FESPA 2023 Review: New Tech, Trends, and Key Market Shifts—A Powerful and Successful Show for the Global Print Community

(Image courtesy Texintel.

Those expecting cutting-edge product launches were not let down by the FESPA event in Munich. All attendees showed great interest, from DTG and DTF, to screen printing and digital inks, to the 70+ new products launched at FESPA.

We highlight some of these notable launches.

Digital Printing

Epson The company launched the SureColor F2200 direct to garment printer at the show. This is said to be ideal for medium-sized businesses or start-ups that require high levels of accuracy and flexibility, as well as fast turnaround.

Designed to produce complex designs on a variety of garments, the SureColor F2200 uses Epson’s advanced PrecisionCore MicroTFP printhead technology to provide faster printing and data processing speeds, resulting in a productivity increase of up to 25% over its predecessor, while maintaining print quality.

Brother’s new Latex printer, the WF1, in addition to Brother’s new extended-color model GTX 600 Extra Colours, and its new direct-to-film (DTF), roll-to-roll device, were all officially launched at FESPA.

The 1.6m-wide resin printer—marketed as latex for ease of recognition—uses Brother’s inkjet technology and proprietary inks in a Roland DG frame, as a result of collaboration between the two manufacturers. 

Fujifilm Acuity Prime Hybrid Printer was shown for the first. This groundbreaking new printer is based on the highly-successful Acuity Prime and offers additional versatility because it can handle rigid or flexible media.

Canon Arizona 1300 series now includes two new models, The GTF and XTF feature the award-winning FLOW Technology, a zone-free vacuum that simplifies media handling. Extending the comprehensive Arizona flatbed printer family, the Arizona 1300 series with FLOW technology serves the growing mid-volume segment, enabling large-format graphics printers and other print service providers to offer their customers an extensive range of applications for retail, signage, interior décor, packaging, and industrial markets.

Vanguard Europe revealed its next generation UV flatbed at FESPA, the VK3220T. Vanguard Europe’s European Headquarters, which is 5,000 square feet in size, has designed and built the new Vanguard VK3220T. The new Kraftwerk is located in Brixen (South Tyrol), Italy, right next to Durst’s global headquarters.

EFI continued on its innovative path to create more opportunities for customers to achieve profitable growth with the announcement of the company’s first UV LED inkjet inks for thermoformed 3D sign and display applications, along with another breakthrough in the analog-to-digital transformation—the EFI Nozomi 14000 SD single-pass printer for sign and display graphics that is more than twice as productive as the fastest multi-pass/shuttle-based printer.

Finally, Mimaki Europe, the gold-sponsor of the FESPA Global Print Expo 2023, displayed its flagship printers in the sign graphic, industrial and textile markets. This included the recently announced TxF15075 Direct-toFilm (DTF), the high performance 330 Series, as well the entry-level100 Series. Mimaki’s first foray into DTF technology, the TxF150-75 made its international show debut at FESPA. The TxF150 75 is a DTF printer that offers an affordable and easy way to decorate apparel, most often T-shirts. It also meets the demand for a stable, reliable DTF technology.

Inks, Consumables

Sun Chemical Xennia Amethyst Evo RC ink of high quality was launched. It is an evolution of the successful Xennia series. This ink has been specially formulated for high production without compromising on quality. Sun Chemical announced the launch a series of digital textile pigment inks called Xennia Sapphire. Initially compatible with Ricoh Gen 5 printheads and Fujifilm Dimatix Starfire printheads that have a higher viscosity level, Xennia Sapphire pigment inks offer a new step in the development of pigment printing. They provide unmatched print stability, enhanced color fastness and an improved user experience.

Kernow CoatingsA producer of synthetic substrates that can be printed on, has introduced eight new materials suitable for wide format printers. They also have a range of printable wallpapers in the interiors collection. They can be used for many purposes, such as interior decorating or signage.

Specialty paper manufacturers Felix Schoeller Three new transfer film have been released. In collaboration with Bleher Folientechnik’s polymer films, two of these films are for direct-to fabric applications and the third is for screen-printing with plastisol inks and water-based plastisol inks.

Berger Textiles The company has expanded its fashion and home portfolio by introducing new apparel fabrics at the Munich trade show. Single Jerseys, a textile that can be used for a variety of custom printed garments and other accessories and is Oeko-Tex and GOTS certified, are designed for customised printed garments. The show also featured two new soft-signage materials. Moon is a grey-back polyester textile that Berger said delivers a combination of weight (330gsm) and softness, “together with a good level of opacity, while maintaining excellent image resolution quality.”

Magnetic Solutions launched Green Power, a new flexible magnetic material that it claims is a greener alternative that has been produced with Canon’s Colorado printer range in mind. Green Power has been in development and test for 18 months. The Sheffield-based manufacturer, supplier, said that it hopes to meet the demand of customers for environmentally-focused products by introducing these PVC, phthalate, and halogen free materials.

Ancillary Equipment

Lüscher launched the Screen Cube, created after John Potter of 3JP Consulting and founder of printing equipment supplier MHM Direct GB, approached Swiss company Lüscher Technologies about developing a laser-to-screen system. Lüscher is known for developing the CTP systems that are used in the production of 85% of the world’s banknotes. This machine is more accurate than most laser-to screen units that use a bar of lasers moving left and right along an x-axis. The lasers can last up to 20,000 hours of imaging.

Swiss manufacturer Zünd The Q-line, its first pallet to pallet digital cutting table range, was launched. The Q-line is pallet-to-pallet, and its cutting speed has been doubled compared to previous models. With an unprecedented level of automation for the brand, the Q-line has taken up prime position in Zünd’s portfolio. Powered by new linear drive technology, the new machine’s beams can accelerate at up to 2.1g, to reach a maximum speed of 2.8 m/s—effectively doubling both the speed and acceleration as compared to the manufacturer’s other models.

FESPA – The Showcase for New Technology

With all these innovations, and many more, FESPA continued to enhance its reputation for bringing the latest technology to the global print community—a community that attended in the thousands to take in the vibrant dynamics and technical excellence of the world’s foremost manufacturers, and who were thrilled to see the huge volume of new products unveiled at the show.

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