Based a bit north of Rome, Teetaly succeeded in expanding its digital printed garment product range with the demand for masks that arose during the pandemic period. The company relies on digital printing technology partner Kornit Digital through the intense demand it receives for personalized masks. In order to understand this success point, it is useful to know Teetaly closely.
Teetaly provides custom apparel on demand, including t-shirts, hoodies, baby apparel, aprons, and hats. They serve a broad array of customers, including agencies and professionals purchasing large quantities of custom gear, artists creating their own line of merchandise, and end-consumers wanting to create something unique for themselves (or as gifts for friends and family). Teetaly’s online store includes a design tool to facilitate these customers in bringing their creations to life.
In late 2019, the company have installed the Kornit Avalanche HD6 and Kornit Avalanche Poly Pro systems for industrial-capacity digital direct-to-garment (DTG) printing, establishing single-step, eco-friendly DTG print capabilities for cottons, polyester, poly-blend materials, and a multitude of other materials, ensuring they could offer customers the widest possible gamut of finished pieces, from popular to niche.
In implementing Kornit’s systems, Teetaly cited Kornit’s record of delivering “meticulous” graphic impressions, “vibrant” print quality, wash and wear durability, print consistency, and a “100 percent eco-friendly production process” with zero water waste.
Kornit is the technology partner we were looking for
Being an engineer himself, Vincenzo Cirimele, CEO of Teetaly, underlined that he believed in digital from the very beginning. “I’m always trying to find a technology partner who could help us achieve customization,” says Vincenzo Cirimele, and continued saying; “Kornit fulfils a need where something has been missing, especially in Italy, to print quickly, down to a single copy, with exceptional quality. The market for polyester, in particular, has seen considerable growth, and thanks to Avalanche Poly Pro we believe we can solve a big demand problem that exists here”.
According to Cirimele, these two systems are already delivering more than 2,000 prints per day in total, enabling them to receive a customer’s personalized order, print it, pack it, and ship it in a matter of minutes. In addition to serving end consumers, Teetaly is also able to fulfill such orders for other businesses, with a growing revenue stream coming from print shops unable to imprint personalized apparel in their demanded quantities, within this expedited time frame, themselves.
New demand brought by the pandemic; custom face masks
In Italy, where the pandemic was effective, several businesses were negatively affected. Many of Teetaly’s customers had to close for an indefinite period of time. As a garment printing company, Teetaly found itself facing a new and unpredictable demand; custom face masks.
Vincenzo Cirimele points out that the demand for face masks; which have become a contemporary garment as a necessary measure against the prevention of the Covid-19 outbreak; has increased on the online trading platform. The company noticed this new demand at the beginning of the outbreak and took the necessary steps to rearrange its production processes. Working with local tailors, the company also tested the printing mechanism to obtain high-quality products. They also introduced custom face mask folder cases, helping customers carry their face masks. These successful works made an impact on the general and sectoral media in Italy.
Vincenzo Cirimele concluded saying; “We believe Kornit offers terrific value as a strategic long-term partner; investing in research and development, respecting the environment, focusing on quality; and giving us exceptional productivity for incredible cost benefits relative to more traditional print methods. There are no limits to the artwork and creativity; our customers can print to a wide range of garments from different manufacturers. So far, our partnership with Kornit has been a winning one; our numbers say so, and our customers are pleased with their apparel”.