June 29, 2020, Duesseldorf, Germany – Based a bit north of Rome, Teetaly provides custom apparel on demand, including t-shirts, hoodies, baby apparel, aprons, and hats. They serve a broad array of customers, including agencies and professionals purchasing large quantities of custom gear, artists creating their own line of merchandise, and end-consumers wanting to create something unique for themselves (or as gifts for friends and family). Teetaly’s online store includes a design tool to facilitate these customers in bringing their creations to life.
In late 2019, Teetaly installed the Kornit Avalanche HD6 and Kornit Avalanche Poly Pro systems for industrial-capacity digital direct-to-garment (DTG) printing, establishing single-step, eco-friendly DTG print capabilities for cottons, polyester, poly-blend materials, and a multitude of other materials, ensuring they could offer customers the widest possible gamut of finished pieces, from popular to niche.
In implementing Kornit’s systems, Teetaly cited Kornit’s record of delivering “meticulous” graphic impressions, “vibrant” print quality, wash and wear durability, print consistency, and a “100 percent eco-friendly production process” with zero water waste.
“I’m an engineer, and I’ve believed in digital from the beginning, always trying to find a technology partner who could help us achieve customization,” says Vincenzo Cirimele, Teetaly’s CEO. “Kornit fulfills a need where something has been missing, especially in Italy, to print quickly, down to a single copy, with exceptional quality. The market for polyester, in particular, has seen considerable growth, and thanks to Avalanche Poly Pro we believe we can solve a big demand problem that exists here.”
According to Cirimele, these two systems are already delivering more than 2,000 prints per day in total, enabling them to receive a customer’s personalized order, print it, pack it, and ship it in a matter of minutes. In addition to serving end consumers, Teetaly is also able to fulfill such orders for other businesses, with a growing revenue stream coming from print shops unable to imprint personalized apparel in their demanded quantities, within this expedited time frame, themselves.
As with many businesses, particularly in hard-hit Italy, Teetaly found its business severely impacted by the onset of coronavirus, which effectively forced many of its enterprise customers to shutter for an uncertain period. As an apparel imprinting operation, the business found itself tasked with a new, unforeseen demand: custom face masks.
“Our online e-commerce platform has seen a rise of demand for custom face masks, which are becoming essential contemporary clothing gear due to the safety measures required for COVID-19 retention,” says Cirimele, who has supported hospitals throughout Italy, as well as the Italian Red Cross and other local organizations.
Recognizing this new demand early in the crisis, Teetaly got to work on reorganizing their production process for face masks, working with several local tailors, selecting fabrics, and testing the print mechanism to ensure a high-quality product. They also introduced custom face mask folder cases, helping customers carry their face masks.
Teetaly’s success in this endeavor has been reported in television and radio media throughout Italy, and in industry trade publications.
“We believe Kornit offers terrific value as a strategic long-term partner, investing in research and development, respecting the environment, focusing on quality, and giving us exceptional productivity for incredible cost benefits relative to more traditional print methods,” says Cirimele. “There are no limits to the artwork and creativity our customers can print to a wide range of garments from different manufacturers. So far, our partnership with Kornit has been a winning one—our numbers say so, and our customers are pleased with their apparel.”
