For decades, polyester has been the cornerstone of the textile printing industry. Its compatibility with the dye sublimation process has driven exponential growth in polyester textile printing. However, the characteristics that make polyester well suited for sublimation printing, render this process unsuitable for other materials, such as cotton and some blended fibres, leaving a significant gap in the market.
Just print and heat-calender to textiles with Mimaki TRAPIS
This gap was, until recently, partially filled by DTG printing. However, this method requires substantial initial investments in equipment and relies heavily on the time and resource-consuming pre- and post-processing of fabrics to ensure colour fastness, colour accuracy, and compatibility with different materials. Consequently, a need arose for a more sustainable and cost-effective solution that could cater to a wider range of textiles.
Mimaki TRAPIS could be the bridge
In response to this demand, and previewed at FESPA in March, Mimaki spent six years developing a breakthrough technology, TRAPIS - a simple two-step textile 
transfer printing solution, consisting of only an inkjet printer and a high-pressure calender. The design of choice is printed by the inkjet printer onto the company’s Texcol pigment ink transfer paper. This is then transferred to the material via the calender.
Removing the treatment stages entirely, means that printing on non-polyester materials could go from an expensive and time-consuming task to one that is simple, cost-efficient and more sustainable.
Ideal for home textiles and soft signage, which often require vibrant colours but varied materials, this technology gives printers the ability to print on a wide variety of materials, including natural fibres like cotton and silk without losing stretchability or colourfastness. All this can be done with just one type of ink, making the process flexible and adaptable to customer demands.
The environmental benefits of TRAPIS
TRAPIS features an 8-colour inksetPre-treatment and washing of the fabric is often needed in digital dye printing, producing a significant amount of wastewater in the process. TRAPIS eliminates those stages altogether and is almost entirely waterless, saving around 14.5 litres per square metre of water, an almost 90% decrease in comparison to digital dye printing .
Additionally, this eliminates the need for wastewater treatment facilities, which can be both expensive and constrictive when it comes to where the solution is installed.
It is estimated that, worldwide, traditional dyeing processes generates approximately 2 billion tonnes of wastewater every day from pre- and post-dyeing processes. The reductions TRAPIS can offer will make a significant contribution to reducing a textile print provider's environmental impact. Furthermore, with its simplified printing workflow, the complex and CO2 emission-heavy overseas transportation of textile products is eliminated.
Mimaki's Textile Pigment Ink that accompanies the solution has achieved the ZDHC MRSL Lv.3 certification and is Bluesign Approved, verifying not only its environmental friendliness but ensuring that it is safe for both workers and consumers
A simple solution
TRAPIS’ simplicity and affordability also make it ideal for localised, short-run textile production. As the process only involves printing and transferring, it does not require specialised skills to operate when compared to the more complex seven- or eight-step system needed by most digital and analogue conventional printing. The lack of a fabric conveyor belt in the system further minimises the need for time-intensive maintenance.
By simplifying the digital textile printing process and making it accessible to a wider range of textiles, Mimaki's TRAPIS solution is an innovation that helps to set the pace for a more sustainable practices in the textile industry, while offering an extensive range of creative possibilities.
Mimaki's TRAPIS system is based aound its TS330-1600 1.6 metre sublimation printer, with eight colours and capable of up to 135 sqm/hr output. The heat calender is a 3rd party product and sold seperately.
