Top 40 supplier Delta Apparel (asi/49172) has expanded its digital print business, adding high-volume direct-to-garment printers to four of its DTG facilities. The upgrade to digital-first, on-demand printing is part of its collaboration with global sports merch platform Fanatics.

Delta Apparel’s DTG2Go business unit has invested in new direct-to-garment technology to meet market demands of Fanatics’ real-time licensed sports merchandise business model.

Duluth, GA-based Delta has installed Polaris machines, a new industrial high-speed DTG system from manufacturer M&R Printing Equipment in four of its DTG2Go centers. The new technology is designed to meet “digital first” market demands of Fanatics’ real-time licensed sports merchandise business model. The technology will allow custom orders to be produced, packaged and shipped to the end-consumer within 24 hours of receipt.

“It’s truly been a pleasure working alongside the Fanatics team to combine our prior experiences in systems, technology and apparel to build an integrated process that meets the high quality and repeatability standards that Fanatics’ passionate customer base demands,” said Robert W. Humphreys, chairman and CEO of Delta Apparel.

He added that the new technology significantly increased Delta’s capacity, enabling it to meet high demand for garments after the Los Angeles Rams won the Super Bowl earlier this year. Delta plans to install more equipment this quarter to further expand DTG2Go’s print capacity in preparation for future growth with Fanatics.

“After months of teamwork to develop this integrated process, we’re looking forward to a long-term relationship with Fanatics as they continue to service their markets with excellence,” Humphreys said.

M&R’s new Polaris DTG system is designed to handle an array of automation needs and quality requirements, according to M&R’s website. It features an onboard pretreatment system to save time and minimize touches, dual digital print engines to deliver bright color and multiple heat presses, and flashes to prepare a smooth printing surface. The machine also has a built-in, high-fidelity barcode scanner and customizable integrations to order management systems to pull orders locally or from the cloud.

“The Polaris is the new north star of high-volume direct-to-garment printing, and we were very excited to demonstrate its exceptional throughput that provides a retail-quality product worthy of Fanatics’ standards,” said Danny Sweem, CEO of M&R. “Delta and their DTG2Go team have been great partners throughout the development of the Polaris, and we look forward to strong growth together.”

With estimated 2020 North American promotional products revenue of $40.8 million, Delta Apparel ranked 35^th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest suppliers in the industry.

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