Images_Digital_Edition_September_2019

www.images-magazine.com SEPTEMBER 2019 images 63 PF DTG PRINTING M&R: DS-4000 Digital Squeegee The DS-4000 Digital Squeegee is setting the standard for hybrid printing, says M&R. “At production rates of 400+ prints per hour, it bridges the gap between direct-to-garment printing and screen printing. And since the Digital Squeegee prints on top of a screen-printed underbase, a wide array of fabrics – including synthetic and performance blends – can now be printed digitally, opening the door to new market trends and cost-effective high-end digital textile imaging,” adds the company. M&R suggests that using a screen-printed underbase is said to eliminate the need for time- consuming pre-treatment and expensive digital white underbase inks, and makes small and mid-size print runs cost-effective. “An eight-to-12-colour screen print would typically require hours to perform separations, process and expose screens, mix inks and register the press,” says the company, “but the same screen print can be set up and printed on the Digital Squeegee in a fraction of the time with a minimal number of screens. “Hybrid prints can be embellished with speciality printing effects before or after the digital print, expanding creative possibilities by blending the best attributes of screen printing with the ease and detail of digital imaging. With some creative planning, a common screen printed white underbase can be used with varying digital p rint data to produce completely different images in the same print run.” Digital Squeegee inks can be cured in conventional gas dryers, such as the Sprint 3000, Sprint 3000 D, and Sprint 3000 DHZ. www.mrprint.com Resolute DTG: Ricoh Ri 1000 & Viper Maxx Resolute DTG describes its ‘green button’ DTG printing systems as a collection of products working in harmony to help reduce labour costs, while improving throughput. These products include the new Ricoh Ri 1000, which counts the ability to perform a high proportion of its own maintenance with little intervention required from its operator amongst its key selling points. “We have also taken the smoke and mirrors away from the pre- treatment process by introducing the only pre-treatment machine capable of spraying a user-defined area,” says Resolute. The Viper Maxx pre-treatment machine works like a three-axis printer, using a spray nozzle instead of a print head, so it can place the solution in a “very accurate area with no waste or overspray”. It can also perform automatic maintenance to avoid the nozzle drying up, to help reduce the operator time required with other systems. “The quality of its pre-treatment on garments, including hoodies, is the best we have seen to date,” adds Resolute, “but the icing on the cake is its barcode scanning, which allows integration into workflow systems”. www.resolutedtg.com The Ricoh Ri 1000 and Viper Maxx are both available from Resolute DTG The DS-4000 Digital Squeegee is said to have a production rate of 400+ prints per hour