California Apparel News

The direct-to-consumer business has skyrocketed in the past few years, and, in response to this boom, the Los Alamitos, Calif.–headquartered Epson has sought to support this segment of the apparel market with new technology. Advancements in machinery, such as Epson’s most-recent release, the SureColor F170 desktop dye-sublimation printer, are streamlining the workflow for apparel companies. The compact, 8.5-inch-wide printer makes images that could be placed on phone covers, T-shirts, hats, and other goods and gift items, said Tim Check, Epson’s senior product manager of the company’s professional imaging division.

“As creative entrepreneurs and small businesses transition to meet new opportunities in a reshaped economy, there is an increased demand for entry-level dye-sublimation technology that allows customers to easily and confidently create and sell products,” Check said. “Whether you’re just getting started on Etsy or Shopify or growing into new offerings, the SureColor F170 provides creative individuals and businesses everything needed to expand into the popular promotional-goods market with a seamless solution built by and fully supported by Epson.”

This SureColor F170 desktop offers high-quality images because of its PrecisionCore printhead, which offers high-clarity images and Epson’s dye-sublimation-ink technology with a high-color contrast, according to a company statement.

The SureColor F170 printer also features a 150-sheet auto-feed tray and print software that works with operating systems such as Windows and MacOS.

After the printer creates images, these pictures must go through a heat-transfer process in order to be affixed to a T-shirt or other item. Heat presses are not included with the Epson sublimation printer, which retails for $399. Epson statement said that operating this machine requires no prior training nor special knowledge.