Four new Mimaki models

Mimaki has announced four new wide format printers that it is launching at the Printing United show in Las Vegas, US. The launches include two new textile printers, a flatbed and a new solvent machine.

Mimaki has picked up on the demand for more productivity in the direct-to-dilm market with a new TxF300-1600 device. This solves the productivity issue in the simplest way possible, by having a much wider print width than normal at 1.6 m, double that of the existing TxF300-75. (Most other DtF printers have a 60cm print width.) Mimaki claims that this should deliver 130% more productivity. In theory, since you can print to wider materials, it should also be possible to produce bigger graphics for decorating items such as curtains, floor mats and other interior fabrics, alongside the more usual t-shirts and tote bags.

It uses a single printhead, with resolution from 720 to 1440 dpi, which sounds like an Epson head. Mimaki says it will produce around 84 large t-shirts per hour at 10 sqm an hour, assuming 720 x 720 dpi. The ink is Mimaki’s PHT50, a heat transfer pigment ink with CMYK plus white.

However, users will also have to source their own powder shaker, which are less common in this width. Nonetheless Mimaki expects to sell around 150 of these per year worldwide. It should be available from October this year.

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The second textile printer is the TS330-3200 DS, which is a 3.2 m wide roll-fed dye sub machine that can print to both fabrics for direct sublimation and to papers for transfer sublimation. This is primarily aimed at soft signage, particularly indoor events, as well as home decor applications such as bed covers and curtains. Printing direct to fabric will make for a simpler workflow, suitable for indoor graphics, but most other applications will benefit from the higher quality results from printing first to transfer paper. Users will have to supply their own heat press for the actual sublimation.

It should be possible to switch between paper and fabric relatively quickly. There’s a tension roller for handling fabrics, and a spacer to prevent ink stains on the back of the fabric. For papers, there’s a removable platen. There’s a choice of SB420 or SB411 sublimation inks, both including blue, magenta, yellow and black. Resolution ranges from 300 dpi to 600 and 1200 dpi. Mimaki expects to sell 120 of these per year worldwide.

There’s also a new addition to the JFX200 range of affordable UV flatbeds, with the 1213 EX, which has a mid-sized table of 1270 x 1300mm, able to accommodate A0-sized prints. As such it sits between Mimaki’s smaller-format UJF Series and the larger-format JFX Series. That makes it an obvious upgrade path for anyone who wants more productivity from the UJF series, which are mainly aimed at direct-to-object decoration and industrial uses. The size makes it a good fit for screen printers looking for a short run inkjet solution.

It uses three printheads, arranged in a staggered configuration. The resolution ranges from 300 to 1200 dpi. Mimaki quotes a maximum speed of 25 sqm an hour but that’s in a four pass mode at 300 x 300 dpi. Most users will probably aim for the eight pass mode at 600 x 600 dpi, which runs at 13 sqm and hour. There’s a choice of inksets, with different degrees of flexibility and scratch resistance. They all use CMYK plus white, with some also having a clear ink and others having light cyan and light magenta, and there is also an optional primer. The curing is via LED arrays. It comes with Mimaki’s RasterLink 7 RIP software. This printer should be on sale in October, with Mimaki hoping to sell 70 machines in its first year worldwide.

Then there’s a new series of eco-solvent roll-fed printer/ cutters, the CJV200, which has been designed as an entry-level series. Mimaki is at pains to point out that this uses the same printhead as its 330-series, though won’t say what that printhead is (but I will hazard a guess at Epson PrecisionCore).

There are three models in the series, with print widths of 800 mm, 1.3 m and 1.6 m. The print resolution is from 600 to 1200 dpi. Mimaki is quoting speeds of up to 17 sqm an hour but that will be for the fastest draft mode. The actual sellable quality print mode is likely to be somewhat slower. The cutting module can run at 300 mm/s.

The CJV200 series use a new SS22 ink that’s been formulated to comply with new EU legislation outlawing the use of Gamma-Butyrolactone, or GBL, which has been used in some illegal drugs. The SS22 inkset includes CMYK plus light cyan, light magenta, light black and orange.

The CJV200 series will be available from October this year, with Mimaki expecting to sell 1500 of them per year worldwide.