Key Takeaways
• DTF Expansion: Vantage Apparel (asi/93390) has expanded direct-to-film decoration capabilities across its U.S. facilities to meet growing demand.
• Flexible Orders: The adoption of direct-to-film printing allows for no minimum order requirements, catering to the trend of smaller on-demand purchases.
Counselor Top 40 supplier Vantage Apparel (asi/93390) is expanding its direct-to-film (DTF) decoration capabilities in all three of its U.S. facilities in Avenel, NJ; St. Louis, MO; and Santa Ana, CA.
The decision was influenced by the growth of DTF decoration in the apparel and hard goods sectors, due in part to the increasing popularity of print-on-demand and e-commerce platforms, the latter being the focus of Vantage’s new custom webstores program. The adoption of DTF printing also allows for no minimum order requirements, and expanding the decoration capabilities in the three locations across the country means that Vantage’s customers will have faster turnaround times on products decorated using DTF.
“Expanding DTF to all our U.S. facilities reflects our commitment to providing the most advanced and versatile decoration options in the industry,” said Vantage CEO Rob Watson, a member of the Counselor Power 50 list of the most influential people in the industry. “With the ability to support single-piece orders, DTF allows our customers greater flexibility while maintaining our promise of superior quality and service.”
Distributors have said that, especially following the pandemic, customers were placing small-quantity orders, making DTF a practical solution. “We went to DTF due to a lack of bulk orders,” Davis Slagle, vice president of BeeGraphix, said during a panel at the PRINTING United Expo. “The decline of people buying, the purchasing habits of their consumers, they didn’t want to spend $50,000 to put stuff in the closet. They wanted to buy 50 pieces when they needed it.”
Vantage Apparel notes on its website that its DTF transfers work on a variety of fabrics, including cotton, polyester and blends. The decoration technique also eliminates the need for traditional setup processes, such as screen preparation and color separation.
Based on reported 2023 North American promotional product revenue of $53 million, Vantage Apparel ranked 38th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest suppliers in the industry.
