Vastex’s new LittleRed X3D-78 infrared conveyor dryer with a two-metre-wide conveyor belt can cure 185 garments per hour DTG printed with digital white ink, 1080 garments per hour screen printed with plastisol ink and 555 garments per hour screen printed with water-based ink or discharge.
“All LittleRed XD series dryers are specifically engineered to cure DTG printed digital white ink, which is the most difficult due to its high water content, and can therefore also cure all types of screen printed inks at extremely high rates,” explains Mark Vasilantone, president.
The DTG-specific feature of this dryer is a high-powered pre-heating zone that boosts ink temperatures past 150°C within the first few centimetres of conveyor travel. This increases the dwell time that ink is exposed to optimum curing temperatures, allowing speed of the conveyor belt and machine output to be increased.
Previously available in a 76 cm wide model for a single row of garments and a 137 cm wide model for two rows, the new two-metre-wide X3D-78 can accommodate three rows of normal sized garments or two rows of oversized garments, yielding higher capacity than any conventional dryer in the equivalent amount of floor space, according to the company.
High production shops
“This super-wide machine is ideal for high-production shops that need to handle the maximum output of automatic presses and/or direct-to-garment printers including shops running high capacity Kornit DTG machines” says Mr. Vasilantone, adding, “No other dryer of equivalent size or cost can match its performance.”
The dryer’s three 30.5 x 183 cm wide heaters output a combined 26,700 watts @240V, and are digitally-controlled and height-adjustable to maximise curing efficiency for bulky or over-sized garments. The X3D-78 also offers precision-thermal-profiling (PTP) to match curing conditions to the drying characteristics of each ink type, particularly difficult-to-cure inkjet-printed white ink.
The new dryer is 260 cm long, 226 cm wide and 137 cm high, and features a 31.2 CMM targeted exhaust system as standard to rapidly remove moisture and air contaminates from the heating chamber, while keeping exterior surfaces and controls cool.
