Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd. announced the launch of Rimslow Series pre- and post-processing equipment for digital textile printing.
The system comprises a new pre-treatment unit, two steamers and one washer, and will be newly added to its product lineup this October. These products are from the Australian company Rimslow Global Pty. Ltd., which Mimaki acquired last November.
Inkjet textile printing involves the following four processes:
- Pre-treatment: Preventing ink bleeding by applying a treatment agent to the fabric,
- Printing: Printing with an inkjet printer,
- Steaming: Fixing the printed ink onto the fabric, and
- Washing: Washing off extra ink and treatment agent from the fabric.
Textile digital printing currently requires the purchasing of printers and pre- and post- processing equipment from different manufacturers.
The production conditions depending on the fabric, ink and production location will be one of the important factors that control the finished quality (print penetration, image quality, color density and dyeing property), and fixing up those conditions require considerable cost, time and knowledge.
By providing a pre-treatment unit, printer, steamer and washer as a complete system, Mimaki can offer total solutions including equipment, recommended production conditions and knowhow, and it would be easier for customers to newly enter the digital printing business and in-house production.
Direct sublimation printing currently requires the purchase of pre-treated fabrics, but the Rimslow Series pre-treatment unit can realize in-house pre-treatment process.
The unification of all required equipment into the Mimaki product lineup will minimize machine downtime, thus saving both time and money, as everything from initial consultation to production troubleshooting can be handled by the company.
Mimaki also introduced the Mimaki Job Controller TA software for realization of the three functions of production condition management, production condition reading by barcode scanning and visualization of production database with the use of the network connection of Rimslow products and printers.