Technology | What to Watch
TEXTILE PRINTING – A SEAM OF GOLD? WE HEAR AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT FROM PRINTER MANUFACTURERS ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES AFFORDED PSPS BY TEXTILE PRINTING. YET, OUR WIDTHWISE SURVEY FINDINGS SHOW RELATIVELY LITTLE EXUBERANCE IN THIS SECTOR WHEN IT COMES TO THE OFT FORECAST MONEYSPINNER. SO SHOULD YOU BE HAVING ANOTHER LOOK AT TEXTILE PRINT KIT?
Of the 201 UK/Ireland large-format PSPs polled for Widthwise 2022, under 10% are involved in textile printing for garments, under 5% for banner/flags - and textile printing for home/interiors barely registers. Under 10% own a dye-sub machine, and of those buying a new large-format printer in 2022/23, only 4.08% said it would be dye-sub. Nevertheless, the printer manufacturers are convinced that there’s still enormous scope for their textile printers in this graphics-focused wide-format digital print sector - and here they flag up the kit they believe best suited to this market. AGFA Agfa recommends the Avinci CX3200, a dye-sub roll-to-roll printer of 3.2m width, that was introduced in June 2021. The Avinci prints on a variety of polyester-based materials for soft signage and décor applications. The company points out that being able to print directly to fabric is easy and ideal for fast handling and for special applications such as flags, where showthrough is a benefit. Agfa says the use of transfer paper allows for super sharp prints, eliminates any set-off, and keeps media waste to a minimum. In addition, it extends the application scope to non-coated polyester fabrics.
ALL PRINTER COMPONENTS ARE PRODUCED IN EPSON-OWNED FACTORIES TO BETTER GUARANTEE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PRODUCT
EPSON Phil McMullin, pro graphics head of sales, Epson (UK), stresses that the textile printing market continues to be a growth area for the company and that its large-format textile printers “all deliver consistent quality driven by Agfa’s Avinci CX3200
Epson’s Monna Lisa 8000
micro piezo printhead technology that gives our printers an industrial, fit-and-forget quality, which helps minimise the intervention and after-sales service time and costs from the end-user”. He points out that “all printer components are produced in Epson-owned factories to enable it to better guarantee the sustainability of the products at every stage of the lifecycle, from design and manufacturing to transport, usage and recycling. This also helps achieve greater control of our product lifecycle and supply chain footprint.” Pricewise, Epson’s textile printer range starts (RRP ex VAT) with the £4,795 44in-wide SureColor SC-F6300 dye-sub machine and goes up to the £162,000 Monna Lisa 8000 range of direct-to-fabric printers that can handle natural fabrics including silk and cotton. In between are the £10,995 SC-F2100, £11,250 SC-F7200, £20,700 SCF9400H, £33,995 SC-F3000, and £75,000 SC-F10000H. The latter is a new 76in-wide, 6-colour dye-sub printer for polyester-based fabrics. It can be configured with either light colours or fluorescents via a 10-litre bulk ink system. Remember that the 64in-wide SC-F9400H can also print with Epson’s fluorescent yellow and pink inks. Epson’s DTG printer offering comprises the SC-F2100 and its more robust big brother, the SC-F3000, which is designed for higher productivity and has a staggered head configuration that lays down white and colour in one pass. DURST Durst flags up its 3.3m-wide P5 Tex iSub, launched in April 2021. The machine has inline fusing for direct printing onto polyester fabrics - though it can also be used with transfer papers. And there is an integrated finishing unit that can sew/stitch media. The maximum print speed is 383m2/hr when the 330cm print format is fully utilized. Access to two rolls via the Multiroll option makes changing materials easier and a Dualroll option allows two rolls with a width of 1.6m to be printed. The Sublifix dye-sub ink, developed by Durst, is said to deliver vivid colours, even on difficult media such as Durst’s P5 Tex iSub
www.imagereportsmag.co.uk | 13
