Got Shirts in Maastricht

Entrepreneur Ralph Peerboom started Got Shirts from his living room in 2005. By now, the company is already in a second building and has grown into a well-known name in Maastricht and the surrounding area.

About a year and a half ago, Ralph purchased a Mimaki CJV150-75 from Dimix. This meant a faster and more versatile service to his clients. We speak to him about the growth of his business.

How did it start?

"I was applying for a job and at the time I wanted to order some printed T-shirts from the US. I thought the high postage costs were a little too much and started researching how shirts were actually printed. After looking around I thought: I should be able to do that. I had some savings and I then went to FESPA where I purchased all the equipment. While signing that purchase contract, I asked the salesman, 'What software do you actually use for this?' 'Adobe Illustrator,' he says. So I ask, 'Is that difficult?' He started laughing really hard 'Well, that's going to be fun...' I then taught myself everything. The advantage was that I had a technical background, so the feeling with programs like Illustrator quickly got into it."

And how did you get clients?

"For the first period, acquiring clients actually went pretty naturally. Especially word of mouth did its job well. At that time I was still doing everything from my living room. At one point, the director of MediaMarkt showed up at my door wanting to order five hundred sweaters. He called me and said, 'I'm standing here in front of a flat, I think you gave me the wrong address.' 'No way,' I said 'You're absolutely right!' The living room was littered with clothes, every color of film, a computer, plotter and a press. Crazy house it was. At that point, it was time to look for professional premises."

Location, location, location

"In 2007 I moved to premises in Heer. This was not the most ideal location. It was difficult to explain exactly where you sit. I myself lived above my company and noticed at a certain point that I still preferred some distance between my home and workplace.

So in 2013 we moved to the current premises in Maastricht. This is ideal. Here we are close to the central station and the city center. Even if you can no longer park in the city, there is actually always a spot right in front of the door here. For our customers that is a big advantage.

We now work with a number of permanent staff plus another trainee. This month another person will start with us. We are just getting by, but a little more air to be able to follow up on new orders would be nice. Hopefully that space will come with the arrival of the new employee. With this we can improve the service level even more.

The nice thing about this job is that you see your own work on the street, in banners, on shirts, on awnings. Even abroad I come across our work."

A help around the house that works super productively

"Students, associations and small independents are the core of our customer base.

The often colorful logos and low print runs of up to 50 pieces are often very expensive and labor-intensive to make with flex films or screen-print transfers. The Mimaki offers a real solution here. We can offer just that little bit more in this respect, we can deliver faster and work more cost-efficiently.

To give an example: if you normally do a back number in two colors (for example, white with a red border) you need two large pieces of film. Now you print it in two colors and only need one piece.

We weigh up whether to use flex foil or printflex on a job-by-job basis, but the printer is used fast these days. That's often easier and faster anyway."

Patrick, sales manager at Dimix, adds: "It's nice to see that Ralph really sees the Mimaki as an in-home helper which is incredibly productive."

"I printed my own color fans with the printer, so the customer knows exactly what color they can expect on their textile transfers. We can then put the specific pantone colors next to it and see what's closest. It's not often that this is needed, but it's very handy."

Trends and future

"A trend I'm seeing now is that many people are setting up their own clothing lines. In this we can assist in making the prototypes, for example. Furthermore, fortunately the associations, schools, sports clubs and entrepreneurs know how to find us. No shortage of requests!

In the coming years I would like to expand my product range. Think of stickers and posters. There is also a lot to be gained in the online channels."

More information

Website: https: //www.got-shirts.nl/

Facebook: https: //www.facebook.com/GotShirts.nl