Technology

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.

The Brother GTX600 direct-to-garment printer has been further refined. GTX 600, built for industrial level performance, has been expanded to include orange and green for even more colors and more vibrancy. You can see the machine with new colours in action at ITMA 2023.

Two extra tanks and two extra print heads come with the extension of orange and green ink. Because of the additional inks, the color gamut that can be realized with the printer is increased. More detailed results are achieved as more depth and a wider color spectrum can be visualized. Due to the expansion, the best possible color dynamics can be reached.

The GTX600 is built for mass production at an industrial level, with features you can rely on 100%. That is the reason why the GTX600 Extra Colors has been further developed.

To meet the different needs of the customers, the printer has plates in different sizes to handle a wide range of textiles and creative possibilities. The up to 24-inch printing plates are easy and quick to change. The printer can automatically adjust the plate height to create
an optimum distance between print heads and textile.

The Brother-made six staggered industrial print heads with internal cooling fans ensure continuous printing operation. Due to the staggered arrangement of the print heads, white ink is printed first, followed by orange and green, with CMYK as the top layer. The inks are filtered and degassed to guarantee optimum print quality up to 1200 dpi. In addition, the built-in air filter always ensures perfect working conditions, even in difficult environments and large production halls.

Sustainability is an important issue and at Brother we want to do our part by offering solutions that have less impact on the environment. Our water-based innobella inks are Oeko-Tex Pass and GOTS certified and come in 9l tanks with less packaging material. The built-in ink mist filter ensures a safe working environment for the operator. Thanks to Brother’s 15 years of experience in direct-to-garment printing, they are able to constantly develop the machines and create the most optimal solution for the customers, with a focus on environment-friendly printing.

Italian printer and ink manufacturers MS Printing Solutions and JK Group presented the new Digistar Pigment 4K ink at ITMA 2023. The patent-pending formula doesn’t require pre- or post-treatments and therefore removes 50% of steps from the digital textile printing process.

MS Printing Solutions and JK Group are both part of Dover Corporation. Demonstrated JK Group’s new pigment ink using MS’s completely re-engineered JP7 multi-pass printer. It is designed to print pigment inks with the aim of reducing water and energy consumption.

A new dryer is also displayed at the combined booth. MS Printing Solutions says the machine is capable of “drying and polymerising on the fly” and “guarantees perfect use conditions, superior control and a reduction in C02 emissions”.

Moreover, System Plus is new management software that integrates calibration, printing software and ink for improved colour management which assures, according to the companies, a 20% improvement in colour yield.

MS Printing Solutions unveiled the MS LaRio at ITMA 2011 in Barcelona, – it was the first commercially available digital singlepass textile printer. Twelve years on, the company is marking the start of a new era for single-pass printing. It combines the versatility of a scanning machine with the speed and automation of a single-pass printer. MS Printing Solutions says it is “a true revolution of the single-pass concept”, which has been designed with the environment in mind.

The innovation will be equipped with a new AI system; it is still under development but was demonstrated at the companies’ joint booth. MS Printing Solutions says the integrated software will improve print quality and increase output.

The machinery provider is also revolutionising its JP4 printer. It is going to be equipped with innovative solutions, but these have yet to become commercially available. They are, however, being showcased in the printer OEMs R&D corner. This feature consists of new electronics, print heads, power systems and much more.

MS Printing Solutions also presented additions to its highly productive multi-pass Mini Lario printer. The solution was the company’s signature launch at ITMA 2019 and, four years later, 20 machines have been sold worldwide. The printer has now been upgraded to improve reliability and, during demonstrations on the show floor, it was printing with Digistar Reactive Back-in-Box (BIB) inks.

ColorJet is the India’s largest manufacturer of Digital Inkjet Printer. Colorjet is globally reputed for its deep commitment to Technological Innovation, Strong Outreach & Service Infrastructure and Complete Customer Focus to maintain its leadership position. In ITMA Milan 2023, ColorJet launched its Earth Series and also displayed Metro NEXT and Subli Xpress Plus.

The EARTH SERIES is a great combination of sustainability, quality, performance, speed, and natural resource conservation.It is the best printing solution for businesses with an intent to invest in sustainable and performance-oriented Digital Textile Printing solutions. ColorJet Earth Solution offers a clean future for the environment. ColorJet specialized Pigment Ink with binder offers greener solution by way of eliminating process in digital textile printing. Polymerization at 160-degree after printing provides excellent color fastness and print quality with exceptional production capacity of 2500 linear meter/day.

ColorJet EARTH pigment inks deliver excellent fastness properties and high printability sharpness. Designed to leverage ColorJet EARTH digital printers’ market-proven industrial performance capabilities, these eco-friendly water-based inks provide extraordinary print durability and yield longer print head life with low maintenance costs. These high-performance digital pigment inks work on an innovative binder technology for fast, sustainable, and cost-competitive industrial textile printing on the most extensive range of fabrics. In addition, ColorJet-tailored preparations will grant superior print definition, colour intensity, and incomparable wet and dry fastness. Apart from this Metro NEXT and Subli Xpress were also on display

Metro NEXT – High Speed , High Quality Direct to Fabric Digital Textile Printer

Latest high-performance machine, the METRO NXT, has a great production capability of up to 9,000 sqm/day, considerably reducing the pressure associated with long industrial production runs in a short time. It comes with upto 32 Industrial Grade Kyocera Print Heads and delivers sharp quality output using ColorJet recommended inks available in the configuration of 8 Colors options.

Other Features are:
· Efficient ink supply system: Sufficient ink supply to prevent ink starvation while printing at high-speed
· Linear motor: For precise ink jetting at high speeds & smooth carriage movement
· Modular feeding system: To incorporate large size rolls for continuous printing
· 5 stages water efficient belt cleaning system: For easy belt wash & Jet cleaning, with no blockage due to lint or dust
· Head crash protective system: To help protect the head from any obstruction during carriage movement
· Gold plated metal encoder: More precise ink jetting even at high speeds results in precision printing
· On demand capping & wiping system using HMI screen: To keep inks from drying in the print head & remove debris

Subli Xpress – High Speed Sublimation Printer

SubliXpress is a high-speed sublimation printer and a game-changer in the business of industrial sublimation printing machine. This dye-sublimation printer is India’s fastest ROI 1.6 m sublimation printer. Equipped with up to 4 industrial-quality Kyocera print-heads, it prints variable ink-jetting intensities between 4-72 PL. The polyester fabric printing machine offers the capacity of 4000 sq. m/day. It enables the textile print businesses to obtain high volume output with a single high-speed sublimation printer. Its industrial feed and take-up system supports diameter roll of up to 400 mm. This sublimation paper transfer printer comes with an advanced ink degassing system to eliminate any kind of bubbles inside the ink giving the print a smooth finish. Low power consumption is one of the advantages of the dye-sublimation printer making it an eco-friendly polyester fabric printing machine. SubliXpress, the high-grade industrial sublimation printing machine comes with infrared dryers for instant drying. This high-speed sublimation printer comes preloaded with advanced Colorjet edition of the RIP software with colour management engine and colour processing tools. It offers fabric specific ICC profile for smooth gradations and vibrant colours for superior print quality.

Aleph, a leading Italian manufacturer of sublimation and direct-to-fabric inkjet printers, launched its new printers at ITMA Milan 2023 along with new feature-rich products engineered to enhance customer differentiation and profitability. In line with ITMA 2023’s tagline, ‘Transforming the World of Textiles’, Aleph showcased how the company’s advanced technologies enable users to enhance their product portfolio and address new and promising market segments, as well as their They also contribute to improving the ecological footprint and make a positive difference.

Through continuous R&D investments and efforts, Aleph has established a comprehensive portfolio offering that addresses the ever-changing market demands and actual needs of print service providers. Making its worldwide debut at ITMA was the brand-new LAFORTE 400 Fabric H, a hybrid model that enables fabric pre-treatment in line. The printer is equipped with additional specialized printheads engineered to carry out pre-treatment of fabric just prior to actual printing. This enables the highest speed of 480 sqm/h to be achieved and easy to handle three-stage processing. The printer uses aleph’ GOTS certified pigment inks for better stability.

Aleph also highlighted the company’s top-of-the-range solution, the LAFORTE 600 Paper, which is the fastest industrial printer on the sublimation fashion market, achieving industrial speeds of up to 1,000 sqm/h. The printer is equipped with the company’s ECO Passport by OEKO-TEX® certified sublimation inks and powerful proprietary vacuum transport system that eliminates the use of glue, while also enabling it to print on sublimation paper from 25 gsm. In addition, the latest model showcased at ITMA was feature 4 reflective colors + 2 reflective light colors, resulting in a superior quality, increased efficiency and cost-effective printing process on polyester fabrics for sustainable fashion and home textile applications.

Standout technology on show also included the LAFORTE 100 paper, a roll-to-roll water-based dye-sublimation printer with fluorescent inks. The printer had a maximum speed of 160 sqm/h in high-quality mode and dual channel printhead for each color, allowing for even better performance. The latest version features ECO Passport by OEKO-TEX® Level 3 certified water-based sublimation inks, CMYK + spot colors and fluorescent dye-sublimation inks. The LAFORTE 100 paper can handle paper weighing less than 18gsm coated paper and is designed to enable high quality, efficient, cost effective and green production in the sportswear and apparel markets.

“We exhibit at ITMA with a comprehensive, smart portfolio of cutting edge technologies, enabled by some of Aleph’s core business strengths – our R&D expertise, our closeness to customers and our commitment to the environment. We have a strong focus on the market and this allows us to adapt quickly to market changes and customer opportunities to deliver continuous system improvements or brand-new innovations,” says Alessandro Manes, CEO of Aleph.

“Visitors to our booth in Milan got to experience firsthand the superior performance of our LAFORTE printing platform, which can deliver top print quality in a cost-effective manner while at the same time offering superior application flexibility.”