Fifth Column Expands Short-Run Garment Printing with Kornit
09 July 2026: Fifth Column, the UK-based garment decorator, has expanded its digital apparel production capacity with the installation of a Kornit Atlas MAX PLUS system from Kornit Digital.
The move supports Fifth Column’s growing demand for short-run, full-colour garment decoration, print-on-demand fulfilment, faster sampling and lower-volume customised orders. The company offers screen printing, embroidery, direct-to-garment printing, direct-to-film printing, garment finishing and bulk wholesale T-shirt printing from its London operation.
The new investment marks a shift from screen-printing-led production toward a more flexible digital workflow. For multicolour screen-printed jobs, Fifth Column had historically worked with minimum order quantities of about 250 pieces because of the time and cost involved in setup, colour matching, screen preparation and sampling.
With the Atlas MAX PLUS, the company says it can now support customised multicolour runs of about 50 to 250 pieces that were previously difficult to handle profitably through traditional screen-printing methods. The system is also expected to speed up sample approvals and improve production flexibility for customers in music merchandise, breweries, workwear, designer brands and retail.
“For years, we felt the DTG technology simply wasn’t ready for the production standards we required,” said Damian Rys of Fifth Column. “Years ago, we had smaller DTG systems, but the print durability and reliability simply weren’t good enough for professional production. With Kornit, we finally saw a solution advanced enough to fit our business.”
Fifth Column first connected with Kornit Digital during FESPA 2025 and later attended a Kornit customer event at HFT71 in Poland, where it reviewed the Atlas MAX PLUS platform. The company installed its first Atlas MAX PLUS system in April and became operational within weeks.
Kornit’s own product information positions the Atlas MAX PLUS as an industrial direct-to-garment printer for smart DTG production, with up to 150 impressions per hour, automated calibration, XDi 3D decorative applications and support for on-demand production.
Fifth Column also cited Kornit’s All-Inclusive Click model as part of the decision. The AIC model allows users to install systems onsite and pay according to production, reducing the need for large upfront capital investment.
Guy Yaniv, President of Kornit Digital Europe, said Fifth Column shows how screen printers can combine traditional production knowledge with digital technology to serve shorter runs and more agile customer requirements.
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