Sophie Matthews-Paul takes a first look at Durst’s new textile printer the Kappa 180.
When Durst made its entry into digital textile printing in 2009 with the announcement of the Rhotex 320 it stood to reason that, having made the departure from its core technology of UV-curable chemistry, there would be more in the fabric field to follow. Although it’s not being launched until ITMA in September, I was able to spend some time with the new industrial strength Kappa 180 at Durst’s Kufstein premises in Austria.
At first glance the appearance of the Kappa 180 has the distinctive look of Durst about it in terms of livery and styling, and it is typical of tough machines designed to handle heavy throughput. But, despite the arrival of the Rhotex, Durst has continued to put much weight behind the development of a textile solution, and it’s involved the getting together of a dedicated textile R&D team at Kufstein whose intention it has been to bring an industrial engine to market.
This 1.95m textile printer sits in the high-end production space, currently occupied by a few other specialist machines including those from Stork and Qualijet, and comes with a choice of ink options. Available in the first instance with reactive and disperse dyes, with acid to follow, Durst’s textile specialist Christoph Gamper forecasts that the greatest interest will come from those wanting to print direct to cottons and mixes and, thus, will want to use the first of these options.
The intention of the Durst Kappa 180 is to challenge the flatbed screenprint market with a textile solution that can throughput at more than 600 m2/hour at 1056 x 600dpi. It utilises the company’s QuadroZ technology, which is a modification of the existing Quadro Array technology found in its other engines. Its own premium inks were developed in Lienz, and have been formulated with aqueous-based and, thus, environmentally friendly chemistry to make them attractive to all kinds of fabric printing.
The Kappa 180’s printing system features a full production line which starts with automatic infeed and guides positioned specifically for the handling of textiles. The maximum print width of 1.95m is complemented by a printing blanket and an integral washing system. Finally, the drying unit comprises a hot air drier powered by gas, steam or electricity.
By modifying the technology used, the Durst Kappa 180 is able to print accurately onto textiles because of a specially hardened nozzle plate which is also fray resistant. With a drop size choice of seven, 14 of 21 picoliters, an automatic nozzle cleaning system makes sure that the running of the machine isn’t compromised by having to implement checking procedures.
In terms of productivity, this machine’s print speed of greater than 600m2/hour is complemented by its eight-colour ink set. These are represented by the standard CMYK with the addition of orange, red, blue and grey which the company believes is the best combination for this type of technology. The integrated delivery system has an osmosis filtering system that is designed to eliminate any tiny gas bubbles in the inks which could cause failures during running and affect the final printed result.
Durst has also put a lot of energy into its remote diagnostics, known as DARD. It’s not alone in offering this facility in a high-end industrial unit, but it makes sense to know that all elements are monitored constantly in a machine of this magnitude. For example, humidity, the state of the heads, temperature and tension conditions all have alerts which give notification before a situation becomes critical.
Durst is convinced that there is the need for high-end textile production, both for practical and green reasons. This machine is designed to keep water waste to a minimum and for economical use of ink, and this should appeal to markets where textile printing is on the increase now as well as those still considering the way forward with this type of digital production. Target countries are, not surprisingly, Italy; but Turkey and other areas further afield include Brazil where pockets of technological expertise are now making their presence felt across many precision industries. If demand is there, it will come to the UK.
The Durst Kappa 180 is a tough workhorse but, in the textile sector, it is likely to appeal to production houses where price pressure and the growing demand for fast turnaround on shorter runs is desirable. It can be used in environments where quality and personalisation increase the necessity for digital generation of virtually any application onto fabrics. Expect to pay around €500,000 for the complete system.