Durst launched the fifth generation of its Alpha family of textiles printers at ITMA 2019. These printers feature Durst’s Super Multi pass technology which the manufacturer claims will provide 30 per cent better performance than comparable systems. The new technology is based around enhancements to print heads, inks, drying units and software and workflow upgrades.
The machines can be configured with water-based disperse-, acid- and reactive-based ink systems as well as Durst's new Advanced Digital Pigment (ADP). According to Durst, ADP is the first ink system to offer a one-step process with soft touch, brilliant colours and a wider colour space.
The Alpha technology platform offers a sustainable, flexible, and scalable solution for every application, even enabling waterless one-step production with the new Advanced Digital Pigment ink.
The Alpha 190 is a 1.9m-wide single-roll system that can print at speeds up to 990sqm/hr at single-pass 300x600dpi resolution. Its 3.3m-wide sibling, the Alpha 330, can print up to 1,470sqm/hr single pass in single-roll mode and 1,184sqm/hr in dual-roll mode.
Both print from eight colour channels in 32- and 64-head configuration. Various modular options are available for both machines, including knitwear and dual-roll options, small-roll, jumbo-roll and folded material entry and exit, and a second drying unit.
A patented SwiftJet pre-treatment system can also be added, intended to aid with short-run and fast-turnaround work.
