Boxmeer, Netherlands - At Heimtextil 2017, SPGPrints presented the quality, fast time-to-market and cost-saving advantages of its digital inkjet technologies for varied home textile applications. Visitors were enthusiastic about the new 3200mm-wide JAVELIN^® inkjet printer for bedlinen, curtains and upholstery that debuted at the show. There was also significant interest in the new 700mm-wide PIKE^® Decor printer, a digital solution for furniture and panel laminate applications. Also welcomed were high-quality conventional printing innovations, particularly the collection of SpecialScreen^® screens for creating aesthetically and sensually appealing wallcovering effects.

In common with SPGPrints’ machine solutions for apparel applications, both the 3200mm JAVELIN and the PIKE Decor printers feature the company’s unique Archer^® technology for precise delivery of ink. With nozzles 5mm from the substrate, a wider range of substrates can be run, with minimal chance of print head damage. The JAVELIN printer operates in scanning mode with an array of 36 Fujifilm Dimatix Samba print heads jetting ink in variable drop sizes (2pL-10pL) at resolutions of up to 1200 x 1200dpi. Thanks to its capability of delivering small drop sizes of highly concentrated inks, Archer technology combines very smooth gradations with a wider colour gamut than the HD-gamut of other digital textile printing solutions using only six colours.

Jos Notermans, commercial manager digital textiles at SPGPrints, comments: “Heimtextil was the ideal occasion to introduce our wider version of the JAVELIN inkjet printer. In home deco markets, we are seeing the same trends towards customisation, demands for shorter lead-times, and more frequent design changes – just like in fashion, where these trends have been a catalyst for printing digitally. Visitors saw for themselves how the JAVELIN digital textile printer, with its maximum 600 m²/hour output speed and fine-tuned inks, provided the perfect platform for addressing these demands, thanks especially to its repeatable high quality and flexibility. Live demonstrations showed precision when printing blotches, geometrics, fine lines and smooth gradations.”

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. JAVELIN can use reactive, acid or disperse inks manufactured by SPGPrints for optimum performance of the printer on different fabrics.  

Other benefits of the new JAVELIN include its stability for printing large quantities, and efficiency for samples and test-runs. Manufacturers recognised the printer’s potential to accelerate time-to-market and bring about end-to-end supply chain cost-reductions.

Home deco beyond textiles

SPGPrints also unveiled details of the new 700mm-wide PIKE700 Decor digital inkjet printer for laminates, which employs the same Archer technology as the PIKE printer for textiles and the JAVELIN printers. The PIKE700 Decor printer for laminates uses a central impression cylinder with up to ten colours to apply graphic images, textures and protective coatings to laminates. These can be used to create a wide variety of effects including - among others - stone, wood, brick and ceramic tiles, to enable maximum creativity, cost-effectively. A wide range of protective coatings may be applied for gloss, matt, satin and silk effects, enhancing the printed images. Textures may also be added to create additional verisimilitude to furniture and other surfaces.

The PIKE printer delivers the digital advantages of cost-effective short runs, fast changeovers, minimal waste, fast time-to-market, streamlined logistics, reduced stock-holding and warehousing.   

Rotary screen printing remains an essential process for producing relief effects, especially for wallcovering. For this market, SPGPrints presented its SpecialScreen range of nickel rotary screens that combine high mesh-count with a large hole size, enabling fine and detailed printing with large paste particles, without risk of blockage. Samples showed how the SpecialScreen excelled at reproducing smooth tonal gradations, fine outline printing, as well as puff, tactile, glitter and reflective effects that offer enhanced aesthetic and sensual appeal.

The SpecialScreen programme, like all SPGPrints’ screens, offers high strength, durability, stability at high print speeds and the potential for high mesh-counts, thanks to their electroformed-nickel composition. 

SPGPrints also unveiled its new inline embossing calender unit, for applying three-dimentional effects to PVC-coated substrates with mimal waste of material and time. Perfect embossing register with the printed design is achieved within 30 metres of the start of production and maintained throughout the run. In addition, the calender is designed for fast setup times. Embossing rollers can be exchanged within four minutes, and synchronised for production without technical expertise, thanks to a fully automatic positioning system.

Bas Hoijtink, commercial manager industrial applications, SPGPrints comments: “We received much interest from wallcovering manufacturers from all over the world, especially South and East Asia, Turkey and Iran. They were captivated by the creative possibilities and quality assurance offered by the SpecialScreen range in combination with the bestLEN laser engraver. And, with the addition of the embossing calender to the machine programme, they saw in SPGPrints a partner capable of providing a lean, productive manufacturing solution at every step in the workflow.”