M&R’s DS-4000 Digital Squeegee is setting the standard for hybrid printing. At production rates of 400+ prints per hour the DS-4000 bridges the gap between direct-to-garment (DTG) printing and screen printing. Since the Digital Squeegee prints on top of a screen-printed underbase a wide array of fabrics - including synthetic and performance blends - can now be printed digitally, opening the door to new market trends and cost-effective high-end digital textile imaging.

Using a screen printed underbase eliminates the need for time-consuming pretreatment, and expensive digital white underbase inks. M&R’s hybrid printing process reduces the time, labor, and cost required by digitally printing alone, making small and mid-size print runs cost effective.

An eight-to-twelve-color screen print would typically require hours to perform separations, process and expose screens, mix inks, and register the press. The same screen print can be set up and printed on the Digital Squeegee in a fraction of the time with a minimal number of screens, greatly reducing art times that are normally associated with multi-color screen print jobs.

Hybrid prints can be embellished with specialty printing effects before or after the digital print, expanding creative possibilities by blending the best attributes of screen printing with the ease and detail of digital imaging.

With some creative planning, a common screen-printed white underbase can be used with varying digital print data to produce completely different images in the same print run.

Digital Squeegee inks can be cured in conventional gas dryers, such as the Sprint® 3000, Sprint 3000 D, and Sprint 3000 DHZ.

Features

• The DS-4000 includes computer with operating system software installed
• Built of heavy-duty steel and premium components
• The Digital Squeegee process can be used on virtually any fabric that will accept HSA water-based inks and can be cured using a tunnel dryer. This process has successfully been tested on cotton, polyester, blends, and performance fabrics
• The DS-4000 uses 16 industrial printheads to print a full-size image every 4-to-6 seconds; that’s up to 400 prints per hour!
• DS-4000 inks are compatible with specially-formulated high-solids acrylic (HSA) inks for screen printing a white underbase
• The DS-4000 uses Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black inks
• The DS-4000 is Compatible with Challenger® III, Gauntlet® III and the Stryker™ oval press
• The DS-4000 has 16 printheads arranged in a 40 cm (16") array to provide a maximum print area of 40 cm x 48 cm (16" x 19")
• The industrial printheads can produce images at resolutions up to 600 x 1200 dpi
• Z-Axis adjustment allows the printhead distance to be adjusted 3-10 mm from the printing surface