New Mimaki textile printer keeps Heriot Watt University at cutting edge

IndPrint

Heriot Watt University’s School of Textiles and Design is one of the UK’s foremost teaching establishments and its recent investment in additional Mimaki textile printers puts its Textile Design and Fashion undergraduate courses at the cutting edge.

One of the first Mimaki Tx300-1800P direct to textile wide format printers to be installed in the UK joins the school’s line- p of Mimaki textile machines and provides its 25 final year Design for Textiles students with the capability to output designs onto a range of fabrics for their degree show. Senior technician Dr Roger Spark, indicates how the printer is a vital addition to the school’s print capabilities. ‘Our existing Mimaki printers have served us well for over 10 years but with the added capacity of the new Tx300, we are able to more efficiently deliver the long runs required by our students for their final year collections,’ he stated. ‘We offer the potential for not only the Design for Textiles undergraduates to print their work but also the provision of printed fabric for our Fashion students to make into garments in our sewing workshops.’

Citing Heriot Watt’s emphasis on preparing graduates for life in industry, he added, ‘Our graduates tend to follow one of two paths. Many of them are successful in finding positions in the textile industry but we also see students starting up their own fashion and design businesses, as the footing they gain through the courses we offer stands them in good stead for their careers ahead.’

With programmes geared towards fashion as well as interior design, students benefit from the school’s significant printing capabilities. Along with its three Mimaki printers, the textile department also boasts one of the longest flatbed screen print tables in education and all were installed by specialist Mimaki textile reseller, R A Smart (CAD & Machinery).

The Mimaki Tx300P-1800 is a 1.8 metre wide textile printer, which, through using reactive, pigment, acid or disperse inks, can be used to print to cotton, silk, wool and polyester. With production speeds of up to 55s quare metres per hour, it is ideal for short to medium run production and its superior print quality lends it perfectly to producing high end fashion, furnishings and other textiles. It is exclusively distributed in the UK and Ireland by Hybrid Services.