“Mimaki technology was used to digitally print fabrics for Sweden-based Tobex,” says Mike Horsten, General Manager, Marketing of Mimaki EMEA. “The company’s ‘bugs and butterflies’ and ‘bluebells’ designs achieved recognition in the Pure Textile category at the Fespa awards. Tobex chose our digital textile printing technology so as to not compromise the delicate colour of the designs.” Mimaki’s TS500-1800, the world’s fastest printer for transfer paper with production speeds of 150m2/h, was a hit at the show as an ideal digital solution for the textile market.
Textile printing was just one of the innovative attractions that kept the many visitors to the stand engaged. Another popular and innovative feature was Mimaki’s aquarium. Three design students took advantage of Mimaki software and hardware during the show to demonstrate their design expertise. Using a CJV30-60 and a UJF-3042FX, they transformed their part of the stand into a different scene every day with themes ranging from a 70’s living room to a jungle habitat ideal for Mimaki’s adopted tiger Pertama and, of course, an aquarium.
“We were also excited to show the JV400SUV printer at the show,” Horsten added. “It was first shown at last year’s Fespa as a prototype. Now available commercially, it combines the flexibility of solvent with the durability of UV-cured inks using innovative Mimaki inks to deliver very high quality output with vibrant colours and excellent outdoor durability.” The JV400SUV prints in four colours (CMYK) at speeds of up to 18 square meters per hour.
Mimaki demonstrated its leadership in environmentally friendly LED curing of UV inks with the UJV500-160 printer. Its energy-saving LED curing with long-lasting LED bulbs, together with the new LUS-200 UV inks jointly developed with 3M, bring a new dimension to wide format UV printing. When applied to 3M media and installed using 3M guidelines, these inks carry the prestigious 3M? MCS? Warranty that covers fading, cracking, peeling and other aspects of graphic performance. This is especially ideal for applications with curved surfaces such as vehicle wraps and fleet graphics, where stretching could crack other inks.
Also in the LED-curing arena, the recently launched JFX500-2131 grand format UV flatbed printer with multiple ink options was featured at the show. The stand’s latex and eco-solvent corners were also attractive to visitors looking for more environmentally friendly platforms. “We were proud to have such a great exhibition in our country,” confirmed marketing manager for Mimaki’s UK & Irish distributor, Hybrid Services Ltd, Duncan Jefferies. “The Mimaki stand was packed with visitors from all over the globe and it was a special opportunity for us to present Mimaki’s latest products to UK & Irish visitors who we know found Fespa to be a valuable show.”
The Mimaki stand also featured a barista, in an area packed with vibrant samples, while plenty of social networking, including a live Tweet-up, kept everyone up to date on stand and show news.
“It was a busy and hectic ride, and an important one for Mimaki,” concluded Horsten. “We took full advantage of our barista corner, which pulsed with vibrant samples and plenty of social and in-person networking. The show’s energy and excitement matched our own and we were particularly impressed by the amount of direct feedback we were able to gain from visitors worldwide who are involved in the wide format, industrial and textile industry. The quality of leads was very strong. We look forward to helping many more businesses maximise their true production capabilities with Mimaki’s solutions.”
Other Fespa activities included the Mimaki-sponsored car wrap competition, a photo contest with the winner receiving two VIP Fespa tickets plus Fespa gala invites, a London bus tour for specially invited guests, and the launch of MyMimaki.com.