The investment marks Fifth Column’s transition from traditional screen-printing workflows to advanced digital production capabilities. This expansion enables the company to meet growing demand for short-run, full-color production, print-on-demand fulfillment, lower-volume customized orders, faster sample creation, and scalable digital garment decoration services across the UK.

“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.”

Transitioning from traditional screen printing to advanced digital production

Fifth Column first connected with Kornit Digital during FESPA 2025 before attending a Kornit customer event at HFT71 in Poland, where the company experienced the capabilities of the Atlas MAX PLUS platform firsthand.

“The Atlas MAX Plus demonstrated a level of automation, durability, and print performance that significantly exceeded previous generations of DTG technology,” Rys explained. “Durability was always our biggest concern, but Kornit completely changed our perception of what digital production could deliver.”

The company installed its first Atlas MAX PLUS system in April and became fully operational within weeks.

Fifth Column also cited Kornit’s All-Inclusive Click (AIC) commercial model and onboarding support as important factors in the decision. The AIC model allows the company to better manage production costs while supporting scalable digital production without large upfront capital investments.

Expanding low-volume multicolor production and sampling capabilities

Historically, the company maintained minimum order quantities of approximately 250 pieces for multicolor screen-printed jobs due to the operational complexity involved in setup, color matching, screen preparation, and sampling.

The transition to digital production now allows Fifth Column to profitably support highly customized, low-volume multicolor jobs of 50 to 250 pieces that were previously operationally impractical using traditional screen-printing workflows, finally addressing customer demand for these runs. The new production environment also streamlines sample creation, accelerates customer approvals, and increases overall manufacturing flexibility.

“Fifth Column is a strong example of how screen printers are leveraging digital production to expand flexibility, support shorter production runs, and create more agile customer-focused manufacturing environments,” said Guy Yaniv, President of Kornit Digital Europe. “Their adoption of Kornit technology demonstrates how modern garment decorators can successfully combine traditional production expertise with advanced digital capabilities to unlock new growth opportunities.”

For more information about Fifth Column, visit https://fifthcolumn.co.uk/.