Impression Technology Europe will display the M2 and M4 direct to garment digital printing machines on stand M66N at Fespa.
The M Series is different to any other printer in this field and achieves that link between direct to garment and screen print. It can handle large orders but this machine is also at home producing ‘one—offs’ giving it unparalleled flexibility. Whether you are a screen printer or a supplier of small order-print work the M Series machines have to be a consideration.
Direct to garment printing may have only been around for a few years, it was always seen as a small business solution and separate to screen print. numbers. In general screen print was seen as the production platform for large orders whilst direct to garment handled the smaller numbers.
M Series handles large and small orders
With the introduction of the M Series DTG Digital has bridged that gap and produced a machine that can handle large orders just as easily as small ones. The ‘M Series’ currently consists of two models the M2 and the M4 with both machines capable of handling industrial quantities.
M2 direct to garment printing machine
The M2 is the smaller machine, although it has to be said that it is still a substantial piece of equipment, with a maximum print area of 610mm x 1200mm. The print bed is flexible and can take an assortment of platens that can, for instance, be easily and quickly switched between a double platen set-up, for printing two shirts at the same time, and a single large print holder. It shares the same print engine as its larger brother, the M4, which, interestingly, was developed specifically for the purpose of printing direct to garments. This is unusual as the majority of machines on the market make use of a print engine that already existed for document printing. This inevitably meant compromises but, with the M Series, this is no longer the case.
M4 direct to garment printing machine
The larger of the machines, the M4, is similar in looks but can be easily identified by its larger print bed and the enclosed, floor standing, base which forms an integral part of the build. The larger bed on this machine is capable of handling 4 standard platens at the same time and delivers amazing production figures. When converted to a single print bed you have the ability to print large textiles, such as table cloths, making the machine the ultimate in flexibility.
iQ Interweave
Apart from the print engine these machines both also utilise the newly developed iQ Interweave which has revolutionised the way dots are printed onto the surface of the product. By using this new method the machines have the ability to produce high quality prints at a lower resolution without the, often seen, problem of ‘banding’ and remember, lower resolution means shorter print times which means higher productivity.
Both models are 8 channel allowing for dual CMYK or, the more standard, 4 white plus CMYK and both use a Piezo print head with 180 nozzles per channel.
