Mimaki has released its 1.8m digital textile engine, the Tx500-1800B, which includes a conveyer belt feeding system for production onto complex stretchy textiles such as cotton, hemp, silk and rayon for fashion and furnishings.

The Tx500-1800B extends the fabric printing family based on Mimaki's 500-series engine, which includes the Tx500-1800DS, a direct sublimation unit not presently sold in the UK. The B model can achieve 60sq m per hour in four-colour standard mode and can use reactive, acid and sublimation inks for different fabrics no thicker than five millimetres.

"We believe that the Tx500-1800B will speed up the gradually growing transition to digital printing in the worlds of textiles and apparel," comments Mike Horsten, general marketing manager for EMEA at Mimaki. "Fashion designers and others in the industry will be able to produce vibrant small lot products on unique materials that were not readily available for digital printing in the past."

"We're seeing substantial growth in the sportswear and fashion sectors," adds Hybrid Service's national sales manager John de la Roche. "Local manufacturing shortens the time to market and shipping costs are greatly reduced. Retailers are demanding this sort of service, so the new Mimaki production textile machine delivers a solution."