Inkjet & Digital Printing
New H8 printing head and flat bed printing machine by Printos at Fespa Digital Printing Europe 2008 exhibition
Friday 09. May 2008 - Printos is manufacturer/distributor of a new range of DOD, digital, solenoid, valve jet printing/coating heads and micro valves which are designed to coat/print/dye most substrates using a wide range of fluids .
The company is part of Videojet Technologies, a world leading manufacturer of coding, printing and laser marking products, fluids, and accessories for the product identification industry. At the exhibition Fespa Digital Printing Europe 2008 Printos will be showing the new H8 Digital Printing Head.
The H8 head is equipped with 8 Printos P16 solenoid, valve jet printing modules and can operate in scanning mode or fixed array configuration.
In scanning mode the H8 will lay down a 64 mm wide band of pre- or post coating fluid, ink or other fluid, solvent or water based, in one scan.
The high flow characteristic of the H8 head allows for working onto higher pile textiles, but also onto substrates requiring solvent based fluids.
Due to fine drop size control of the H8 head through the software, precise amounts of the fluid, relative to the weight of the product, can be evenly applied.
“The new H8 electronics will enable the print head to deliver higher levels of reliability and flexibility demanded by todays commercial and industrial textile printers ” says Stewart Wiltshire, Printos General Manager.
The Printos H8 head is aimed at OEMs who need to integrate a complete printing or coating solution into a machine. To this end, Printos also supplies an entire data path and software solution. Printos can also supply direct to end users for appropriate applications.
At Fespa exhibition Printos will also be showing log mat printing on the Soltex/Printos 1.8 meter wide flat bed printing machine, using the Printos T8 sample printer with 8 color digital printing heads.
With a print resolution of 50 DPI and production speed up to 14 m2/hr, the Soltex/Printos solution is unrivalled in the industry.
Unique is the process color printing principle (CMYK) used on all Soltex/Printos printing machines, fully controlled by RIP software developed by Printos partner G.I.S of Cambridge.
Due to the small amount of ink which is applied to the logo mat/rug or fur, in comparison to large volumes applied by systems currently available, the Printos solution is very economical and due to the lower Ph value of the ink, excellent fixation to the yarn is achieved.
A 2.5 meter wide flat bed printing machine for printing logo mats, rugs and furs, based on 8 x Printos H8 printing heads, 50 DPI, printing speed up to 40m2/hr is in the final stages of development. This solution will, by far, outperform anything available on the market today.
Another strong feature which Printos will be demonstrating is the P16 digital printing technology. P16 is a highly innovative and unique technology which employs ‘high flow’ micro valve-jets, particularly well suited for printing onto “wide web”- medium and heavier weight textiles including flags, banners, upholstery, automotive and
carpets using spot, – process and solvent based colours. Colour density and deep textiles penetration rivals screen printing. The high flow capabilities of our digital ink jet technology also make them suitable for handling many other fluids, i.e. pre-and post coatings, i.e. UV coatings, fire retardants, water repellents, anti static fluids and also micro capsules, but are also suitable in a range of other applications i.e pharma (dosing), ceramics etc. The patented P16 technology, unlike the commonly known Piezo technology, is designed to coat, dye or print onto mid- heavy weight textiles, such as carpets and carpet tiles, upholstery materials, floor mats, towels etc.
The Printos P16 print heads are also well suited for printing onto wide web banners for outside use, using solvent or UV based inks.
Its “high flow” capability allows for larger volumes of ink/fluid to be applied through its 16 nozzles, varying from 45, 60, 100 to 160 micron orifice size. Air pressure up to 3 Bar facilitates penetration into the pile of the materials.
Drop volumes range from 2.0 Nl to 200 Nl (Nanoliter), a thousand times larger than Piezo print heads who work in the range of 4 to15 Pl (Picoliter)
The P16 can jet a wide range of inks, coating and UV fluids, not only onto textiles but also ceramics. Due to the mostly stainless steel construction of the heads and the larger drop volumes, the P16 can work with mostly low cost inks with particles ranging up to 15 micron, making the P16 economical to operate.
This feature will be demonstrated in the printing onto wide web outdoor banners, with solvent or water based inks. At 50 DPI and at unique printing speeds up to 1000 sqmeters/hr depending on the number of H8 printing heads, can be obtained, giving excellent results for outdoor use.
Furthermore, Printos will show digital printing onto carpet tiles whereby printing of commercial texts, or texts pointing the observer in a direction within a building, is featured.