Direct Color Systems

What Direct Color Systems does

Direct Color Systems (DCS), legally Direct Color Inc., is a US-based manufacturer and global distributor of small, intermediate, medium, and large-format UV LED inkjet printers for direct-to-substrate applications. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, with a regional office in Porto, Portugal, the company sells equipment, proprietary UV LED inks, custom jigs/fixtures, and substrates under brands including Direct Jet, VIBRAHue, TEXTUR3D, InkMark, and CHROMASPHERE. Core technology centers on UV LED curing that prints directly onto plastics, metals, wood, tiles, glass, acrylic, fabric, and other substrates without intermediate steps, supported by proprietary RIP software (Color Byte Rip V10) and patented ADA/Braille sign printing processes.

The company monetizes through one-time capital equipment sales plus a recurring consumables stream tied to its installed base of UV LED inks; pricing is quote-based across all SKUs with commercial leasing/financing options available. DCS reaches customers through a three-layer go-to-market: direct enterprise field sales (Global VP Steve Mills and regional Director Rui Carvalho for EAA), a global distributor network spanning 30+ countries, and event-driven demand generation at industry trade shows (ISA Sign Expo, FESPA) plus the proprietary virtual UV PRINTOVATION Expo. Application focus areas include ADA-compliant Braille signage producers, commercial sign makers, the awards and recognition industry, industrial labeling, and decorative printing on rigid substrates, with newer pushes into UV-DTF and DTG/T-shirt printing.

Ownership remains with the founding Allen family (Co-Founders/Board Members Blair Allen and Bill Allen), professional management under President/CEO Tom Kaplinski (joined early 2020), and no institutional VC/PE ownership disclosed. The operating posture is operating, ISO 9001:2015 certified as of 2025, with an active product cadence culminating in the 2024–2025 MP Series (UV-21MP and UV-32MP) incorporating the new CHROMASPHERE ink-delivery platform.

Name

Direct Color Systems

Legal name

Direct Color Inc.

Website

https://directcolorsystems.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Direct Color Systems is a US manufacturer of industrial UV LED inkjet printers for direct-to-substrate printing, selling small, intermediate, medium, and large-format systems plus proprietary inks, substrates, and software through a global distributor network spanning 30+ countries and serving sign makers, ADA/Braille signage producers, and the awards and industrial labeling industries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Printing Equipment

NAICS

Printing Ink Manufacturing (325910), Printing Ink Manufacturing (32591)

SIC

Printing Trades Machinery & Equipment (3555), Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851)

akta.pro primary industry

Inkjet Printers (HDACAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital & Specialty Inks (Inkjet, UV, Conductive) (IMAEAHAI), Printing Inks (IMAEAHAG)

Keywords

• UV LED flatbed printers
• Direct-to-substrate printing
• ADA Braille signage printing
• Industrial inkjet equipment
• Textured UV printing

Headquarters

HQ city

Rocky Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. UV LED Printers: Sale of industrial UV LED flatbed printers in various sizes (small, intermediate, medium, large format) under the Direct Jet UV and VIBRAHue product lines
2. UV LED Inks: Proprietary UV LED inks sold as consumables for the company's printer lineup. Company warns against third-party inks citing risks to print quality and printer longevity.
3. Custom Jigs & Fixtures: Custom jig and fixture manufacturing for specific printing applications and substrate handling
4. Substrates and Supplies: Sale of substrates including InkMark UV coated metal, plastic/sheet metal stock, name badge blanks, acrylic blanks, and related supplies
5. Custom Engineered Inkjet Printers (OEM): Custom OEM printer solutions for specialized industrial applications

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Direct Color Systems designs, manufactures, and markets commercial and industrial UV LED inkjet flatbed printers (Direct Jet series, VIBRAHue line, OEM custom systems) ranging from small to large format for direct-to-substrate printing on plastics, metals, wood, tiles, glass, fabrics, and other materials. The company also sells proprietary UV LED inks, custom jigs and fixtures, InkMark UV-coated metal substrates, and Color Byte Rip V10 RIP software to support its installed base of printers used by sign makers, ADA/Braille signage producers, awards manufacturers, and industrial label producers.

Product overview

Direct Color Systems (DCS) is a U.S.-based manufacturer of industrial UV LED inkjet printers and related products. The company offers a portfolio of direct-to-substrate printers ranging from small format (UV-21MP) to large format (UV-84DTS Gen2), featuring proprietary technologies including CHROMASPHERE print technology, TEXTUR3D textured printing, and patented ADA/Braille sign printing. The product line is complemented by Color Byte Rip V10 software, UV LED inks, custom jigs and fixtures, and specialized substrates like InkMark. Applications span signage, awards, industrial labeling, ADA/Braille signage, glass/metal/wood/acrylic printing, and DTG/T-shirt printing. Made in the USA, distributed globally through distributors in over 30 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Direct Jet: Line of direct-to-substrate UV LED inkjet printers including UV-21MP, UV-32MP, UV-44DTS, UV-84DTS Gen2 models.
• TEXTUR3D
• InkMark
• CHROMASPHERE
• VIBRAHue
• Color Byte Rip V10
• PRINTOVATORS

Products and services

• UV-21MP Small Format UV Printer

Quantifiable outcome

• Largest and fastest ADA/Braille printers on the market
• +1 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Durst Group AG: Durst is a broad industrial digital printing incumbent offering UV inkjet systems for signage, ceramics, labels, and corrugated packaging. While not focused on DCS's small/mid-format niche, Durst competes for industrial UV LED printing customers and has substantially greater scale and R&D resources.
• HP Inc. HP's Large Format and Industrial division offers UV LED printers (HP Latex, HP PageWide XL, HP Scitex) serving sign makers, industrial decorators, and packaging converters — a broad incumbent competitor with substantially greater scale, distribution, and R&D resources than DCS.
• Fujifilm Holdings Corporation: Fujifilm offers industrial UV inkjet printers (Acuity, Onset series) and inkjet inks, competing with DCS in the industrial UV printing market. As a much larger diversified company, Fujifilm has greater capital resources and broader customer reach across commercial and industrial printing.
• Agfa-Gevaert NV:

Direct peers

• Inkcups Now Corporation: Inkcups Now manufactures UV LED direct-to-object and cylindrical printers (Brat, Helix, Titan series) for promotional product, drinkware, and industrial decoration — a direct niche peer to DCS in industrial UV LED printing applications.
• Roland DGA Corporation: Roland DGA is a leading manufacturer of UV LED inkjet printers (VersaUV series) and integrated print/cut solutions for signage, awards, packaging, and industrial printing — directly competing with DCS in small/mid-format UV LED printers serving the same sign maker and personalization customer base.
• DGI (Digital Graphics Inc.): DGI manufactures UV LED flatbed and roll-to-roll printers (FT-3204R, FT-II series) for the same sign maker, awards, and industrial decoration markets as DCS, with comparable small/mid-format positioning and similar ink consumable revenue models.
• Mutoh Holdings Co., Ltd. Mutoh produces UV LED hybrid and flatbed inkjet printers (ValueJet XpertJet series) targeting the same small and mid-format sign and industrial printing customers as DCS, with comparable ink consumable business models.
• Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd. Mimaki manufactures UV LED flatbed and roll-to-roll inkjet printers (UJF/UJV series) and supplies inks, directly competing with DCS in direct-to-substrate and small-format UV printing for signage, awards, and industrial decoration.

Emerging players

• Uvistar (Flora / Wizard): Flora and similar Chinese UV LED printer manufacturers offer competitively priced flatbed UV printers targeting the same small and mid-format sign and personalization applications as DCS, representing a price-pressure threat from emerging low-cost competitors.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DCS_US
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCwJgTmdtiTqY3JxG1nKjF_w
• Facebookfacebook.com/DirectColorSystems
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/direct-color-systems
• Instagraminstagram.com/directcolorsystems

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Direct Color Systems