P&P LIVE! 2017 review Oh what a show!
If you have any doubts about the state of the garment decoration industry then you should have paid a visit to the NEC in Birmingham at the end of February. If you had then you would have seen not only a busy, vibrant Printwear & Promotion LIVE! but also a host of new products.
Our P&P machinery specialist reports on these technological innovations. B
these came from. I will look at three specific sectors of garment decoration embroidery, direct to garment and screen printing. So, letʼs start with direct to garment.
ecause of economy of space I am going to take you through only some of the highlights. What I can say though is that there is plenty more where
Direct to garment printing As usual this area of the industry did not disappoint with some interesting innovations on show. On the Amaya Sales UK stand, the company was showing the latest incarnations of the Texjet machines. The Texjet Shortee is a very small-footprint machine with a big print area. Capable of printing A3+ this lightweight mini machine is ideal for those with limited space. The larger Texjet Echo is a revamped model of this established machine and nicely complements its smaller sibling. Both machines have pressurised ink feed and can use refillable cartridges. On the Resolute DTG stand the new R-Jet 6 machine was being demonstrated. This model uses industrial piezo print heads and can deliver high quality prints at amazing speed. The headline figure that was being used at the show was two black T shirts in less than 1.5 minutes. The R6 though also has another trick up its sleeve as it can double up as a screen making machine making it worth consideration in a combined screen print/ DTG environment. According to Resolute this is not a reworked machine but rather a newly developed model built from its brand new chassis upwards. On the Your Embroidery Services Ltd stand, the company was showing the latest introduction into the DTG Digital M Series range, the M3. The M Series was developed to bridge that gap between small and bulk orders removing the need to have two separate models. These models also benefit from bespoke
hardware and firmware such as iQ Interweave which allows low-res printing without the banding issue. Your Embroidery Services Ltd also had on show the new EZ-Treat Pro which semi automates the pre-treatment process necessary when printing onto coloured T shirts. Apart from the machines already mentioned Adelco was showing the latest addition to the Kornit range, the Storm Hexa and Sanco Technology was showing the Aeoon machine. Both of these models are large high production models capable of very high productivity figures. The Aeoon, for instance, boasts between 800 and 1,280 white T shirts per hour dependant on model. Some models even offer 4x CMYK heads and 8x white. The Storm Hexa from Adelco, as its name suggests has not four but six colours (CMYKRG) plus white. A large footprint machines this is clearly aimed at bulk production although, Adelco was keen to point out that it still easily handles small orders. For printing coloured shirts this model has built in pre-treat.
Embroidery On the AJS Embroidery Services stand, the TMBU-SU1401 single head machine was being launched at the show and boasted motorised presser feet, which saves time as the foot only moves vertically as much as it needs to, and a hydraulic table used to support bulky items on this free arm machine. It was also producing high quality lettering down to, can you believe it, 2.5mm. It also made use of the new laser cross hair which fires directly down onto the garment and not at an angle. Another of the machines on the AJS stand was equipped with the SEIT laser system. Apart from the usual use of cutting applique this can also be used as a fabric laser engraver to create designs in its own right. The image shows three ways of producing the same design but with vastly different time spans from 1.5 hours down to 6.5 minutes. What was noticeable at the show was the amount of larger multi-head machines on offer and one of these the TMARV-C1512 was being shown by AJS. Running at 1100spm this drop table machine carried many features including easy threading and motorised presser feet. GS UK was showing for the first time the new addition to the Merlin range, the Merlin Pro 1502. Put simply this is a two head version of the established single head machine. On these models you now get the latest hi-res screen which, apart from being more rugged, is bigger than many screens seen on this type of machine. Interestingly the screen is separate from the control unit and can therefore easily be detached and changed Among the many innovations on the Stocks stand there were
Kornit’s Storm Hexa | 28 | April 2017
two that really stood out – the Racer 1XL and the hot air cutting system. The Racer 1XL bridge machine is the first ever 24 needle embroidery machine. With this level of flexibility with colours and an embroidery area of 650x700mm the possible uses for this machine seem endless especially when you add in one of the thinnest tubular arms around. There are a number of optional extras you can add to this and other ZSK machines such as a cording device or a boring device but the most unusual of these optional extras is the hot air cutting device. This is used, as with all cutting devices, for cutting applique but uses hot air instead of a needle or laser. Beside cutting textiles it can also be used as an engraving system for fabrics such as fleece.
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