FBI Offering Digital-Printing Rentals

Fashion Business Inc., in conjunction with Lake Forest, Calif.–based Brother International Corp. and its distributor, Paramount, Calif.–based Stitch City Inc., has received one of Brother’s GT- 541 digital printers in its production studio in The New Mart building and will soon offer the machine for rentals.

Digital printing onto garments has become the wave of the future for T-shirt makers and others in the California fashion community. Digital-printed garments print quickly and efficiently and are less costly than traditional screen-printed items. Digital printers can apply emblems, logos and designs to shirts, bags, caps, shoes and other soft goods in a matter of minutes.

FBI will offer hourly rentals of the printer to users who complete a two-hour training course. The next session takes place from 10 a.m. to noon on Oct. 22. The cost of the course is $45 for FBI members and $55 for nonmembers. Once trained, they will be able to use the printer at a rate of $50 per hour for members and $65 for nonmembers.

The GT-541 is ideal for samples and small runs of up to 300 garments, said Alex Madrigal, Brother’s senior technical services manager. The printer takes any digital image and prints it onto cottons, cotton blends and other fabrics that can absorb ink.

“This is great for this market since L.A. is the Tshirt capital,” said Frances Harder, FBI’s executive director.

Fernando Padilla, president of Stitch City, said the printer has a broad range of capabilities. Some users are printing designs onto denim, footwear and caps for corporate apparel, samples, special events and other uses.

The Brother line of printers is also environmentally friendly compared with traditional screen printing because the printers use water-based inks, no harsh chemicals and no water other than what’s in the inks, Madrigal said.

For more information, contact FBI at (213) 892- 1669 or info@fashionbizinc.org. —Robert McAllister