Textile printer manufacturer Mtex used FESPA 2017 last week to present three new digital direct-to-textile printers, the Dragon, the Scorpion and the Eagle. The 1.9m-wide Dragon is a roll-to-roll machine and uses eight heads. It runs in four or eight colours and prints at a maximum speed of 137sqm/hr. It is aimed at the sign, display graphics and interior décor market.
The 1.9m-wide Scorpion is roll-to-roll machine with an adhesive belt option for stretched or knitted fabrics. It is available with either 16 or 32 heads, running at maximum speeds of up to 550sqm/hr, and is aimed at the high-end fashion market. The 3.2m-wide Eagle roll-to-roll printer is also available with the adhesive belt option and runs at a maximum speed of up to 543sqm/hr. It is aimed at the display graphics and home textiles market.
The Scorpion is available with acid/pigment or reactive ink dyes while the Eagle uses disperse or pigment inks. All three printers run at a maximum resolution of 1,440dpi and have variable drop sizes of 3-24pl. Miguel Ferreira, sales director for Mtex and New Solution, said that the use of the different kinds of ink is what is so important about the machines.
“These are the new machines, with new technology and the innovation is that you can use different kinds of pigments. So for sign and display you would use disperse or for home textile you would use reactive pigment. We are truly at the next wave of digital textile technology innovation. At Mtex, we have invested millions in manufacturing and R&D facilities so we now manufacture everything in house from the humble nut and bolt to the complete machines you see here today,” Ferreira said.
“We have invested in Steel cutting, Steel Machining, CNC Routing, Robotic Painting, Production Control, Quality Control, Hardware Assembly, Equipment Testing and more. Now we have total control over the design, production, manufacturing and testing processes, enabling us to develop cutting edge products that, once again, set the standards of the digital textile print industry. We are delighted to announce these products at FESPA this year and welcome both, existing and new customers to visit our booth and find out for themselves just how cost effective these new machines are with our unbeatable ink prices,” Ferreira added.
New Solution also used FESPA 2017 to launch its new packaging machine, the NS Multi, which Ferreira said is important in that it can produce lower quantity runs of packaging jobs. It is mainly intended for the customised box market. The five-colour (CMYKK) NS Multi prints at a maximum speed of 300mm/sec at a maximum resolution of 1,600 dpi. It has a maximum web width of 1.1m and has an additional lamination module, which laminates hot and cold at up to 18m/min.
