VistaPrint and Kornit Digital see Apollo lift-off
A 20 year partnership between Kornit Digital and VistaPrint (print and design partner to millions of SMEs worldwide) is now realising new efficiencies in high-volume apparel production, as VistPrint uses Kornit Apollo to increase capacity, accelerate production and drive greater operational efficiency.
Jimm Purdy, Senior Operations Manager, VistaPrint, says: “Apollo has allowed us to produce around 25,000 additional units every week and get products to our customers faster. It has significantly improved throughput and allows us to produce orders almost in real time as they come through.”
Over the last two decades, VistaPrint and Kornit have worked together to continually evolve VistaPrint’s digital production fleet through successive generations of Kornit technology, including Atlas and Atlas MAX. Now focused on further increasing efficiency and accelerating customer delivery, VistaPrint identified Apollo as the next step, building on improvements achieved with Atlas MAX in cycle time, print quality and wash fastness. Apollo offers significantly higher throughput, reduced costs per unit and ergonomic improvements.
Nick Dalby, Director of Category Experience for PPAG at VistaPrint, says: “Our customers have always been front and centre in everything we do and we’ve evolved from purely a print platform into a one-stop shop for small businesses, supporting them from design through to print. Within Cimpress, we’re continually growing our manufacturing and supply chain network to deliver the best possible combination of cost, speed, quality and product choice.”
“In this context, we’re constantly looking for efficiency improvements that reduce cost while improving delivery times for our customers. Apollo offers the output, print quality and wash-fastness we were looking for, together with reduced cost per print and ergonomic improvements. We knew it was the right next step.”
Kornit supported the implementation with online training ahead of installation and an on-site technician during the first six months of production. VistaPrint reached full utilisation across three shifts approximately three months after production began, and has now enabled VistaPrint to add approximately 25,000 units of production capacity per week while supporting production turnaround times of approximately one day. The system produces at around three times the speed of VistaPrint’s previous production process, allowing orders to move through production significantly faster.
Automation has also simplified garment handling, creating a more consistent workflow for operators while helping VistaPrint optimise equipment and labour across its production floor. Looking ahead, VistaPrint is hoping to further expand its Apollo fleet as its apparel business grows, building greater production capacity while maintaining the speed, consistency and quality its customers expect.
