BUILDING A PRINTED DESIGN BUSINESS WITH DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY - ARTIST GILLIAN ARNOLD AND THE HP STITCH S300

“ As an online business, orders for their bestselling designs as shown here increased during the pandemic, and the company recognised that they needed to re-equip to meet growing demand – and fast.” Gillian Arnold | HP STITCH S300

Gillian Arnold is a British artist with a passion for design and technology, her innate creative curiosity has been pushing the boundaries of digitally printed textiles forward for the last 20 years.

Working alongside her husband, this talented team make the perfect partnership. Their journey began digitally – they even met online and now lead a thriving designer brand from their design studio and in-house production facility.

This is a story of innovation.

Gillian has been exploring dye sublimation printing for her entire creative career, thinking outside of the box. “I was always fascinated by sublimation printing since I was at art college, back in the early 90’s. I just knew it was a magic formula that had so much to explore, and sort of legs to it. So, I used to do a lot of textile projects that were sublimation based in primary schools in London, and I'd even go for funding to buy equipment, so that the schools could actually continue to print mugs and print cushions” added Gillian.

The business began selling direct to the consumer from a market stall in Greenwich, London and has now grown into a very successful designer brand trading online and via a network of independent retail outlets. Over the years the collection of printed products available for purchase has grown substantially and now includes artwork, canvases, printed home furnishings, cushions, lighting, accessories and even jewellery - all printed using dye sublimation technology.

As the pandemic hit early last year, they expected the worst, and braced themselves for a slow-down in orders, in fact the reverse happened. As an online business, orders increased, and the company recognised that they needed to re-equip to meet growing demand – and fast.

The Gillian Arnold team are well versed with dye sublimation inkjet equipment and recognised that it was time to make the shift to wide format textile technology.

Choosing RA Smart as their preferred supplier, the team began to explore the latest technology and critically, how they could add new equipment with no business interruption. Working closely with the team at R A Smart, Gillian and her partner Tim decided to purchase the HP Stitch S300 to replace their existing dye sublimation equipment. The HP printer being much quicker than their existing technology, more sustainable, and importantly intelligent and intuitive. “We are definitely happy with the HP Stitch S300 printer - it's got some amazing features that are just really impressive, especially in terms of the print quality, ease of maintenance and intuitive servicing” added Tim.

It was also important to choose a partner that could ease the transition to new technology and share knowledge to shorten the learning curve.

Colour continuity between designs for old and new clients was paramount – working with R A Smart who are experts in digital textile manufacturing offered added value and a strategic solution. Existing designs were profiled in Macclesfield by R A Smart’s technicians, and the ICC profiles for Gillian’s designs and fabric print bases were created before the machine was installed. Thus, providing invaluable support for the set-up of the new equipment and ensuring that the HP Stitch reached operational efficiency from the day it was installed.

“When deciding to buy the printer we needed to be able to continue production, we needed to press print and know what was coming off was a very close match to what we're already doing, we didn't have time to adjust colour because orders were stacking up” Tim commented.

Gillian Arnold and Tim Scott are both equally passionate about design and print. Their creativity and practical skills are the driving force behind their thriving business. In adapting to new technology, they continue to innovate and build the mainframe for their future success.

Investing in intelligent, next generation dye sublimation printing technology from HP also ensures that in-house production is efficient and profitable, freeing up valuable time to concentrate on scaling their brand and creating new designs and exciting new products for the Décor marketplace. It also ensures that they have absolute control of their supply chain and business as they grow.

Watch this space – in the hands of this incredibly talented team the HP Stitch is going to add new wings to the Gillian Arnold empire. We wish them every success and look forward to the next chapter in their creative journey.