The 1.8m roll-to-roll machine, the TX300P-1800, will receive its first showing at textile and garment machinery exhibition ITMA 2015, which will take place in Milan, Italy from 12 to 19 November.
“We are mindful of the shift in textile production from both analogue to digital and from centralised to distributed production,” said Mimaki EMEA general marketing manager Mike Horsten.
“We envision a day not too far in the future when consumers will be able to download or create their own patterns rather than being limited to commercially available designs.
“The TX300P-1800, which is available with a variety of ink types and produces very high quality, is ideal for this new distributed model of textile printing.”
The eight-colour inkjet printer features a new printhead that ejects ink droplets at high speed to ensure accurate ink placement with a high head gap.
Mimaki said this makes the machine suitable for printing high-quality images on all types of fabrics, including thicker and textured materials.
The TX300P-1800 is capable of printing up to 68sqm/hr and the device also features stable textile transport that maintains optimum tension.
The machine has a maximum resolution of 1,080dpi with drop sizes ranging from 6pl to 24pl. It is compatible for use with sublimation dye, disperse dye, pigment, reactive dye, and acid dye inks. Sublimation dye inks will be available at the same time as the commercial launch while other inks will follow soon after.
The ink is available in two-litre packs, which Mimaki said enable uninterrupted printing on longer runs.
This is assisted by automatic detection and cleaning of clogged nozzles. The Nozzle Recovery System ensures that good nozzles are used as substitutes when clogged nozzles are not recovered after cleaning.
The TX300P-1800 will be available in the UK and Ireland from December 2015 through exclusive Mimaki distributor Hybrid Services. Pricing for the device has not yet been confirmed.
Mimaki launched the dye-sublimation equivalent of the TX300P-1800, the TS300P-1800, at Fespa in Cologne, Germany in May. The business has also recently launched the UJF-7151plus, a direct-to-shape industrial small-format LED UV inkjet flatbed printer.
