Boxmeer, Netherlands – At ITMA Asia 2016, SPGPrints will present digital inkjet and rotary screen printing technologies that enable textile printers to optimise uptime, drive quality, and print on the widest range of fabrics (booth H5D01, National Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai, 21-25 October).

Highlights on the stand will include the first demonstration in China of the JAVELIN® digital inkjet printer for medium and large capacity requirements, plus the complete new range of NEBULA^® inkjet inks that offer superior runnability, sustainability and an increased colour gamut. SPGPrints will also present its high performance rotary screens and laser exposing systems for high quality digital screens.

JAVELIN^® scanning digital inkjet printer demonstrations

SPGPrints’ JAVELIN scanning digital inkjet printer is designed for companies printing up to two million metres of textiles annually. The printer will be operational throughout the show, giving visitors a real-time experience of its quality, flexibility and ease of use. Print samples will be available for evaluation.

The JAVELIN printer features SPGPrints’ unique Archer^® technology. With nozzles 4mm from the substrate, compared to the more usual 1.5mm nozzle-fabric distance, a wider range of substrates can be run, and the chance of print head damage is reduced. Using only six colours, Archer technology enables a gamut wider than the HD-gamut of other digital textile printing solutions. In addition, SPGPrints’ ‘Archer Print Head Program’, provides a two-and-a-half-year guarantee on the print heads in combination with the use of accredited inks.

The JAVELIN printer uses a scanning action with an array of Fujifilm Dimatix Samba print heads delivering variable drop sizes (2pL-10pL) at resolutions of up to 1200 x 1200dpi to cover the 1850mm width for sharp image reproduction. 

JAVELIN has proven popular with companies taking the first step into digital textile printing, or with a need to supplement their existing capabilities.  After its global premiere at ITM 2016, several JAVELIN sales were confirmed to a number of Pakistan-based printing companies, as well as to customers in Turkey, Germany, Italy, Brazil, India and China. To meet the strong demand for the printer, SPGPrints is increasing its manufacturing capacity at its Kufstein (Austria) facilities.

JAVELIN complements SPGPrints’ PIKE^® digital printer that is capable of printing up to 13 million metres per year. The PIKE’s fixed-array printing bar comprises 43 print heads for single-pass printing in a width of 1850mm.

Comprehensive support in China

With a team of over 30 technical and sales support staff, and extensive ink stockholdings at its Wuxi (Jiangsu Province) facility, SPGPrints is able to offer all its Chinese customers exceptional levels of service at short notice. It can also offer inks without import duty costs, often within of 24 hours.

Jos Notermans, commercial manager digital textiles at SPGPrints, comments:

“Printers in China face high pressure to meet quality expectations on a diverse range of fabrics, and to cut waste. Our technical staff have the expertise to support customers at every stage of the process, so uptime is maximised and exact targets  are hit on the first attempt.”

Expanded NEBULA textile inkjet ink range

SPGPrints’ portfolio of NEBULA inkjet inks for textile applications offer a broad colour gamut, optimised drying and excellent runnability with all digital printers using Kyocera print heads. Developed and manufactured by SPGPrints, the four ink chemistries in the NEBULA range address the widest range of textile applications and fabrics.

• Nebula Sublimation inks, for polyester fabrics, eliminate the need for post-processing by steaming or washing.

• Nebula Reactive HD (high density) inks are for printing on all natural fibres.

• Nebula Acid HD inks have been introduced for Polyamide (PA) Lycra swimwear, luxury silk items, like fashion scarves and neck ties, and wools.

• Nebula Disperse inks, for polyester and blended fabrics, are specially formulated to provide both mist-free production that enables crisp, clean printing, and contamination-free drying. 

Comprehensive Rotary Screen Textile Printing Solutions

SPGPrints maintains its position as the world’s leading rotary screen provider, with more than 50 years of research and innovation. The company offers tailored, high-performance solutions for every stage in the workflow, including complete printing lines, equipment upgrades, electroformed nickel rotary screens and direct laser engraving and exposing systems. 

SPGPrints’ electroformed seamless nickel screens are renowned for their strength, durability, stability at high print speeds, and the potential for high mesh-counts.  The company’s screen programme is suitable for numerous effects and fabrics:

• The 155XT, with its 115 micron thickness, offers improved stability during handling and printing and therefore a better fitting and stripping performance. The high mesh count offers smooth tonal gradations. Its 13 per cent open area is almost 10 per cent larger than that of the standard 155 mesh screen.

• NovaScreen^® screens offer the optimum in print quality and productivity for printing all kinds of fabrics, ranging from cotton, polyester and viscose, to silk, rayon and heavy materials like car upholstery. The high mesh count with streamlined bridges between specially shaped holes maximises paste transfer.

• NovaScreen 135ED, with the largest wall thickness (120 micron), widest hole diameter (88 micron) and largest open area (22 per cent), is ideal for achieving even coverage, especially for blotches. NovaScreen 165ED (115-micron thickness, 19 per cent open area) is suited for the broadest range of applications, including blotches and halftones on knitwear.  Geometric shapes, fine outlines and four-colour printing are best with Nova 195ED (115 micron thickness 16 per cent open area) or Nova 195HD (115 micron thickness, 19 per cent open area). 

SPGPrints will also exhibit its RandomScreen® that supresses moiré effects in halftones. The holes are arranged stochastically, eliminating undesired patterns in printed results. RandomScreen’s 125 mesh’s 79-micron hole-size contributes to paste savings, especially when printing pigment.

smartLEX laser exposing system: top-quality screen imaging

SPGPrints’ smartLEX 7430 laser exposing system contains the company’s unique multi-beam diode technology, that combines long life, high productivity and resolutions of up to 2540dpi. Using an intuitive Smart-GUI, smartLEX 7430 exposes screens between 300mm and 3500mm length, in exposing cycles as short as 12 minutes. 

SPGPrints smartLEX has proven to be the market standard in the competitive textile market, with dozens of new installations in this year only. The machine not only sets the quality standard in the market, but also provides the customers the best value for money.