Top 40 supplier Delta Apparel, asi/49172, has expanded its digital printing business. It added high-volume direct–to-garment printers at four of its DTG plants. As part of their collaboration with Fanatics, the company has upgraded to digital-first on-demand printing.

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. This technology will allow custom orders within 24 hours to be manufactured, packed and shipped to the consumer.

“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 has an onboard pretreatment to reduce time and minimize touches, dual digital printing engines that can deliver bright color, multiple heat presses, flashes to prepare a smooth print surface, and dual digital print engines that can produce bright color. A high-quality barcode scanner is built into the machine. You can also integrate it with custom order management systems to pull orders either locally or remotely.

“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.”

Delta Apparel was ranked 35, with $40.8 million in North American promotional products revenues for 2020.^Th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest suppliers in the industry.