Inkjet printer maker DGI showcased at ITMA 2023 following its recent acquisition of its Korean counterpart d.gen.
Both DGI and d.gen are leaders companies in the digital textile printer market, and over the years they have developed a diverse range of printing technologies.
DGI says the relationship between the two companies will transition from competition to collaboration.
d.gen has strengths in the pigment and soft signage markets, while DGI holds a high share of the high-speed direct and transfer equipment sector. d.gen has a competitive sales network in Europe, while DGI has a strong foothold in the United States, Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Both brands are now based in DGI’s existing headquarters in Yangju City, Korea. The DGI and d.gen names will also remain unchanged and the existing business relationship will continue. DGI displayed its APOLLON Direct-To-Textile Printer in Hall 7. The printer was introduced using pigment inks which DGI recognizes as a high growth segment of the industry. This is because the inks don’t require fabric pre-treatments which remove energy and water intensive steps from the printing processes.
DGI said APOLLON is a premium product that enables precise high-speed productivity and enhanced printing stability. It also improves user convenience and offers a combination of high-speed and high-quality production.
The machine is equipped with 16 Kyocera print heads and achieves a top speed of 335sqm/h. It also utilises a magnetic linear motor system to ensure high-speed precision. The implementation of linear motors and scales increases productivity and mechanical precision. It especially enhances print quality when compared with belt-type systems.
APOLLON is also equipped with a collision sensor which prevents costly print head damage, a wrinkle detection sensor to mitigate print head scraping and a carriage dust discharge service to remove dust from the print carriage.
DGI said a high-capacity ink supply system for high-speed production is another advantage of this equipment. It can print up to eight colours and has an ink capacity of 10 litres per colour. There is also an optional pigment dedicated dryer, which is a compact, high-speed hot-air drying system that can control temperatures up to 120oC.
d.gen
Despite the acquisition, d.gen is still developing technology for the digital textile printing industry and demonstrated its new pre-treatment Color Boosting Solution (CBS). Re-treatments are commonly applied using industrial coating machines but with CBS the pre-treatment is jetted directly onto the fabric during the fabric printing process. The CBS liquid is both colourless and odourless and will be applied before the inks are jetted. CBS can be applied again after the inks to further enhance the print quality.
The technology has been designed with pigment printing in mind and saved cost and time, according to d.gen.
CBS is compatible with d.gen’s OMNI series, which includes ATRIX OMNI PRO, TELEIOS OMNI PRO and TELEIOS GRANDE OMNI.
