From DTG & DTF to screen printing and from digital inks to consumables, the scope of innovation was evident to all attendees who showed great interest in the 70+ new product launches at FESPA. Debbie McKeegan is a contributor at WhatTheyThink who specializes in textiles. She shares some of the highlights of this global event.
(Image courtesy Texintel.
FESPA, held in Munich last weekend, was a great place to find the most innovative print products. All attendees showed great interest, from DTG and DTF, to screen printing and digital inks, to the 70+ new products launched at FESPA.
With so many offers available, we have highlighted some of the most notable ones.
Digital Printing
Epson The show was used to launch the SureColor F2200 Direct-to-Garment Printer. It says that this printer is perfect for small and medium businesses who need high levels flexibility, accuracy, and fast turnaround.
Designed to produce complex designs on a variety of garments, the SureColor F2200 uses Epson’s advanced PrecisionCore MicroTFP printhead technology to provide faster printing and data processing speeds, resulting in a productivity increase of up to 25% over its predecessor, while maintaining print quality.
Brother’s new Latex printer, the WF1, in addition to Brother’s new extended-color model GTX 600 Extra Colours, and its new direct-to-film (DTF), roll-to-roll device, were all officially launched at FESPA.
The 1.6m-wide resin printer—marketed as latex for ease of recognition—uses Brother’s inkjet technology and proprietary inks in a Roland DG frame, as a result of collaboration between the two manufacturers.
Fujifilm Acuity Prime Hybrid Printer was shown for the first. This groundbreaking new printer is based on the highly-successful Acuity Prime and offers additional versatility because it can handle rigid or flexible media.
Canon Arizona 1300 series now includes two new models, GTF and XTF are equipped with the FLOW technology. This innovative vacuum system, which is zone-free, makes it easy to handle media. Extending the comprehensive Arizona flatbed printer family, the Arizona 1300 series with FLOW technology serves the growing mid-volume segment, enabling large-format graphics printers and other print service providers to offer their customers an extensive range of applications for retail, signage, interior décor, packaging, and industrial markets.
Vanguard Europe introduced its next-generation flatbed UV printer, the VK3220THS, at FESPA. Vanguard Europe’s European Headquarters, which is 5,000 square feet in size, has designed and built the new Vanguard VK3220T. The new Kraftwerk is located in Brixen (South Tyrol), Italy, right next to Durst’s global headquarters.
EFI continued on its innovative path to create more opportunities for customers to achieve profitable growth with the announcement of the company’s first UV LED inkjet inks for thermoformed 3D sign and display applications, along with another breakthrough in the analog-to-digital transformation—the EFI Nozomi 14000 SD single-pass printer for sign and display graphics that is more than twice as productive as the fastest multi-pass/shuttle-based printer.
Finally, Mimaki Europe, gold sponsor of FESPA 2023, Global Print Expo, displayed their flagship printers and cutting machines for the sign graphics, industrial and textile markets. These included the newly announced TxF150 75 Direct-to Filme (DTF) machine as well as the high-performance 330 Series and the entry level 100 Series. Mimaki’s first foray into DTF technology, the TxF150-75 made its international show debut at FESPA. The TxF150 75 is a DTF printer that offers an affordable and easy way to decorate apparel, primarily T-shirts. It also meets the demand for a stable, reliable DTF technology.
Inks & Consumables
Sun Chemical Xennia Amethyst Evo RC ink of high quality was launched. The new Xennia Evo RC ink is a development of the popular Xennia amethyst line. It has been specially formulated so that customers can achieve high-volume targets without compromising the quality. Sun Chemical has also launched a new line of digital pigments inks designed for textiles called Xennia Sapphire. Initially designed for printheads with higher viscosity, such as Ricoh Gen 5 or Fujifilm Dimatix Starfire inks, Xennia Sapphire provides a significant improvement in pigment printing, with improved color and fastness, unparalleled print stability and ease-of-use.
Kernow CoatingsA producer of synthetic substrates that can be printed on, has introduced eight new materials suitable for wide format printers. They also have a range of printable wallpapers in the interiors collection. They can be used for many purposes, such as interior decorating or signage.
Specialty Paper Manufacturer Felix Schoeller Three new transfer films have been unveiled. In collaboration with Bleher Folientechnik’s polymer films, two of these films are for direct-to fabric applications and the third is for screen-printing with plastisol inks and water-based plastisol inks.
Berger Textiles In Munich, the company introduced new apparel fabrics to its portfolio. Single Jerseys can be customized for a range of garments and accessories. They are available with and without pigment pre-treatment and Oeko Tex and GOTS certification. The show also featured two new soft-signage materials. Moon is a grey-back polyester textile that Berger said delivers a combination of weight (330gsm) and softness, “together with a good level of opacity, while maintaining excellent image resolution quality.”
Magnetic Solutions launched Green Power, a new flexible magnetic material that it claims is a greener alternative that has been produced with Canon’s Colorado printer range in mind. Green Power has been in development and test for 18 months. The Sheffield, Yorkshire-based supplier and manufacturer said it hopes that these PVC-free, phthalate free, and halogenless materials will meet customer demands for more environmentally friendly products.
Ancillary Equipment
Lüscher launched the Screen Cube, created after John Potter of 3JP Consulting and founder of printing equipment supplier MHM Direct GB, approached Swiss company Lüscher Technologies about developing a laser-to-screen system. Lüscher is known for developing the CTP systems that are used in the production of 85% of the world’s banknotes. This machine is more accurate than most laser-to screen units that use a series lasers mounted on a bar which moves left and right along an x-axis. The lasers can last up to 20,000 hours of imaging.
Swiss manufacturer Zünd The Q-line is the first digital cutting table for pallet-to-pallet. The Q-line is pallet-to-pallet, and its cutting speed has been doubled compared to previous models. With an unprecedented level of automation for the brand, the Q-line has taken up prime position in Zünd’s portfolio. Powered by new linear drive technology, the new machine’s beams can accelerate at up to 2.1g, to reach a maximum speed of 2.8 m/s—effectively doubling both the speed and acceleration as compared to the manufacturer’s other models.
FESPA The Showcase of New Technology
With all these innovations, and many more, FESPA continued to enhance its reputation for bringing the latest technology to the global print community—a community that attended in the thousands to take in the vibrant dynamics and technical excellence of the world’s foremost manufacturers, and who were thrilled to see the huge volume of new products unveiled at the show.
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