With the COVID-19 crisis far from over and health concerns to remain high on consumers’ agenda also face masks are here to stay. Although there have been some discussions at the beginning, the World Health Organization and other public health organisations agree that masks can limit the spread of respiratory viral diseases such as COVID-19. Even when a vaccination is found masks will remain import to fight the disease for quite some time.
As of early May 2020, 88% of the world's population lives in countries that recommend or mandate the use of masks in public; more than 75 countries have mandated the use of masks. Most countries in Europe have introduced mandatory face mask rules for public places. While Nordic countries have been an exception to this for some time, also Denmark, Finland and Norway started recommending public masking since then. Only Sweden maintains its position to not recommend masks at all. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), since 3 April 2020, recommends persons wear a cloth face covering in public but it is not mandatory in all states. Today billions of face masks are used daily and millions are purchased every day.
There were, and possibly in some area still are, shortages in the mask supply. However, global production has been scaled up immensely in recent months. Suppliers range from cottage industries to high volume producers. With the obligation to wear one and an increasing variety to choose from face masks are turned into a fashion statement, featuring patterns, prints or embroidery. Printing companies are naturally in a good position to fulfill these needs.
The are several printers offering printed face masks online and I would like to list a few examples, although there are many more now. In Germany Onlineprinters offers washable and reusable textile masks. Several types of masks are available which can be personalized with a range of templates or custom designs. 10 face masks printed with own design will set you back €56 (+VAT), for 500 this drops to about €3.50 per standard type mask. The masks from Print4reseller in Germany are more basic and are paper based. They might be a bit less comfortable to wear, but can be easily disposed as a paper product. Prices are lower as well, starting at €749 for 1,000 masks, dropping to €3,213 for 10,000 pieces. They can be customized on the outside and have printed instructions on the inside. Nettl in the UK offers customized masks starting at £7.80 per piece for 5 ordered. UK provider Dominion under the brand letsfaceit aims to differentiate on stricter quality control and durability. Different types are offered ranging from £9.50 for 50 to below £4 when ordering 5,000 and more. Vistaprint started manufacturing face masks in their factory in Venlo and is offering them in many countries. Patterns from designers are available, as are custom designs. Orders for one custom printed mask start at €18, dropping to €12.50 per mask for 500 ordered.
There are options in the US market as well. Canvasdiscount.com is offering custom printed face masks. The US online shop is focusing not surprisingly on all kind of canvas printing and has prominently added printed face masks. A single mask retails at $8, with $6 for larger quantities. At signs.com custom print for face masks is offered as well and prices start at $13.45 dropping to around $10 for 100.
Having masks printed with a custom or preselected design does add to the price of a mask. Not everybody will want to or can afford printed face masks. Still many people will be looking into breaking away from the standard design. While prices and minimum order numbers could be high for private persons, custom printed face masks should appeal to businesses and resellers/designers/fashion outlets. A quick search for face masks reveals that online sold masks typically retail from $12 to $30, but go as high as $60. There is certainly enough margin for designers and outlets to offer their design. Consumers are starting to embrace the new options for designed masks and with more choice the interest in new designs will rather increase.
The corporate sector seems to be slower to embrace face masks as a branding item. This might be connected to many businesses closing or scaling down during the pandemic. But the pace is picking up. For example, Disney World and Disneyland will now receive reusable face masks in a custom “pixie dust” design. With over 100,000 cast members this is hardly a short run. According to the Disney Parks Blog, the uniform face mask project was inspired by “a need for a more unified and breathable face covering” for staffers. Cast members can choose between pleated and contoured styles in a variety of sizes
There is little doubt that opportunities in printed face mask will be growing for brand purposes or as design item. Printers might have a head-start, but it will be necessary to check which types of printing, cutting and converting equipment are at hand, can be acquired or sourced via a partner company. Some textiles will be printed by conventional print methods, but digital print will have an edge in shorter runs: for smaller designers, small to mid-size corporates, custom designs, reprints,… The further the market diversifies, the shorter the runs will get.
Inkjet textile print has another edge as Spoonflower.com points out: environmental benefits. Inkjet can print exactly the amount needed and it requires only a fraction of the water needed in conventional print. With the right inks harmful substances are avoided as well.
More critical than printing capabilities is the channel to the customer, however. Having order opportunities via a website is a possibility but it will require some marketing for customers to notice.
- If you are active in online order generation tools inform customers about the new capabilities
- Addressing existing clients can be an opportunity for masks with marketing/branding content.
- Contacts into the design community should come handy for printed designer masks.
- Cooperate with existing web shops, that already sell into web communities
- Offer the service to other printers, or manufacturers that could play in the healthcare environment
Look at your production capabilities and especially at the sales & distribution channel to generate the orders. Like getting through the COVID-19 crisis: it takes a common effort.
