The Dunstable firm sells a range of products for producing branded promotional items such as T-shirts, mugs, phone cases and caps.

Managing director Jim Nicol said the company had just completed the testing of a variety of new non-medical face masks being manufactured by global apparel specialists to meet the expanding requirement for face coverings.

“The products will be available through all the wholesalers here in the UK which enables us to simply focus on the decoration,” he said.

The firm has developed a wide range of transfer papers for use with toner-based printers and copiers, and its image transfer systems allow the production of personalised masks in short-run or sample quantities.

Nicol said its transfer papers were suitable for cotton, polyester and “most fabrics regardless of colour or composition”, using a cap or combination heat press to fix the image to the mask.

Dye-sublimation can be used for white polyester materials.

He said that OKI’s printer range with either CMYK or CMYK+white offered a “quick, safe and very economical method for production”.

“The bottom line is anyone wanting to decorate masks can do so for less than £1,000,” he stated.

This package would include an A4 CMYK OKI printer, cap heat press, toners and three-year warranty.

Regarding the need to wash face coverings at high temperatures, he commented: “The ‘non-medical’ masks and coverings are recommended to be washed preferably by a washing machine at anything from 30-60 degrees. Ironing afterwards ensures no virus potential.”

“We are very confident in the durability of all our transfer products and have proved so for what is now over 29 years!”