SDG Staff 

Brixen, Italy-based Durst, an industrial inkjet printer equipment manufacturer, recently installed its new Durst Rhotex 500 dye sublimation printer at a Netherlands company. The company claims it is the largest dye-sub printer in the world.

Durst says it developed the printer, capable of handling five-meter-wide (16.4 feet) textiles, in close consultation with Van Straaten, the visual communications company that received the install. Durst says that previously, these types of sublimation printers have only been able to handle a maximum width of 3.2 meters, or 10 ? feet. The company says the extra size allows for the printing of extra-wide graphics on textiles without having to have seams.

Van Straaten, which is a family owned company founded in 1918, had been looking for ways to dye-sub print larger-format soft fabrics. On the 500, heat-sensitive inks bond directly with the textile’s surface during the sublimation process, penetrating the material’s structure. Dot patterns are not visible, and the prints will not fade or damage easily and are totally odorless.

Durst says the larger-scale printer is also better for the environment. The inks used are water-based, and the fabrics that Van Straaten has introduced for this printer are EU REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemical Substances) certified and contain no heavy metals or PVC.

Another major advantage, the company says, is in lower shipping costs. The dye-sub fabrics can be folded, meaning easier packaging, storing and transporting and a lower volume weight when shipping when compared with rolled graphics.

Van Straaten, in cooperation with German textile manufacturer HEYtex, has developed three print textiles specifically for use with this new printer.

A second Rhotex 500 has also recently been installed at Van Straaten’s production facility at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam.