PUBLISHER'S LETTER FROM THE TEAM Direct-to-Fabric: The New Frontier DTF: A New Standard in Textile Printing Image Quality Born in Italy, perfected in Japan, the Monna Lisa direct-to-fabric series has landed in Australia. Powered by no less than eight Epson PrecisionCore industrial printheads, the ML-8000 packs power and performance into a single affordable package, and the Epson GENESTA pigment inks meet global standards for sustainable textile printing, both synthetic and natural. Print on demand is now big business. Are you ready to grow? Learn more or arrange to see it in action at epson.com.au/direct-to-fabric 18 EPSON’S MONNA LISA ML-8000 DTF THE NEW STANDARD IN TEXTILE IMAGE QUALITY 20 ARE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS MAKING DIGITAL TEXTILE PRINTING MORE ACCESSIBLE? 24 CARNIVAL CLOTHING PRINTS FOR THE STARS JUNE 2022 PUBLISHER Janet Maitland Image Publications Pty Ltd PO Box 6184 Chapel St North LPO South Yarra VIC 3141 E [email protected] P 1300 001 393 W imagemagazine.com.au EDITOR E [email protected] P 1300 001 393 JANET MAITLAND PUBLISHER W 4 homever I talk to in the industry at the moment, the major topic of conversation is shortages of staff, any staff, let alone skilled staff. A quick search for "Printer" on Seek resulted in a staggering 4050 current job advertisements, including 275 for screen printers, not surprising with Australia's jobless rate at 3.9%, the lowest since 1974. Add to this cost of living increases, upwards pressure on wages and what seems to be a never-ending series of price increases due to supply chain pressures, and it still looks to be a bumpy road ahead for business owners when it comes to managing both productivity and profitability. One of the consequences we see is an increased focus on automation of production processes and workflow. Trying to reduce reliance on skilled operators, increase production capacity to meet buoyant demand, reduce errors and rework, improve sustainability and reduce turn-around time in a consumer environment that wants everything yesterday. As we lead into the 2022 trade show season (FESPA and Visual Impact, which we will cover live), the last three months have seen a flood of new product announcements and the evolution of new technologies, many of which are covered in depth in this issue. Visual Impact (Melbourne June 28 - July 1) is our first trade show in Australia/ NZ in more than two years, so if you are considering investing in your business, I couldn't think of a more convenient way to start the conversation, with all the major suppliers under one roof. We're really looking forward to it and to catching up with everyone there.. Best Regards, Janet Maitland JUNE 2022 ADVERTISING Janet Maitland P 1300 001 393 E [email protected] SUBSCRIPTIONS Available FREE to all IMAGE MAGAZINE subscribers DEADLINES TEXTILE IMAGE is published 3 times per year. Next issue: October 2022 Booking & material deadline: Friday September 16, 2022 DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the views of the publisher. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this magazine no responsibility is accepted by the publisher for any omissions, inaccuracies, typographical errors or printing errors. No responsibility will be accepted for any changes to information after publication.
