Crewe Alexandra F.C. partners with Hybrid services to launch its 2026 kit using a lifelike 3d printed model of captain Mickey Demetriou, made via Mimaki technology.
Football shirt launches typically adhere to a strict media formula, relying on stylised video clips, fabric close-ups, and sombre player close-ups inside stadium tunnels. When planning the public reveal of its 2026–2027 home kit, Crewe Alexandra F.C. chose to diverge from this conventional approach, introducing a creative marketing strategy that highlighted its commercial partnership with regional print distributor Hybrid services.
The League Two club collaborated with Hybrid services to manufacture a highly detailed, miniature 3d printed replica of first-team captain Mickey Demetriou wearing the unreleased strips. The concept originated with James Beckett, Head of Commercial at Crewe Alexandra, who sought to incorporate industrial-grade additive manufacturing directly into the club’s primary seasonal campaign.
The production process began on-site at the club’s facilities, where Mickey Demetriou was captured using a handheld Artec Leo 3d scanner provided by specialised supplier Europac 3d. The technical team recorded two distinct scans: the first featuring the outgoing shirt design, and the second showcasing the new Puma-branded home kit. The scanning hardware processed structural data within minutes, capturing fine facial contours, garment textures, and intricate sponsor branding elements.
Following colour balancing by Europac 3d, the digital assets were transferred to Hybrid services’ corporate headquarters, situated near the club’s Mornflake Stadium. The production run was executed on a Mimaki 3DUJ-2207 full-colour 3d printer. Unlike baseline additive systems limited to monochrome components or single-colour filaments, this advanced platform jets ink droplets to reproduce more than 10 million distinct colours, enabling precise skin tones, subtle gradients, and microscopic fabric weaves to be cured simultaneously within the photopolymer resin structure.
The resulting 20cm figurine served as the core narrative driver for the club’s official reveal video, which tracked the journey from data acquisition to the final print before displaying both the player and the model together on the pitch. The campaign achieved significant digital engagement, securing nearly 40,000 views on Instagram within hours of release. Following the online launch, substantial foot traffic registered at the stadium club shop the next morning, as supporters queued to purchase the physical kits.
Beyond the sporting application, the project demonstrates a growing trend of integrating high-fidelity 3d scanning and additive technology into experiential consumer marketing. The capability to manufacture accurate, custom replicas offers novel promotional opportunities across the entertainment, retail, and live event sectors.
James Beckett concluded, “Kit launches are always popular with our fans on social media, but this one has done incredibly well. The 3d print from the Mimaki added another dimension to it, making it all the more intriguing and memorable.”