Mimaki, a leading global manufacturer of wide-format inkjet printers and cutting plotters for the sign/graphics, textile/apparel and industrial markets, will launch its super-wide-format TS500P-3200 Inkjet Printer next month. This 3.2-metre-wide, roll-to-roll sublimation inkjet printer is a dedicated transfer paper printer for the textile industry and is ideal for a broad range of applications, while specifically targeting home furnishing textiles and indoor soft signage.
“On-demand inkjet printing systems are increasingly being used for clothing production instead of conventional analogue systems because of their ability to quickly provide high-mix, low-volume printing,” said Mike Horsten, General Manager Marketing EMEA at Mimaki Europe. “It started with the fashion industry putting the benefits of on-demand digital printing to good use for tailored and variable print quantities. We see the trend expanding now to interior decoration and home styling. Moreover, the change is not limited just to the production method, but also to production location. Production sites get shifted from low-cost remote locations to urban areas closer to consumers. We believe this trend will extend to the production of extra-wide textiles for home furnishings – from curtains to upholstery and bed linens. Personalization and delayed delivery do not mix well.”
The super-wide-format Mimaki TS500P-3200 Inkjet Printer, ideal for printing on such fabrics, features a new type of printhead that delivers high-speed printing at 180 m2/h. There are 12 printheads arrayed in three staggered lines that eject ink droplets at high speed to maintain the appropriate ink droplet angle to ensure accurate drop placement with a high head gap. This guarantees high quality printing results on low-cost, thin-transfer papers, said Mimaki. Its Advanced Pass System 4 anti-banding function smooths the swath boundaries with reduced numbers of droplets. In addition, the newly designed Auto Media Feeder (AMF) allows stable transfer paper feeding at the high-speed setting in order to maintain print quality. Its environmentally friendly output does not emit volatile organic compounds after printing and helps reduce CO2 emissions during transportation because it’s lightweight and foldable.
- 3.2m-super-wide printable width is practical for sublimation transfer printing on extra-wide fabrics for curtains, bed linens and other home furnishings.
- Printing speed of 180m2/h for high productivity.
- New printhead and feeding mechanism ensure high speed and quality printing.
- AMF is capable of feeding media up to 130kg and can maintain stable feeding to achieve high-quality printing.
- Cockling-reduction transfer mechanism supports high-speed production on wide papers.
- High performance RIP software TxLink3 Lite that specifies the ink volume per colour, produces large seamless patterns from a single image, including repeat and mirror patterns.
Uninterrupted printing is aided by the Nozzle Check Unit (NCU) that automatically detects and cleans clogged nozzles – while the Nozzle Recovery System (NRS) uses only good nozzles as substitutes when the clogged nozzles are not recovered after cleaning. Large ink containers in the external ink supply unit support continuous printing.