María Renée Ayau and Nicholas Hellmuth | May 2011 Textile … · 2015. 2. 10. · Both models come with the DigiFab´s Evolution RIP (Evolution RIP, Evolution RIP Plus version for

María Renée Ayau and Nicholas Hellmuth | May 2011

Textile Printers

ISA Sign Expo 2011

+ additional comments

Textile Printers at ISA Sign Expo 2011

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Also, since this report is frequently updated, if you got your version from somewhere else, it may be an obsolete edition. FLAAR reports are being updated all year long, and our comment on that product may have been revised positively or negatively as we learned more about the product from end users.

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Your only assurance that you have a complete and authentic evaluation which describes all aspects of the product under consideration, benefits as well as deficiencies, is to obtain these reports directly from FLAAR, via www.wide-format-printers.NET.

Copyright 2011Photo on cover: d-grn print samples.

ContentsTextile Printers 1

at ISA Sign Expo 2011 1

d-gen 2

D.G.I. 5

DigiFab 8

Graphics One 12

Mimaki 14

Mutoh 17

Splash of Color 18

Calendering and Heat Transfer Machines 20

FLAAR Reports on textile printers 23

Observations on the venue for ISA 2011 23

http://www.large-format-printers.org

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Textile Printers at ISA Sign Expo 2011 1

Textile Printersat ISA Sign Expo 2011

ISA is one of the best known and largest signage trade shows in the United States, this year it was held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

The market for textile printing is growing fast; more and more companies are now developing their own printers, inks, and media to be able to get a piece of this market.

If you are interested in printing onto textiles you should take into consideration the printer size depending on your needs: printers of under 74 inches are ideal for apparel, flags, promotional items, and small signage, while printers of over 74 inches are ideal for large signage, upholstery, curtains, and home furnishing.

Five members of the FLAAR staff attended ISA this year, to gather information and search for the new trends on wide format digital textile printing. My name is Maria Renee Ayau. I am the person at FLAAR who is working with textile print-ers, as well as other members of our staff such as Silva Herrera, who works in Barcelona.

Here is a list of the textile printers that exhibited this year at ISA, plus comments, and comparative charts.

FLAAR staff from left to right: Pablo Martínez, José Melgar, María Renée Ayau, Nicholas Hellmuth, and Sofía Monozón, FLAAR booth at ISA 2011.


d-gen

Teleios GT

-gen exhibited one single Teleios GT printer in their booth, which was launched at FESPA Munich 2010 for Europe and FESPA Americas 2011 for the rest of the world. The Teleios Gt is a direct to fabric printer that can be used with dif-ferent types of ink dyes, this allows it to print on a wider range of fabrics made from natural, synthetic, or blended fibers.

The Teleios GT differs from the regular Teleios in that the GT consists of two large units. The regular Teleios is simply the printer by itself.

d-gen Teleios GT side view, from left to right: printer, heat fixation unit, and take-up unit.


The Teleios GT comes with an integrated heat fixation unit, which maintains con-sistent heat, so the color is impregnated onto polyester textiles at the same time they are being printed. Another feature, is that the printer comes with integrated take up unit and a built-in dryer, so you have everything you need to print in one machine. The printer, take-up unit and heater are independently controlled, this allows you to stop or pause a task without interrupting the rest.

Andrea Negretti, Nicholas Hellmuth, and María Renée Ayau at d-gen booth.

Printed material coming out from the heating unit to the take-up unit.


Model Teleios GT

Print Width 74” (187.9 cms)

Media Thickness 0.47” (1.2 cms.)

Media Roll Diameter 15.75” (40 cms.)

Media Natural Fibers Cotton

Synthetic Fibers Polyester blends

Other fibers Flag material

Ink Type Disperse dye, acid dye, reactive dye

Brand d-gen

Colors 8 colors

Price $158 (2 kilos)

Print Heads

Brand and model Seiko 508 GS

Drop size Variable: 12 pl, 24 pl, 36 pl

RIP d.gen Textile Software Rip

Is there pre- or post-heating needed? Post-heating

Power Consumption 0.44 kw (printer), 9kw (heater)

Printer Price $145,000

Warranty How many months? 12 months

Does it include print heads? Yes, if you use d-gen inks

Since ISA 2011 was held at Las Vegas, d-gen was printing some casino themed images onto flag material. The images had very nice colors even before they passed through the heater, obviously when they came out of the heater you could see the already brightly printed colors pop and come alive.

Las Vegas themed flag material comming out of the heat fixation unit.

On the left side, you can see the media coming out from the printer and on the right, the media going into the heat fixation unit.


D.G.I.

Fabrijet Fabri-T (1806)

D.G.I. exhibited three printers in their booth: two solvent printers and the FabriJet Fabri-T textile printer, they also had a small display featuring LED modules.

D.G.I. made UV-cured printers many years ago; then Dilli and D.G.I. decided to divide the market, with Dilli focusing on UV-cured and D.G.I. focusing on solvent printers. The two companies are owned by brothers.

But in the last two years D.G.I. has realized that solvent printers are falling out of favor in Western Europe and North America, so D.G.I. has decided to move into textile printing to keep their momentum. The issue is that they are late to the market, because Mimaki, d-gen, DigiFab, and all the Italian companies have been players in the textile market for many years already. Any new player will need to offer a really good printer, and at lower cost.

Fabri-T is a dye sublimation paper transfer printer with an integrated heating unit system. One advantage of this printer is that the print does not need any post- treatment, like washing. It prints on the transfer paper which is placed onto the fabric to adhere the image with a heat transfer machine.

D.G.I. FabriJet Fabri-T (1806) printer.


Apparel samples printing with D.G.I. FabriJet Fabri-T (1806) printer.


Model Fabrijet Fabri-T

Print Width 71” (181 cms)

Media Width 72” (183 cms.)

Media Roll Diameter 7.87” (20cms)

Media Natural Fibers Cotton, silk

Synthetic Fibers Polyester blends, satin

Other fibers Stretchy fabrics: spandex, lycra

Ink Type Dye sublimation

Colors 6 CMYK, lc,lm

Print Heads

Brand and model Konica Minolta

Drop size 14pl


Power Consumption 3.74kw


Warranty How many months? 12

Does it include print heads? yes

This textile printer is for signage and apparel. At ISA, D.G.I. exhibited several samples of apparel, primarily sports ware and beach ware, which are specifically difficult to print because of the elasticity of the material, since they are mostly spandex and lycra blend fabrics. D.G.I. also exhibited a nice day dress printed on a sheer polyester blend fabric, with a nicely printed abstract pattern.

Swinwear and sports apparel printed samples.

Polyester blend dress (left photo) , sportscaps and swimsuits (right photo) and other printed samples.


Model StampaJet I-64 StampaJet BP-64

Print Width 63.3” (161 cms) 63.3” (161 cms)

Media Thickness 3mm 3mm

Media Roll Diameter 11” (28 cms) 11” (28 cms)

Media Natural Fibers Cotton, silk Cotton, silk

Synthetic Fibers Polyester blends, nylon, rayon, satin Polyester blends, nylon, rayon, satin

Other fibers Stretchy fabrics: spandex, lycra

Ink Type Acid, reactive, disperse, pigment, dye sublimation Disperse, pigments, dye sublimation

Colors 4 or 8 4 or 8

Print Heads

Brand and model Epson Epson

Drop size Variable Variable

RIP Evolution RIP Software Evolution RIP Software

Is there pre- or post-heating needed? Post-heating Post-heating

Printer Price $42,995 $159,000

Warranty How many months? 12 12

Does it include print heads? Yes Yes

DigiFab

StampaJet I-64StampaJet BP-64

The most notable difference between these print-ers is in the ink feeding system, the StampaJet I-64 has ink cartridges while the StampaJet BP-64 has 2000ml. ink tanks. On the subject of inks, the Stam-paJet BP-64 can print using disperse, pigments, and dye sublimation inks; while the other model can also print with acid and reactive inks.

Bulk ink system for DigiFab StampaJet I-64 printer.

Ink cartridges for the DigiFab StampaJet BP-64 printer.


The other visible difference is the adhesive belt transport system on the StampaJet I-64. This belt makes printing onto elastic fabrics possible, since the fabric adheres itself to the belt so it doesn´t stretch during printing to avoid image distortion and provide perfect registration. The I-64 model, comes with a rotary washing unit that removes all excess ink from the adhesive belt, to prevent back printing onto the fabrics. It also has two hot infrared driers, one before the printed fabric rewinder to dry off the print, and the other after the washing station to dye the belt and activate the glue on the sticky belt.

Adhesive belt on the StampaJet I-64 printer (above) and pinch rollers on the StampaJet BP-64 printer.


Both models come with the DigiFab´s Evolution RIP (Evolution RIP, Evolution RIP Plus version for textile and Graphic s, Evolution Graphic RIP, Evolution Graphic RIP Lite).

Alex Izmirlian, DigiFab and María Renée Ayau, FLAAR Reports using DigiFab Evolution RIP software.

María Renée Ayau isnpecting printed samples at DigiFab booth.


DigiFab offers several advantages: first, they have years and years and years of experience in the textile market. Second, DigiFab is 100% dedicated to the textile market. Third, DigiFab offers their own textile RIP software (Evolution RIP).

So DigiFab is not a box pusher: they are a source of knowledge and experience about all aspects of wide-format inkjet printing of fabrics for any applications.

Avenik Izmirlian, president of DigiFab with StampaJet I-64

DigiFab StampaJet IBP64 textile printer.


Model FlagMaster 44”

Print Width 44.2”

Media Thickness 2.1 mm

Media Natural Fibers Cotton

Synthetic Fibers Polyester blends



Brand GO Xtreme Dye Sub Inks

Colors 4

Price $150

Print Heads

Brand and model Epson Dx5

Drop size Variable

RIP Wasatch SoftRIP


Power Consumption 20-25 Amps / 13Watts



Does it include print heads? Only for 6 months

Graphics One

FlagMasterRIO Pro 54”

Graphis One exhibited at ISA 2011, the Flagmas-ter 44” direct to fabric printer specially designed for flags and banners, and has an integrated heat fixation unit, so no transfer paper is needed on the printing process. It also has an integrated front heater to quickly dry the fabric, and an ad-justable tension control bar to stabilize the fabric while printing. One advantage of this printer is that it can print full bleed up to the 44 inches of media width, unlike other printers.

GO Flagmaster 44” flag printer at Graphics One booth.


Model RIO Pro 54”

Print Width 54”

Media Thickness 2.5mm

Media Roll Diameter 3”

Media Natural Fibers Cotton, silk

Synthetic Fibers Polyester blends, nylon


Brand GO Xtreme Dye Sub Inks

Colors 4

Price $155

Print Heads


Drop size Variable: down to 35pl

RIP Wasatch SoftRIP




Does it include print heads? Only for 6 months

GO RIO Pro 54” was also exhibited at Graphics One booth, this is a water-based dye sublima-tion printer it prints directly onto the transfer paper. Some of the samples exhibited at ISA, included apparel, textiles, and promotion items.

Graphics One is a Mutoh distributor, especially for Latin America. So some of their textile print-ers have a Mutoh chassis. Graphics One also has contacts in China, so can source both printers and fixation units there too.

GO RIO PRO 54” printinting samples at Graphics One booth.


Model TextileJet Tx-400

Print Width 72.8” (185 cms)

Media Thickness 0.27” (7mm)


Media Natural Fibers Cotton, silk, wool

Synthetic Fibers Polyester blends, satin, nylon, rayon

Other fibers Mesh, poplin, knitted fabrics, flock cloth

Ink Type Dye sublimation, reactive dye, acid dye

Brand Mimaki

Colors Sublimation Dye Ink: 4 (CMYK or Bl, M, Y, K), 6 (CMYK, Lm, Lc or Bl, MYK, Lm, Lbl), 8 (CMYK, Lm, Lc, Bl, Lbl)

Acid or reactive ink:CMYK and 4 others: Lc, Lm, Bl, Or, R, Lk

Price $164

Print Heads

Brand and model Ricoh 4

Drop size Variable: 7pl – 35pl

RIP RasterLink Pro 5 SG




Does it include print heads? Yes

Mimaki

TextileJet Tx-400JV34-260

Mimaki exhibited several printers at ISA 2011, two of them were textile printers: the TextileJet Tx-400 and the JV34-260 printer.

Mimaki TextileJet Tx-400 textile printer.


Mimaki TextileJet Tx-400 can be used with dye sublimation inks to print directly or to do transfer printing. You can actually use three types of ink with this printer: dye sublimation, reactive dye and acid dye, for now, Mimaki is still doing tests with pigment inks to be used with this printer. The printer comes with a bulk ink supply system that can hold two litter containers, on 16 slots. When one container is empty it automatically is switched and the inks is supplied form the next container, this allows empty containers to be replaced while printing.

Bulk ink system of the Mimaki TextileJet Tx-400 printer. Here you can see the two litter ink containers.

Ink containers of the Mimaki JV34-260 textile printer, front and side views.


Model JV34-260

Print Width 103.6” (236.2cms)

Media Thickness 4mm

Media Roll Diameter 9.8” (25 cms)

Media Synthetic Fibers Polyester blends


Ink Type Dye sublimation or solvent

Brand Mimaki

Colors 4: BL, M, Y, NK

Print Heads

Brand and model Ricoh 4

Drop size Variable

RIP RasterLink Pro 5 SG


Power Consumption 2 x less than 1,400W




Mimaki JV34-260 can be used with both dye sublimation for transfer paper for polyester blends, or water-based solvent inks. This printer has 3 heaters: pre-heater, print heater, and post-heater to increase drying times. During the trade show some watercolor-like images were being printed onto transfer paper, which was immedi-ately rolled dry, thanks to the heater system of the printer.

Of the four Japanese solvent printer manufac-turers, Mimaki has the most experience making printers for textiles. This by itself is not automati-cally a guarantee that their printers are inherent-ly flawless, but Mimaki does have a long-range and long-term commitment to textile printing.

The 2.6 meter JV34 is a relatively new printer.

Mimaki JV34-260 textile printer.


Mutoh

ValueJet 1628 TD

Mutoh launched the Valuejet 1628 TD at SGIA 2010, the most distinctive characteristic of this printer is that it has dual print heads, so you can print faster or have different kinds of inks loaded simultaneously. The ValueJet 1628 TD printer works with acid, reac-tive, and disperse dyes as well as with pigments or dye sublimation inks. So if you are printing with acid dye onto cotton, you can switch to dye sublimation onto polyester, by just switching the print job from one set of heads to the other. Just be sure that you have a roll press or heat steamer for acid and reac-tive dyes.

On the subject of switching inks, realize that al-though you can indeed switch ink types, this wears out the printheads because you have to purge out one ink completely before you add the other ink type. Yuhan-Kim-berly was always very forthright about stating this clearly: yes you can switch inks, but out in the real world this is not recommended.

The price of the printer is lower than other printers in the market, although you have to take into consideration some of the other printers are for heavy duty use, thus the price. An optional take-up roll unit for this printer is available for an extra $2,000, though it is not mandatory.

Model ValueJet 1628 TD

Print Width 63.2”

Media Thickness 4mm

Media Roll Diameter 7.8”

Media Synthetic Fibers Polyester blends, cotton sateen, cotton sailcloth, nylon flag

Ink Type Acid dye, reactive dye, pigment, disperse dye, dye sublimation

Brand Mutoh Eco-Ultra Ink

Colors 4 (2 ink types) 4 x 2, 6, 8

Print Heads


RIP ONYX 7






Splash of Color

Heatwave DPF-74

Splash of Color had a booth at ISA 2011. At first it was not very easy to identify, since the logo on the back wall decoration was rather small. So it was a good thing the printer stood out so people were able to find it.

The Heatwave direct to fabric printer, has a Roland chassis, roll-to-roll operation and an integrated sublimation unit by ATP Color (of Italy). The sublimation unit is a heated calender, steel roller that maintains consistent heat from edge to edge, instead of an infrared oven. You can print polyester blends, as well as elastic fabrics, since this printer has a cork covered roller to maintain the elastic materials in place while printing.

Heatwave DPF-74 textile printer at Splash of Color booth.

ATP Color sublimation unit on Heatwave printer.


Model HeatWave DPF-74

Print Width 72” (182.9 cms)

Media Thickness 1mm


Media Synthetic Fibers Polyester blends

Other fibers Flag Material, spandex, lycra

Ink Type Dye dispersion sublimation

Brand Roland

Colors CMYK x 2

Price $129.99

Print Heads

Brand and model Epson Dx 4

Drop size Variable

RIP VersaWorks


Power Consumption 8kw


Warranty How many months? 24 (parts and labor)

Does it include print heads? Yes, 12 months if you don´t use Roland inks

Heatwave was printing onto satinated polyester; colors really popped on this shiny material, a bottle of beer was being printed, a nice detail from the water drops of the beer bottle being printed, could be appreciated.

Heatwave printer satinated polyester print samples.

Keith Faulkner (Splash of Color), Roberto Martellano (ATP Color), Nicholas Hellmuth, and Maria Renée Ayau (FLAAR Rrports) at Splash of Color booth.


Calendering and Heat Transfer Machines

Advanced Innovative Technologies (Mimaki)

DigiFabDigiHeat


EastSignFlatbed FOT-1015MOT-1700


Graphics OneGO Calender DS67

Monti Antonio (Durst booth)Model 72


FLAAR Reports on textile printers

We have reports on specific brands when there are opportunities to be provided all the documentation on the printers (User Manual, tech support manuals, etc), when the manufacturer can provide time and personnel to train our staff on the operation of the printer, when there is an opportunity to do print samples, and when there is at least modest fund-ing so we can put together the results in a full-color report.

In the long run we also prefer to visit the factory and visit an end-user. For DigiFab our next step is to visit end-users, at which point we will update our reports. In the meantime we have our FAQs report on these printers.

There are also FLAAR Reports on MTEX textile printers based on several days of testing in the demo room in Europe and visiting a customer site in northwestern Spain (Vigo).

Observations on the venue for ISA 2011

The ISA 2011 Sign Expo banners and signage were visible once you entered the convention center, but walking to the convention center no signage was available to the visitors looking for this trade show or the other convention on medi-cal supplies which was also held at this venue.

Documents

María Renée Ayau and Nicholas Hellmuth | May 2011 Textile … · 2015. 2. 10. · Both models come with the DigiFab´s Evolution RIP (Evolution RIP, Evolution RIP Plus version for