Peak UK invested in a Roland DG Texart RT-640 when it became an official kit supplier of the 2016 Olympic Games. The kayaking apparel company now uses its dye-sublimation transfer printer to produce sportswear for Olympic teams and professional athletes across the world.
Partnering with British Canoeing to become official supplier of the kit at the 2016 Olympic Games gave Peak UK the impetus to invest in textile printing technology. Previously producing prototypes by hand, the company needed a printer to be able to personalise its Racer ST Garment to reflect Team GB’s branding.
‘We were instantly drawn to the Roland DG Texart RT-640 dye-sublimation transfer printer because it was more industrial and robust than its competitors, with the open design making it easier to service, clean and maintain,’ explained Peak UK founder, Peter Astles. ‘We quickly got to grips with the machine and one year later, we still cannot fault it. The machine is truly faultless, effortlessly printing high quality prints to the extent where we haven’t had one bad print.’
Roland DG has enabled Peak UK to offer its Racer ST garment to Olympic teams and professional athletes across the world, following a surge in interest after Team GB athlete Joe Clarke won gold in the K1 men’s individual event in 2016 and praised his thinner life jacket for providing the marginal gains that made this possible. Peak UK has since partnered with a number of the world’s top canoeists and their respective national teams to supply the ST Racer as part of their kit including France, Germany and the Czech Republic.
‘The RT-640 enabled us to quickly and easily print the unique and bespoke designs needed to cater for national teams and professional athletes; from national emblems to sponsors to patriotic colours,’ said Mr Astles. ‘You can literally create any look for scratch. And the best thing about the Roland DG machine is that it offers complete flexibility – we can print one or one hundred garments with the same ease.’
