At the 17th edition of the world’s most important fair dedicated to textile machines, the Japanese company and its historical partners will be the only ones to present a complete 
production cycle from the creative design phase to production. In the setting of a visually stunning stand, international designers will collaborate in a digital interpretation of fabrics from the past that are preserved at an Italian textile museum.
“Research is never over. The search for innovation’s new frontiers.” This is the theme chosen by Epson, For.Tex and F.lli Robustelli for ITMA’s 17th Edition. Epson, a pioneer of digital textile printing, together with For.Tex , owned 100 per cent by Epson, a leading company in the production of dyes, thickeners, and products for fabric pre and post treatment and F.lli Robustelli a major player in production engineering for textile printers will be present at its stand with all the new products and innovative solutions devised for a rapidly growing market. (Pavilion H18 D101 – D102 – D103).
The stand will feature 500m2 dedicated to showcasing the most advanced technology alongside the traditions of textile design. The Print Your Vision Project will involve a number of young designers who will be called upon to design parts of the stand through a modern interpretation of fabrics from the past currently preserved at an Italian textile museum. The fabrics adorning the stand’s walls will testify to how the designers’ creativity coupled with the technology of the digital printers, provided by the three partners, can breathe new life into existing traditional patterns.
The digital textile printing market demonstrates great potential and offers huge growth opportunities. In 2014, global production of printed fabrics has reached 31 billion square meters, of which between two to three percent has been produced digitally. Within this quickly accelerating market, the three companies have worked together since 2003 with a focus on research and development that has resulted in the Monna Lisa inkjet printer and continues to bear fruits with the launch of the new products to be presented during ITMA.
Key Products at the stall
Visitors to the Epson, For.Tex and F.lli Robustelli stand at ITMA will have the opportunity to discover the most advanced digital textile printing technologies through a journey that is unique amongst the brand experiences on show at ITMA and will begin with the creative design phase and end with the final step, the printing of the fabric.
At the very start of the discovery trail, visitors will meet the Epson Stylus Pro 4900 SpectroProofing Edition, a 17inch inkjet that covers 98 per cent of PANTONE colours and offers excellent colour precision and extreme functionality in remote proof printing, a prized tool for designers working in digital, before continuing on to discover production-phase inkjet printers.
Within this purview, the evolution of the MonnaLisa project, the production-phase digital printer by F.lli Robustelli, is significant. Developed on pioneering piezoelectric inkjet print technology by Epson known as Epson Micro Piezo, it revolutionised textile printing in 2003. Today, MonnaLisa retains all the distinctive traits that have made it famous across the world, but adds advanced and innovative performance tools while guaranteeing high quality prints.
Epson SureColor SC-70600 will feature innovative solutions that are applied for the very first time to the high fashion market segment and specifically to accessories. Designed for the production of posters, banners, backlit panels and point-of-sale materials, SureColor SC-70600 is a large format printer available in 8 or 10 colour versions that supports 64inch (162,6cm) rolls and makes use of white and metallic dye at the same time. Thanks to the use of these two special inks it becomes possible to develop interesting applications on plasticised fabrics, specifically in the production of bags, shoes and eco leather personalised with designer’s logo or adorned with designs and illustrations.
The stand at ITMA will also feature a new sublimation printer that was launched in May, the Epson SureColor SC-F9200. Compatible with the most widely available sublimation-print papers, this printer can produce a vast range of apparel items, sporting gear, and homeware. Equipped with the new Epson PrecisionCore innovative technology and two TFP printing heads, the printer is able to quickly produce extremely high quality prints defined by sharp details and bright colours.
Alongside the new product range, visitors to the ITMA stand will also witness the Epson SureColor SC-F2000 in action as it prints directly on clothing and personalises t-shirts, polos and other textile products.