Kornit’s new 933 ‘digital-on-garment’ printer brings together high-end digital and screen printing technologies on an existing carousel for the first time. Mark Smith of Adelco provides the low-down on the new machine, and details of the other recent developments to Kornit’s ink and machinery ranges…

Kornit’s latest product launch is something a little bit different; actually, it’s a big bit different. The 933 printer is the first digital add-on print station for use with manual and (selected) automatic screen print carousels. Now, high speed, short run, full-colour digital printing, on darks and whites, including variable data combinations (individually personalised prints),
can be combined with the full gamut of screen printing special effects inks and techniques.
Kornit is already well-known as the industrial automated digital printer manufacturer that specialises in high end direct-to-garment systems. The company has been installing its digital printers since the beginning of 2005, with the first UK printshop installation being completed by Adelco Screen Process, Kornit’s UK agents, a little over two years ago.
Kornit’s products and positioning in the market differentiate it from its competitors, as does its commitment and investment to continuous research and development. It has over 70 employees focused on research and development alone. The result is a constant stream of technological advances and improvements to existing equipment and inks. Most importantly, these advances are not limited to the latest machine models; Kornit’s installed base of digital printers can be upgraded with much of the new technology.

Rapid development

Mark Smith, Adelco’s sales director, reports that recent improvements
to Kornit’s ink chemistry, hardware and software technology have led to significant improvements in production speed: the latest Kornit 932 series machine (the 932NDS) is now up to 30 percent faster than previous models; the larger 931 series machine is 10 percent faster than earlier incarnations. Mark also points out that changes to Kornit’s ink chemistry have dramatically improved the quality of the finished prints. “The new inks are outstanding; they look pretty much like a screen print. We’ve just developed our fifth version of our white ink and it’s just got better and better, whiter and whiter. It’s even more stable in the printhead and exhibits superior scratch resistance.” Mark adds that the latest inks are Oeko-Tex approved water-based formulations, which is what the big retail brands are now insisting upon across all ranges – not just childrenswear. He comments: “Kornit’s digital printing technology, like computer-controlled technology generally, is moving forward at an incredible pace. That’s good for the customer in terms of machine capabilities and the
quality of printing – if you compare a Kornit print produced today with one produced 18 months ago it is dramatically different. “However, the constant improvements can act as a brake on a printer’s decision to make that initial investment in digital: we have found thatmany printshops are holding off on digital because they are scared that with technology moving so fast their investment will be rendered obsolete in a short space of time. In fact, we have just upgraded the first machines we installed in the UK, which have been operating for more than two years. These machines are now running with the same ink system as the newest machines, so the owner has exactly the same capabilities as a competitor that puts in the latest model of machine today.”

Add-on option

So what about the new 933 printer, which was unveiled at recent trade exhibitions in China and the USA ahead of an official launch in January 2008. As stated above, unlike Kornit’s standalone machines, the new printer is designed for use with screen printing carousels – both manual and automatic. However, while it can be used with “any manual carousel of reputable quality”, it is currently compatible with only one automatic – the MHM S-Type
with lifting heads. The good news is that the 933’s controller integrates with the S-Type’s indexing to maintain totally automated production. The 933 has been manufactured to be portable between different carousels. However, in practice it is unlikely a printshop would want to move it on a regular basis. The machine must be moved into position adjacent
to the carousel – usually after the first two or three heads, (to allow for print bases to be applied before the digital print is made), and then set, levelled and positioned accurately over the pallet. Cost-wise, the 933 is a little over ten percent more expensive than the
new 932NDS. But cost comparisons are misleading as these are very different machines, which have been developed for different purposes. Mark Smith explains: “The 932NDS is an all-in-one digital printer capable of printing on dark garments. The 933 is an add-on to a carousel with four print heads. This means that it is CMYK only, or you could install two 933s with one printing white ink and one printing CMYK. Alternatively, the (water- based) CMYK inks can be printed on a reactive discharge base, (screen printed), for dark garments.” Both the 933 and 932NDS use the same Spectra Nova printheads, so actual print speeds are the same. In the real world, however, the 933 is faster than the 932NDS, as it doesn’t have to wait for the white base to be printed (this takes two or three passes on the 932NDS). Nevertheless, the 933’s top speed – 200 prints per hour – will determine the carousel’s production speed when combination screen/digital prints are being produced.
The 933 could, of course, be used to print short run digital prints only, if required. But that clearly is missing the whole point of the machine. For the first time you can print designs that are only possible using screen and combine that with short run digital stuff. Take the Olympics, for example; you could print different flags and different names on to different shirts (digitally), and around the flags and names screen print a glittery framework, or puff inks, glows or any other screen printed special effect,” Mark explains. He adds that printing the flag and names on a standalone digital printer and then reloading the part-printed shirts onto the carousel to complete the job would not achieve the same results due to the problem of accurate positioning.

Remote control

Aside from its new printers and inks, Kornit has joined up with an internet software company – Lupalook – to launch an easy to use fully automated, personalised T-shirt design website package. Kornit WOW, (Website Order Wizard) for custom-made prints will offer businesses the opportunity to manage and produce custom-made orders through the internet. It will include an online shop, advanced interface for designing garments, and powerful back-end system for managing orders, clients, production and logistics: you’ll be able to take full control of production flow, order
status, web shop management, (including updating T-shirt models, colours and prices), level of stock management, and marketing tools, (such as management of member clubs, discount coupons and so on). “You can design T-shirts online and when you press ‘print’ the order is passed straight to your Kornit printer. You can check what’s been ordered that day, what’s in production, what’s been shipped and so on, and you can do it all remotely from any computer with an internet connection,” Mark explains. Kornit WOW will be operational from January 2008.