12/07/2026
Couple of years ago we got a feature interview in Images Mag UK about the printer and our business. A lot has happened in those 2 years but I found the full interview in email so thought I'd post it up...
Please can you tell me a bit about your business?
STMS stands for Support The Music Scene. Myself and my partner Stacey originally set up STMS to help musicians and small bands with dropshipping merchandise along with helping them get a presence online. This quickly evolved into a fully fledged on demand print service to touring bands, festivals and music venues. We have several divisions on the print business which has a B2B section as well as dropshipping for businesses to their customers and then we have our own branded designs that we sell retail online and at events.
Why did you decide to start doing DTF printing?
We have been running our own music festival (Breaking Bands Festival) since 2015 and a big part of the income is from merchandise sales. Unfortunately, over the years we have been let down by print companies with the quality of products, lateness of delivery and then costs going up quite dramatically so in 2022 we started exploring the costs involved in setting up our own print studio. We looked into DTG and DTF and found that the DTF was more stable, better quality and better priced for what we needed.
What DTF machine did you buy, and when? How much did it cost?
We originally purchased the Epson F2100 for DTG & DTF but found it was not compatible so we went to the print show at the NEC last year to look at the large format DTF printers. After speaking to a number of suppliers we decided to go to The Magic Touch and get the Magic 60, which is the 60cm roll printer and the finishing unit. The cost was £18,000 including the vat but we felt it would be a sound investment for us to make a serious go of our business and we were not wrong.
Why did you choose your machine? What do you think are its main advantages?
We chose this machine because of the quality of the printing, the cost vs other printers and the after sales service being offered by The Magic Touch. The big advantage to us is the fact we can print 12-14 metres an hour which tripled what we were doing with A3 sheet printing before. Also the convenience of the finishing unit took away the manual labour of powder and curing in a small oven and made sure we got consistent results with the printing.
Is there anything you'd like to see in an upgrade or don't particularly like about it?
We'd love to be able to do bigger rolls as 100 metres means changing the roll almost every day. Being able to know how much is left on the roll before we start a 50 metre print run would be a huge help as well. I think its the only negative I can think of but I believe its being looked into and requested.
What's it like to use? Do you have any tips on how to get the most out of it?
At first it was quite daunting to use but over time it has become a breeze to use. The minimal maintenance is superb, the fact you can go away for a week and when you return, there is almost nothing to do before you start printing again. I would always recommend cleaning and maintenance even if you are in a rush to go home. Little bit of care makes all the difference.
What is it used for, ie what size runs and type of work? What's the most memorable job you've run on it?
We work with musicians, bands, festivals and record labels so we are regularly printing runs of 40-50 metres per job mostly for t-shirts but bags, patches and caps have become popular. One of the most memorable print runs has to be the urgent orders for touring bands from other countries such as Hayseed Dixie from USA who needed top up orders midway through their European tour. If it wasn't for this printer, we could never have printed so much for them in time for their arrival to the UK.
What other machines do you have? Does your DTF machine work in combination with any of them, or has it replaced any of them?
We have several other printers that have their own role. We have a Sawgrass sublimation printer for mugs and rock slate printing which mainly gets used for Christmas orders. We also have the Oki Pro8432WT toner printer which is used for foil printing, greetings cards and mug printing for black mugs as it prints white. The printers all work together as it gives us many options to our clients for more than just the DTF although that is the main source of our business.
What would be your advice to others thinking of buying a DTF machine?
My main advice to anyone thinking of buying a DTF printer is to please do your homework. Think about the cost vs the work you have. If you cannot use your printer daily then look to outsource to one of the many DTF print businesses in the UK. Don't buy cheap no matter what the temptation as it will end up costing you more long term. Also, try and find a company that is trustworthy on after sales service because no matter how well you look after it, you will always need a technician for something and they are extremely valuable.
All questions answered by Jay McGuire, Director of STMS Group Ltd. fans
