to 1000 sold, in total over 2000

Your text here...