At Fespa in Amsterdam on 12-14 May, Screen’s growing commitment towards environmental trends will be demonstrated with its large-format, high quality Truepress Jet2500UV showing its capabilities as a textile printer which complements its versatility to output onto most roll-fed and rigid materials. Using the company’s own flexible UV-curable ink technology, display producers can now print direct to textiles for a wide variety of durable soft signs, banners and flags without having to resort to traditional two-stage dye sublimation processes.
The Truepress Jet2500UV uses Screen’s flexible UV-curable inks and drop-on-demand variable dot piezo-electric grayscale printheads to make it suitable for producing applications on virtually all roll-fed and sheet materials. To meet the growing demand for textile-based displays, these inks have been formulated with the correct levels of flexibility to make them ideal for printing direct onto fabrics without the need for machine modifications.
The precision achieved from the 6 picolitre droplets, in combination with the elasticity in the ink’s technology and the correct strength of UV curing, results in strong adhesion with no flaking and cracking. Typical speeds of 34 square m/hour enable the Truepress Jet2500UV to compete favourably with dedicated textile print on demand systems. Colours are strong and vibrant and there is no need for special pre- or post-treatment of the materials.
Because of the drive throughout industry to use greener criteria where possible, producing display applications onto polyester-based material is becoming increasingly popular because of its recyclable properties. Polyester fabrics also benefit from being resistant to creasing, lighter and more portable than many traditional flexible alternatives, saving costs on logistics and deliveries as well as simplifying many installations.
At Fespa, the Truepress Jet2500UV has produced all the banners on the Screen stand, printed at 900 dpi direct onto 2.5m wide polyester banners. This demonstrates not only the convenience of being able to produce applications in one step but also shows the cost and time benefits gained by printing direct when compared with traditional two-stage sublimation where additional calendering or a heat press is essential.
The Truepress Jet2500UV is a truly versatile performer and, as well as textiles, it can print direct to other flexible and rigid materials, with fast and simple change-over between flat-bed and roll-fed configurations. It has a maximum print width of 2.5 m wide and handles substrates thicknesses of up to 5 cm and rolls up to 100 m in length. There is a maximum production speed of up to 67.5 square m/hour, a choice of output resolutions up to 1500 dpi, and its six-colour ink-set of CMYKLcLm can be enhanced with the addition of a white option.
Screen believes that, by adding digital textile production to the existing capabilities of the Truepress Jet2500UV, this feature will appeal to users who want to benefit from being able to utilise a single wide-format printer for all types of application. The printer ships with the Screen edition Wasatch SoftRIP TX Gold which includes Screen’s own screening algorithm for accurate, consistent output on all materials.
