Technology

Zünd focused on the benefits of digital single-ply cutting in modern garment manufacturing at ITMA 2023 in Milan, Italy. They demonstrated why it is the go-to partner for customized, on-demand cutting, and why single-ply cutting of fabrics offers nothing but advantages. Digital technologies are changing the garment industry Manufacturers are dealing with rapidly advancing digitalization along with increasingly short product life cycles by investing in lean and highly automated production workflows. Zünd solutions allow them to rationalize processes from ordering to cutting while minimizing manual interventions.

Digital, automated single-ply cutting is the answer to these new production realities. Zünd’s single-ply cutters are the perfect cutting tools for production-workflow automation, offering manufacturers the flexibility and profitability they so urgently need. Intelligent automation features, optical solutions, and software tools make it easier for them to optimize their resources, monitor material usage, and support

employees, so they can focus on other activities that add greater value to the business. With digital, single-ply cutting technology, manufacturers can increase productivity while expanding their production capacity. With very economical and efficiently scalable on-demand production, manufacturers can easily accept last-minute orders and meet short delivery times. They can handle spikes in demand with ease and confidence.

Zünd cutters combine tremendous versatility in a single machine, giving users access to a completely new level of flexibility in their production workflow. They can process demanding textiles, complicated patterns, and diverse shapes without any difficulty. Zünd’s cutting technology allows the garment industry to produce customized, made-to-measure clothing in small batches and on demand just as economically and efficiently as large quantities. It enables processing and handling multiple orders more quickly while simultaneously saving both time and material with highly efficient nesting capabilities. Combining this technology with MindCut production software and the superior precision of single-ply cutting leads to almost zero waste. Parts can be nested very tightly and close to the edges of the material, which generates considerable savings but also helps reduce the environmental footprint.

Kornit Digital Ltd, a market leader in sustainable, on-demand digital fashion and textile production technologies, showcased the Kornit Apollo platform at ITMA 2023 in Milan, Italy—offering quality in high-throughput digital production at scale. The company also introduced the Kornit Atlas MAX PLUS system for decorated apparel. These transformations were held live for the first time at ITMA Milan.

The new Kornit Atlas MAX PLUS system now incorporates smart curing, flexible pallet sizing, and autonomous calibration for the highest quality, consistency, and productivity, Kornit said.

Enabling digital production to go mainstream, Apollo allows customers to become more agile, drive revenue opportunities, shift to localised production, and ease complex workflow processes. It offers large-capacity and high-quality-driven players the opportunity to adopt digital versatility and a quick time to market—expanding beyond screen printing to achieve vertical or horizontal expansion and robust business opportunities based on current operational models.

The Apollo platform is built on field-proven and industry leading Kornit MAX technology and is the most comprehensive, streamlined single-step solution for nearshore short- and medium-run apparel decoration. Empowering customers to sidestep the hazards of complex supply chains, it also offers unmatched speed and agility in digital decoration—designed from the ground up to decorate 400 unique garments per hour.

Automated loading and unloading, integrated smart curing, and inline garment type adjustment yield higher output and reduced labour for optimised profitability.

The platform helps fulfiller and brand supply chain managers gain ultimate visibility into their production—ensuring consistency and operational control across multiple systems and locations. This pairs with on-demand production strategies to continuously fulfil orders of multiple sizes, strengthen supply chains, and shorten fulfilment times. The solution fulfils the promise for brands to never run out of bestsellers and end backlogs of marked-down inventories.

The new Atlas MAX PLUS system takes Kornit’s proven Atlas MAX platform to the next level, bringing increased productivity of 150 garments per hour. With integrated smart curing, rapid size shifter pallets, and autonomous calibration, the offering takes smart production capabilities a step forward introducing production flexibility, consistency, and the highest quality available.

Another product that was displayed at ITMA 2023 was the Kornit Atlas MAX POLY, transforming professional and recreational sportswear, teamwear, and licensed gear to inject new life into apparel with superior design freedom leveraging Kornit’s MAX platform. The Atlas MAX POLY is the most efficient specialty system for polyester decoration, covering also blends, triblends, and other synthetic fabric combinations. The solution delivers colourful and vibrant prints using innovative neon inks while supplying retail-grade quality and durability.

The Kornit technology ecosystem is led by an unmatched number of patents for its innovative processes and inks for wet-on-wet fabric and garment decoration. The company continues to advance these innovations across applications, systems, and chemistry. Kornit owns approximately 79 issued patents within the US and other countries, with approximately another 80 provisional or pending US and non-US patent applications, added the release.

“These technologies offer a unique way forward for businesses to potentially expand into new markets and realistically adopt shortrun, made-to-order apparel. More recent advancements such as Kornit Apollo are true engines of this transformation, empowering decorators to re-think how they’ll do business. These advancements will only continue to propel digital technology to the forefront of preferred apparel decoration methods,” said Johnny Shell, Principal Analyst at Keypoint Intelligence.

“The fashion and textile industry has remained at a crossroads—aware of its limitations but lacking a clear solution for moving from wasteful, inefficient production models,” said Ronen Samuel, Chief Executive Officer at Kornit Digital. “Offering a true platform for agile, high throughput digital production on demand, Apollo transforms what apparel producers and brands can do. It empowers them to meet the creative inspirations and ever-changing demands of a global community with capabilities to fulfil those expectations, with quality, consistency, sustainability, and the necessary profitability to scale no matter what unforeseen trends await.”

Aeoon Technologies was founded in the hometown of Angelo Schiestl, Schwaz in Tirol – CEO and founder. His philosophy to treat all employees, distributors, clients and partners like family has created strong, successful and life-long partnerships. It is of utmost importance to Aeoon Technologies to be known for building the best DTG equipment in the world, offer second to none service and support and build strong and long-lasting rapport with their new and current family members. Aeoon Technologies showcased its wide range of technologies: Hybrid 3.0 series, Compact & Compact PLUS Series on booth H7-E305 at ITMA Milan 2023.

Hybrid 3.0 Series – For demand-oriented textile printing

Let your creativity unfold! The Aeoon Hybrid 3.0 printer combines DTG and screen-printing in one machine. With the whole process in one printer, you get all the advantages of both printing techniques.
· Cost savings per print for multicolor designs
· Creating special effects and textures
· Ideal for single or smaller jobs
· Printing without pre-treatment
· Printing on garments that have low cotton content

Compact & Compact PLUS Series – For versatile digital printing production
· High-end print quality
· Low printing costs with high output
· Kyocera industrial print heads
· Easy connection to an automated production workflow
· Smarttouch central control unit
· Huge selection of pallets
· Little space required
· PLUS highlight: integrated heat presses

Textile printing technology pioneer Epson announced the revolutionary Monna Lisa ML-16000/Hy that can uniquely digitally create any type of special effect on fabric. The hybrid printer has been developed to reproduce the most sophisticated effects for modern printed fabrics with gold, silver, and glossy tints.

The continuously evolving textile market requires increasingly sustainable and efficient solutions in order to deliver unique results and low-impact productivity. The Monna Lisa ML-16000/Hy is the ideal printer for companies that need to optimise the production of complex prints and offer the market more creativity.

With the latest portfolio addition, the Monna Lisa series – already known for its print quality, ink optimisation, extreme flexibility, and sustainability – can reproduce special effects on any fabric without requiring any subsequent steps. These range from glossy lacquer through to gold and silver metal and opaque white.

The combination of the Monna Lisa ML-16000/Hy’s 8 colour inkset, 16 PrecisionCore printheads and 64 nozzles, finally enables the digital printing of special effects, previously the exclusive preserve of conventional screen or cylinder printing.

Its Genesta water-based inks guarantee colour accuracy and resistance in fabric prints, while pastes developed and produced by Epson Como Printing Technologies create the special effects.

PrecisionCore printhead technology guarantees the exceptional quality for which Epson is renowned while delivering the high speeds necessary for commercial and industrial printing. At the heart of this technology is the MicroTFP next-generation printing chip. PrecisionCore technology perfectly embodies Epson’s goal of delivering unrivalled levels of value and performance to the widest possible customer base.

The Monna Lisa ML-16000/Hy is proof of how Epson’s research and development team always has its eyes on the future. With the latest evolution of the Monna Lisa series, and the ability to produce 100% of printing effects with digital technology, the needs of several markets – from fashion to home textiles, swimwear to sportswear – can be met at the same time.

“At Epson, we know how crucial it is to respond quickly to a market in perpetual motion,” commented Paolo Crespi, Commercial Director of Epson Como Printing Technologies. “Today, with the Monna Lisa ML-16000/Hy, we have reached a new milestone and completed a journey that began 20 years ago with the birth of the Monna Lisa project: the coverage of 100% of printing requirements with digital technology.”

He further added: “In order to facilitate the work of our customers, our primary goal is to ensure the maximum flexibility of our solutions. All the printers in the Monna Lisa series allow us to organise and combine our printing processes in the best way, extremely quickly, and with as little waste as possible of resources. Shorter processes, fast response times to market demands, and extreme versatility have therefore always been core qualities of the Epson product range.”

Monna Lisa ML-16000/Hy – Main features:

· Printheads: 16 Epson PrecisionCore printheads. PrecisionCore printing technology is the evolution of Epson’s proprietary Micro Piezo printing technology. The next-generation MicroTFP print chip combines quality, precision and speed
· Nozzles: 64 nozzles
· Resolution: up to 1200 dpi
· Width: 180 cm
· Ink colours: 8 Genesta colours accompanied by special pastes
· Special effects: glossy lacquer, metallic gold and silver, glue for metallic foil, opaque white
· Ink types: Genesta inks and special pastes developed and produced by Epson. Genesta’s water-based inks guarantee superb quality on any type of fabric
· Fabrics supported: all
· Epson at ITMA 2023. Creativity and innovation: a bridge to sustainability

All the benefits of Epson’s Monna Lisa series were presented during the ITMA, the world’s most important exhibition for textile machines, in Milan from 8 to 14 June.

Mimaki USA, a leading manufacturer of wide-format inkjet printers and cutters, introduces two revolutionary technologies in textile printing while at ITMA 2023: a Textile Pigment Transfer Printing System and the Neo-Chromato Process. These innovations are showcased for the first time, and ahead of commercial availability, at the exhibition in Milan, Italy, solidifying Mimaki’s leadership in sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions for the textile printing industry.

A Better Way to Print: Textile Pigment Transfer Printing System
Hearing a demand for more sustainable and environmentally friendly ways to print, Mimaki has developed a Textile Pigment Transfer Printing System. Traditional methods of dyeing natural fibers with dye and pigment produce nearly 2 billion tons of wastewater, accounting for almost 20% of all industrial wastewater.* This water contains chemical substances generated from pre and post-dying processes worldwide. In addition to this negative environmental impact, large-scale dying facilities are responsible for high CO2 emissions from their production and the overseas transportation which is usually required.

Mimaki’s Textile Pigment Transfer Printing System uses nearly zero water for printing and significantly reduces CO2 emissions due to its on-site capabilities and small-scale structure (Figures 1 and 2). This smaller system makes it more affordable than conventional textile dye printing methods (Figure 3). It allows small-scale textile production to be done outside major textile-producing countries, reducing CO2 emissions attributed to overseas transportation.

The Textile Pigment Transfer Printing System comprises three parts: Textile Pigment Ink, Textile Transfer paper, and Transfer System. The textile pigment ink is currently undergoing bluesign® certification, with an anticipated approval in September 2023.

Evaluations are currently being conducted on the compatibility of these elements with the fiber materials needed for apparel, home goods textiles, and soft-signage applications. Mimaki plans to officially launch The Textile Pigment Transfer Printing System in fall 2023.

Reducing Waste with Reused Textiles
Another debut at ITMA 2023 is Mimaki’s unique Neo-Chromato Process, revolutionizing the reuse of colored polyester textiles. By removing the color from polyester textiles that have been dyed using dye sublimation technologies, this innovative process allows materials to be re-printed or dyed immediately, contributing to a smaller environmental footprint. There is no limit to how often reused polyester can be treated with the Neo-Chromato Process, which minimizes water usage and pollution.

Colored polyester textiles typically have short-term uses for products like banners, backlit signs, and tablecloths. These applications, along with fast fashion apparel and sportswear made of colored polyester, frequently find themselves incinerated after use, while only a small portion is recycled. According to our research, polyester textiles account for approximately 60% of the 92 million tons of wasted textiles worldwide. The Neo-Chromato Process eliminates the need for incineration and recycling by reusing these polyester textiles, making it a sustainable technology for the textile industry.

These two announcements align with Mimaki’s commitment to bringing new innovations to the print market that are sustainable and minimize environmental impact. Listening to customers’ needs worldwide, we feel that it is our responsibility to actively collaborate with industry patterns to explore the full potential of these new technologies.

ITMA 2023, the world’s leading trade fair for textile machinery, taking place in Milan, is once again marked by a significant presence of VDMA member companies. The 110 exhibiting VDMA members cover nearly all different machinery chapters with a focus on spinning, nonwovens, weaving, knitting, warp knitting, braiding and finishing. They are part of a strong German presence with a total of around 200 German exhibitors – including non-machine manufacturers – on approx. 17,700 square metres, covering 15% of total space.

How are leading VDMA members contributing to the transformation of the global textile industry? On the occasion of the VDMA press conference at ITMA, themed “Transforming the World of Textiles: efficient – digital – circular”, five renowned VDMA member companies presented their innovative solutions on sustainability, circular economy, digitalisation, efficiency enhancement and resource saving.

André Wissenberg, Chairman of the exhibition and marketing committee of VDMA Textile Machinery and Vice President, marketing, corporate communications and public affairs at Oerlikon Polymer Processing Solutions Division, presented a world premiere at ITMA in form of the EvoSteam process. This process enables, for example, annual water savings of up to 10 million litres. With regard to digitalisation, he highlighted Oerlikon’s digital Ecosytems, a solution to provide real time alerts, condition monitoring, machine learning, predictive maintenance and to steer all plant shopfloor operations. Wissenberg stated: “At Oerlikon, we contribute with our innovative technologies shown at the ITMA Milan 2023 for resource-saving use in almost all manmade fiber spinning mills in the world. Our promise for the future is to continue to expand the zero-waste production approach, being more efficient, digital and circular, and thus take care of achieving our customers’ and our own sustainability goals.”

Dr. Uwe Rondé, member of the Board of VDMA Textile Machinery and CEO of Saurer Group, emphasised the efforts of Saurer to dress the world sustainably by offering spinning and twisting solutions for yarns made of mechanically recycled or chemically regenerated fibres. At the press conference Dr. Rondé said: “Saurer has driven the transformation of the textile industry for more than 170 years. We support the textile industry in the areas of sustainability, digitalisation, and automation. As a trendsetter we anticipated early the need for processing short fibres. Today we already have a portfolio optimised to spin and twist recycled or regenerated yarns.”

Wolfgang Schöffl, Lindauer Dornier, head of the product line weaving machines and member of the extended management stated: “The challenges of the textile industry are driving the machinery building industry to new dimensions to fulfill very much related targets such as a constant increase in productivity, quality, innovation in a very dynamic and fast changing environment with regard to digitalisation and at the same time to secure the highest good, the life of human being and to preserve our natural habitat. These are the targets to whom Dornier is very much committed for now over 70 years, serving successfully our customers all around the world.”

Dr. Janpeter Horn, Chairman of the VDMA Textile Machinery Association and managing director of August Herzog Maschinenfabrik, showed that textile machines are enablers of CO2-neutral energy production. “Herzog, as the worldwide market and technology leader for braiding, winding and rewinding equipment, is at the forefront of transforming the textile world efficiently, digitally as well as circularly for braided applications. More than just developing braiding and winding technology taking this transformation into account, Herzog also enables the development of braided products which are needed for a circular, CO2-free economy such as extra-long and strong ropes replacing steel-wire strength-members for wind energy and deep sea exploration”, he said.

How circularity is addressed in the dyeing process, explained Verena Thies, vice-chairperson of VDMA Textile Machinery and managing shareholder of company Thies. She highlighted the Signature Series of Thies that enables an advanced after treatment process: “Thies is opening a new chapter in fabric coloration: Signature’s innovative ultra-low liquor ratio significantly enhances dye effectiveness, resulting in up to 20% decrease in dyestuff consumption. By combining Thies’ cutting-edge advancements, water usage is minimized by 52%.”

Digital Networking Demonstrator

The digital networking of machines paves the way for a variety of possible applications, such as a central overview of the status of all machines, order management and the exchange of process information. At the press conference, Dr. Harald Weber, managing director of VDMA Textile Machinery, presented a web-based demonstrator for digital networking of machines using the OPC UA standard. Standardised interfaces facilitate the integration of different devices. In a first project, the VDMA Textile Machinery has developed the interface specification called OPC UA for Textile Testing Devices. At ITMA, devices from exhibiting companies, among them the VDMA member Textechno, will use this specification to send live data to a demonstrator.

Investment in the future

ITMA is traditionally an event for junior engineers. With financial support of VDMA and under the guidance of their lecturers, 320 students from nine technical universities take the chance to see high tech live in Milan. “Our financial support in the amount of €95,000 is an investment in the future of our industry. Highly qualified engineers are the precondition to develop marketable technologies for the textile industry”, said Dr. Weber.