Mimaki has announced a new addition to its family of digital textile inkjet printers.
The Tx500-1800B delivers high speed, high quality digital printing on a wide range of textiles, including cotton, silk, hemp and rayon. The new printer joins the TS500-1800 and Tx500-1800DS to round out the company’s broad textile printing portfolio.
“We continue to improve and expand our textile printing capabilities based on customer feedback,” said Mike Horsten, General Manager Marketing EMEA for Mimaki Europe. “With the Tx500-1800B, we have again raised the bar in terms of the cost, quality and flexibility metrics for high quality small lot printing of textiles, even when using stretchy fabrics.”
Key features that differentiate the Mimaki Tx500-1800B include: 
• A specially designed conveyor belt that feeds fabric without tension, enabling high quality printing on elastic materials, even with unattended operation.
• Print speed 1.6 times greater than conventional Mimaki textile printing products at 60 square meters per hour and 600x450 dpi.
• Plateless on-demand printing in up to 8 colors with fast delivery of small lot manufacturing for improved time to market.
• A variable dot function that delivers rich gradation without banding and accurate printing of fine lines for added value in the final product for fashion design.
• Various ink types that support a wide range of materials to meet the diverse needs of the textile and apparel industries. This includes reactive dye ink (Rc300), sublimation dye ink (Sb300), acid dye ink and pigment ink. Acid dye and pigment inks will be available in the near future. Ink is available in 2-litre ink bottles for reduced ink costs.
• Automatic process for cleaning and drying the conveyor belt between or during projects to ensure that media is protected from staining or dampness.
“We believe that the Tx500-1800B will speed up the gradually growing transition to digital printing in the worlds of textiles and apparel,” Horsten added. “Fashion designers and others in the industry will be able to produce vibrant small lot products on unique materials that were not readily available for digital printing in the past. This includes cotton, silk, hemp and rayon, all popular fabrics in the world of fashion design. Our dedication to eco-friendly printing is also demonstrated with this new textile printer, which uses less ink and water and results in less waste than other printing methods.”
Mimaki Australia
www.mimaki.co.jp
