Day One In-depth Report — WorkHorse Product Overview

he new China International Textile Machinery Exhibition and ITMA Asia Exhibition will be held from November 19th to 23rd, 2023, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai.

?

On the opening day, we interviewed the head of product and application solutions for CNTOP's digital garment printing, presenting an in-depth analysis of CNTOP's significant new products at this ITMA exhibition.

?

Firstly, could you briefly introduce CNTOP and the recent developments in CNTOP's digital printing in the garment industry?

CNTOP Digital is a subsidiary under the HanGlory Group that focuses on digital printing applications in the garment and cutting fields. It stands as a rare entity in China capable of independently developing print head driving systems, core control systems, and comprehensive solutions for digital garment printing. We offer customers a complete set of solutions, including digital printing equipment, ink, consumables, software, and after-sales support.

Presently, CNTOP's high-speed inkjet printing applications have culminated into three major product series: Oval - a fully automated oval printing machine, Hybrid - an integrated digital automatic printing machine, and DTG - a purely digital intelligent garment coating printing machine. Each series excels in its own way, complementing each other and forming a comprehensive and diverse digital printing solution, covering all aspects of digital printing.

What new products will CNTOP Digital release at this ITMA Asia exhibition?

Our pioneering oval and digital hybrid printing model has been successfully applied in global markets and has earned a good reputation in the printing industry. At this ITMA, we will introduce the WorkHorse, a new digital integrated printing platform, based on the mature Hybrid series. This platform represents an entirely new range of oval digital solutions for the industry.

?

The all-new digital integrated printing platform, WorkHorse, is designed by CNTOP for high-end garment producers seeking superior print quality, compatibility, and larger printing dimensions. It's a new generation of oval-digital hybrid printing solutions we are unveiling to the industry. This platform supports various applications of Kyocera, Ricoh, and Ricoh white ink. It offers higher production capacity, reaching a maximum of 510 pcs/h or more, and upgraded precision. With a stable machine structure and CNTOP's independently developed intelligent walking algorithm, it presents more perfect images of fine ink droplets. It boasts a printing width of 860x680 mm, an unprecedented large-format printing platform, allowing users to achieve exquisite large-format printing efficiently. It also ushers in an era of multiple-piece printing, truly doubling production capacity.

?

On the WorkHorse platform, users can access diverse and flexible product and solution choices. It provides tailored digital direct printing solutions for garment producers, supporting Ricoh color, Kyocera color, and Ricoh white direct printing solutions. Additionally, it supports 4-6 color configurations and, through an independent motion control framework, allows users to switch overall application solutions, offering higher value and new business opportunities.

?

What are the differences between the various segmentation solutions of the new WorkHorse products? Can you share the distinctive advantages with us?

?

Drawing on CNTOP's technical experience and accumulated solutions in the Hybrid fully automatic oval-digital integrated application, WorkHorse innovatively achieves dual digital advanced configurations, comprehensively enhancing the digital advantages of the oval. It also inherits and enhances the advantages of various existing models in the Hybrid series. The new product exhibits excellent mechanical precision, more agile automation performance, and broader large-format pattern adaptation capabilities. It demonstrates high adaptability to complex production environments and higher image fineness requirements, meeting customers' demands for long-term stable production.

?

In terms of solutions, WorkHorse's flexibility will bring customers more targeted digital direct printing solutions for garments. What are the differences and distinctions among the three main solutions: Ricoh color, Kyocera color, and Ricoh white? This depends on customers' different production situations and actual application needs. The Ricoh color solution employs 4, 6 color configurations, with production efficiency calculated based on A4 size images reaching 420 pieces/hour or more (4 pass), achieving higher motion accuracy and stability. Similarly, the Kyocera color solution also uses 4, 6 color configurations, with 5pl three-level grayscale printing, smaller ink dots, finer images, higher production capacity, and can reach 510 pieces/hour or more even in the 600*1200dpi fine production mode. The Ricoh white ink direct printing solution, rare in the industry, when combined with independent color inkjet, achieves high production capacity and high accuracy compatibility. It can also reach a production capacity of 420 pieces/hour or more in 4 pass mode.

What breakthroughs in CNTOP's digital technology development are noteworthy? What value will it bring to customers in the textile printing industry?

?

The achievement of non-contact digital printing in the textile industry's segmented material applications is relatively mature. We always say that digital technology does not require plate making and can print on demand. These eight short words represent how this technology has comprehensively simplified the entire process chain of our textile printing. It eliminates the complex processes of color separation plate making, plate mounting, plate changing, material handling, and procurement. Moreover, it reduces the management costs of a large amount of ink and plates, venue expenses, and significantly reduces environmental pollution. Simplifying the production process reduces operational errors, enables quick response, seamless order changeovers, efficient delivery, centralized order-based high-efficiency output, and comprehensively enhances the delivery efficiency, flexibility, and competitiveness of textile terminal manufacturing enterprises.

?

CNTOP's "Oval + Digital" printing model bridges the gap between direct garment printing (DTG) and screen printing. It has a short printing cycle, with shipments within 3 days, focusing on small and medium orders in the cutting and garment industry, applicable to large-scale clothing manufacturers and printing factories with orders ranging from 50 to 50,000 pieces. It does not require pre-treatment, reducing the time, labor, and cost required for separate color separation and plate-making processes, making small-scale printing production more cost-effective. At the same time, using professional digital coating inks is safe and environmentally friendly, adapts to a wider range of pastes and fabrics, and shows excellent color fastness. Ordinary printing effects only require 2-3 digital white bases and 1 screen cover, with all other color parts printed by digital printing. It can also achieve the combination of digital printing with various special processes such as thick plates, flocking, foaming, and pulling paste, making the colors more vivid and the printing more enduring.

?

Of note, CNTOP's digital intelligence printing seamlessly integrates, whether it's Hybrid or the new WorkHorse products. It supports multi-process or even full-process automation upgrades, seamlessly integrating ecosystems, multiple machines, and IOT as needed according to customers' actual production needs. This aids in transforming and upgrading traditional printing and dyeing enterprises towards industrial digitization, intelligence, and automation.