Turkish company, Makroser Tekstil specialises in manufacturing digitally printed carpets and over the years has become one of the leading suppliers in the sector. Utilising Mimaki’s high-performance TS300P-1800 sublimation transfer printer since 2020, the company has optimised their production potential to meet increasing customer expectations in this growing digital textile carpet market.
Makroser Tekstil has become one of the leading brands in the carpet market with its expanding digital product range and increasing production capacity. Established in Istanbul at the end of 2016, Makroser Tekstil serves as a raw material supplier in the supply chain, a manufacturer of carpets and home textiles and carries out studies for the development of the digital printed carpet industry. The company invested in a Mimaki TS300P-1800 sublimation transfer printer in August 2020 and with it gained a significant competitive advantage in the digital printed carpet business.
Alongside carpets, the company also offers other solutions to the carpet industry by producing backing and other materials. Makroser Tekstil’s co-founder, Talha Güldeste explained, “As a company of 250 employees, we have positioned ourselves as a comprehensive manufacturer in the supply chain. We started to produce intermediate goods and materials that we use in the production of digitally printed carpets ourselves, and then sell them on to other carpet manufacturers.”
Acting as both a seller and a supplier, Makroser Tekstil has an approximate monthly output of 150,000 square meters of final product and sells about 70-80,000 square meters of intermediate goods per month. “Our market has four main pillars, including chain market groups, export, e-commerce and our own retail network. We have gained serious momentum in the sales of our final products in recent years, and we attach great importance to our sales and marketing processes, in addition to production, so to increase our profitability. We are currently exporting 35-40% of our production, and our branding and e-commerce activities show that we are making significant improvements,” said Güldeste.
A new era of carpet production
Talha Güldeste’s area of expertise is in digitally printed carpets, a market that he has seen remarkable growth in over recent years. Observing the wider industry, Güldeste said; “Digitally printed carpets have succeeded in getting ahead of woven carpets with their ease of use, low cost, and plenty of colour and pattern options. The consumption habits of our society have changed. Previous generations used to buy thick woven carpets and use them for 20-30 years, as an insulating material in homes. However, due to the widespread urbanization and natural gas infrastructure, the need for carpets to insulate the home has disappeared. We are now in a period of faster consumption, and low prices have increased the interest in these products, alongside them being much easier to maintain. The carpet now stands as a decorative element in homes and living spaces, to be changed seasonally or to match with the interior design.”
Opting for a Mimaki TS300P-1800 to reach top tier quality
Makroser Tekstil decided to invest in a Mimaki TS300P-1800 sublimation transfer printer back in August 2020, with the aim to strengthen their position in the digitally printed carpet market. “The investment in the TS300P-1800 has enabled us to have the capacity to respond quickly to e-commerce orders,” Güldeste commented. “Product quality is the main criterion in the supplies we provide to both online and retail outlets. We made this investment because we saw that we would increase our quality and customer satisfaction in the carpets we print. The Mimaki printer met our expectations, providing the results we wanted from the very first print after installation.” Considering the increased demand, Güldeste aims to further boost their printing capacity with investment in several more Mimaki printers.
Güldeste noted that the quality and consistency of the colours and patterns they see in digitally printed products, no matter how much time has passed. “We have not seen differences between patterns, whether they have been printed once or a thousand times. Knowing that we’ll be able to print in the same colour and quality each time, we are able to meet the increasing quality expectations of our customers, while freeing us from the need of keeping stock in this process.”
Efficient printing was also a key consideration as the company looked to up the speed of production, Güldeste added, “Along with consistent quality, the safe operation of the machine, ease of use and maintenance were also incredibly important to us, and we were conscious of how problems, such as print head clogs, could hinder our work. The TS300P-1800 is a tireless machine. Mimaki’s core technologies allow for uninterrupted printing and have made managing multiple printers with a single operator and computer so much simpler, saving the company both time and money. We have not encountered into any problems, even when the machine is running 24 hours, allowing us to respond quickly to demand and ultimately giving us greater profit in the long run.”
In addition to the printer itself, Makroser Tekstil uses original Mimaki ink in the printer, which has helped the company optimise its ink consumption. “While it is necessary to use 4 ml to print 1 square meter of paper with a similar ink, we can easily do the same with 2 ml of Mimaki ink. We have reduced our ink consumption by 30%, all while maintaining our print quality. As well as saving on cost, Mimaki’s inks are certified to be harmless to human health and environmentally friendly and made incorporating them into our production line a clear choice”, added Güldeste. “Mimaki has made a great contribution to our growth plans in the coming period thanks to the printing technology. With it at our disposal, we feel encouraged and able to grow in our current market as well as to enter new application areas.”