The Best Heat Transfer? Supacolor’s Growth in the Screen Print Industry

Heard of Supacolor? If you haven’t, your print shop is missing out. Their unique heat transfers are some of the best in the industry.

It’s a water based heat transfer, arriving fully cured – with no weeding or trimming required. Functionally, Supacolor is a way to tackle complex, colorful, low-volume jobs.

Visit Supacolor: https://www.supacolor.com

We talk to Supacolor’s Mike Modgill and Rum Walia on today’s PrintHustlers podcast. Mike’s from New Zealand, and his connection with Rum in Los Angeles stems directly from Rum’s quest to find the perfect heat transfer.

I wanted to create this same type of product, but we were a few millimeters off. Mike pulled out a Supacolor transfer. ‘We’ve already made it. We’ve done it.’ - Rum Walia

“You can basically extend the capabilities of your shop with a cheap heat press and some Supacolor,” says Mike. “This is a technical solution to complex problems. We allow you to say yes to more customers.” With production facilities in Los Angeles, the UK, and New Zealand, Supacolor heat transfers have started appearing across the globe.

Supacolor has invested in turnaround time from the very start. After all, if Supacolor’s heat transfers can’t meet the fast turnaround times that custom printing demands, there’s no value added. So they’ve focused diligently on their process, developing a rapid-fire methodology for delivering on time.

Snag a sample pack and learn more here: https://www.printavo.com/blog/supacol...

“If we tell you that we ship the next day, we better ship the next day! No one cares if you’re low on mylar or ink,” explains Rum. “People want their product now. We knew we had to win over screen printers, because they typically don’t like transfers. So we started with eliminating the speed factor from the beginning.” That focus on speed extends beyond shipping: the product itself is intended to compete with screen printing a complex job.

10 to 12 seconds on the heat press is all of the time that many Supacolor applications need. “It had to be goof-proof. Just train someone to heat press right away. Speed was always key,” Mike says. Because of the unique printing process Supacolor uses, the transfers arrive fully cured. There’s no loss of opacity or quality when you use a heat press on a Supacolor transfer. “It’s thick and robust and layered, not like a normal plastisol transfer. It’s a proper old-school transfer with a new spin on it,” Mike says.

Fascinatingly, Supacolor found that having an identical “kitchen” for producing and shipping their unique heat transfers isn’t the key to success. “Our Los Angeles shop was an exact replica of our New Zealand shop – machines, software, layout. But we totally forgot about the people,” Mike tells us.

Where have they found the best employees? From the fast food industry! “Your typical screen printer is not going to do the things we want to do. People from the fast food industry are tremendously talented at working under pressure. They are experts at looking at screens and finishing complex orders,” Rum explains.

Snag a sample pack and learn more here: https://www.printavo.com/blog/supacol...

Supacolor’s heat transfers are stellar – grab one of their sample packs if you want to see for yourself. They’re truly vibrant and durable prints that maintain quality wash after wash.

What’s impressed us at Printavo is Supacolor’s laser-focus on a positive outcome for their customers. Rum summarizes it well: “We look at Supacolour as an experience, not a product. For customers, employees, anyone involved. We want to leave you with positive energy and a great experience.”

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