Spoonflower, the US online community which is leading the web-to-print charge, has chosen to invest in two Durst Alpha 330 Series 5 digital textile printers with pigment, one for North Carolina, US, and the other in Berlin, Germany. Durst is a manufacturer of digital printing and production technologies and a leader in web-to-print revolution in fabrics. Spoonflower allows individuals to design, print, and sell their own custom-designed fabric, wallpaper, and home decor products. The Spoonflower marketplace hosts the largest collection of independent fabric designers in the world, with over one million designs available to suit every taste and style. With environmentally sustainable on-demand manufacturing, no minimum order requirements, and zero finished goods inventory, Spoonflower exemplifies an integrated ‘pixel to output’ approach, according to Durst. The Alpha 330 Series 5 is the fifth generation of Durst’s Alpha printing systems. It features newly-developed software to meet the increased demands of textile digital printing as well as improvements in material handling, efficiency, and material diversity. The technology platform offers a sustainable, flexible, and scalable solution for every application and enables waterless one-step production with Durst advanced digital pigment ink. SuperMultipass provides 30 per cent better performance than comparable systems by integrating new technologies in the printheads, inks, and drying units. The Alpha Series 5 can also have a patented SwiftJet pre-treatment system positioned upstream of the Alpha printer – valuable for short-run and fast-turnaround jobs. “Spoonflower is not just a service for custom fabric printing, we are a community that prizes individuality, self-expression, and a human connection between designers and those who want to bring design into their homes. Pigment printing is a future technology that we use today thanks to the hard work and strong partnership with Durst. Our collaboration on home decor has been successful; the Alpha produce beautiful fabric with a precise, fine print, a broad gamut, and strong fastness properties, which is why we have invested in two more pigment Alpha 330s,” Gart Davis, who co-founded Spoonflower in 2008 said. Christoph Gamper, Durst CEO and Co-Owner, said: “As a pioneer in the web-to-print for fabrics, sustainability and pigment sectors our technology platforms represent the “new” textile. It’s not only speed but clever solutions too. The world needs more companies that question the status quo. We’re at the forefront of the evolution that will sweep across the textile industry.”
