Impressions - Digital Decorator - Fall 2020 - 25

Left
A high-speed DTG printing system
can deliver prints with crisp details.

Online "uniqueness" may seem elusive, but
things like pop-up stores, virtual avatars, geocaching and customizations are creating an
entirely new and exciting retail experience.

Integrating a
Consumer Experience
Many decorators deal with customers daily but may not be as experienced actually
representing their customers to an individual consumer. A direct-to-consumer model
makes the decorator the retailer and fulfillment becomes a critical piece of the puzzle.
What are consumers' experiences? How
do they interact with the decorator if there's
an issue? How can they make returns and
how can the decorator/retailer be notified?
Metrics can help here. Just like brands
will be using data to target consumers in this
e-commerce world, decorators can compile
data to understand their workflow better and
guarantee profitable results, follow trends,
reduce waste, pivot and evolve more quickly.
Virtual experiences rely on timely response.
Consumers easily will replace mall shopping with pop-up experiences and virtual
avatars, buying mainly through their devices and supplying brands with their data
- but only if the experience is satisfactory.
They will expect quality products that arrive
quickly; analyze and criticize the product
against their expectations; and report the
experience online.
This is where digital printing is evolving.
The market is quickly demanding the best of
this technology, not only from a retail perspective, but also from a decorator's perspective.
We don't want to "lose" anything to adopt
this new way of embellishing. Therefore, it's
important for decorators to stay current on
trends, quality, speed, efficiency and costs.

Challenges Examined
We have reviewed many of the advantages of adopting digital technology in your
shop: less inventory; the unit-of-one model; a
localized retail experience; e-commerce; data
mining and analytics to control costs; flexibility; pivoting; and evolution.
Let's look at the challenges.
Technology will continue to change to
meet market demands. Did you get in too
early or choose a system that hasn't evolved?
Are you already being left behind? Are you
worried and hesitating? Understand that you
are a fish out of water, and this comes with
A Supplement to i m p r e s s i o n s

24-27_IMDD_1020_Digital Wave_Feature.indd 25

Plastisol is printed on polypropylene bags
with David Bowie artwork reimagined by
artist David Edward Byrd.

the territory of adopting any new technology.
One of my first jobs was in lithography
in the mid-1990s, and technology rapidly
was changing to digital. I don't remember
the fear involved in the process because I
was part of the youngest generation in the
workforce at the time. I was fearless and
absorbed by any application method. Being
fearless only helped my company's success,
and it put us in a unique position to enable
all possibilities.
Digital-printing technology can come with

issues if it's not maintained in ideal environments. Truly understanding the needs before purchasing, seeing products in real-life
working environments and actually building
out the required space are important. Most
DTG printers require a "living environment"
to thrive. Humidity and heat control -
essentially the opposite of the peripherals
attached to it (a dryer or heat press) - are
vital. It can be tricky and service is key. Be
willing to adapt to the changes that allow
the process to thrive.
Fall 2020 * 25

10/9/20 1:56 PM

Impressions - Digital Decorator - Fall 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - Digital Decorator - Fall 2020