Boxmeer, Netherlands – SPGPrints reports multiple sales of its JAVELIN® digital inkjet textile printer and strong demand for high-mesh screens at October’s ITMA Asia.

Shown at the event for the first time in China, JAVELIN attracted crowds to the stand which also featured SPGPrints’ latest technologies for rotary screen printing.

Among the orders received for JAVELIN printers were ones from commission printer HighSun Textiles based in Zhejiang, Shandong Ruyi Technology Group (Shandong), and Haining Longzhou Printing and Dyeing Company Ltd of Haining.

SPGPrints’ JAVELIN printer was designed to produce up to two million metres per year, providing a versatile complementary capability for companies that already have digital production, or for textile printers taking the first step into digital. These sales reflect both those markets.

HighSun Textiles is a supplier of cotton fabrics for domestic women’s high fashion brands. High Sun has been a long-time rotary screen customer of SPGPrints whom it sees as an R&D-focused partner that has proven to deliver improvements in their printing workflow over many years. SPGPrints’ approach to innovation was therefore one important reason for the JAVELIN investment, which also represents the company’s first step into digital production. Other reasons that High Sun chose the JAVELIN included its sustainable characteristics with low substrate, energy and ink waste, a complete range of proprietary inks, as well as the print qualities and performance of the printer.

For Shandong Ruyi and Haining Longzhou, it was a matter of finding the best solution for upgrading its existing digital printing technology. Faced with demands for more design complexity, the companies were impressed by JAVELIN’s wide colour gamut and its ability to print fine lines, big blotches and sharp geometrics on nylon and cotton jersey fabrics. Ruyi has already been using SPGPrints’ reactive inks on existing digital printing equipment.

In all the sales, SPGPrints Archer® technology that is at the heart of the JAVELIN printer, played a critical role. Archer technology can jet ink up to 4mm, giving JAVELIN unparalleled flexibility in the range of substrates in can print. Archer technology is also featured on SPGPrints’ PIKE digital printer that has a 13 million metre annual capacity.

Attracting big brands

“Among the visitors to our very busy ITMA Asia stand were international brand-owners who were interested in learning what digital textile printing might mean for them,” said Jon Li, Managing Director, SPGPrints Wuxi. “The brand-owners were particularly interested in sustainability and what contribution digital printing made. With new standards for greener processes in China, the savings of water, chemicals, and reduced textile waste was extremely important to them.

“Our systems attracted interest from beyond China: from Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia. Potential customers will be visiting our Demo Center in Boxmeer for printing tests on their fabrics and designs using JAVELIN and PIKE printers.”

A strong screen scene, too

SPGPrints’ recent rotary screen and digital prepress innovations are ensuring that analogue textile manufacturers are capable of meeting the demand for fine and complex impressions, productively.

At SPGPrints’ ITMA Asia stand, manufacturers from across Asia were especially impressed with the company’s NovaScreen^® screens that combine a high mesh-count with streamlined bridges to maximise paste transfer. These are able to produce half-tones, geometric designs and blotches, and perfectly replicate the woven effect sought after by women’s fashion houses.

The smartLEX 7043 direct laser exposing system, attracted interest from manufacturers in Turkey, Egypt and Iran, as well as China, thanks to its throughput and capability to image screens suitable for the complex printing situations. The system is exposes screens up to 3500mm with resolutions up to 2540dpi in cycles as short as 12 minutes.