Category Archives: Dyeing Printing & Finishing

DORKING, England — March 20, 2023 — 490 exhibiting companies are already confirmed to participate at FESPA Global Print Expo, European Sign Expo and Personalisation Experience 2023, including 95 suppliers who were unable to attend the events in the last two years due to travel restrictions, including DP Solutions, eurolaser, INX, Lüscher Technologies, Marabu, SPS TechnoScreen, Vastex International and Vivid Laminating Technologies. The line-up also features 78 new exhibitors, including Aerolam Decoratives, CarbonQuota, Duveholm Stallbacken, Magon, Newtown Packaging, Ronchini Massimo, Scandinavian Print Group, Toscana Systems and XEIKON.

Visitors to FESPA Global Print Expo 2023 will see solutions from event sponsors Durst, Surfex, Brother, Mimaki, Hanglory and HP and hardware from leading suppliers including AGFA, Aeoon, Aleph, Canon, Epson, Fujifilm, HP, Kongsberg, Liyu, MHM, Sakurai, Swissqprint, Ricoh, Roland, ROQ and Zünd.

Confirmed automation and workflow software suppliers include Caldera, efi, Enfocus BV, OneVision and PrintFactory. Ahlstrom Munksjö, APA, Hexis, ImagePerfect/Berger Textiles, InkTec, Neschen, ORAFOL, Poli-Tape and Sun Chemical are also among the companies presenting media and consumables.

Head of FESPA Global Print Expo, Michael Ryan comments: “Exhibitors who haven’t been able to participate in FESPA events in the last few years can’t wait to share their innovations and expertise with our visitors. And we know that printers benefit hugely from being able to see products from many suppliers in one place, helping them to compare and evaluate the right investments for their business. Our mission this year is to give valuable new perspectives to printers and signmakers. With the strongest line-up of FESPA exhibitors since 2019, we can guarantee that visitors to Munich in May will be in the best place to get the insight and advice they need to overcome their production challenges, access new opportunities and imagine their business future.”

Christoph Gamper, CEO & Co-Owner, Durst comments: “Whereas there was a strong focus on faster production in recent years, digital printing is now no longer the new kid on the block. The emphasis is now on automation, efficiency, and an overall sustainable process in the various digital printing applications. We are pleased to have FESPA in our ‘neighbourhood’ this year and look forward to a lively exchange of applications and unique views, celebrating achievements and discussing new perspectives. The best ideas are born in dialogue, and FESPA offers the ideal setting.”

European Sign Expo 2023, the leading European exhibition for signage and visual communications, will be co-located with FESPA Global Print Expo. With the support of Platinum Sponsor EFKA, the event will reunite key signage professionals with companies specialising in channel lettering, digital signage, dimensional signage, engraving and etching, illuminated displays, out of home media, LED, outdoor systems, laser cutters and sign tools.

The brand new Personalisation Experience will give visitors the opportunity to learn more about personalisation, with specialist suppliers including Antigro, Brother, Dreamscape, Infigo, Optimus, Printbox, Print & Logistics, Taopix and XMPie showcasing products and solutions.

Registration for FESPA Global Print Expo, European Sign Expo and Personalisation Experience is now live. Entry to all three exhibition areas is free for members of a FESPA national Association or FESPA Direct. The ticket price is €30.00 for non-members who pre-register using code FESM306 before 23rd March.

A four-day pass for the Personalisation Experience conference area will be priced at €495. Tickets to the PE conference are €225 for visitors who register before March 23rd using code PEX1.

Posted: March 20, 2023

Source: Federation of European Screen Printers Associations (FESPA)

MANCHESTER, UK — March 20, 2023 — Alchemie Technology is the latest fast-rising company to join the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA), as all of the organization’s members gear up to showcase an array of new innovations at ITMA 2023 in Milan from June 8-14 this year.

Cambridge-headquartered Alchemie is the inventor of two ground breaking technologies – Endeavour and Novara.

The Endeavour digital dyeing system produces no wastewater and reduces water consumption by up to 95% compared to traditional dyeing. The virtually waterless process delivers dyed fabric with high colour consistency and colour fastness and does not require post dyeing washing steps which leads to an energy reduction up to 85%. It can deliver any colour shade required and enables on-demand digital colour changeovers in any run length, from a few metres to several kilometres.

Similar energy savings can be achieved with the Novara precision finishing system which utilises a nozzle array to deliver finishing chemistry with millimetre resolution. Finishing chemistries penetrate deeply into the fabric due to the combination of high velocity liquid jetting and precisely-controlled vacuum and textile finishes are applied only where needed, reducing chemistry usage and enabling multi-functionality.

In the past year, Alchemie, backed by Swedish fashion giant H&M, has established a first demonstration hub at customer JSRTEX in Taiwan. It is now progressing plans to set up further centres at customer sites around the world.

“The textile manufacturing industry has a significant impact on the environment, and with our Endeavour, waterless, low energy dyeing and Novara, low energy textile finishing technologies, we are disrupting manufacturing processes that are responsible for over 3% of global CO2 emissions and 20% of global water pollution,” says Alchemie founder and CEO Dr Alan Hudd. “Our solutions both dramatically reduce the environmental impact and the cost of dyeing and finishing, which has proven to be a compelling combination.”

“The time for Alchemie’s technologies is surely now,” adds BTMA CEO Jason Kent. “International brands and textile producers from around the world have been flocking to see these new highly automated and sustainable technologies in action we’re very pleased to welcome Alchemie to the association. We’re also really looking forward to rewarding discussions in Milan about the range of new sustainable solutions our members will be introducing at ITMA 2023 – from technologies for the production of fibres to those for finished products.”

Posted: March 20, 2023

Source: The British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA)

WASHINGTON — March 14, 2023 — Today, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) issued the following statement in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s draft proposal for Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs):

“PFOA and PFOS were phased out of production by our members more than eight years ago. We support restrictions on their use globally, and we support drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS based on the best available science.

“However, we have serious concerns with the underlying science used to develop these proposed MCLs and have previously challenged the EPA based on the process used to develop that science. We are not alone in our concerns, as others have been on the record criticizing their development. And new peer-reviewed research also calls into question the basis for EPA’s overly conservative approach to assessing one of the health endpoints.

“Importantly, the World Health Organization is also at odds with EPA on the health threshold for PFOA and PFOS. Furthermore, while we review the details, we would note that EPA has not yet evaluated two of the four chemistries included in the proposed ‘hazard index’ MCL. We will be interested to see how EPA explains its rationale for combining substances affecting different health endpoints into a single index, in violation of its own guidance1.

“The EPA’s misguided approach to these MCLs is important, as these low limits will likely result in billions of dollars in compliance costs. The proposals have important implications for broader drinking water policy priorities and resources, so it’s critical that EPA gets the science right.

“We look forward to reviewing these proposals in detail and commenting to EPA throughout the process.

“PFAS are a diverse universe of chemistries critical to renewable energy applications like solar and wind power, medical devices, the production of life-saving drugs, as well as cell phones, tablets and semiconductors, among many other uses. All PFAS are not the same and they should not all be regulated the same way.”

[1] https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-science-and-assessing-pesticide-risks/guidance-identifying-pesticide-chemicals-and-other

Posted March 14, 2023

Source: American Chemistry Council