Technical expertise for those working in textile printing plays a crucial role in delivering a custom product. That is why the opening of Atelier della Stampa - Milano Academy in Rozzano, Milan, a strategic area for tapping into demand from graphic arts, marketing and fashion companies and image, web & communication studios, concentrated in Milan and its hinterland, is so significant.

The idea comes from MST-Market Screen Typographic, the Selis brothers’ Sardinian company that made a name for itself as a representative of machinery for printing on fabric (exclusively representing, among others, Japan’s Goccopro).

“Behind the printing presses”, explains Fabrizio Selis, partner and technical-sales manager of the company in Selargius, Cagliari, “there has to be an operator with a technical background. And this requires continuous training and development”,

The Milano Academy courses, currently being developed, will be tailored to customer needs, though two modules are set out: ‘light’, which provides all-round training that also covers marketing, and ‘specialist’, which goes in-depth into the more purely technical issues. In all cases, there will be a focus on practice tackling the key steps in textile printing each time, from prototyping and drafting data sheets to creating special effects for branding strategies, not to mention shedding light on the different types of fabrics and unique features of the printing techniques available today, from embroidery to sublimation printing, from screen printing to digital frame to DTF, DTG, Co2 laser, thermo-transfer and direct UV digital printing technologies.

“We will also assist trainees with communication”, Fabrizio Selis explains, “as we have already demonstrated our ability to do so in Selargius where we have installed a real 25-metre catwalk in the centre our 1,100 sq m Sardinia Event Expo site, which our clients’ creation are paraded on. We will also teach participants the basics of photography, video-making (we have a workshop with equipment for shooting and editing) and storytelling, so they are able to tell a story and create a mood. Needless to say, it's extremely important that our new Academy is located in the world's fashion capital”.

The aim, on one hand, is to generate a team of trainers available to companies that can intervene in person or even online wherever companies are met with an impasse (“first aid for the printing press”, as Selis puts it) or when their staff need training. On the other hand, the aim is to put together a “workforce team”, a team of trainees to join companies in the sector who could consider signing an apprenticeship contract, taking advantage of all the tax benefits that come with hiring young staff. With this in mind, Atelier della Stampa has launched a strategic partnership with Randstad, one of the best-known employment agencies. What does Atelier della Stampa want from the trainees it offers such a major opportunity? “Simply to make their creations available on our e-commerce, marked with the Atelier della Stampa brand”, is Fabrizio Selis’ response.