Pulse — 2026-08-24.

The lead

Direct-to-film keeps showing up in the supply chain, and this week it showed up twice. Resolute has set up domestic UK manufacturing for DTF transfer film, moving production of a consumable most shops currently import. For anyone running a garment shop, that is a lead-time question before it is anything else: film sitting in a UK warehouse behaves differently from film sitting on a container. ETC Supplies came at the same market from the other end, launching a complete DTF package rather than selling printer, film, powder and curing separately. Both notes carry a CHECK tag in our queue, so treat the specifics as unverified until we confirm them. What is not in doubt is the direction of the pitch. DTF is being sold as a stocked, packaged, locally supplied category now, not a workaround. Ask your film supplier where their roll was made.

Resolute

Signals

Nazdar names a new chief. Edward Baiden is now President and CEO of Nazdar, the printing ink and coatings manufacturer. Ink suppliers are not neutral background furniture for a shop floor. They set formulation roadmaps, they decide which legacy chemistries get discontinued, and they set the terms on which a press stays supported. A leadership change is the moment those roadmaps get reopened. If you run Nazdar inks in production, it is worth asking your rep what changes and what does not. apparelist.com

Three entry-level routes, one comparison. FESPA has put Eco-Solvent, Latex and UV wide-format side by side for print and decor production, aimed at the entry-level buyer. This is the decision most first-machine shops get wrong, usually by picking on headline price and discovering the consumable cost afterwards. Decor work in particular pulls the answer around: substrate range and cure behaviour matter more than they do in signage. Useful reading before you sign anything. fespa.com

Digital printing claims the mainstream. Hybrid Software argues that digital printing is moving out of niche setups and into mainstream industrial production. Vendor-authored, so weigh it accordingly. Still, the framing matters for capacity planning. If the argument holds, digital stops being the short-run overflow line and starts being the thing the schedule is built around. Tagged CHECK in our queue; we have not verified the underlying case. Read it as a position paper, not a market report. hybridsoftware.com

ETC Supplies bundles DTF. ETC Supplies has launched a complete DTF printing package. Bundles cut the integration risk that kills first DTF installs, where the film, the powder and the cure never quite agree with each other. They also lock you to one supplier’s consumables. Which trade you want depends on whether you have someone on staff who enjoys tuning a new process. Tagged CHECK; specifics unconfirmed. printwearandpromotion.co.uk

Verdict of the week

Claim: The Kornit Apollo prints up to 400 pieces per hour, with wet-on-wet pretreat and inline drying. Rating: ✓ Confirmed. Kornit’s own page says “up to 400 impressions per hour” — impressions, not pieces, and that distinction is yours to apply when you model throughput. Hands-on reporting puts it at a shirt every nine seconds, and 100 six-colour shirts in 15 minutes. Pretreatment and flattening are inline. Kornit · Images · Printweek

Dates

• Sep 27, 2026 — EmpCo: ban on unsubstantiated “eco-friendly”
• Dec 30, 2026 / Jun 30, 2027 — EUDR: due diligence obligations
• Mar 1, 2027 — GOTS 8.0 fully effective
• Dec 31, 2027 — Materials Matter Standard replaces GRS and RCS
• ~2028–2029 (indicative) — Realistic DPP obligation for textiles