Inkjet Wholesale News aims to provide updates on the latest significant occurrences in the field of printing. Whether it’s the launch of a new technology or volatility of market prices, we’ll be here to give you the lowdown on what happened, when it happened, and what it means!
TS500P-3200 Super Wide Format Printer Introduced By Mimaki to Tap Into Textile Print Market
Mimaki is expected to present a wide array of printer models at the upcoming FESPA later this year. FESPA is due to be held in Amsterdam, Netherlands in the second week of March this year. Mimaki’s display at the event will focus heavily on the textile printing industry, if company insiders are to be believed. The company has already started releasing a number of printer models aimed at various sectors of the textile printing industry.
For instance, in November last year, we reported on the fact that Mimaki had launched a new direct to textile inkjet printer, TX300P-1800. While that printer model from Mimaki drew a lot of interest from the market because it could handle more than a single type of ink.
Mimaki has continued its tradition of adding something special to all its new printers with the latest model being a super wide format inkjet printer. The new printer model is the TS500P-3200 but the printer is yet to be launched. As per reports, the TS500P-3200 super wide format printer will be launched this month in February.
The new printer model spans 3.2m in width and performs its duties through a roll to roll sublimation process. The TS500P-3200 super wide format printer is also being described as a dedicated transfer paper printer for the textile industry with relevance in printing sectors such as soft signage and home furnishing textiles.
The TS500P-3200 super wide format printer that can print at speeds up to 180 square metres per hour was displayed last year in Milan by Mimaki as a ‘concept machine’. Last November’s tentative display allowed the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to get a sense of response to the machine in the market. Since the response was largely positive, it prompted the OEM to plan a global launch this month.
The TS500P-3200 super wide format printer is perfect for the on demand textile printing industry, which according to many has grown to include home furnishing and interiors from just sportswear and fashion. This is where a super wide format printer like the TS500P-3200 can make a difference.
When asked about the machine’s Unique Selling Point (USP), the National Sales Manager for Textiles and Clothing of Hybrid Services (the distributor of the TS500P-3200), Stephen Woodall, stated that it is unlikely that there is any “standard commercial machine of this width” in the market.
The soon to be launched TS500P-3200 super wide format printer is blessed with 12 different print heads arranged in a configuration of three staggered lines. These print heads in this specific configuration combine to administer ink droplets at high speeds while maintaining the right angle and placement.
Furthermore, Mimaki has incorporated its anti – banding function called the Mimaki Advanced Pass System 4 (MAPS4) into the printer as well. The purpose of MAPS4 is to improve the quality of the print. An Auto Media Feeder (AMF) is also a feature of the new TS500P-3200 super wide format printer. The AMF is newly designed and can handle up to 130 kg of paper.
Various Brand Experts and HP Combine to Produce Book Carrying Case Studies of Digital Printing Applications
Since the big split, HP Inc. has been calmly but swiftly going about its business. In December last year, we explained how HP had filed a number of patents regarding various technological innovations in preparation for an independent life. Last month, we also reported HP’s launch of a series of new wireless DeskJet Ink Advantage printers in the fast emerging Indian market.
Now, HP has become even more creative by tying up with branding experts such as Silas Amos, Jeremy Lindley, and Mark Bonner. Mark Bonner is the former President of D&AD, Jeremy Lindley the current Global Design Director at Diageo, and Silas Amos is an FMCG design expert. The coming together of these marketing experts with HP resulted in the release of an A3 portrait book.
The A3 portrait book titled, ‘Digital Print. A Bigger Spectrum’ is primarily written by Silas but contains key contributions from Lindley and Bonner. The contents of the A3 portrait book revolve around how various businesses in the world have used digital printing in innovative ways various digital printing techniques.
The book showcases all the clever, ingenious, and creative marketing applications of digital printing techniques by way of direct case studies. There are various globally recognisable names in the book with even more interesting applications of digital printing. Some of the names included are the band Hot Chip, the beverage Bud Light, a Japanese newspaper Mainichi, the model agency Storm, and the Scottish soft drink Irn Bru.
The objective of releasing the visually attractive A3 portrait book is obvious. HP wants to make huge brands in the world more aware of the fact that they can use digital printing techniques in many different innovative ways to market their product, services, and brand name.
In fact, HP’s business development manager, Paul Randall, admitted freely that the book is “about direct outreach to brand owners and agencies to drive awareness”. Essentially, the OEM wants digital printing to be used more at that level by huge corporations.
The portrait book, itself, is designed to be as visually attractive as possible carrying multiple sections and subsections, numerous colour schemes, and different types of high quality paper. As a matter of fact, some pages in the book display more than 10 colours at the same time. The portrait book also contains a special page containing artwork created uniquely through HP Mosaic software program.
The printing process of the portrait book was also elaborate involving techniques such as multi hit white and metallics. The portrait book is a limited edition with only 600 units being printed.
Leave a Reply