ITMA Milan - Epson ML-8000 bringing digital textile printing onshore

Textile Image Magazine is live at ITMA where the highlight of the Epson stand is the ML-8000, a next-generation digital textile printer with high print quality, productivity, stable operation with minimal downtime, and allows easy operation for an affordable price, making it the ideal printer for companies looking to move into local, onshore digital printing and production.

Craig Heckenberg Managing Director, Epson Australia commented, “The Monna Lisa direct-to-fabric printer was officially introduced to the market twenty years ago and since then has gone on to play a major role in helping textile businesses grow and create new opportunities that only digital printing can provide.”

“Today, Monna Lisa is recognised globally as a benchmark for quality, reliability, and productivity in direct printing onto natural, blended, and synthetic fabrics, which is why we are very excited to be introducing the ML-8000 to the A/NZ market.”

“Epson Australia recently installed its first ML-8000 in Sydney which is tailored for our region because of its price point and performance. The printer utilises an advanced pigment ink formulation that delivers a more sustainable approach to textile printing because it does not require water or additional equipment such as steamers and washers to finish the printed fabric.”

“Furthermore, Epson is the only company that can provide a full inhouse solution which includes hardware, software, print heads, ink, and chemistries for both pre and post treatments. This knowledge and expertise enable Epson to provide the right support and advice to help our customers succeed in growing their textile business”, concludes Craig.

The Monna Lisa series combines performance and usability to meet the needs of the digital textile market for flexibility and sustainability. With its eight PrecisionCore printheads, the ML-8000 reaches typical print speeds of 155
square metres per hour (600x600 dpi – 2 passes).

The ML-8000’s superior image quality is enabled by Epson’s high quality printheads. Epson’s exclusive Microweave and lookup table (LUT) technologies reduce banding and graininess and advanced new Multi-Layer Halftone Technology (MLHT), which randomises the halftone dot pattern on each layer, reduces image degradation caused by dot misalignment. Dynamic Alignment Stabiliser (DAS) technology also ensures stable print quality by controlling waveforms on each printhead chip for higher dot placement accuracy and more uniform dot density on each pass. 

The ML-8000 also features symmetrical colour alignment for consistent colour overlap order during bidirectional low pass printing, and Accurate Belt Position Control (ABPC) technology automatically detects the belt feeding distance to ensure highly precise fabric feeding. The result is optimal quality and speed, with superb reproduction of colour gradations, fine details and complex geometric patterns.

ML-8000 Key Features:
- Printheads: eight Epson PrecisionCore printheads. The latest generation MicroTFP print chip combines quality, accuracy and speed.
- Productivity: typical print speed of 155 m2/hr (600x600 dpi – 2 pass*1)
- Maximum print speed: up to 250 m2/hr (300x600 dpi; 1 pass*2)
- Resolution: up to 1200 dpi.
- Width: 180 cm
- Ink colours: eight
- Ink types: Genesta Acid, Reactive, Disperse and Pigment. Genesta water-based inks allow precision and colour fastness in fabric prints. Genesta inks obtain the highest quality on any fabric type.
- Ink capacity: three or ten litres.

VIDEO: Textile Image Magazine is live at #ITMA23 with Terry Crawford, Business Development Manager - Industrial Labels & Textile, Epson Australia, discussing the Monna Lisa 8000