Technology

Japanese technology provider Konica Minolta has been included in 2023’s list of the World’s Top 100 Most Sustainable Corporations, from the Canada-based Corporate Knights. The company has also received a Gold-level recognition medal in this year’s EcoVadis Sustainability Ratings, and the 2023 Sustainable Yearbook by global market intelligence provider S&P Global listed Konica Minolta in the top 5 percent of the most sustainable companies in its industry. Mattia Perri, Inkjet Textile Sales Manager, Konica Minolta, said: “It is the 13th consecutive year Konica Minolta has been named in the sustainability yearbook, which demonstrates our commitment to the environment.”

The company’s ITMA 2023 showcase focused on eco-friendly manufacturing resulted from those achievements. The company demonstrated its new AccurioTex700 solution. Sublimation printers reduce the amount of water and energy consumed in the digital textile printing process.

Many ITMA 2023 visitors are looking for solutions that streamline productivity, reduce lead times and cut costs. To meet this need, Konica Minolta also introduced the Nassenger 8 equipped with its in-line pretreatment technology for direct-to-fabric printing. The equipment minimises maintenance requirements which, the company said, reduces ink and fabric waste.

Perri added: “The entire textile industry is moving towards technologies that are as sustainable as possible. In order to facilitate this revolution, the tools used must be adequate. It is essential to have products that can safeguard the environment, but at the same time avoid lowering the quality standards of the production chain.

“We prioritised modularity when developing our technologies to respond to various needs. This enabled us to cater to all print volumes from small start-ups to more structured, industrial-grade operations.” The digital textile printing industry was once praised for being more sustainable than traditional analogue processes. But, since inkjet textile printing technology became commercially available two decades ago, some critics argue the sector has not done enough to reduce its environmental footprint.

Many commentators highlight ink chemistry as an environmental vulnerability, but Perri believes inks are just one part of a much larger process. “They are very important, but other points in the process can also be worked on. Our technologies, both new and old, aim to reduce water consumption and CO2 emissions along the entire production line,” he said.

Printing efficiencies

Konica Minolta has been emboldened by an uptick in demand for energy efficient technologies following the economic crisis. In response to soaring inflation, print service providers are examining novel techniques to reduce expenditure – many subsequent solutions benefit the environment.

The trade-off between cost, sustainability and performance was once a barrier to the implementation of greener technologies, but Perri believes these issues have been alleviated as a result of research and development and the economic crisis.

“If customers choose our solutions, it is because they want printers that are efficient, reliable and sustainable. More and more businesses are asking us about sustainability, including one of our most important collaborators,” he said.

Sustainability has been a prominent issue for many years. To instigate change, governments turn to legislation, and this has been happening more in recent years.

Perri said Konica Minolta complies with the strictest regulations and the growing demand for sustainable technology, which is not limited to advanced economies but is also coming from developing nations.

“It is not easy to change a long-established process. It can take decades before substantial improvements are achieved across an entire manufacturing industry,” he said.

“The small steps taken years ago are now leading to big environmental wins. Even those technologies that seemed ill-suited to their market segments are coming to fruition. Important steps have been taken and the market is changing, but more can always be done to reduce our environmental impact. We continue to make positive decisions as an industry and, over the next few years, we will realise their benefits.”

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.

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It was an opportunity to showcase our new solutions, discuss your specific needs and celebrate our 15th anniversary. Morgan unveiled its new Automation cutter REX 70 PRO, It’s a Game changer cutter, Ready for the Green Future, Up to 50 percent power saving at ITMA Milan. ITMA was an extraordinary occasion to connect with industry professionals from around the world. We are truly thankful for the engaging conversations, potential collaborations, and new friendships we made during this event. Morgan look forward to keeping this valuable connection alive and continuing to work together to innovate and develop new solutions. Some of the features of the Morgan REX 70 PRO are as under.

Performance:
Max. cutting thickness: 7cm compressed
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Max. positioning acceleration: 10m/ s2
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Effective cutting window width: 180/220 cm

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Average power consumption: <13kW
Installed electrical power: 10kW+22kW
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Max. Blade vibration frequency: 6.000 rpm
Environment temperature: 100 – 400 C
Humidity (at 300 without condensation): < 95%
Blade (thickness x length):2,4 x 8,5 mm
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Operating system: Windows 10

Textile machinery company Klieverik showcased its new Vertex-T solution at ITMA 2023. Vertex-T is a compact calendar for dye-sublimation transfer printing, which can be used for both roll-to-roll and single-piece printing. It was especially developed for Coldenhove’s pigment transfer paper Texcol. Klieverik demonstrated, twice daily, Texcol’s and Vertex-T’s compatibility in colouring all fibre types.

The company is also presented a sustainable calendar concept for the carpet industry. Rob Verver, CEO, Klieverik, said: “We believe the concept is groundbreaking and will change the production of specialized textile products, such as carpets.”

Visitors to Klieverik’s booth were presented with a new experience that promotes the company’s versatile solutions. Klieverik builds machines and production lines for dye-sublimation transfer printing. Its GTC series is used in the production of fashion, home textiles and signage, whereas its LFC series targets the coating and laminating sectors and supports the manufacturing of products for the automotive industry.

Both the GTC and LFC machines were displayed at Klieverik’s booth with a powder scattering device in addition to a multi-functional demo calendar that demonstrated the possibilities of coating and lamination.

Tonello presented its “Laundry (R) Evolution” at ITMA 2023. The company said it has redefined the garment finishing process to address the environmental issues around processing fabric to make jeans – which include heavy water consumption, wasted resources and hazardous additives. It aims to make laundry more agile, integrated, and truly sustainable in a process managed by two machines.

Firstly, the Laser replaces the manual abrasion processes. The selection ranges from the fixed table with a larger surface, (suitable even for alternate productions), to the oblique mannequin for 360° laser effects, and the conveyor belt for non-stop processing.

Then Tonello’s all-in-one system for washing incorporates four technologies into a single machine:

EGO

EGO enables garments to be treated with ozone in both water and air to achieve authentic-looking bleach effects without using hazardous chemicals. It is also said to reduce water consumption by up to 80% over traditional bleaching methods and simplify wastewater purification operations, thus lowering treatment costs.

NoStone

NoStone® is the abrasive drum that achieves authentic stone-washed effects without using pumice stone. It is reusable, installable on all existing Tonello machines, and removable in minutes. It resets the emissions associated with pumice stone supply to zero, generates no dust, sludge, or micro-particles, and saves water because it can skip steps required in traditional stone-washing.

UP

UP is the patented system that consists of a continuous and regular flow of water, injected inside the machine, then recovered and recirculated. This reduces the amount of water needed, while the liquor ratio reaches a low level (LR 1:2). In addition to saving water, this reduces energy consumption, and in filling and draining times.

Core

Core is an automatic system operated by the machine that produces a fine mist inside the basket, resulting in uniform or contrasting effects on the garments. The process is rapid and no special preparations are needed. It is said to reduce the use of water by up to 96% over bath application and enables the use of a wide range of products to optimise consumption.

A patented process called OBleach has been integrated to achieve an authentic bleach effect using ozone and avoiding the use of chlorine and permanganate. Tonello’s team has designed three software programmes to preside over the operation of the technologies.

Firstly, Crea “drives” and powers the system, simplifying operations and making work more creative and flexible. It works in tandem with Tonello’s automatic garment detection system B.O.P., which enables the garment to be placed on the worktable without any particular accuracy or precision on the part of the operator. Tonello machines are then connected with Metro software, which measures the laundry’s authentic consumption, including that of the machines, the garments and the processes. It reports data on water and energy consumption for each individual garment and the carbon footprint of the washing or dyeing process.

Laundry and textile finishing machine manufacturer, Tolkar launched its data processing and visualization system for performance measurement and reporting at ITMA 2023. The Turkey-based firm also demonstrated how it has leveraged the power of ozone technology in its sustainable textile dyeing, stone washing, denim washing and jeans washing products.

Tolkar’s Board Member Ata Karace said: “Here we have received a lot of appreciation for our sustainable production solutions and SMARTEX washing and dyeing machines that reduce natural resource consumption rates by half and our eco-friendly ozone technology products.”

Karace explained that replacing traditional dyeing and washing processes with ozone technology protects water resources, which reduces the environmental footprint of textile production. “Since 2013, Tolkar started to develop ozone gas washing systems in the textile finishing sector, which was initiated in order to consume much less water – the world’s most valuable resource – and to eliminate heavy chemical wastes left to nature.”

Dissolving ozone gas in water shortens the process time and obtains clean water at the end of the process, reducing the water used in textile washing steps. The method also eliminates the need for many heavy chemicals used in finishing processes.

“Thanks to the Smartex PolyRib ECO Drum system, we have managed to reduce water, chemical and energy consumption by half with MIRACLE, which is a first in the world, and we have created a revolution in this field by adding a new one to our technological developments with the production of Gas Heated Washing machines,” he said. Smartex is said to have half the water and consumption values of conventional industrial machines.

“Thanks to Smartex washing models, textile manufacturers can produce products with a low carbon footprint. For example, thanks to the Smart Flow Nano Bubble system, some chemical washes can be done almost without using water and zero waste is achieved,” he explained.

Tolkar’s R&D teams are continuing to develop products that will improve in technological, ecological and economic terms, with the goal of reducing chemical consumption with ozone as much as possible for a better future.

Karace said “Tolkar has established an almost completely unmanned enterprise by controlling all washing, drying, chemical transfer, recipe preparation and reporting from a single centre and providing loading and textile transfers with automatic conveyors.