So, it was serendipitous that Agfa sprung a surprise at the show with the spruced-up Jeti Aquajet 3324, which proved to be the star attraction on its stand.The Aquajet isn’t new; Gandi, which Agfa bought out of administration at the end of last year, had already launched the machine, which, as the ‘aqua’ bit of the name suggests, uses water-based inks, and was always designed as a direct-to-textile printer. However, Agfa decided to look at ways to improve the machine and settled on switching the inks used, plumping for DuPont’s Artistri water-based disperse dye inks, which it sells under the Aquajet Pro brand.
At first, this might seem a strange turn of events for Agfa, which at heart is a consumables firm. Five years ago, at the last Fespa in Munich, it hitched its future to inkjet, and in particular inks. However, inkjet vice-president Richard Barham says the firm’s focus is on UV-cured inks, so when it needs an alternative technology it’s natural for it to look for a best-in-class partner such as DuPont.
"The difference between the two inks is huge," says Agfa UK inkjet product manager Steve Collins about the Artistri inks compared to the previous product.
Specifically, the new inks are far stronger, with rich deep blacks and saturated colours, to the point where the machine can be considered for backlit work.
Disperse dye inks differ from the more common dye sublimation inks in that they are printed directly onto the fabric, rather than needing to be printed on to transfer paper, which is then pressed under heat with the fabric to transfer the ink by sublimation – that is it turns from a solid to a gas and penetrates the fabric’s fibres. The problems with dye-sub is that the transfer paper has a silicon coating to prevent it sticking, which means it can’t be recycled. Also, as a two-step process, it adds extra time and handling.
Disperse dyes need treating to make them light- and colour-fast, but this is a simple heating step and, in the case of the Aquajet, the unit is fitted inline to the machine, so what you get off the take-up roll is ready for use. To further improve productivity, there are also three heat slitters, which can be used to split and seal the edges of the 3.2m-wide roll into up to four narrower reels.
Agfa sees the primary applications for the Aquajet as soft signage and displays, flags and fabric banners – primarily high-quality indoor work, although Collins says the increasingly popular teardrop flags fluttering away outside a retailer near you right now are also ideal products.
"We see it as very much for the display market, although, that said, a number of home furnishing and wallcovering printers are interested," says Collins.
And, although there is a move in outdoor advertising towards high-definition one-piece 48- and 96-sheet posters, some of which are being produced on woven polyethylene, Collins doesn’t see the Aquajet as being right for that market, which he says is all about flat-out speed and low cost-per-m2.
The sector that it is going into is industrial fabric production. With a maximum speed of 60m2/hr along with 40m2/hr and 25m2/hr modes it’s relatively nippy compared with rivals that are effectively scaled up wide-format machines. At Fespa, the machine was working at the intermediate 40m2/hr speed producing very bright and rich results. Collins says the production speed will vary depending on the job.
"Speed is down to the application, and I suspect for the fastest speed you may sacrifice some colour gamut. At Fespa, we were printing two materials, a very white woven polyester and a thin flag. It may be possible to run faster on the heavier fabrics."
Materials that can be printed on the Aquajet must contain at least 50% polyester, but aside from that stipulation the range of media and the mix of other fibres is broad.
Ink is delivered by a set of 24 Dimatix Spectra printheads, producing a 50pl drop. With six channels (CMYK plus light cyan and light magenta), there are four heads per channel.
That configuration is the same as the Jeti UV Galaxy UV-cured roll-to-roll machine, although the same 3.3m roll-to-roll chassis is also available in solvent versions and as the high-speed (240m2/hr) UV-cured JetSpeed.
Agfa says that, since it first showed the revised Jetis in the UK for the first time at Sign UK in April, they have attracted a lot of interest.
"Gandi had a limited market in the UK and was somewhat low-key," he says. "There was a lack of continuity, but with Agfa’s acquisition we’ve sorted out the service and support."
So far, a number of firms have shown interest in the higher quality Galaxy UV machine, which he believes is due to Agfa’s UK customer base being more quality- than volume-oriented, unlike the rest of Europe. Agfa is in the throes of updating its wide-format demo centre in Mortsel, including moving the Gandi machines from Gandi’s former European HQ in Mechelen, Belgium, to house its wide-format range from the Anapurna’s through the Jeti’s under one roof.
The Aquajet sits in the upper-middle part of the direct-to-textile printer market. Above it sits Durst’s Rhotex 320 with a slightly faster maximum throughput and choice of higher resolution and more colours, while beneath it sit the Mutoh Viper TX and the Mimaki JV5 320DS, with the wild card being the HP Scitex LX 800, which is the biggest of its industrial machines to use its latex ink. It’s not directly comparable, but can output onto a range of fabrics. It’s also worth checking out how some of the UV-cured machines handle textiles. Some, such as Screen’s Truepress Jet2500, use flexible inks, which avoid both the cracking and crazing caused by brittleness, and the tendency to make the fabric stiff and difficult to fold. This may provide a more versatile option, or even extend the products produced by an existing machine.
One of the issues for direct-to-textile printing is whether you opt for an inline fixation/calendaring system or standalone. Agfa and Mutoh have both opted for inline, while Durst argues that it’s a compromise as printing and calendaring run at different speeds for optimal results, so you’re better off separating the two.
This may prove to be the clincher for anyone looking at a dedicated fabric machine. If the Aquajet’s configuration delivers the necessary quality and durability, it will be difficult for those running a two-step process to compete.
