Mimaki Engineering Co. Ltd. has released a hybrid inkjet printer for the textile and apparel markets which can load simultaneously two different types of inks (textile pigment and sublimation dye ink), and can print with only one printer directly on materials such as cotton, bast fibers and polyester.
This completely new technology is available on the Tx300P-1800 without belt and Tx300P-1800B with belt, direct-on-textile printers, and requires no usage of water in the post-treatment process; depending on the type of fabrics, steaming and washing may be required.
The Tx300P-1800 and Tx300P-1800B are specifically designed to address the needs in the textile and apparel industries for cost-effective short-run printing of fabrics for products or samples.
To meet a wide range of requirements for printing directly on fabrics, Mimaki offers five different ink types: sublimation dye ink, dispersion dye ink, textile pigment ink, reactive dye ink and acid dye ink. Textile pigment ink (TP400) for cotton and bast fiber fabrics and sublimation dye ink (Sb420) for polyester fabrics require no steaming or washing in the post-treatment process, and thus there is no need for large installation space, huge quantities of water or special knowledge. A printer, color fixing equipment and relatively small installation place will be sufficient, making these entry level printers suitable for designers, fabric workshops and education and research institutions.
The TP400 and Sb420 were developed, as short run printing requires printing on various fabrics and using different types of inks, and as the budget and installation space are limited for designers, fabric workshops and education and research institutions.