The print shop industry loves to tell you that you need to own your equipment to be taken seriously. Deco Press proves them wrong every single day.
When you walk into Deco Press's production facility today, you'll see rows of heat presses churning out merchandise for some of the world's biggest brands—F1 McLaren, Major League Soccer, Hypland, White Claw, Visa. What you won't see? A single DTF printer.
The $38,000 Question They Never Had to Answer
Back when Deco Press started, the owners faced the same decision every aspiring print shop faces: drop $30,000+ on a DTF setup or find another way. They did the math—$15,000 for the printer, $500 for ventilation, ongoing costs for ink, powder, film, plus the inevitable $1,200 print head replacements (multiply that by six heads). Before breaking even, they'd be looking at $38,000 in sunk costs and months of learning curves.
"We looked at what successful shops were actually doing versus what equipment salespeople were pushing," explains the Deco team. "The smartest operators weren't the ones with the most equipment—they were the ones who could deliver quality consistently and on time."
Starting Smart, Not Big
Deco Press began with a single heat press. While other startups were taking out loans for DTF printers, troubleshooting clogged print heads, and spending weekends on maintenance, Deco Press was taking orders and building meaningful relationships.
Their first major break came from a local sports league needing hundreds of jerseys with a 48-hour turnaround. A shop with a DTF printer would've spent hours on setup, dealt with potential breakdowns, and prayed nothing went wrong. Deco? They placed their Supacolor order, received the transfers within 2 business days, and knocked out the entire job in under 4 hours at 15 seconds per shirt.
The Scale-Up Strategy That Actually Worked
As orders grew, Deco Press made calculated investments—but never in printing equipment. They added heat presses (at a fraction of the cost of one DTF printer), brought in embroidery capabilities, and hired skilled operators. Every dollar went toward increasing capacity and capabilities that directly served customers, not maintaining temperamental printing equipment.
The game-changer was Supacolor's product range. When fashion brands wanted soft-hand transfers on tri-blends, they used Wearables. When corporate clients needed one-off samples, SupaDTF handled it. Polyester athletic wear? Lo Melt. Dark garments? Blocker. They had solutions for every client request without owning a single specialized printer.
Landing the Big Fish
Here's where the story gets interesting. When F1 McLaren's merchandising team put out RFPs, they weren't looking for the shop with the most equipment—they wanted reliability, quality, and scalability. Deco Press competed against shops with millions in printing equipment and won.
How? While other shops talked about their printer specs and equipment investments, Deco showed samples that survived 80-100+ washes (Supacolor's proven standard), demonstrated their ability to handle rush orders without equipment failures, and guaranteed consistent quality across thousands of units.
Each client stayed because Deco delivered what they promised—no excuses about broken printers, no quality variations between batches, no delays from maintenance issues. Just the signature Supacolor reliability their business thrives on.
The Numbers Don't Lie
Let's talk ROI. A shop investing in DTF equipment needs to generate enough profit to cover:
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Initial investment ($30,000-38,000)
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Monthly supplies ($2,000-3,000)
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Maintenance and repairs ($500-1,500/month)
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Operator training and wages for technical expertise
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Facility costs for ventilation and climate control
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Downtime losses during maintenance
Deco Press's investment:
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Heat presses ($2,000-5,000 each)
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Supacolor wholesale account (free)
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Transfers ordered as needed (no inventory)
The math is simple. While competitors were still paying off equipment loans, Deco was profitable. While others were troubleshooting printer issues, they were landing new accounts. While shops with DTF printers were turning down rush orders during maintenance, Deco said yes and delivered.
The Secret Sauce: Focus on What Matters
"People think the equipment makes the business," says the Deco team. "But our clients don't care what printer we use—they care that their merchandise looks incredible, lasts through 100 washes, and arrives on time. By partnering with Supacolor, we essentially have access to millions of dollars in printing equipment without the overhead, maintenance, or risk."
This focus on execution over equipment investment allowed Deco to:
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Maintain consistent quality: Every transfer meets Supacolor's strict standards
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Scale instantly: Need 10,000 transfers? Same 2-day turnaround
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Offer variety: Access to every transfer type without buying multiple printers
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Stay agile: Pivot to new products without equipment constraints
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Minimize risk: No depreciation, no obsolete equipment, no maintenance surprises
What This Means for Your Shop
This story isn't just unique—it's repeatable. Every day, shops are choosing between the "traditional" path of equipment ownership and the smart path of strategic partnerships. The traditional path ties up capital, creates maintenance headaches, and limits flexibility. The smart path lets you focus on what actually grows a business: customer service, marketing, sales, and quality control.
Consider this: If a shop can go from one heat press to producing merchandise for F1 and Major League Soccer without buying a DTF printer, what's really holding your business back? Is it lack of equipment, or is it the belief that you need to own equipment to be legitimate?
The Bottom Line
This proves a fundamental truth: success in the print industry isn't about owning the most equipment—it's about delivering the best results. Deco built an enterprise-level operation by focusing on execution over equipment, partnerships over purchases, and results over rhetoric.
Today, while other shops are posting in forums about their latest printer problems, Deco is pressing transfers for global brands. While competitors are calling tech support, they're calling new clients. While others are calculating equipment ROI, they're counting pure profit.
Ready to follow this blueprint? Stop letting equipment salespeople convince you that success requires massive investment. With a heat press and a Supacolor wholesale account, you're not just ready for business—you're ready to compete at any level.
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