George Benglopoulos, Polyprint CEO, described PreTreater Pro as simple to use and “designed to offer consistent pre-treatment every time, on every t-shirt.”

The new machine features four application nozzles and has a spray area of 410x600mm, making it suitable for a wide range of t-shirts. It has a programmable rather than just flood coat, with a minimum linear area of 100x10mm and a non-consecutive minimum grid area of 150x100mm.

According to the Greek manufacturer precoating is critical for dark garments to ensure inks don’t soak into the garment and appear faded, and also improves the vibrancy of images and washability on light garments.

It works by the precoat solution filling the gaps between the fabric weave in the print area, reducing ink bleed.

The operator can programme in the desired coat area via the intuitive seven inch GUI or the ‘scan to spray’ barcode feature. The precoat liquid volume can also be in 1ml increments from 14-40ml to minimise trialing and running costs.

Once the required area is coated with the water-based pretreatment liquid it can be dried on either a heatpress, an oven or a conveyor dryer at 160 degrees celsius for approximately 30 seconds.

“Repeatability and consistency are the key to successful production runs. Its auto re-circulation system ensures liquid homogeneity and prevents sedimentation, prolonging liquid life span,” said Grigoris Gavrilidis, Polyprint head of research & development.

“Additionally, an anti-corrosion isolation chamber (box-in-a-box design) ensures that mist is contained, protecting mechanical and electronical parts, thus prolonging the machines lifespan.”

The PreTreater Pro is available through UK distributor Amaya Sales UK and has a manufacturer’s list price of €4,750 (£4,250).