SPGPrints introduced at Heimtextil 2016, held in Frankfurt during January 12-15, its digital inkjet printing solutions that offer interior décor printers high productivity, greater design flexibility and a wider colour gamut to meet customised corporate requirements.
SPGPrints’ new inkjet solutions are based on the successful Archer technology of its recently-launched PIKE digital textile printer which uses an array of Fuji Samba printheads to deliver fine detail at a resolution of 1200 x 1200dpi. One of the key characteristics of the technology is the gap of up to 4mm between the printheads and the substrate. This enables a wide range textured substrates to be printed within tight register tolerances and at high speed.
UV-curable decorative laminate systems
“We have been developing three new printers based on the Archer technology,” said Rieks Reyers, Commercial Manager Industrial Applications at SPGPrints. “Two UV-curable systems have been developed for décor applications. One is a 700mm-wide central impression system for applying coatings, textures or graphic images on to laminates. These laminates can be used for creating wood or stone effects on furniture, but without the heavy cost or large carbon footprint of those materials. Custom designs or branding can also be printed to create a distinctive image. The first of these machines has already been delivered to a German SPGPrints customer.”
“The second décor application is a flat-bed printer that applies ink to rigid substrates like ceiling tiles, and heavy products such as panels and doors,” he said. “Our in-house ink manufacturing capabilities and experience position SPGPrints to realise these projects and become an industry leader in these the applications.”
Water-based wallcovering systems
“The third solution will be a central impression printer, which is wider than 2000mm and uses water-based inks for printing decor,” Reyers continued. “Custom designs for specific spaces can be easily and cost-effectively printed with minimal waste, mostly dependent on matching patterns in drops. Water-based inks are ideal for wallcovering applications as they eliminate the odour associated with UV-curable inks, especially when used in small or enclosed spaces.”
Currently, SPGPrints is conducting extensive tests to optimise the performance of the decor printers and its specially formulated inks on different paper and film substrates.
An event to show the digital solutions for the decor market to the wallpaper community will be held at the SPGPrints’ Boxmeer headquarters, with IGI, the global wallcovering association in October next.
“SPGPrints’ Archer Technology together with optimised inks represents a productivity leap for digital décor production. As a result, it offers the potential to significantly reduce lead-times and offer greater design variety in shorter runs, and thus meet the growing demand for lower cost, customised interior decoration solutions,” added Reyers.
In 2012 décor and surface supplier BauschLinnemann GmbH, of Sassenberg, Germany, bought a SPGPrints DSI 330mm-wide machine for applying a UV-curable coating to the edge covering of furniture. The printer is carrying out runs of up to 4000 linear metres, but BauschLinnemann required greater capacity, with wider widths, faster throughput and greater accuracy.
Using the Archer technology, SPGPrints was able to offer a new solution. The new press is a 1200dpi resolution 700mm-wide DSI press with a central impression drum capable of printing at up to 75m/min. BauschLinnemann will use the press to apply UV-curable inks with precise register on web-fed paper and foil applications.
A leading international décor supplier has ordered an SPGPrints digital flatbed printer for printing panels up to 1.3m wide and 4m long for installation at one of its facilities in Europe. Using Samba heads and UV-curable inks and bar construction, the press is based on PIKE technology and will be used to apply decorative images on to panels including those that require heavy ink saturations.
The printer enables easy application of corporate branding such as logos or appealing designs for office furniture and doors weighing up to 250kg, as well as light ceiling tiles.
SPGPrints’ digital printer is designed for easy integration alongside a coating system supplied by another manufacturer. A coating is first applied to the panels, so the UV-curable inks will be applied without coming into contact with the material’s surface.
SPGPrints was chosen because of its capacity to supply 1200dpi resolution as well as the company’s proven expertise in manufacturing custom-formulated inks for décor, textile and graphics applications. This expertise will strengthen the supplier’s ability to meet the demand for unique corporate, striking and appealing colour schemes. Expected to be installed soon, the printer will relieve the customer’s existing gravure lines of shorter runs. It will also be used for higher volumes, providing production flexibility.
“Thanks to its simple workflow, productivity and reduced consumable costs, SPGPrints’ new digital printer will enable this customer to reduce lead times and broaden its design portfolio significantly beyond that which is economically viable by the gravure process,” concluded Reyers.