Excellence and Productivity in Digital Textile Printing
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Total Textile Solution Excellence and productivity in digital textile printing Experience Fields of application the Total Textile Solution Haute couture fashion Fast fashion Total Textile Solution is the fully integrated system for industrial digital printing on textiles with the Monna Lisa provides clothing designers from Monna Lisa endows the productivity Monna Lisa series, where all components follow the same process to guarantee the best printing leading Italian and international fashion houses demanded by fast fashion retailers with its results and the utmost customer satisfaction. Epson has achieved this goal by building the with a wealth of colours and shades to create typical quality standards, for collections necessary skills and know-how over the years by initially collaborating with and then acquiring unique items that combine both innovation that are more than just seasonal, inspired as part of the Epson Group two leading companies located in the “Digital Textile Valley” area of and artisanry. by developing trends in the fashion market. Como: F.lli Robustelli, who originally engineered the Monna Lisa system using Epson Micro Piezo print heads, and For.Tex, a trusted provider of dyes, thickeners, specialty for pre- and post- Fashion accessories Sportswear treatment and the Genesta inks. In December 2020 F.lli Robustelli incorporated For.Tex under the new merged company name of Epson Como Printing Technologies. Monna Lisa, now branded Natural fabrics and innovative yarn for scarves, Thanks to extensive ink testing, Monna as an Epson product, is the outcome of a story that began in the early 2000s and has brought ties, shoes or handbags are enriched with Lisa provides excellent quality even on Epson at the forefront of the industrial digital textile market. traditional motifs and original patterns featuring innovative technical fabrics developed to meet precision of detail and unparalleled repeatability increasingly sophisticated communication Our story achievable only with Monna Lisa. and/or functional needs. Home textiles Launch of Monna Lisa Evo with new generation T type 32 print heads that Curtains, sofa and armchair fabrics, home linens increase production, speed and printing and contract furnishing fabrics are all produced precision. with different types of yarn. Monna Lisa’s Launch of the second generation extensive variety of inks produces fabrics Monna Lisa machine with new Green Label for the environment-friendly 2003 M type print heads designed to 2009 approach and remarkable energy saving embellished with designs and original colours that double productivity. features2. last through the years. Monna Lisa is launched Award Ecohitech for low at Villa Erba, Como. environmental impact (water and power consumption of less 2007 than 40% and 75% respectively, 2012 compared to traditional systems1). Introduction of the ML-8000 featuring 8 PrecisionCore print heads. Introduction of Monna Lisa Evo Tre featuring Epson PrecisionCore print F.lli Robustelli incorporates For.Tex 2014 heads for enhanced quality and 2019 under the new merged company name productivity. of Epson Como Printing Technologies. Launch of Monna Lisa Monna Lisa Evo Tre is branded Evo 2 with ultra performing as an Epson product. new type T2 print heads. 2016 2020 1 Source: Water and electricity consumptions in textile printing. 2 The Green Label certification is a project promoted by ACIMIT (Association A comparison between conventional and ink jet technologies. of Italian Manufacturers of Machines for the Textile Industry), supported The final results. Como Textile Cluster Monitor LIUC University, Italy, 2008. by the Ministry for Economic Development and by the Institute for Foreign Trade. Textile printing Printing process with workflow the Monna Lisa series The diagram below illustrates the textile Industrial digital printing on textiles is part of a broader process, ranging from creative printing flow highlighting the advantages concept to fabric pre-treatment and finishing. The diagram below illustrates the whole of digital over traditional processes. printing flow with the Monna Lisa series. The latter entails higher environmental impact, higher costs, more production waste, and less flexibility than digital printing. 1 1 Stenter machine Traditional Digital 2A design/CAD 2B colorways 2C rip printing printing 2 Office design CAD/rip Fabric treatment with Pregen to guarantee vivid colours No pre-treatment and precise outlines Pre-treatment or customised solutions 3 Colour separation 3 3 Digital printers This step is not needed Engraving Monna Lisa Colour management Printing paste preparation Printing paste check Monna Lisa series Screen/cylinder washing and storage Printing paste/water disposal Sample printing 4 Steamer machine 5 4 Printing paste preparation 5 Screen/cylinder washing and storage Monna Lisa series Printing paste/water disposal Washing machine MP printing Continuous relax dryer 6 Steaming / Washing / Finishing Steaming / Washing / Finishing 6 Steaming and washing are Steaming and washing are Stenter machine not needed when printing not needed when printing DIFFERENTIAL with padder for finishing Post-treatment with pigments with pigment inks REACTIVE PIGMENTS ACID DISPERSE Monna Lisa Evo Tre: evolution, Features development and innovation Monna Lisa Evo Tre represents the evolution of Epson industrial digital textile printers and has 1 2 3 4 5 6 become a reference standard for high quality printing in such fields of application as haute couture & fast fashion, accessories, home textiles and sportswear. Characterised by the flexibility and productivity typical of digital technology, it is the right choice for an increasingly dynamic market, which demands swift responses to shifting needs. Flexibility and reliability One of the most important qualities of Monna Lisa is its flexibility. It provides users with a single printer to meet a variety of different production needs. It handles different types of inks, prints on any type of fabric and reproduces the simplest or most complex designs with uncompromising quality, speed and repeatability. Inks are available in colour racks of different capacities (3 or 10 L), with the possibility to swap ink types. Moreover Monna Lisa is available in several configurations, differentiated by the number of print heads and printing widths. 1. Ink management 4. Flexibility The exclusive vacuum-packed degassed ink The broad resolution range and interlacing management system is designed to achieve methods ensure high quality prints on any the maximum efficiency while minimising fabric type. ink waste. Ink racks are available in different capacities (3 or 10 L). 2. Facilitated access 5. PrecisionCore Easy and safe access to the machine print head array for inspections, management and The new print head array combines maintenance operations. quality, precision, speed and reliability with unprecedented results. It is the latest evolution of Epson’s proprietary Micro Piezo printing technology. 3. Fabric feeding 6. Epson Edge Print Textile The efficient fabric feeding system Epson Edge Print Textile is the RIP software is designed to ensure highly precise specifically designed to get the most out of printing speed and quality. your Monna Lisa. The freedom to use other RIPs or textile CADs is one of the printer’s main flexibility features. Total Textile Solution: technology inside Digital textile printing Powered by is easy on the environment PrecisionCore There is a consensus that inkjet printing is the future of textile printing. Driving the Monna Lisa is a new print head Advantages such as lower production costs and the possibility to customise short runs are array featuring Epson’s advanced PrecisionCore undeniable. But there’s more. The Total Textile Solution system offers printing companies and technology. Taking the example of 128 PrecisionCore other operators in the textile production chain considerable benefits in terms of environmental MicroTFP print chips configured as 32 four-chip impact and compliance with the laws, regulations, certifications and restrictive specifications print heads, the array provides 12,800 nozzles* produced by customers and brands in the fashion industry. for each colour and outstanding productivity. While being highly durable, it is also designed for easy maintenance to minimise downtime. PrecisionCore is the outcome of constant research and development to achieve greater efficiency, quality and reliability in Direct-to-Fabric printing. Our range features models from 8 to 64 print heads. * In 8-colour configuration 32 heads 4-chip print head Symmetrical colour alignment for maximum print quality and productivity Symmetrical colour alignment ensures consistent colour overlap order is maintained during bidirectional printing. As a result, colour and pattern A study comparing a production cycle using amount of energy needed to heat process reproduction are exceptionally uniform, and even the Monna Lisa series and one using a rotary water. In terms of carbon footprint, the areas of solid colour and fine geometric patterning press, carried out at a printing company conventional rotary system generates can be beautifully rendered while maintaining equipped with both kinds of technology 139.56 kg of CO eq, while the digital system 2 high throughput. * installed, shows the advantages of inkjet produces 85.66 kg of CO2eq. technology in terms of carbon footprint and water consumption. In particular, * Source: TSC Booklet #3. Digital Printing and the reduction in water consumption