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April 04, 2019

Kornit Debuts DTG for Polyester

By  Theresa Hegel

Kornit Digital debuted a direct-to-garment machine made specifically for printing on polyester – the first of its kind – during an event at its North American headquarters in Englewood, NJ. Kornit officials are calling the Avalanche Poly Pro a “game-changer” for the decorated-apparel industry.

“We’re staking our ground as the first DTG provider to master dark polyester and poly blends, shattering the boundaries between digital and a sports apparel and merchandise market that exceeded $100 billion last year in the U.S. alone,” said Shai Terem, president of Kornit Digital Americas.

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@kornitdigital unveils its new Poly Pro, allowing digital printing on dark polyester. #dtgprinting

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The Poly Pro DTG machine solves all of the typical challenges that come with printing on polyester, according to Omer Kulka, vice president of marketing and product strategy at Kornit. The company’s new Olympia ink set has a low curing temperature so dye migration – a big challenge when screen printing on polyester and blends – isn’t an issue. Instead of trying to conceal dye migration by using a dye blocker, the Poly Pro prevents it from happening, Kulka said.

Celine Strauss, product manager for Kornit Digital inks and consumables, demonstrated how the Poly Pro works: First, the machine lays down a fixation agent, allowing for a single-step decoration process with no pretreatment of the garment necessary. Then, the garment gets a layer of white ink. Kornit’s white ink is extremely bright, with an L value (a measure of brightness that goes up to 100) of 94 points, Strauss said. The CMYK colors that come next have a “huge color gamut” allowing for vibrant prints and precise color-matching, she added. A final layer of “poly enhancer” increases durability of the print and gives a softer hand feel to the garment, Strauss said.

The ink set, which is Oeko-Tex certified and contains no harmful substances, allows decorators to create semi-transparent and photo-realistic designs with ease, Strauss said. Plus, it doesn’t override the properties of the fabric. If you stretch the garment, the print doesn’t crack.

“The Poly Pro opens up a completely new market segment,” Kulka said. “We’re creating the wave, and we’re going to ride it.”

Kornit brought in a slew of industry veterans, satisfied customers and outside experts to discuss the growth potential of both digital printing and polyester-based activewear and athleisure.

Scott Goldstone, president and owner of Breakaway Sports, discussed how his company targets the lucrative youth hockey market, with both team gear and fan apparel. Hockey families spend thousands of dollars a year on the sport, and around $500 of that goes toward fan apparel, he noted.

Goldstone, a longtime decorator, noted that he used to be a skeptic when it came to digital printing, but has since embraced it, since it allows Breakaway to get customers “what they want, when they want it.”

“Everyone has an identity, and everyone wants to share that identity,” Goldstone said. “They don’t want the same thing on each shirt. The technology gives us the ability to make something unique with every single order.”

Other speakers included Deb Merrill, president of Delta Apparel’s DTG2GO; Anthony Lilore, leader of RESTORE Clothing; and Dave Sprague, creative director and designer for Manchester United Football Club. There was also an expert panel discussion, composed of Marcia Derryberry, editor-in-chief of Impressions magazine; Geoff Baxter, director of strategic business development for Kornit; and yours truly.

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