Open invite from Adleco and Kornit

As exhibition season continues, Adelco and Kornit Digital are inviting the garment decoration community to an open house event in Leicester. Together with T-Shirt Factory, the companies hope to show how state-of-the-art mass customisation technology works in actual production.

T-Shirt Factory, a client of Adelco and Kornit Digital, recently installed a Kornit Storm Hexa and will be on hand to show other textile printers the system’s features, such as the recirculating ink system and the expanded six-color-plus-white gamut.

The event in Leicester will take place on May 30th and 31st.


Agfa goes green at FESPA


Agfa Graphics had both energy savings and the environment in mind at this year’s FESPA in Hamburg, presenting its range of UV inkjet printers with LED-curing.

The firm’s flagship machine is the Jeti Tauro H2500 LED; as of FESPA, the Jeti Tauro will rely on LED-curing technology as an alternative for the high energy-consuming mercury bulb lamps.


Reinhilde Alaert, product manager at Agfa Graphics, explains: “LEDs have minimal heat output, which allows for printing on thin, heat-sensitive media such as styrene sheets and rolls. They also ensure very stable bi-directional calibration and higher system up times (no warming up or cooling down time) on top of the significant power savings. All of that has a positive effect on the ROI of the system.”


Award-winning kit makes a splash


FESPA saw yet another European product launch this year, as visitors got a first look at the new Versa Tech 2 from Blackman and White. The machine won the 2016 SGIA Product of the Year Award for finishing routers/cutters.

Managing director, Alex White, comments: “The Versa Tech 2 is simply the only all-in-one finishing system for today’s growing, fast paced wide format print industry. It can handle more intricate patterns than any other router or knife can achieve and its tighter job nesting reduces waste—directly improving our customers’ bottom line.”


FESPA full house for EFI


EFI chose to capitalise on this year’s FESPA 2017 by displaying a range of new products and solutions.

Making its worldwide debut at the event, which took place at the start of May in Hamburg, was the EFI Reggiani ReNOIR FLEXY industrial textile printer. The firm claims that this 1.8m machine allows nearly any business to get into industrial textile. It is available with eight print heads and has a production speed of more than 400sq m/h with a resolution of up to 2,400dpi.

As well as this, EFI presented a pair of new LED inkjet printers and the latest version of the company’s Midmarket Print Suite, based on the Pace MIS/ERP software, offering advanced tools for super-wide-format production management.


Gravograph gets personal in Croydon


As the sign industry’s exhibition season continues, Gravograph has presented its latest personalisation systems at Newtech Coactive Event in Croydon.

Several mechanical and laser engravers were exhibited on May 16th, demonstrating how the systems can be used to personalise wood, metal, glass, plastic, and other materials. The firm says many new products have been introduced including hybrid metal marking lasers, new version engraving and lasering software, as well as new portable impact engravers. Gravograph claims that, with its portfolio of kit, items of any size can be engraved, from rings and bottles, to jewellery and large wine boxes.

Operating since 1938, Gravograph has established itself as one of the largest manufacturers of engraving personalisation equipment, offering a range of technology from small desktop engravers to large-format laser systems, compatible with its own Gravostyle and Laserstyle software.


Plex capitalises on growth


With the sign industry’s economy continuing to remain stable and achieve quarter on quarter growth, Plex Signage and Display has revealed the launch of two new super-sized modular signage systems to capitalise on demand.

“We are very pleased to announce the launch of two additional sizes to sit alongside our hugely successful Icon A1 Size pavement sign. Available now is our 60” x 40” poster size version, known as the Icon Max. This will be followed in June by the A0 poster version, the Icon Plus,” says Matt Walton, commercial manager, Plex Signage and Display.


Link-Media refresh product line


Link-Media has announced new inkjet media additions to its product portfolio. The new releases include a 200-micron clear gloss window film, with a removable adhesive that the company claims leaves no residue after the removal of the printed graphic.

In addition, the firm has announced a new removable self-adhesive photo film, with a removable block-out adhesive and an air release liner for easy application without air bubbles. This film is suitable for printers using water-based pigment inks such as with Canon, HP, Mimaki, Roland, and Epson printers.


FESPA debut for Mimaki’s TS30-1300


FESPA saw Mimaki debut its new sublimation inkjet printer, the Mimaki TS30-1300. It marked the chance for sign-makers to see the new printer on its stand in the Textile Hall, where the firm also demonstrated a range of solutions for the sign and graphics, and industrial print market.

The company’s national sales manager, John de la Roche, says: “This printer brings the huge potential of high quality dye sublimation printing at an extremely attractive price point.”



The Mimaki TS30-1300 enables users to easily print their designs on demand at speeds up to 20sq m/h. The printer features functions that reduce the operator learning curve making it easy to use, and the bundled RasterLink6 software along with the printer’s highly functional Sb54 ink make it simple for even first-time users to get up and running quickly.


No more monkey business


It is not often that investment in new technology really is a driver for profound new growth, but it seems that Shirt Monkey is the exception. It has moved into a new 10,000sq ft unit (929sq m) after purchasing two new Kornit Avalanche 1000s from Sabur Ink Systems.

“Our business is continuing to grow month on month so we had no choice but to relocate to a larger unit. The new space will give us the opportunity to install more machines very quickly and add new services to our portfolio that were previously off limits,” says Shirt Monkey’s company director, Nic Simons.

He adds: “Even though we only managed to stay in our old premises for less than two years, I am confident that the new space will allow us to continue our growth for several years to come.”


MTEX roars, stings, and flies

The digital textile printer manufacturer MTEX used the recently concluded FESPA exhibition to showcase its 1.9m Dragon roll-to-roll printer—which boasts eight heads. It can print up to 137sq m/h with four colours at 720dpi.

The 1.9m MTEX Scorpion was also unveiled at the show, which has the option of roll-to-roll or adhesive belt for stretched or knitted fabrics. It is available with either 16 or 32 heads and four or eight colours and is  aimed mostly at the high-end fashion markets and is available with acid/pigment or reactive ink dyes with speeds of up to 550sq m/h.

Finally, the 3.2m MTEX Eagle uses disperse (dye-sub) or pigment inks with speeds of up to 543sq m/h. All three printers have variable drop size pro heads from 3 to 24pl.
 

Screen slices new market share


Vehicle branding, safety decals and label specialist Screen Services has revealed a capital investment into a brand new Zünd S3 digital cutting table to retain its market share in what is an increasingly competitive niche sector.

“In order to realise growth, in terms of machinery investment, we needed to position ourselves in the best possible place to retain our capability for high-volume production and a competitive edge,” explains Jason Charlton, chief executive, Screen Services.


Screen Services' core business focusses on producing its products for the construction and agricultural equipment markets. Describing itself as a ‘first-tier supplier with established global OEM supply partnerships’, it now plans to now expand in the automotive and caravan markets.

Swiss Q heads off-road



Billed as the 4 x 4 of the wide-format print world, Swiss Q print has embarked on a bold new market expansion strategy with its Nyala and Impala 2 flatbeds, which come configured with quadruple CMYK ink sets.

The Nyala 2 (3.2 x 2m) is billed as hitting 100sq m/h at top speed, while it slows down to a still highly-respectable 57sq m/h in high-quality mode for applications that will require close-up viewing such as point-of-sale. The Impala 2 (2.5 × 2m) and its stablemate are also both available with an optional white or varnish channel for creating background or multilayer white and for special visual and tactile effects.
 

Wrap competition goes global


This year’s FESPA saw vinyl installers from businesses all over the world battle it out in its World Wrap Masters competition. The concluding round tasked competitors with wrapping the side of a race boat in 60 minutes.

Beginning with wrapping a section of a Formula Renault car in 45 minutes, the successful competitors then went on to wrap one side of a Formula Renault car in two hours.

The design was created by Patrick Charrier of Bazoom Studio, France, who won FESPA’s Wrap Design Competition. Competitors in the final rounds came from Norway, Sweden, Mexico, USA, Eurasia, Africa, Brazil, Russia, and Ireland.

On the last day of FESPA, a Wrap Jam! gave top tips from the world’s best wrap installers.





Your text here...