Durst, the industrial inkjet applications specialist, will be launching the Alpha series, a new generation of super multi-pass inkjet printers for the digital production of home textiles and fashion, at ITMA 2015 that starts in Milan this week.

At ITMA Durst will be exhibiting the flagship from its Alpha series, the Alpha 330, for the industrial production of home textiles. Durst will also be presenting the Alpha 180 TR, a dye sublimation printer for polyester and polyester blends. Besides transfer printing, the Alpha 180 TR also offers an optional direct-print kit.

Alpha series

The Alpha series offers print widths of 190-330 cm and can be configured with up to 8 colours and 64 Alpha-S print heads that achieve a native resolution of 600 dpi and a print speed of 460 lm/h, the company reports.

With these performance parameters Durst is positioning the Alpha series in direct competition to traditional screen-printing – with all the benefits of digital printing. Compared with the single-pass trend, the Alpha series has the advantage of more economical, more efficient and more reliable printing technology, according to the manufacturer. The Durst Alpha series provides continuous ink circulation in all ink circuits in order to guarantee constant ink quality and reliable stand-by availability.

In the event of a print head failing, an automatic emergency mode will deactivate the affected print head row and continue printing with the greatest possible number of print heads. When necessary, Alpha-S print heads can be replaced by the customer within a very short time.

New process technologies

“The Alpha series makes digital textile production more economical and efficient,” said Martin Winkler, Segment Manager Textile Printing, Durst Phototechnik AG. “Super multi-pass technology allows us to achieve similar production capacity as with screen printing and provide 24/7 reliability that is not possible with single-pass technology. It’s not just about pure print speed but the simplification of printing processes so that the user can start production immediately.”

“The Alpha series combines new process technologies in order to make the interaction between print head, ink system, material, type of fabric as well as pre- and post treatment manageable and reproducible at all times. The Alpha series print head technology also ensures high fail-safe performance and permanent availability. Furthermore, with the new pigmented ink, we are also offering users a universal solution for standard materials in order to increase flexibility and efficiency in production.”

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