This article originally appeared in Sign Africa.

ST Umbrellas recently printed 50 parasols on an HP Latex 335 machine, sold by Midcomp, and used umbrella fabric from Midcomp’s Consumables division.

Calvin Young, sales manager at ST Umbrellas, said it takes around 35 minutes to print a full parasol, and that ten working days were given to complete these umbrellas. Although this is one of the smaller jobs the company has undertaken, it has the capacity to proaduce any volume, whether it is for restaurants, clients, or high volume for bigger corporate clients.

Young explained what makes Latex ideal for printing on umbrellas: ‘The durability of the fabric and the anti-fade guarantee that is offered on the printing make it a must for the parasol market. It becomes an added value to our clients and also puts them at ease in knowing that they can rely on our superior quality products.’

The HP Latex 335 is a 1.6m wide print and cut system, designed for printing indoor and outdoor materials. It delivers print jobs fast, using healthier Latex water-based inks and produces durable, scratch-resistant prints comparable to hard-solvent inks.

Young said the machine has drastically changed the business: ‘We can now accommodate more clients with unique print requests as well as create a better quality parasol. The printer also takes a lot of pressure off the other side of our business, meaning we can give better lead times to our clients. We have had minimal issues with the printer, except the occasional load shedding scenarios that do put a hamper on our longer production runs. However, we are lucky enough that our staff push through on these tight deadlines – keeping us on track for delivery to the client.’

Midcomp Consumables’ umbrella fabric is a water-repellant textile compatible with solvent, UV and HP Latex ink; features certified two-year outdoor durability with HP Latex ink, and is available in 915mm x 50m, 1500mm x 50m, 1830mm x 50m and 1830mm x 100m sizes.

Young also complemented Midcomp’s service, ‘The Midcomp team is always a phone call away and are willing and ready to assist us with any issues and urgent deliveries.’

ST Umbrellas is on Midcomp’s Pay Per Use (PPU) system. Midcomp was the first HP reseller in the world to implement the programme, a comprehensive and customised programme that ensures that users pay a fixed ‘per square metre’ charge for the square metres they print.