With this new environment and the purchase of their Epson SureColor F6360 dye-sublimation printer, Pink Lemon now has the ability to be better and faster with their production, producing high-quality designs on a variety of fabrics. Dion and wife Kristy have a beautiful passion for business ownership - Pink Lemon is not their first foray into the realm, they also operate activewear brand Scout Active and new mum and bub accessories brand Zoe Sage. Remarkably, the pair’s ten-year-old daughter is already involved with the family business - she works with their socials and models their beautiful designs. We can really see her running the show one day! Kristy is a real super mum, running these businesses and packing orders from the warehouse, along with being a full-time parent (and homeschooling) their 2 beautiful children and putting food on the table every night. When asked why they started all these brands and where they hope to be in the future, Dion replied with; “It’s a life goal of running a strong business to better our children’s future and pass on the legacy.” We couldn’t support these guys more and are so inspired by their hard work and dedication, especially through the Covid-19 pandemic. The effort and work both Dion and Kristy put in is the reason we know Pink Lemon will continue to grow and be one of the best dancewear companies in Australia, or even worldwide. Want to try Pink Lemon dancewear out for yourself? Check them out! https://pinklemondancewear.com.au/ info@pinklemondancewear.com.au Po Box 4014 Dandenong South Business Hub VIC 3164

They offer both large and small garment print run jobs with a fast turnaround. If you need assistance in designing your brand or any printing needs, all you need to do is contact them with your brief and they’ll get the ball rolling. Machines Plus took the time to get to know Steve Limb, CEO and founder of Hanler Creative, during the easy installation of his new Epson SureColor F2160. Steve was up and running quite quickly, his DTG (direct to garment) journey underway. Steve has been in the printing game for over 30 years now and started a screen printing business just over a year ago. Whilst beginning with traditional silk screen printing, he soon realised that he required a machine that could do small run jobs with the same quality as the equipment he already had, which led him to DTG. When we asked Steve how he felt about the Epson F2160, it was clear he had made the right decision for bettering his business: “This is a great machine, I have been using Epson printers most of my professional life and the brand hasn’t let me down yet; easy to use and professional results, very impressed.” Moving forward, Hanler Creative’s goal is to be a national brand - but also to remain active in the local market. From what we’ve seen and the quality of the finished product, we can definitely say that Hanler Creative is going to be very successful in this market and a well-trusted business to work with. “Gus and the team know their stuff, every question answered in a timely fashion. What made Gus and the team stand out was their willingness to get me up and going ASAP and even making an additional trip onsite to help with extra training.”

With over ten years of combined experience in the craft beer, hospitality, merchandise, and promotional items industry, Brand Hustle understands the importance of creating the best possible products to promote your brand.

No stranger to the realm of sticker and garment creation thanks to his position as ecommerce manager for an Australian snowboarding group, when he started looking for a side venture a couple of years ago, it made sense that this sort of industry is where he focused his attention.

Established 140 years ago, Sydney’s iconic Powerhouse Museum draws thousands of visitors, tourists and students through its halls every year. Part of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS), the Powerhouse Museum’s working exhibitions demonstrate how technology, engineering, science and design impact Australia and the world. The opportunity With many visitors from schools and learning programs, the museum is always looking for innovative solutions to better manage its exhibitions and keep people engaged with memorabilia. Owen Conlan, who looks after technology in the organisation, is always looking at innovative and interesting technology opportunities and how that can be implemented at the museum. Conlan came across the Ricoh Ri 100 and was interested in discovering how a compact garment printing device could be used at the Powerhouse Museum. “School holiday programs wanted to take pictures and every holiday period I got asked about on-demand printing so it will be very useful during the holidays,” he says. “Another application the team saw an opportunity with, was the large number of workshops held at the Powerhouse Museum in which clients design or create a drawing that is transferred onto a t-shirt, a value add. The solution “We did a trial with the [new Ricoh Ri 100 Direct to Garment] printer for a few weeks and got stakeholders involved to see the end result and feedback was received on how they could use it. With varying usages across different teams the cost was spread across the business,” said Conlan. “As a technology manager I look at a range of applications and technologies to evaluate how it would be beneficial to our visitors, in this case we can now print t-shirts in-house. We always have the option of getting t-shirts printed externally, but that would need to be a larger run.” The Ri can scale up to business requirements, a single t-shirt can be printed or 5 depending on the demand. Conlan says this project did not involve a competitive play because the Ri 100 technology is quite an innovative solution. “Other vendors have a big process for printing garments, but with Ricoh it was quite simple,” he says. The evaluation process considered how easy it would be for non-technical people to use it and the costs for small runs of between 10 and 20 t-shirts. “The Ri 100 is super easy to operate and is very cost effective for the amount we print,” Conlan says. “Also, the print quality was impressive.” The machine itself is comparable in size to two desktop computers and consists of the printer and the heating tray. The whole system sits on a table and can be moved easily. T-shirts are loaded onto a tray like compartment and the tray is then loaded into the printer.

He has since moved onto creating his own designs (based on the coal mining industry he knows inside out) as well as custom projects for local businesses. But none of this would have been possible without the Epson F2160. The curse of old and outdated DTG printers “I started off with a second hand machine, but it ended up being the wrong thing to do at the time,” says Shannon. “I bought an old Viper off Gumtree. [The seller] didn’t want to set it up for me. It was really hard to get going and the program wouldn’t work at first. It just ended up being a nightmare. I did a couple of jobs with it and they didn’t turn out right, there was a lot of mucking around with it.” Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, Shannon invested considerable time into researching the various options available when he came across Machines Plus. Having been turned off DTG by his experiences with the old Viper, he was actually interested in another type of machine all together. Advice and recommendations you can trust “I was going to go with a UV [printer], where you don’t have to heat anything,” he says. “Gus changed my mind, as he said it wasn’t good for the skin.” Gus Altmann, Founder and Product Specialist at Machines Plus, says that UV printing is not designed to be used for t-shirts and other garments worn close to the skin. “The ink contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can cause skin irritation, and should be kept away from kids especially,” he explains. Instead, it is designed for hard surfaces (such as pens, USBs and even tiles). After his experiences with the Viper, Shannon was looking for a printer that was easy to use and did all of the hard work for him. “The Viper was really hard to use, [even] just the program,” he says, “but Gus reassured me that [the Epson] is quite easy to use - and it is.” “Gus sold me on it because he knew what he was talking about.”

Meet Kristy Pritchard, owner of Cotton Colour . It’s hard not to feel her enthusiasm for printing quality colour onto t shirts and apparel. And the pride she has in adding the Epson F2160 fabric printer to her business - it’s clear to see. “We couldn’t be prouder of owning this machine. Because of what it can do,” says Kristy. “It means our business can deliver quality.” Cotton Colour is a garment decorator in the Hunter Valley, offering custom printing on t shirts and apparel, vinyl transfer and embroidery. After Kristy and her husband Shawn started investing in garment decoration equipment for work shirts, as part of Shawn’s transport company, they recognised a new business opportunity. And the idea for Cotton Colour was born. “We can now print photo images or any artwork on shirts, work shirts, kids clothing or any other apparel,” says Kristy. “And we’re working on our Cotton Colour Kids range .” Wind back only a short time ago, Kristy and Shaun were screen printing at home to provide Shawn’s transport company with branded work shirts. “The artwork didn’t last long” , says Kristy. “It kept washing out after only a few months. It was also time-consuming and messy.” “We started buying heat presses and vinyl cutters to add our logo and artwork to our work shirts. Very soon, we realised that we’d be able to do this for others” , says Kristy.