The 0.13mm-thick Pearl and the 0.16mm-thick Black Back Xtra for backlit applications are both now available in 5m-wide rolls, for UV printing on EFI Vutek 5500 and Durst Rho 512R machines. 

The ultra-thin materials are popularly used for retail, trade shows and airport sign and display, said international sales manager Blaise Humphries. The French company has a 5x5m backlit display on its booth to display a typical application.

Humphries said many companies had decided that images printed on textiles looked better than on PVC or paper and were seeking the increase in productivity that a 5m-wide line could deliver.

“We’ve already been speaking to a number of people who have a 5.2m printer, who are producing large volumes in Germany, the UK and Italy. They’re printers we’ve known for four or five years and they’re using our 3.2m products on 5m machines. Having a 5m product increases their productivity. The by-word for everything is industrial digital.”

A 5m-wide polyester, for use on the first 5m-wide dye-sublimation printer, the newly launched Durst Rhotex 500, is also in production.

Humphries said this material would be launched before Drupa.

He added that textiles had a smaller environmental impact than other materials and were easier to handle, cheaper to transport and offered higher margins for printers.