Łódź, a city with textile traditions, a center of fashion and textile trade called "Polish Manchester", is the right place to operate in this sector which – in accordance with global trends – is growing rapidly across the country. Colourama with the huge machine park of Mimaki high volume printers used for printing transfer paper, provides an excellent base for market of synthetic decorative fabrics, especially polyester. Although Colorama primarily specializes in design, preparation of designs and production of transfer paper that is later used in the process of sublimation by manufacturers that produce for instance upholstery, curtains and clothing, it also offers printed fabrics. Thus Colourama, supported by Mimaki, can be a partner for its clients from the very beginning to the very end of the manufacturing process.
The history of the company dates back to August 2005. Then it was an importer of printed transfer paper. When digital printing started to grow, the company invested in 6 plotters from China which complemented the capabilities of Colourama’s rotogravure machine. "At first, we were using them just to produce samples and the whole production was carried out in China – says Robert Steijn, Managing Director of Colourama. – What speaks in favor of digitization? Digital printing removes the gravure restrictions, because digital print does not depend on the size of the cylinder. It makes the production of an unlimited number of projects profitable, because it does not require the purchase and the preparation of very expensive forms. It is also a convenience for customers who does not have to produce hundreds of meters of fabric in the name of cost-effectiveness. This is appreciated by partners from all over the world”. The rotogravure printing machine is still used to produce long runs of simple designs in 4 colors, but since 2011 it has been accompanied by digital devices. “In 2012 we invested in 7 printers from Mimaki the JV5, and in 2013 - in another 2. In 2014 we received an EU grant to a very large investment – we invested in an extra 8 machines from Mimaki the new TS-500-1800. And we are still investing – this year we will have 10 printers. I would like to add that since last summer we also have a Mimaki JV5-320 for our wide format production” – says Robert Steijn.
The question arises, why Colourama invests with such consistency in Mimaki solutions. „When we were planning moving to a digital production, I conducted a market research – says Robert Steijn. – I noticed that the production machines which I was interested in worked properly in demo centers and only in the printing houses problems occured. That is bad because the production of transfer paper must be 100% reliable and Mimaki guarantees it. Mimaki is a powerful player in the global market for digital textile printing, has experience in manufacturing the machines for printing transfer paper and it has good service, which provides us Teba, the Polish distributor of Mimaki. It means that any problems can be solved quickly. Mimaki devices can also print on lighter, uncoated paper, allowing us to offer more competitive prices. Investment in machines from one manufacturer also guarantees that when one of them stops working we don't lose all our production and the order can be delivered anyway. Thanks to our machine park, Colourama as one of the few companies in the world, can prepare 40 000 meters of transfer paper per month”.
What are the future plans of so successful company which cooperates not only with Polish customers, but also with clients from Europe and other continents? "Currently, we use 80% of our production capacity. Our ambition is to make use of all of it – explains Robert Steijn. – Once we accomplish that, we can think of further investments in hardware, still in partnership with the master of the digital textile printing – Mimaki ".