Exile Technologies has announced that the Spyder 3 DTS will be unveiled this month at the Fespa Global Print Expo 2019.
The new system is an evolution of the Spyder II DTS, a computer to screen (CTS) imaging system with automated image placement and digital registration. It supports two print mode settings: a standard 900dpi for textile screen printing applications, and a high resolution 1,200dpi option for industrial screen printing applications.
Both print modes support bi-directional printing, enabling the new system to “print a typical T-shirt screen image in well under a minute,” said Exile Technologies. At 0.5 sq metres per minute, the Spyder 3 is 33% faster and offers twice the dot resolution of the Spyder II. Exile added: “Even at 1200dpi the Spyder 3 will boast an imaging speed of approx. 1.7 sq ft per minute on to any type of screen emulsion.”
The new Spyder system is available with a conventional tri-lock or an optional MHM-compatible registration system. It digitally applies the artwork directly on to a coated screen, which eliminates the need for a film mask or a vacuum for the exposure process, and pin-holing is said to be “almost completely eliminated”.
By eliminating the manual placement of film separations on multiple screens, human error is also eliminated, which Exile says translates into “significant reduction in press set-up up times and dramatic increases in screen-room productivity.”
It also features a new Xerox industrial inkjet print head design and new water-dispersible black ‘phase change’ ink, which promises a high optical density for UV blocking. The ink is solid at room temperature and so is said to be mess-free, while also being “completely water-soluble for quick and easy washout with no residual waste solids”.
The company concluded: “The dye-based ink formulation avoids problems of pigment settling in the print head and the ink solidifies on the screen immediately after printing to produce a clean high density dot with minimal dot gain making it vastly superior to conventional water-based ink jet CTS solutions.”
The new system is scheduled for European dispatch in the fourth quarter of 2019.
