Industry innovations so far

To help collate the latest in machinery, inks and software, assistant editor, Ana Lambert, delves into some of the most notable technology updates of the year so far.

Every year something new is announced, advanced or launched for the wide-format printing industry, but this year so far its been rather busy with innovation after innovation.

This feature will helpfully highlight a few of the interesting and impressive launches, as it’s not just machinery making waves. For instance, new ink technologies from Resolute Ink and Durst’s new AI-powered intelligence for digital production, have been interesting additions.

As an ever-evolving industry, it’s easy to lose track of what is happening on the innovations front, so hopefully by the end of this feature, there will be
something that either piques your interest or informs you of a product you heard of in passing but weren’t quite sure was out yet.

An AI-led future

To welcome its 90th anniversary, Durst recently announced its latest innovation called Kyveris, an AI-powered intelligence for digital production.

The Kyveris system, once released to markets, will aim to aid digital printing by unifying files, machines, software, data and AI into a sign autonomous production system that continuously learns and drives efficiency.

Christoph Gamper, CEO and co-owner of the Durst Group, said: “Durst has never been a manager of the status quo. We have always been a creator of the next standard. After 90 years of precision engineering, we are taking the next logical step: production intelligence for digital printing and additive manufacturing.

“We no longer think of production as a machine or a workflow, but as an intelligent, continuously learning system. With Kyveris, we are defining the next evolutionary stage of digital production technology.”

In the coming months, Durst will present further details on the technological layers behind Kyveris – including data architecture, AI integration,
automation and production intelligence – and outline the strategic roadmap ahead.

Innovative inks

Earlier this year, Resolute Ink, a subsidiary of Resolute DTG, announced its significant investment in a new ink manufacturing facility to help with production of its Resolute Premium inks.

The investment aims to meet the soaring demand for a new addition to one of its most successful brands, Resolute Premium.

Colin Marsh, managing director of Resolute DTG and CEO of Resolute Print Group, said: “There comes a time when you have to break away from available supply routes and invest in a new product’s future.

“The demand for Resolute Premium DTF ink is growing at a remarkable rate. With the introduction of our new improved white ink, the decision was made to bring the full manufacture in-house, right here at Resolute HQ in the UK.”

The new low maintenance formulation is also kinder to print heads, reducing wear and tear, thus extending the life span of a print head by up to 30% over the original formulation.

Machinery mania

Mimaki and Mutoh have been at the forefront of wide-format machinery releases since the start of the year. Starting the machinery launches was Mimaki’s new TS330-1800, designed to cater to the textile applications market.

A new addition to the TS330 series, it is equipped with a larger print width of 1,940mm to work with a broader array of projects within the textile signage and home décor. Sb411 inks are compatible with the TS330-1800, including orange, violet, fluorescent pink and fluorescent yellow, enhancing colour flexibility and control, and offering improved vibrancy and colour accuracy.

Arjen Evertse, sales director at Mimaki Europe, said: “The TS330 Series delivers reliable, high image quality, colour density and high print speeds, and so we wanted to offer print shops a larger machine to further amplify their business growth.

“Achieving eye-catching prints is becoming increasingly important when printing textiles, particularly when it comes to branded material like signage or sportswear.

“To cater to this market need, vibrant inks like fluorescents give users the ability to produce more saturated, as well as more accurate, colours in their
applications.”

Continuing the releases was Mutoh with its new 64in/1625mm eco-solvent printer XpertJet 1641SR Pro II. The new model combines Mutoh’s latest AccuFine HD Pro print head with the i-Screen EX System and uses MS51 inks, delivering productivity of up to 17.6m sq/hr.

The AccuFine HD Pro print head features eight nozzle rows with nozzle row pairing to improve ink landing accuracy for each colour, combined with Mutoh’s new i-Screen EX print control system, supports smoother gradations, improved colour uniformity, and detail reproduction.

Mutoh’s Wide Color Choice input profile expands the achievable colour gamut, which is suitable for high-impact graphics, car wraps, and retail signage. To finish off the recent wide-format machinery launches is Mimaki with the recently announced hybrid UV inkjet printer, the UJ330H-160.
The printer is equipped with RasterLink7 RIP software and the PICT cloud-based monitoring tool, along with its eco-friendly ELS-170 UV inks.

Due to its LED UV technology, the system requires no warm-up time and is ready to print immediately, practical production speeds of up to 14m sq/hr when configured with white ink and up to 22m sq/hr when configured with 2x CMYK inks.

Andy Gregory, sales director for Hybrid Services, said: “The introduction of the new hybrid model delivers a powerful combination of Mimaki’s wide-format UV printing and flatbed technologies in a device that offers real-world productivity gains, low energy consumption and Mimaki’s latest and most sustainable UV inks.”

What will come next?

Who knows what the rest of the year will bring in terms of machinery, inks and software, but from the launches and advances from the start of the year, it bodes well for the printing industry for what’s to come.