Mimaki Engineering in Japan has announced that it will launch the TS500P-3200 inkjet printer in February 2016. This 3.2-m wide roll-to-roll sublimation inkjet printer is a dedicated transfer paper printer for the textile printing industry.
On-demand inkjet printing systems are increasingly being used for clothing production instead of conventional analog systems because of their ability to quickly provide high-mix, low-volume printing. Along with changes in production methods, production 
sites are also being shifted from low-cost remote locations to urban neighborhoods, which are closer to consumers. Mimaki predicts that such a trend will extend to the production of textiles for home furnishings. Typical home furnishing fabrics—curtains, upholsteries, and bed linens—are extra wide. Accordingly, the superwide format TS500P-3200 inkjet printer is ideal for printing on such fabrics. Moreover, the demand for large indoor fabric signage is also increasing as compared with PVC solvent printing. Environment-friendly soft signage does not emit volatile organic compounds after printing and contributes to reducing CO2 emissions during transportation because it is lightweight and foldable.
The TS500P-3200 delivers high-speed printing at 180 m2/h* because of a new type of printhead. Twelve such printheads are arrayed in three staggered lines. They eject ink droplets at high speed to maintain the appropriate ink droplet angle and ensure accurate drop placement with a high head gap, thereby providing high-quality printing results on low-cost thin transfer papers. Furthermore, the Mimaki Advanced Pass System 4 (MAPS4) anti-banding function smooths the swath boundaries with reduced numbers of droplets to provide more beautiful printing. In addition, the newly-designed Auto Media Feeder (AMF) allows stable transfer paper feeding at the high-speed setting in order to maintain print quality.
The high-speed TS500P-3200 operating at a high speed of 180 m2/h increases productivity and delivers beautiful quality printing on transfer paper up to 3.2 m wide. With its excellent capabilities, it meets a broad range of applications including home furnishing textiles and indoor soft signage.
*1 Print conditions: 180m2/h, 4 color, Draft mode, 360 × 360(HQ) dpi, 2 pass
Mimaki Japan
http://eng.mimaki.co.jp/news/product/entry-85993.html
