Nonetheless, some interesting technical innovations were still to be found in the textile printing sector.

Printers

HP, with its new Stitch series (S300, S500 and S1000), has brought to the market a range of 160 cm to 320 cm sublimation printers suitable for both transfer and direct printing. HP now joins the ranks of important players in sublimation printing.

Durst presented ‘only’ its new P5 range of hybrid printers that can handle both rollers and plates; the RhoTex and Alpha series textile printers were not revealed until ITMA in Barcelona. However, the new workflow solutions both for textile and non-textile applications with analysis functions and webshop integration were on display in Munich.

Kornit, too, reserved the introduction of its new Presto roll-to-roll textile printer with its tried-and-tested one-step solution until ITMA. Improved ink formulations and higher print speeds of up to 450 m2/h have allowed it to move into the class of industrial textile printers. A taste of the new ink and print quality was made available at FESPA in the form of print samples.

Mimaki won the accolade of ‘best roll-to-roll textile printer’ in the ‘over 100 m²/h print speed’ category with its Tiger-1800B Mk II textile printer. Combined with the Rimslow TR series to form a complete solution, a full product range for pre- and post-treatment is now available to customers. But it was only at ITMA that Mimaki displayed this with the new hybrid (transfer and direct) printer with a fully integrated textile workflow. This marked a further step on Mimaki’s road to offering complete solutions in digital textile printing.

And the producers of industrial digital textile printers were also represented, albeit without textile printers on show. The MS LaRio and efi-Reggiani Bolt single-pass printers were both on display only at ITMA. SPG similarly waited for Barcelona to unveil its PIKE, as did Konika-Minolta with the Nassenger SP-1. The significant costs of installation undoubtedly played a major role here.

Inks

Sun Chemical’s latest SunTex products include direct and transfer sublimation inks as well as pigmentation inks. Ink manufacturer Swiss Performance Chemicals has firmly established itself in industrial printing with its SubliM range of sublimation inks and was displaying its solutions for pigment and reactive dye printing on cotton fabrics.

Media

French fabric producer Senfa showed a new blackout material and a new sound-absorbing fabric. Krea has brought out a new hybrid material (Speedy Hybrid) that can be printed using all imaginable forms of ink, from UV and latex through to sublimation inks. British exhibitor Premier Textiles was the only supplier offering natural fibre fabrics such as linen, cotton, silk and viscose that had been pretreated for reactive, acid and pigment printing and were suitable for use both in fashion and home textiles.

Print Make Wear – Microfactory

By the way: At FESPA in Munich, a complete workflow was on display, from design through printing to making-up – both with pigment printing on cotton and with a sublimation print solution for polyester. At the end of the Print Make Wear Microfactory, visitors could judge the digitally produced results for themselves. This represents the integration of all individual steps to create a true digital workflow! Wow!