SPGPrints home deco printers for aesthetics

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.

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 wall-covering 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 wall-covering. 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 minimal 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 wall-covering 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.”

SPGPrints is a global leading company in the textile, label and industrial printing markets. It provides total system solutions, with a portfolio including screens, lacquers, inks, digital engravers, and a broad range of rotary screen and digital printing systems. The company has applied its electroforming expertise to developing both highly reliable rotary screen technology and an extensive program of precision metal products.

Tekboy Tekstil takes 1st step into digital textile production

SPGPrints announced that Tekboy Tekstil, of Istanbul, has installed a JAVELIN® digital printer to supplement production capacity, and meet increased demand for shorter-runs, rapid turnarounds and on-demand sample production. Established in 1981, Tekboy is one of the country’s leading suppliers and has dyeing and printing facilities in Istanbul and Lüleburgaz, where the JAVELIN has been installed. The JAVELIN printer is Tekboy’s first high-volume digital machine investment, complementing a large number of conventional printing lines that have met the company’s output requirements until now.

The JAVELIN printer uses Archer® technology which enables the firing of variable drops (2pL-10pL) to the substrate. The 4 mm distance from print head to substrate eliminates head damage and is ideal for printing the knitted fabrics produced by Tekboy.

The precision of JAVELIN’s ink delivery system provides the repeatable and consistent quality that will enable Tekboy to meet the demand for frequently changing designs with lead-times often measured in weeks. Furthermore, Tekboy can produce samples, usually in 10m lengths, economically and instantly, enabling its customers to speed up product development phases.

JAVELIN’s six-colour (CMYK, Blue and Orange) system can reliably and repeatedly reproduce a wider gamut than any currently available eight-colour system and achieve fine tonal gradations, thanks to the variable dot sizes. Tekboy’s JAVELIN is using reactive inks, developed and manufactured by SPGPrints.

“We had been looking at digital textile printers when we saw the JAVELIN demonstrated live at ITM, in June,” said Süha Artun, Factory Manager at Tekboy. “The JAVELIN’s outstanding quality and productivity were important factors in our investment decision. It is the fastest printer we have seen to achieve a resolution of 1,200 x 1,200 dpi, and we were very impressed with the results when it produced challenging designs such as geometrics and blotches at relatively high speeds. But other important factors put the SPGPrints offering in a league if its own.”

“First of all, SPGPrints had a well-established, comprehensive support network, to help us adopt the technology as smoothly as possible. This included its regional base, SPGPrints Baski Sistemleri Tic., nearby in Istanbul, providing training and fast-response technical help, and staff from the headquarters in the Netherlands offering valuable consultancy, in-depth know-how of the total digital printing production flow, as well as testing facilities.”

“Secondly, SPGPrints develops and manufactures its own inks, including those specially for the JAVELIN. This means we would be dealing with one company for the printer, its service and inks. This one-stop shop offering from SPGPrints is a huge plus for us.”

“Finally, we were impressed by the two-and-a-half-year warranty on the print heads that reduces risk and accelerates the return on investment. The combination of high-performance technology and guidance has enabled us to start offering high value solutions to our customers from the moment of installation.”

Thanks to SPGPrints’ recent investment in an expanded JAVELIN production plant at its Austrian facility, Tekboy has benefited from a fast installation schedule. The machine was delivered at the beginning of September 2016, which is only a few weeks after the final deal agreement was reached. Tom Janssen, Area Sales Manager – Digital Textiles at SPGPrints, said: “It is very exciting to see an important company like Tekboy take its first step into high-volume digital printing with the JAVELIN printer. We look forward to supporting the company at every step to ensure they exploit the full scope of opportunities this technology brings.”