From the Sector

• DushaGreya is a well-known brand from talented Moscow-based designer, Natalia Dushagreya, who puts her all into her unique creations.

Combining her outstanding creativity with cutting-edge digital printing technology, Natalia has been delighting women with eye-catching, comfortable clothes, which boast unparalleled individuality and vivacity for several years. “The quality of digital prints surpasses that of traditional fabrics, both in the variety of colour compositions and in the contrast and clarity when printing small details or complex geometric elements. Digital technology makes it possible to achieve exceptionally smooth colour transitions, which is almost unattainable when using analogue printing methods. As a designer, I make sure to fully leverage the advantages of digital printing when designing and producing my collection”, says Natalia.

By the time the DushaGreya brand begun, Natalia and her like-minded associate and father, Alexander Kordovatov, already had experience in the field of sublimation printing and knew that printing on fabric for subsequent tailoring would be carried out using this technology. However, no third-party performers could be found that would meet the quality and deadline requirements of the brand, so they decided to purchase new equipment and start printing at their own site. 

Alexander says. “We also found out that Smart-T (Mimaki's distributor in Russia), the supplier of this equipment in Moscow, is highly rated by the industry community and customers due to its professional expertise, first-line service support, and highly qualified engineers.” At the end of 2019, Smart-T installed the highly anticipated Mimaki Tx300P-1800 direct textile printer at the DushaGreya facility. Today it prints fabrics for dresses, skirts, T-shirts, fleeces, jumpers, hoodies, trench coats, and other midwear.

"Mimaki Tx300P-1800 is the only printer in the Mimaki line that allows us to print on natural fabrics without pre-processing,” Alexander comments. “This gives us the ability to produce short, original print runs at no extra cost, which is vital in achieving our goals. The TP400 pigment inks used in this printer have an expanded colour gamut, so the prints are always bright and saturated.”

Kornit Digital announced Vizela, Portugal-based Calvi has implemented the Kornit Avalanche HD6 system for efficient, retail-quality digital decoration on demand.

Founded in 1977, Calvi is a textile manufacturing company that works with national and international partners to deliver sportswear and casual apparel for men, women, and children. Now occupying a 6,600-square-meter facility and employing a team of more than 120 qualified professionals, they are committed to the evolution of textiles with regard to three fundamental values: quality, availability, and efficiency. In addition to their own e-commerce operation, Calvi produces about 100,000 t-shirts per week for brands like Pull & Bear, Zara, and Bershka.

“When we first contacted Kornit, it was very easy to create the partnership we have now,” says Anselmo Pereira, Head of Design at Calvi. “Kornit Avalanche really helped us to move faster, to be more ecological—we basically don’t have minimum quantities to produce.

“This company started with my grandfather, and then my father started running the business by himself,” says Catarina Lopes, Founder and CEO of the brand’s eco-conscious NÜWA division. “I started NÜWA, which has two pillars: Everything is sustainable, and we are inspired by people. We are sustainable; we don’t have to create more water waste or use more resources. Our products are made from recycled cotton, recycled polyester, and organic cotton. We only use digital printing because it’s water inks; we don’t have to use chemicals in our products.”

With the PFAFF 4520, engineers and technicians from PFAFF have designed a full-automatic production line (CE compliant) for processing multi-layer disposable masks, which meets the requirements of "German engineering" in a unique way. The product combines 150 years of expertise in joining textile materials and a concentrated know-how of the PFAFF INDUSTRIAL and KSL brands in the areas of process control, automation and robotics.

The PFAFF 4520 is an investment in a robust and sophisticated production line (MADE IN GERMANY) with an exceptionally reliable working process. In times of Covid-19 it is so important to rely on the right equipment for the mask production and avoid costly readjustments or an unnecessary second investment!

Key facts of the unit:

-    Size of the mask: 175 x 95 mm
-    Output:  3,500 – 4,000 masks per hour
-    1-, 2- or 3 ply processing  (Non-woven/filtration fabric)
-    SPS (PLC) control of the entire mask system
-    Exceedingly quiet working process of the whole unit
-    Ultrasonic welding components from German manufacturers
-    Protective housing for occupational safety of the operator
-    Packing station + printing station for personalized masks (on request)

The machine package also includes important features in the pre- and after sales:

PFAFF technicians ensure the adjustment of the desired customer material (non-woven or similar filter material) and the number of layers (1-, 2-, 3-ply) to the machine and make a "Ready to production" installation of the whole unit at the customer.  A fast service response time in after-sales (by involvement of the PFAFF sales- and service partner on site) ensures a maximum production output.

• Specialised in dye-sublimation printing, the Italian company has conquered the heights of the high fashion sector with its top-quality printed fabrics.
• With its recent investment in a direct-to-fabric printing line, Digitak is preparing to expand its range of printed products, focusing on fabric differentiation.

Dye sublimation printing of high fashion designs is the beating heart of Digitak, an Italian company specialised in digital textile printing. Operating in the textile district of Lombardy, Italy, the company has established itself among the main suppliers in the world of high fashion and sportswear in just under 15 years.

Making production versatility one of the cornerstones of its philosophy, Digitak has continued to invest in technology, as well as research and development its product portfolio. This forward-thinking approach has enabled the company to guarantee innovative, personalised products with meticulous attention to detail, with the highest – almost obsessive – standards of quality and maximum design flexibility. Over the years, the extensive experience gained by the company’s management in the field of sublimation with traditional and digital techniques, combined with their investment decisions have allowed Digitak to enhance its production performance, gradually implementing higher quality standards and differentiating itself from the competition in the complex and competitive sector of high fashion. An important feat, which has not, however, dampened its enthusiasm and willingness to continue growing and exceeding its goals. The company’s latest investment in a direct-to-fabric digital printing line with pigment ink propels the company into a new and promising production dimension.

Sublimation printing specialists

Since Digitak’s establishment, Filippo Taccani, the founder and current owner of the company, had set himself a clear and ambitious objective: “I wanted to take up the challenge of operating digitally - printing fabrics using this innovative technology to create products on a par with those  I had achieved with traditional sublimation textile printing methods during my previous work experience.”

The purchase of a Mimaki JV4 plotter, one of the first to be installed in Italy, marked the beginning of Digitak’s adventure. “To start the business, I needed a printing system that could operate with dispersed inks to print on polyester and I found the JV4 to be the best option,” explains Taccani. “It was an excellent decision, because I used these plotters to build the company and its success.”

The first Mimaki plotter was in fact followed by a second and a third. When it bought the fifth, the company moved to an industrial unit in Tradate (Varese) – Digitak’s current site – which now houses around fifteen Mimaki JV33 plotters, in addition to three Mimaki TS500-1800 wide-format sublimation printers, and a Mimaki TS300P-1800 high-speed sublimation printer. This Mimaki powered production facility – which is one of the company’s core strengths – was recently expanded with the addition of a Mimaki TX300P-1800B belt-type hybrid printing system, together with a Mimaki TR300-1850C textile coater and a Mimaki Tiger-1800.

“Naturally, over the years, we have also tested printing systems from other suppliers, but we have always returned to Mimaki. With high fashion as our key market, we need to guarantee our customers the highest levels of quality and, to date, we have never found solutions that beat the quality of this Japanese brand’s technology.”

According to Taccani, the difference lies in the “calligraphy” of Mimaki’s machines, that is the line of the ink on the fabric: “Unlike its competitors, Mimaki has focused on the ‘waveforms’, i.e. the electronics associated with the print heads. This attention paid to the way the ink jet is managed from the print head has allowed Mimaki to achieve unparalleled levels of accuracy, an aspect that has given my company a clear competitive edge.”

Moreover, at Digitak, quality comes before quantity: “We prefer to dedicate an extra day to production to guarantee the customer a final product that fully meets requirements and expectations. Mimaki’s technology not only suits this business model bult on top quality, but it crucially enables it.”

Operational and creative flexibility

Digitak currently prints around 2,000 linear metres of fabric per day. Its portfolio ranges from clothing and scarves, to beach and swimwear, with related personalised accessories, to sportswear, with technical properties such as breathability, comfort, resistance to external agents. The company have even added customised outdoor furniture to their offering of diverse and creative products.
The company’s machines operate continuously, 24/7. During the day, the machines are mainly used to develop and produce samples and colour proofs, while the actual production is carried out at night. “Thanks to our technology, we have developed an extraordinary operational flexibility. The fact that we have so many plotters allows us to work on multiple designs at the same time and to launch projects that are also very different from one another,” explains Taccani. “There are also some other crucial factors that have contributed, and continue to contribute, to increasing our production efficiency. The reliability of Mimaki’s solutions and the remote monitoring option offered is key. Once the standard start-up monitoring has been carried out and the machines are found to be printing correctly, we can let them work overnight without an operator. This is a great benefit for people who, like us, manage such a large and diverse fleet of machines.”

Digitak takes the same approach to customer service. Faced with an increasingly demanding market in terms of creativity, precision and completeness of service, the company wants to guarantee flexibility and customisation. “We decided to set up a department dedicated to the pre-press stage, in charge of preparing and checking the files supplied by customers. Seldom do our teams not need to do some editing of the files supplied, even if it’s only to make small changes that are essential for the print document to be as suitable as possible and to achieve the best final result.”

Technologies of the future

With a view to further enhancing production and customer service, Taccani has chosen to take on a new challenge, switching things up with some of the most recent investments.

While maintaining the focus on dye sublimation printing, Taccani has focused on technological diversification by installing a direct-to-fabric digital printing line. This consists of a Mimaki TX300P-1800B printing system with pigment inks and a TR300-1850C coater from Mimaki’s TR series. “The market continues to evolve and now requires even more flexibility regarding both processes and the fabrics supplied. This means that great opportunities exist for a print shop capable of simultaneously producing the same design – with minimal colour adjustment – on different fabrics, guaranteeing similar and accurate results. And this is precisely the path we are taking,” says Taccani. “Why have we opted for Mimaki again? Well, I had an opportunity to try out their new pigment inks and I immediately realised that they are a generation ahead of the other pigments available on the market. The cyan is very clean, the black is deep and there is a very interesting fullness of colour, suitable not only for furnishings, but also for other applications in the clothing sector.”

With its pigment inks, the new direct-to-fabric printing line allows Digitak to explore other related market segments. Thanks to the innovative automatic belt system, the TX300P-1800B guarantees good productivity and high-quality results. A standard of quality that is also boosted by the TR300-1850C fabric pre-treatment system: “This coater is essential for ensuring the best possible preparation of fabrics for printing. In fact, we are able to treat fabrics to make them suitable for the type of print they are intended for, sanitise them for specific applications and, in some cases, even dye them, with excellent quality.”

According to Taccani, another beneficial factor of direct-to-fabric pigment printing technology is the eco-sustainability of the process and its lower environmental impact. “We are proud to be able to offer our customers excellent printing results using little water and printing in ‘green mode’, with both the technologies we have available. I consider them winning technologies for the future, as both dye sublimation printing and direct-to-fabric printing with pigment inks use little water while mainly requiring the use of energy. Therefore, if you use renewable energy, then you’re done.”

Digitak’s other trump card is the Tiger-1800 installed in 2019. With this industrial printing system, the company aims to increase production volumes while maintaining its high-quality standards and further optimising costs. “We are excited to have these promising technologies available to us in-house. We are currently experimenting with these solutions, testing new opportunities and evaluating which paths to take to stay ahead of the game,” concludes Taccani.

Energiapura – Production of reusable, customised protective masks that are also fashion accessories

• The Italian company, a specialist manufacturer of functional sportswear, conducted research and began producing masks in response to the COVID-19 crisis
• Using Mimaki sublimation printers, the masks can be customised, getting away from their connotation with hospitals and transforming them into a fashion accessory

From functional sportswear to combatting the spread of the Coronavirus: Energiapura, an Italian company has developed a mask that meets the Class I medical device requirements. The EP PA 2020 (Energiapura Pure Air) facial device, optimised for air filtering and breathability, provides protection while working, and can be reused. But Energiapura has gone even further, branding and customising the masks with sublimation printing.
The EP PA 2020 mask, compliant with 93/42 EEC Medical Devices – Class I washable, meets the essential requirements of UNI EN 14683:2019. Having redirected the manufacturing process, Energiapura is now stepping up production levels to meet the rising demand from hospitals, pharmacies, chemists, companies and consumers.

Pure Air, Energiapura’s mask
The EP PA 2020 is based on a functional concept: protection, breathability and reusability are the main principles. EP PA 2020 is made up of three layers of fabric: the first, the outer layer, is DWR-treated polyester, the second is TNT polyester, providing a filtering function, and the third, which comes into contact with the face, is polyester containing special fibres, such as coolmax and carbon.  Therefore it can be reused via normal washing and steam ironing, which also sterilises it.
The CEO of Enegiapura, Alberto Olivietto explains the idea of the customisation of the mask: “We wanted to disassociate our masks from the hospital image. By decorating them with company branding and designs provided by customers.” This is where the Mimaki JV300 wide-format printer comes in.

• Growing demand for natural fabrics and blends driving Brodelec business growth

September 25th, 2019, Rosh Ha’ayn, Israel – Kornit Digital (Nasdaq: KRNT), a worldwide market leader in digital textile printing technology, announced that Orleans, France-based Brodelec has installed the country’s first-ever Kornit Presto S system for roll-to-roll, pigment-based digital textile printing.

This installation will enable the multiservice marking brand to expand their business further into customized décor and on-demand fashion.

Brodelec has partnered with Kornit for over a decade and owns several direct-to-garment print systems. Based on demand for natural fabrics and blends in the home décor and fashion markets, they are now expanding their offerings to include bespoke direct-to-fabric services.

Brodelec chose the Kornit Presto S as it is the only single-step solution and therefore the fastest route from design to finished product, making it the most efficient and eco-friendly fabric printing solution in France today.

Exhibitors from over 30 countries participating at Kenya's Biggest Int'l. Multi-Sector Trade Exhibition

The largest international trade exhibition in Africa for multi-sector products, equipment and machinery will take place at KICC, Nairobi, Kenya from 04 - 06 September with record breaking numbers. Exhibitors and trade visitors are said to increase by 27% and 24% respectively at the 21st edition of the Kenya International Trade Exhibition (KITE). The exhibition has grown in stature from its inception 22 years ago, as the key networking and sourcing platform for the industries. As the largest event of its kind, it ensures direct access to over 150 exhibitors from 30 countries and more than 12,000 trade visitors.

With an amazing array of products and services from all over the world, it gives visitors the opportunity to source cutting edge products and services as well as learn about and discuss the latest market trends. There is no other related trade exhibition in East Africa that delivers the same quality, quantity and variety of buyers and distributors.

Concentrating on some of the largest growth categories within the multi sector industry, Kenya International Trade Exhibition (KITE) 2018 has five distinct sub categories, namely: FOODAGRO, MEDEXPO, PPPEXPO & INDUSMACH which will cover the food, hotel & agricultural sectors, medical & pharmaceuticals, plastic, printing & packaging sector, the industrial and finally the consumer sector. Being centrally located, Kenya emerges as one of the largest importers in Africa. Kenya also has the largest economy in east Africa and is a regional financial and transportation hub.

As the global textile industry’s most comprehensive sourcing summit for the spring / summer season, Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics is naturally the ideal place to find the latest developments in product innovation and sustainability. This is especially true in the fair’s Beyond Denim zone, which this edition will feature over 110 exhibitors from China, Japan, Pakistan, Turkey and elsewhere. Adding to a total of some 3,300 exhibitors from around 22 countries and regions, they provide sourcing options for the entire industry, from fabrics for ladieswear, menswear, suiting, shirting, lingerie and swimwear to high-end wool fabrics, original pattern designs, functional & performance fabrics, sustainability products & services, digital printing technologies, garment & fashion accessories and more.

Denim enriched with volcanic ash: the latest innovation from Orta Anadolu
Volcanic ash is not uncommon in beauty products – it is known as Mother Nature’s skin purifier after all, and used as an exfoliator for example – but it is far less common in the textile industry. Orta Anadolu are set to change that with their BIOWARE denim which is enriched with mineralised volcanic ash to create an odour absorbing effect. This technology captures and absorbs odour compounds that would normally pass through the fabric, neutralising bad bacteria while retaining the helpful bacteria that common deodorisers, which contain harsh substances, normally eliminate. This leads to a more environmentally friendly product that is better for the user’s skin.

Orta will also be presenting BIOCHARGE at Intertextile, which, according to the company, is the world’s first denim fabric for muscle wellness. Infused with minerals, Orta state that BIOCHARGE is medically proven to refresh muscles, relieve muscle tension and optimise body balance. They will also present their BOUNCE stretch range, with high elasticity and a ‘street’ style, while CHRONICLE, another in their S/S 19 range, is a blend of heritage and future styles.

US Denim Mills blend tomorrow’s technology with yesterday’s style
Another innovative denim firm exhibiting at Intertextile Shanghai, and another blending old and new, is US Denim Mills. According to the company, their collection at the fair will “harness tomorrow’s textile advances to revitalise the great style visions of the past by adding fashion, comfort, performance and sustainability advantages to authentic denim looks.” This collection includes:

• Selvedge: using the company’s legacy selvedge looms to produce bi-stretch ‘SelvedgeX’ while experimenting with blends of natural yarns and high-tech fibre blends in its ‘HeritEdge+’ range
• Stretch: including ‘Flex 360’ bi-stretch denim with a slight cross-bias freedom, and ‘Modern Stretches’ with a higher stretch range for intense comfort
• SoftWear: advanced finishing treatments for superior soft touch from natural fibre blended yarns and softness-selected weaves
• Sustainable: new additions to the range of recycled and natural ‘GreenEgo’ denims

Kipas Denim step up their sustainability efforts
Well aware of the effect denim production has on the environment, Kipas Denim’s multi-faceted programme to address this is one of the most comprehensive in the denim sector. Their recycled yarn initiative includes recycling waste yarn from the production process, while it also takes waste cotton yarn and blends it with REPREVE® fibres to create an eco-friendly denim fabric. Kipas also uses BCI cotton and organic cotton, and targets each to be 15% and 5% of total consumption, respectively. Furthermore, their Conservablue technology aims to reduce the environmental impact of the dyeing process by eliminating the use of rinsing overflow boxes before and after the indigo dye boxes, as well as ensuring 100% of applied dyestuff remains on the yarn in the rinsing bath.

As well as the overseas offerings, a wide range of domestic denim exhibitors covering all price and quality points will also feature in Beyond Denim. Some of the more notable brands participating include Advance Denim, Black Peony, Guangzhou Foison and Prosperity Textile.

Denim’s ‘next move’ to be debated in INVISTA panel discussion
The market is changing and so must apparel and textile manufacturers. Low prices and discounts are no longer driving sales the way they used to. Today’s consumer wants better quality, appreciates new technology and is evolving their casualwear style. This is the premise behind the INVISTA-sponsored panel discussion which will take place on day 1 of the fair. Titled ‘Denim’s Next Move – New Opportunities to Keep Growing Sales of Jeans and Casualwear at Retail’, participants will learn what consumers really want in jeans and casualwear, the return of chinos and new fabric technologies that are energising casualwear.

The panel will be moderated by Jane Singer, Director and Head of Market Development at Inside Fashion. Panellists will include representatives from Advance Denim, Guangzhou Conshing Clothing Group, Prosperity Textile and Texhong who will share their latest innovations that will help brands and retailers drive sales and profits.

In addition to Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics, four other textile fairs also take place at the National Exhibition and Convention Center: Yarn Expo Spring, Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Spring Edition, fashion garment fair CHIC and knitting fair PH Value.