Kyocera announced its entry into direct-to fabric (DTF) textile printing with the ForEarth Inkjet Textile Printer.
Designed as an eco-friendly and compact digital alternative to traditional screen printing processes, the ForEarth digital press will show for the first time at Milan’s ITMA 2023 textile and garment technology expo in June.
The ForEarth prints with water-based pigments, not dye ink. It can print on cotton, silk and polyester, as well as nylon, in one machine.
This machine has 18 printheads and a maximum eight colour option. It can print at 600x600dpi with a speed of up to 250sqm/hr.
You can also find out more about the following: press works by discharging pre-treatment liquid, Kyocera’s new pigment ink, and finishing agent in sequence from the same printhead, combining the pre- and post-processes required in conventional dye printing into a single step.
Kyocera claimed the new combined process has solved the usual pigment printing issues of colour development, fastness, and tough-handfeel, saying the printed products will be suitable for a wide range of applications, including women’s fashion, sportswear, and infants’ clothing.
The new process, Kyocera said, uses 0.02 litres of water per kilo of fabric, compared to screen printing’s 153 litres, making the print process drastically less polluting than traditional methods.
The machine’s compact design – and short, two-step print and cure process – will likewise require far less space and machinery than traditional processes, Kyocera said, making it suitable for printers looking to take up on-shore production for local businesses.
The ForEarth represents Kyocera’s second foray into the production print market, following its 2019 launch of the TaskAlfa Pro 15000c inkjet colour press.
The ForEarth Kyocera is launching a commercial version of the device in autumn 2023.