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ITMA 2023
ITMA 2023 showcases innovations for textile and garment industry
The 19th edition of the world’s largest textile and garment technology exhibition, ITMA 2023, recently took place in Milan, Italy, unveiling a showcase of cutting-edge technologies
ITMA 2023 recently welcomed attendees from all over the world to Milan, Italy, showcasing technologies presented by 1709 exhibitors from 47 countries.
Spanning 200,000 square metres of the Fiera Milano Rho venue, ITMA 2023 had solutions on advanced materials, automation and digital future, innovative technologies, and sustainability and circularity on the show floor under the theme of ‘Transforming the World of Textiles’.
According to CEMATEX (the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers) which owns ITMA, the textile machinery exhibition has continued to build on its strong reputation as the global innovation launchpad since its debut in 1951.
Speaking at the ITMA 2023 press conference, CEMATEX president Ernesto Maurer said, “ITMA continues to be a sought-after platform for textile machinery manufacturers, with this year’s exhibition receiving a three per cent increase in net exhibit space compared to ITMA 2019.
“Interestingly, we also welcomed new exhibitors from Tunisia, Estonia, Ireland, Norway, Ukraine, and as far as Panama, Peru, and Honduras. Due to high demand, about 150 applicants were unable to be accommodated as some sectors were sold out after the space application deadline.”
Like past ITMA editions, exhibitors from CEMATEX countries continued to have a strong presence on the show floor. A total of 867 exhibitors booked 63 per cent of the net exhibit space.
The largest contingent of 422 exhibitors came from Italy, formed by ACIMIT (Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers). Italian exhibitors occupied 30 per cent of the space.
The next biggest group of exhibitors came from Germany. A total of 198 German exhibitors booked 15 per cent of the space. The third largest group was from Turkey with 191 exhibitors taking up 12 per cent of the space.
Comprehensive product sectors
With the inclusion of a new product sector, textile composites, visitors used ITMA 2023 as an opportunity to source a comprehensive range of technologies and services.
The top five sectors in terms of participation were:
• Finishing - 329 exhibitors (27 per cent of exhibit space)
• Spinning - 257 exhibitors (13 per cent of exhibit space)
• Weaving - 161 exhibitors (10 per cent of exhibit space)
• Printing - 146 exhibitors (12 per cent of exhibit space)
• Knitting - 128 exhibitors (10 per cent of exhibit space)
Although not in the top sectors, the recycling and software sectors attracted greater interest. In this edition, both sectors saw a doubling of exhibit space. The number of exhibitors also increased to 31 for the recycling sector, and 47 for the software sector.
ITMA Services chairman Charles Beauduin said, “Digitalisation and sustainability are twin drivers to build a better future for the industry. Research and development in these areas have resulted in many groundbreaking technologies. Hence, these sectors have gained greater traction and there is a healthy growth in the number of exhibitors”.
Print showcase
Several printing and consumables companies used ITMA 2023 to showcase and launch the latest of their technologies for the textile and garment industry. Here are some examples of them:
DuPont
DuPont Artistri, a business specialising in digital inkjet inks, launched the Artistri P1600 direct-to-film (DTF) pigment inks at ITMA 2023.
The company said Artistri P1600 inks are ideal for DTF printers looking for a professionally printed product with consistent, vibrant colours on a variety of fabrics.
The Artistri P1600 DTF ink set allows for profiling with reduced ink volume delivering both efficiency and productivity as equipment runs cleaner for longer. The versatility of the Artistri P1600 is seen in different applications, from cotton, to blends and especially polyester, giving printers access to a high-quality ink product for printing on a choice of clothing materials.
DuPont Artistri digital inks general manager Tucker Norton said, “With Artistri P1600 DTF inks, garment decorators will not only benefit from brightly printed fabrics, but these water-based inks can help contribute to their sustainability initiatives.
“P1600 inks were formulated using safer by design principles to assess and evaluate any potential environmental risks, are classified as non-hazardous under GHS and are HAPS (hazardous air pollutants) free. All this is possible through DuPont’s extensive ink formulation knowhow, in combination with our best-in-class product stewardship and manufacturing to offer a compatible and reliable product that takes the quality of DTF printing to the next level.”
During the show, visitors also experienced the print performance of Artistri water-based inks through customer collaborations including live demos at the ColorJet booth as well as latest print design samples from BYDi and ROQ on display at the Artistri stand.
Experts from the Artistri team also discussed advancements in white inks that offer best-in-class opacity, stretch and a long shelf life.
For direct-to-garment (DTG) and rollto-roll (RTR) printing, the booth featured Artistri P5500 pigment DTG inks and a wide RTR inks range including Artistri P2700, P3600 pigment inks and Artistri S1500 and S2500 dye sublimation inks.
DuPont Artistri EMEA digital inks business leader Gary Weyman added, “Digital printing with pigment inks is gaining more space in textile printing due to minimal water usage which means a lower environmental footprint as it doesn’t require steaming and washing steps in the printing process.
“It is our mission to develop ink innovations that support sustainability in textile printing and, since our pigment inks are granted the OEKO-TEX ECO PASSPORT certification EFI Reggiani showcased the sustainability and digital workflow advantages of its textile solutions at ITMA 2023, presenting its sustainable ecoTERRA pigment printing line up, the super-high-speed EFI Reggiani HYPER and Reggiani BOLT XS direct-tofabric printing solutions, and EFI Inèdit end-to-end digital textile workflows.
The EFI Reggiani ecoTERRA is an all-in-one solution for water-based pigment printing that requires no ancillary equipment for preand post-treatment. By significantly reducing water, energy and chemicals consumption in the overall process, customers can now obtain a truly sustainable, direct-to-fabric printing solution.
For the first time at ITMA 2023, EFI Reggiani presented its full ecoTERRA line up of four models, including a 340mm-printing width, with speeds ranging from 150 to 600 sqm/h. The company said this allows customers to choose the best TCO/ROI based on output volume and speed range.
Reggiani ecoTERRA water-based pigment inks aim to deliver excellent wet and dry fastness properties, sharpness in detail and outstanding durability while ensuring printhead longevity with reduced maintenance costs. The enhanced polymerisation and finishing unit enables the machine to provide an enhanced tactile experience and fabric softness.
In addition to highlighting EFI Reggiani’s sustainable product offering, the company also demonstrated the significant productivity and efficiency advantages offered by its portfolio of high-speed, high-performance digital textile printers.
Attendees discovered how mass production can transition to a digital, on-demand workflow with the super-high speeds and ultra-high print quality of the EFI Reggiani HYPER scanning printer and the next-generation EFI Reggiani BOLT XS single-pass textile printer.
The EFI Reggiani HYPER is one of the fastest scan digital textile printers in the market. Available in 1.8m, 2.4m or 3.4m wide models, the Reggiani HYPER printer delivers printing quality and productivity.
Equipped with 72 printheads and ink recirculation up to the nozzle plate, it can print two pass, production quality at speeds up to 13 linear metres per minute on a 1.5m-wide roll. Using the dual-roll capability on the 3.4m model, users can achieve throughput speeds up to 20 metres per minute.
As for the new EFI Reggiani BOLT XS printer, it comes with speeds of up to 100 linear metres per minute, boosted uptime and reliability, high performance throughout, printing accuracy, and minimal maintenance needs.
Visitors to the booth also saw EFI Reggiani’s new proprietary end-to-end digital printing workflow and the latest enhancements to EFI Inèdit digital textile software.
Inèdit, now part of EFI Reggiani, is a developer of raster image processors (RIPs) and related software for digital industrial textile printing. The EFI Reggiani end-to-end workflow with Inèdit integration aims to boost productivity and production capabilities for digital textile print operations while ensuring maximum security for customer’s designs thanks to two-level encryption.
Currie Group is the local distributor for EFI’s entire Reggiani portfolio.
Epson
Epson took the wraps off its new Monna Lisa ML-24000 at ITMA 2023. The new machine was developed to satisfy a textile market constantly in search of innovation, creativity, and certified quality.
The highly flexible solution is the first to be equipped with 24 Epson PrecisionCore printheads and 12 colours. It has been designed to help meet compliance standards required for quality, safety, and sustainability.
Epson said a wide range of available colours, a reduction in the downtime required to change inks and the possibility of producing certified printed fabrics without having to change the type of inks in the machine take the concept of flexibility and efficiency to the next level.
It is also able to print on all types of fabrics from natural, artificial, and synthetic fabrics through to the most innovative vegetable fibres such as coconut or banana.
Through Epson’s four Genesta ink families (Acid, Reactive, Disperse and Pigment) the Monna Lisa ML-24000 offers a wider colour range than the other printers in the series and is said to deliver the best possible quality on every specific type of fabric. Its extreme flexibility allows it to respond quickly and punctually to the demands of multiple markets with a wide range of justin-time textile products. Other key strengths include productivity, flexibility, and quality at competitive costs.
Vital too, is the Epson Monna Lisa ML24000’s ability to meet the requirements of companies that need to produce prints to obtain specific certifications (such as GOTS or OEKO-TEX). To attain the various certifications, it is necessary to use selected inks, something that Epson said can easily be achieved thanks to the wide range of inks supported by the Monna Lisa ML-24000.
“Guaranteeing the exceptional quality for which Epson is renowned, while delivering the high speeds necessary for commercial and industrial printing, is Epson’s PrecisionCore printhead technology. At its heart is the MicroTFP next-generation printing chip. PrecisionCore technology perfectly embodies Epson’s goal of delivering unrivalled levels of value and performance to the widest possible customer base,” Epson added.
At ITMA 2023, Epson also launched the Monna Lisa ML-16000/HY model, as well the new REACID configuration Monna Lisa ML-8000 and the Monna Lisa ML-32000 in a new 3.4m width.
HP
HP, together with Decathlon and Lonati Group, have taken to ITMA 2023 to present an innovative and sustainable approach to footwear manufacturing.
Harnessing the power of advanced technologies including HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology and Lonati’s knitting machines for uppers, this collaboration is said to pave the way for a future of sustainable footwear production.
Traditionally, footwear production requires numerous parts, adhesive materials and a significant workforce. However, HP, Lonati Group and Decathlon are revolutionising the process by harnessing the power of 3D printing.
With their latest innovation, they have developed a sports shoe that combines Lonati’s sock with an innovative midsole and outsole produced with HP’s 3D printer. Lonati’s XT-MACHINE and Double Cylinder E1530XS knitting machines enable the production of uppers with single- or double-layer fabric, resulting in an integrated upper that offers comfort, lightness, performance, and quality.
HP’s Jet Fusion 5200 printer produces both the midsole and outsole of the shoe and to ensure optimal performance, these components are made from BASF Ultrasint TPU01 material, a versatile thermoplastic polyurethane powder known for shock absorption and flexibility.
With this partnership, the companies intend to share a combined message, focusing on the advantages of 3D printing and digital knitting for industrial-level manufacturing, emphasising on:
• Customisation: The shoe allows consumers to personalise the footwear to their own preferences and needs.
• Circularity and repairability: Using a glueless assembly method, the shoe can be easily repaired in case of damage, while the cushion and upper parts can be separated, allowing for targeted repairs without the need to discard the entire shoe. This not only extends the life of the product, but also reduces waste. In addition, the use of a single material, TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), for the grip and cushion parts increases the recyclability of the shoe.
• Local production: With 3D printing, the shoe can be produced locally, reducing emissions from transportation and supporting local economies.
• Flexibility: The manufacturing process allows for optimised inventory and on-demand production, thus reducing waste.
HP personalisation and 3D printing head of footwear and sports Don Albert said, “HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology is enabling a new era of sustainable and innovative manufacturing. We are proud to partner with Decathlon to show the immense potential of 3D printing in contributing to a more sustainable approach to manufacturing”.
Kornit Digital
Kornit Digital showcased its Kornit Apollo platform, which offers high-throughput digital production at scale, at ITMA 2023. The company also introduced the Kornit Atlas MAX PLUS system for decorated apparel – now incorporating smart curing, flexible pallet sizing, and autonomous calibration.
Enabling digital production to go mainstream, Kornit Digital said Apollo allows customers to become more agile, drive revenue opportunities, shift to localised production, and ease complex workflow processes.
It offers large-capacity and high-qualitydriven users the opportunity to adopt digital versatility and a quick time to market – expanding beyond screen printing to achieve vertical or horizontal expansion and robust business opportunities based on current operational models.
The Apollo platform is built on the Kornit MAX technology and is a comprehensive, streamlined single-step solution for nearshore short- and medium-run apparel decoration.
Empowering customers to sidestep the hazards of complex supply chains, it also offers speed and agility in digital decoration – it decorates 400 unique garments per hour. Automated loading and unloading, integrated smart curing, and inline garment type adjustment yield higher output and reduced labour.
The platform also helps fulfiller and brand supply chain managers gain visibility into their production – ensuring consistency and operational control across multiple systems and locations. This pairs with on-demand production strategies to continuously fulfill orders of multiple sizes, strengthen supply chains, and shorten fulfillment times.
As for the new Atlas MAX PLUS system, it takes Kornit’s Atlas MAX platform to the next level, bringing increased productivity of 150 garments per hour.
With integrated Smart Curing, Rapid Size Shifter pallets, and autonomous
calibration, the offering takes smart production capabilities a step forward introducing production flexibility, consistency and quality.
Also on display at ITMA 2023 was the recently introduced Kornit Atlas MAX POLY, an efficient specialty system for polyester decoration, covering blends, tri-blends, and other synthetic fabric combinations. The solution delivers colourful and vibrant prints using innovative neon inks while supplying retail-grade quality and durability.
Kyocera
Kyocera took to ITMA 2023 to launch FOREARTH, a new inkjet textile printer that aims to eliminate all water usage from fabric printing.
FOREARTH is an all-in-one printing system that uses new proprietary pigment ink, pre-treatment liquid, and finishing agent, which are constantly discharged in the same sequence from the inkjet head. This system eliminates the pre-and post-processes required of conventional dye printing and reduces the water consumption of textile printing by 99 per cent. Also, this new printing solution contributes to reducing energy consumption and CO₂ emissions because it does not need large-scale equipment used for the pre- and post-treatment processes of textile printing.
FOREARTH’s all-in-one printing system also enables highly detailed printing on diverse fabrics ranging from cotton, silk, and polyester to nylon and blended fabrics with a single machine. It is also adaptable to a wide range of categories – from ladies’ fashion and sportswear to babywear and home textiles. The company said it expects this printer to contribute to eliminating printing-related water pollution, which has long been an issue in the textile and apparel industries.
“Traditional analog textile printing consumes a large amount of water, especially in the washing and steaming processes, and wastewater pollution due to fabric printing is a long-standing issue around the world,” Kyocera said.
“In addition, waste resulting from the mass disposal of overstocked clothing is also an environmental concern, and the textile and apparel industries are under pressure to take immediate action toward alleviating this issue. Kyocera developed our new inkjet textile printer, FOREARTH, that combines patented inkjet, ink, and printing equipment technology to contribute to solving these environmental problems.”
Other key features of the machine include:
• Water- free concept to dramatically reduces water usage in textile printing
• Proprietary pigment ink realises both soft hand-feel prints and high fastness in a wide range of fabrics.
• A two-step printing and drying system that shortens the number of steps from design to production. As a result of this streamlined processing, it supports optimised production and location setting and therefore can handle small-lot printing and shorten delivery times, helping reduce logistic costs and surplus inventories.
