Supacolor, a supplier of heat transfer materials, and Inktavo, a software solutions provider for the apparel decoration industry, are partnering up to offer educational resources and opportunities to their customers.

“Supacolor is committed to helping people grow; with this partnership we can now offer business software to help our customers realize their full potential,” said Rum Walia, partner and co-founder of Supacolor. “After collaborating with Inktavo over the past two years and sharing many mutual customers, the companies decided to solidify a partnership to serve customers even better.”

Rum Walia, partner and co-founder of Supacolor

JP Hunt, head of partnerships at Inktavo, said the firm’s customers have raved about Supacolor’s products, so a partnership made sense.

The partnership combines Inktavo’s expertise in e-commerce, production management and design software with Supacolor’s heat transfer products, and will help garment decorators improve efficiencies, develop new print-fulfillment capabilities and increase revenue, according to the two companies.

An upcoming four-part webcast series hosted by Craig Mertens, director of product education at Inktavo, will be one of the first educational collaborations between the partners. The initial episode will show decorators how to maximize their sales by combining high-quality graphics and custom heat transfers.

Inktavo includes InkSoft, an e-commerce platform; Printavo, a shop-management solution; and GraphicsFlow, a graphics-productivity solution. In early 2022, private equity firms PSG and Blue Star Innovation Partners (BSIP) acquired InkSoft and Printavo, merging the two former competitors to create Inktavo.

Supacolor uses what it calls a unique hybrid digital printing process to produce heat transfers that are detailed, durable and have accurate color. The Gardena, CA-based company has been creative about marketing its heat transfer services with unique collaborations in the past. In 2021, for example, the firm partnered with a YouTube influencer to create an ASMR ad highlighting its products.