What does it do?
It’s a high-throughput, fully automated digital direct-to-garment printing system that can output up to 400 impressions per hour, cured and ready to despatch. Each can be a one-off, or part of a long run. It’s intended for volume production of shirts or hoodies (with or without pockets) and variations, where each image can be unique and it can instantly switch from handling white to coloured materials.
This is a big system, with a 14.8x5.6m footprint, yet only one operator is needed. All running costs, including the machine, installation and consumables, are covered by a single click rate based on a yearly estimate of sales.
When was it launched and what markets is it aimed at?
Kornit has been developing DTG printers since it was founded in Israel in 2004, and it developed the first digital white inks for dark textiles. Apollo is its largest and fastest model so far, able to handle volumes up to a million garments per year. It was launched in ITMA 2023 in Milan, Italy, and output garments were featured on Kornit’s stand at Drupa – visitors were also invited to see one of the large lines in action at Kornit’s European HQ in a nearby factory unit in Düsseldorf.
According to Moran Levy, director of Kornit’s Mass Production Segment: “This is an industrial solution, meant to complement a fleet of analogue carousels.” The Apollo’s speed is about the same as an average carousel, and the concept is that in a high-throughput environment, Apollo can take care of one-offs and runs of up to a few thousand, alongside conventional screen print carousels that can handle the long runs of thousands of identical garments.
“Apollo can fit a range of markets, from retail through promotional and licensing, thanks to the ability to match Pantone and spot colours, with on-demand production,” says Levy.
The speed means it can replace multiple “legacy” DTG digital or analogue printers.
How does it work?
This is an inkjet printing system that can print six colours (CMYK, red and green), plus white as a base layer on dark fabrics, an ‘intensifier’ and a fixer. The inkjet system is Kornit’s MAX technology, previously used on its high-volume Atlas MAX and Atlas Poly printers, which are slower and have less automation.
It uses Kornit’s Eco Rapid, NeoPigment water-based inks. Kornit says all its inks are designed to meet the highest environmental standards as well as consumption reductions. Eco Rapid ink is certified to stricter regulations and is compliant with GOTS and OEKO Passport certified, and BlueSign System Partner.
The ink is suited to a wide range of fabric types, but is optimised for cotton and cotton- rich blends. Kornit cites suitable fabrics as cotton, polyester, cotton-polyester blends, Lycra/Spandex, rayon/viscose, silk, leather, denim, linen, wool, “and more.” No offline pre-treatment is required – all of Kornit’s solutions use its ‘wet-on-wet’ technology with all processes handled internally.
The ‘smart production’ sequence is entirely automatic and all the operator needs do is manually load each garment at the start. A blank garment is scanned for size and other “relevant details”. Based on this, the pallet will change its size automatically. The operator picks up the blank and hands it on to the semi-automatic loader, which stretches it onto the shaped pallet that keeps it flat throughout printing. There are two printing stations. Pre-treatment is applied, with the amount of fixation fluid customised for the specific garment, and the white layer is printed if needed for darkest garments. Then the colour print is applied in the second station. Each shirt travels through both printing stations, so productivity is the same for white and dark shirts.
The automatic unloader removes the shirt from the pallet and places it on one lane of the dryer’s conveyor belt. Smart curing will adjust according to garment and cure in a two-step process. The inline dryer uses technology developed by Tesoma, a company Kornit acquired some years ago, with a hybrid curing system that mixes IR and hot air (from a gas heater), said to use 50% less energy than conventional dryers.
Finally the completed garment is transported by belt to a delivery bin at the end, where it can be picked out for folding and packing.
The embedded front-end is Kornit’s own K-Rip, which takes PDF files and automatically identifies the necessary workflow. Levy says this enables mass customisation, offering “unparalleled colour accuracy to meet the needs of brands and retailers”.
Does it replace anything?
No, Apollo is an all-new system in the Kornit range, with more speed and automation. Kornit claims it is unique in the market.
What’s the USP?
According to Kornit, it’s a combination of “ground-breaking productivity” with a single operator, thanks to semi-automatic loading, fully automatic printing with transfer to Tesoma-based smart curing and delivery. It incorporates Qualiset tech for colour technology, and it can reproduce Pantone values and other brand colours.
How easy is it to use/learn?
Levy says: “Apollo makes the training short and easy, since our smart production takes care of all of the technical knowhow that is needed to operate the system. The operator can focus on loading and nothing more, making the training process and ramp-up very quick. We offer full training packages that bring your team up to speed with all of the technical tools that are needed to run the system on a daily basis. The process takes two to four weeks, and includes all operation, applications and maintenance.”
What does it cost?
At Kornit’s Drupa press conference, CEO Ronen Samuel said: “Apollo would cost $1.8m (£1.4m), plus ink and service contract. But instead we offer all-SaaS models for clicks, which includes the machine. This frees up capital, so clients only pay for clicks, ie sold jobs.”
While Kornit isn’t saying what the cost-per-garment will be, this does seem an attractive way to get into the DTG market without major outlay. Probably many one-off orders will come from web-to-print, with payment received in advance.
Are there any installations?
Sales and installations have started, with the first two going to Mad Engine Global and T-Shirt Central in the US. There has been one sale in the UK to an undisclosed site.
SPECIFICATIONS
Process Inkjet with Dimatix StarFire 1024 Twinflex printheads, plus inline curing
Colours CMYK plus red, green, white and primers
Ink Water-based Kornit Eco Rapid NeoPigment
Max resolution 1,200dpi
Garment types Shirts and hoodies (with or without pockets)
Fabric types Cotton, polyester, cotton-polyester blends, Lycra/Spandex, rayon/viscose, silk, leather, denim, linen, wool
Max print area 508x508mm with size shifting for larger garments
Throughput Up to 400 typical shirts/hour
Footprint 5.6x14.8m
Price All covered by click rate determined by predicted volumes
Contact Kornit www.kornit.com moran.levy@kornit.com
ALTERNATIVES
Kornit claims that the speed and all-in-one automation of the Apollo is unique in the market, and we haven’t found anything else that’s a direct competitor. Other high-volume solutions include Brother’s POD offering, but this comprises a battery of separate small GTX Pro B garment printers with separate pre-treatment stations, grouped next to multiple lane configurations of the standalone Firefly curing systems. This allows throughput of up to 380 shirts per hour with nine printers and a three-lane Firefly, but it needs three operators with manual loading and unloading of each printer and transfer to the Firefly lanes.
Contact Brother garmentprinter.global.brother/en-emea
USER REVIEW
“Apollo is proving particularly valuable for both retail and screen printing segments, to shorten lead times and improve margins for short-to-medium run production. Retailers can react in real-time to new consumptions and trends and also dramatically streamline inventory requirements and costs. Screen printers can shorten lead times to days and even hours” Mad Engine Global, San Diego, California
