The French supplier, which is exhibiting at the RAI exhibition centre in Amsterdam on stand S79 in hall 7 until the end of the show later today (15 October), is demonstrating the new Chinese-manufactured N4060 printer at the event.

Commercially available now, it was first shown in public at an exhibition in Belgium around a month ago.

Promattex said the key benefits of the roll-fed CMYK plus white machine include digital printing quality with the resistance of screen printing, print-on-demand capability, easy application on a wide variety of substrates, excellent washing resistance, and the ability to print up to 560mm-wide.

Once a file is printed onto a transfer using the N4060, the ink is then covered with a powdered glue deposited by the sprinkler tunnel dryer supplied with the machine. Excess glue is removed automatically in the tunnel. The transfer is then applied onto items such as textiles and luggage using a heat press, without any loss of colour whether they are light or dark.

Speaking to Printweek at Fespa, a spokesman for Promattex said that while the company also sells direct-to-garment (DTG) machines, “we think DTF printing is the future”.

“DTF has no pre-treatment and is compatible with more types of textiles. We’ve had a lot of interest in this at Fespa,” he added.

Pricing is around €20,000 (£17,000) for the N4060 printer and dryer. Promattex sells machinery in France, Belgium, and Spain but said it would sell direct to interested UK businesses.

See the recent Printweek briefing here for more information and analysis on the growing DTF and DTG markets.