The AK-SP1/AK-SP2 printers support up to four platens with maximum print areas of 24 x 30 in. The system uses AUP technology and prints A-Tex standard inks. It can image at resolutions of 360, 720, and 1440 dpi. Arakis also offers the AK-78 and AK-SP1/AK-SP2 inkjet printers, all of which use interchangeable, off-the-shelf printing platens. A-Tex high-viscosity inks, and a white ink formulated for printing without pretreatment, are available from Arakis. (406 x 508-mm) print at 600 dpi in two minutes. It can image onto garments at 300 and 600 dpi, and according to Arakis, the printer can complete a 16 x 20-in. Orbital supports up to four platens, each offering a maximum print area of 24 x 30 in.
BROTHER GT 541 BANDING PLUS
At its core is the Arakis Universal Printengine (AUP), which uses four valve-jet heads for white underbasing without pretreatment, plus four or eight dedicated Spectra heads for CMYK or spot colors (optional 2 x CMYK is available). The Arakis Orbital is a custom-built carousel inkjet system that uses interchangeable, off-the-shelf printing platens. The FP-125 runs on Windows XP or Vista (32-bit version) or on a Mac running Boot Camp or emulation software. The device’s three-step workflow includes image selection, printing, and setting the image in a heat press or conventional garment dryer.
BROTHER GT 541 BANDING SOFTWARE
An optional software RIP is available for printing onto black apparel. AnaPrint software is for decorating white, pastel, and light colored garments. (15 mm) and imaging resolution of 720 dpi. (318 x 406-mm) shuttling print table takes care of garment handling, and the printer supports a maximum garment thickness of 0.6 in.
Users can switch between a CMYK and CMYK + White configurations.
The FP-125 uses water-based, pigmented inks from AnaJet and features a closed-loop ink-delivery system with sealed ink cartridges, a feature engineered to prevent air pockets and foam formation.
BROTHER GT 541 BANDING FULL
It’s designed to deliver full ink saturation in a single print pass. The inkjet printer can image onto garments made of 100% cotton, poly-cotton blends, and certain types of 100% polyester. The FP-125 from AnaJet offers printers the ability to manage ink flow via a 15-level ink-volume control and five levels of fabric-dependent volume adjustment. Contact information for each manufacturer is provided in the source list on page 24. Read on to find out more about the direct-to-garment inkjet printers available today and the models some manufacturers plan for launch in the near future. The past four years have ushered in a greater number of printers that offer the ability to print white ink as an underbase or highlight on dark garments, faster print speeds, more colors, solutions for tighter registration, controls for ink saturation and vibrancy, and more.
The market for direct-to-garment inkjet printers is now occupied by nearly five times more manufacturers than those mentioned in Screen Printing magazine’s first look at the technology (“Garment Printing Joins the Jet Set,” Sept. Garment screen printers who are looking to digital technology to handle the short runs, one-offs, walk-in business, and other opportunities that might not be profitable on their presses now have more choices than ever.