Impressions - May 2018 - 22

preneur mind looks for a way to get around
and solve it. The other is when you look for
the blue ocean of new invention."
Ryonet's new Allmade apparel line is made
of Modal fabric - which is eco-friendly and
less fibrous than other fabrics - as well as
super-soft organic cotton and recycled polyester. As the story goes, Ryonet discovered a
nonprofit organization caring for orphans in
Haiti, and learned that most of their parents
can't care for them because there is no work,
no money and little hope. The idea became
to train the kids in the orphanage system to
make living wages.
"Incremental innovation allowed Ryonet
to create its own products, meet an industry niche, solve a problem or price point, and
offer something different to the market," he
says. "Making it out of eco-forward fabric and
with the human component of a living wage
and orphan prevention came [afterward], and
made a trifecta of goodness."
- J.M.

Erik Naftal

President,
Action Engineering
Erik Naftal is no stranger to the garmentdecorating industry; he's been around
screen-printing presses since age 11.
"I worked at my father's screen-printing shop
in Atlanta," he says. "I made screens, set up
jobs, loaded shirts, unloaded shirts and played
catcher on the end of the dryer belt for many
years. Today, we have computer-generated
graphics and computer-to-screen technology,
which make the old ways look as ridiculous as
trying to make fire by rubbing sticks together."
He says the goal of innovation hasn't changed
in the years since he worked at his first press.
It's all about finding ways to improve efficiency and quality, and to make the printing process easier. "An innovative product is
one that identifies a challenge and provides
an affordable solution that not only mitigates
the challenge, but also has an easily justified
price," says Naftal, president, Action Engineering. "A $1,000 solution to a $100 problem is
not innovative. However, a $100 solution to
a $1,000 problem is."
Action Engineering is known for its unique
products that answer industry calls for efficiency and functionality. Naftal says the company
redesigns existing products simply because it
knows they can be better. But not every product
has been a success, with money spent on prototypes that never see the light of day. "That's
what it takes to be innovative," Naftal says. "It

P.22

takes finding 19 ways to not solve a problem
before you actually get it right."
Innovative products offered by the company that have seen success include a squeegee
cleaner, which scrapes away excess ink during
the screen-printing process, and the Paper Pallet Changing System, which allows a single
person to easily apply pallet paper to screen
printing pallets.
Naftal says the latter innovation has been
long needed in this industry. "If you have ever
personally put the paper on pallets many times
during a day, you'll understand it immediately," he says. "This new product makes it so
much easier."
- J.M.

Beppe Quaglia
President,
Virus Inks

"A beautiful, empty box." That's how Virus
Inks' President Beppe Quaglia describes innovation. "True innovation is based on three
fundamental phases: imagination, innovation
and cooperation," he says. "When a product is
able to change an idea or a process, it is more
effective and capable of developing dynamic solutions or implementing your services."
Quaglia says innovation, in general, stimulates people with the ability to first see things
in perspective, allowing them to think ahead
on how to improve them. But this forward
thinking must be supported by passion, deep
knowledge and even scientific data.
Quaglia has "wowed" the marketplace with
Virus Inks' WOW technology, which uses water-based ink as the central component of its
innovation. He says printers have honed their
abilities using plastisol inks, so having the same
approach toward water-based inks was almost
automatic.
"Inevitably and for the same reasons, looking for similarities or highlighting differences
between the two types of inks is very common," Quaglia says. "This is what pushed us
to find a water-based ink able to perform in
a similar way as plastisol.
The first challenge, Quaglia says, was to
prevent ink clogging while guaranteeing
more stability in the screen than conventional
water-based ink. The second challenge was
finding a solution that allowed wet-on-wet
printing, which already is possible with plastisol. A final phase of research has begun to
find solutions that allow single-stroke printing
with water-based inks.
Quaglia outlines the key goals of Virus Inks'
projects as incorporating sustainability; pro-

i m p r e s s i o n s m a g . c o m MAY 2018

moting consumption reduction; implementing
energy savings; optimizing equipment; respecting ecology; and offering training and services.
- J.M.

Mark Radogna
Strategic Marketer,
Epson America Inc.

Ask Mark Radogna, strategic marketer, Epson
America Inc., and he'll tell you the printing
industry is in the beginning stages of one of
its biggest changes ever.
"Digital technology has changed every
market it has touched," he says. "Digital always wins; it's just a matter of time and the
textile-printing industry is the next area ready
for digital printing."
Epson offers three printers suited for applications in this industry. The SureColor
F2100 DTG printer; the SureColor F6200,
a 44-inch-wide, entry-level dye-sublimation
machine; and the SureColor F9370, a 64-inch
industrial-grade model ideal for shops printing
millions of garments a year.
"The print quality of fabrics is outstanding

"A $1,000
solution
to a $100
problem is not
innovative.
However, a
$100 solution
to a $1,000
problem is.'"
Erik Naftal,
Action Engineering

http://www.impressionsmag.com

Impressions - May 2018

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