Kornit Digital, a global market leader in digital textile printing technology, has announced that its installed base in China has exceeded 125 systems. Its customer base in China includes renowned brands such as JNBY, LILANZ, JoeOne and Seven Brand. Many Chinese Kornit users produce high-margin fashion pieces digitally, either for their own distribution or for leading brands around the globe, benefiting from the current trends in the textile supply chain: mass customization, direct-to-consumer sales models, drastically reduced delivery times, and a strong influence of social media on buying decisions.
Typical products turned out with the help of Kornit’s industrial-grade technology are jeans, pants, socks, stockings, footwear and functional sportswear.
The Kornit President of the Asia Pacific region, Buck Kim, comments: “Over the years, Kornit has made significant investments in its infrastructure and manpower in China. We are happy to see that more than 100 Kornit users across the country value our efforts and chose us as their textile printing technology partner. The Chinese Government has announced an extensive modernization of the country until 2050, restricting traditional, polluting industries in favor of environmentally-friendly and sustainable production. Kornit’s digital printing processes, compared to conventional methods, save enormous amounts of wastewater, chemicals and overproduction and make the textile industry cleaner. That’s why we expect significant continued growth for the years to come.”
Kornit’s business activities in China began in 2006 when the first direct-to-garment systems were delivered to Chinese users. Kornit celebrated quick successes, and in order to improve service levels and optimize system uptime and reliability, the company founded a service hub in Hong Kong in late 2009. Kornit expanded its business activities in China in 2015 by opening a national headquarters in Shanghai with all relevant functions such as sales, service, logistics, marketing and application consulting.
The best-selling Kornit model in China is the Storm series, which offers a range of industrial mid-range direct-to-garment printing capabilities available in several configurations with throughputs between 120 and 190 light garments per hour. The Storm Hexa, for example, features a CMYK, red, green plus white configuration which makes it ideal for color-conscious applications. Many of Kornit’s systems are equipped with advanced technology features such as recirculating ink systems, integrated air humidifiers, quick pallet replacement systems, etc.
Allegro’s entry
Kornit’s unique direct-to-fabric system Allegro also made its way into the Chinese market. The system is 1.80m wide, and is based on Kornit’s NeoPigment printing technology which eliminates pre- and post-treatment processes for natural, man-made and synthetic fabrics. Unlike typical digital technologies, the Kornit Allegro offers an innovative, enabling solution, saving on energy, water, space and labor time. Through its simple operation, the system enables the development of new business models that cater for the strong trends of mass customization and personalization of textile in fashion and home decor.
The Kornit Allegro can be located anywhere without environmental constraints, designed to support ultra-short through medium-length runs. It offers amazing print quality, a vivid and wide color gamut, excellent color fastness and hand feel, a fully sustainable and safe process, and is OekoTex 100 certified and GOTS pre-approved. The Allegro can be used for decorating fabrics which are turned into fashion, home textile and e-commerce products in the next step.
All Kornit systems are based on the company’s NeoPigment process. Customers benefit from the advantages of the state-of-the-art ink technology based on an installed base of thousands of systems globally and 14 years of experience. NeoPigment meets the highest environmental regulations, including Oeko-Tex Standard 100 and GOTS pre-approval, and is also safe for baby and infant wear. Suitable for printing on multiple fabric types, its versatility is unmatched.
NeoPigment prints have an excellent hand feel, a wide gamut of bright and intense colors, as well as long-term durability and wash fastness.