Mortsel, Belgium – Tanneries and leather service suppliers that want to broaden their offering and stay ahead of trends should visit Agfa at the SIMAC TANNING TECH trade fair in Milan (20-22 September), as the company’s inkjet experts will be highlighting the latest version of Alussa, a unique printing solution for genuine leather.

More than ever, people are looking for products that express their personalities. Alussa enables fashion-forward brands to respond to the growing demand for personalized leather. As an inkjet printing technology, Alussa offers distinct advantages over other leather decoration options – such as the ability to produce any volume, any design and any color at any time.

Yet Alussa outperforms other inkjet technologies. “Our EDP award-winning Alussa inkjet printing solution accomplishes a true synergy between leather and ink”, says Dieter Jancart, Business Segment Manager Alussa. “It was developed in close cooperation with the leather industry, and produces stunning photorealistic prints on genuine leather of any color, while retaining the leather’s flexibility and rub resistance – up to 100,000 dry flexes. Our patented process of applying ink to genuine leather that already has one or more coating layers, and then finishing it with one or more coatings layers, is the only way to achieve such high quality.”

Sustainability was a key factor in development. The latest Alussa update features a leather carrier system with recyclable sticky film, and a six-color plus white UV LED ink set which is free of any skin sensitizers and of CMR category 1 products, making it best-in-class in terms of safety compared to all other UV inks on the market today.

On Agfa’s SIMAC booth, printed leather hides, as well as fully finished applications produced by current Alussa users, including handbags and shoes, will provide ample inspiration to visitors. There will also be presentations offering detailed insights in the patented technology. Agfa’s leather printing experts will be there to discuss business needs, and the different models to start using Alussa.