More than 6,200 visitors attended the garment decoration exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham.

Described by the organisers at ‘a one-stop-shop for print wear professionals, as well as those looking to enter the market’, the show featured around 150 stands from all sectors of the garment and product decoration market.

Roland received a positive reaction from visitors viewing its broad selection of printers. The firm found that whilst the new additions to its range caught the attention and interest of many, its older machines were still very popular.

On display at the show was Roland’s new BT-12 direct-to-garment printer – popular with those looking to start out in t-shirt printing. Also on show was the LD-80 laser foiling device, the BN-20 desktop printer cutter, and the TrueVIS SG-300 wide-format printer.

Visitors also caught a glimpse of Roland’s XT-640S, a flatbed direct-to-garment sublimation printer which can print up to 12 t-shirts in a single print run, yet to be released in the UK.

Roland noticed a particular interest in business diversification. The manufacturer says: “As the market turns towards offering a more complete package than custom clothing alone, businesses are under pressure to add unique new products just to keep a competitive edge.

“Because of this there was a great deal in the new LD-80 laser foiling device. You could see visitors imagining where this small but powerful machine might fit into their business, whether it was creating foil-decorated gift boxes or adding the final flourishes to an existing product.”

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