SPGPrints invests in manufacturing expansion in Austria for production of JAVELIN® textile printer.
SPGPrints is increasing its manufacturing capacity at its Kufstein (Austria) facilities, in order to meet strong demand for the JAVELIN® Digital Textile Printer, following its launch in June at ITM 2016 (Istanbul, Turkey). As well as achieving several sales at the show, the company has since received significant interest in the printer’s ground-breaking inkjet technology, which has made high-quality textile production possible in both short and long production runs.
Rieks Reyers, Marketing and Sales Director, SPGPrints, comments: “As an affordable solution for test markets, short runs and large volume requirements, JAVELIN has brought the benefits of digital printing to the mainstream textile market. With the latest production expansion, the Kufstein facility is the ideal choice for the machine’s production and assembly. It is well-equipped to provide efficient, high-quality serial machine production, enabling us to offer short lead times, and to accelerate the adoption of this game-changing technology.”
“As the location for the development and manufacture of SPGPrints’ direct laser engraving and laser exposure systems for textile and graphics applications, the Kufstein facility has significant expertise in high-tech machine production.”
The sales and service of the JAVELIN printer are coordinated at SPGPrints’ Boxmeer (Netherlands) headquarters, where the demonstration centre and digital textile ink factory are also located.
JAVELIN is designed for companies printing up to two million metres of textiles annually. The printer uses a single-pass scanning action with an array of Fujifilm Dimatix Samba print heads to cover the 1850 mm width with sharp image production. Fine line details, smooth gradients, blotches and geometrics can be accurately printed thanks to JAVELIN’s variable drop-size capability (2pL – 10pL) at a true native resolution of 1200 dpi.
JAVELIN features SPGPrints’ unique Archer® print head technology that allows precision printing from a longer jetting distance. With nozzles located 4 mm from the substrate, JAVELIN is compatible with a wider range of substrates, including sublimation papers, while the chance of print head damage is minimal. Additionally, using only six colours, Archer technology enables a gamut wider than that of other digital textile printing solutions. The JAVELIN uses the same Archer technology as SPGPrints’ successful PIKE single-pass printer for high volume production. Using a fixed array of 43 Fujifilm Dimatix Samba print heads, the PIKE can print up to 13 million metres per year. Both machines deliver the same levels of exceptional quality.
JAVELIN has proven popular with companies taking the first step into digital textile printing, or with a need to supplement their existing capabilities. After its global premiere at ITM 2016, six JAVELIN sales were confirmed to different Pakistan-based printing companies, a seventh system was sold to a Turkish customer. Among the major new Pakistan customers are Lahore-based textile suppliers Bright Industries, Opera Textile and MA Textile Dyeing Printing & Finishing Industries. They chose JAVELIN to expand digital output alongside existing screen printing capabilities. Furthermore JAVELIN sales have been confirmed to customers in Germany, Italy, Brazil, India and China.
SPGPrints expects further sales and sustained demand for JAVELIN, as the printer is the highlight of the company’s stand exhibits at a number of major international industry trade fairs during 2016 and 2017. Following its global launch at ITM 2016, JAVELIN was received to great acclaim at Febratex, Santa Catarina, Brazil, and will also feature at SGIA (Las Vegas, USA, September), ITM Asia (Shanghai, China, October), and ITME Mumbai, India, December).
SPGPrints is also in the process of developing the JAVELIN platform for other applications requiring high print quality, variable run lengths, and colour and substrate versatility. A new 3200 mm-wide version of the JAVELIN printer for the home deco market will be unveiled at Heimtextil 2017, next January, in Frankfurt, Germany.