We recently had the opportunity to speak with Ann Sawchak, co-founder of Expand Systems, about the company’s DuraVibe Fabric, developed in a joint venture with UK-based Premier Textiles. This specially treated fabric is designed for printing with direct-to-fabric pigment inks on digital printers such as HP’s Latex printers as well as heat-transfer dye sublimation, and was recognized as one of several Products of the Year at last year’s SGIA as a textile solution for home furnishings. Expand Systems has been developing textile coatings since its founding in 1981.

WhatTheyThink: Ann, what drove the joint venture initiative between Expand Systems and Premier Textiles?

Ann Sawchak: We had been selling printers, ink, and finishing solutions to textile printers for some time. Our customers were always asking us why we didn’t sell fabric. In 2015, my husband and partner in the business, Mark, was speaking at a conference in Germany, where we met the folks from Premier Textiles in the UK. We were very interested in their offerings, because they do a lot of fabric preparation that others don’t do in preparing fabric for print, especially with digital printers—including ensuring selvages are flat, and there is no dirt or lint on the fabric that could contaminate inkjet heads or cause head crashes. Most Prepared for Print (PFP) fabrics are good enough for conventional printing, but not for digital. We decided to explore a partnership with them to address this unmet market need.