STS Inks, a global leader in the wide format, industrial and household inkjet ink market, today announced its debut of the world’s first-ever fluorescent inks for direct-to-film (DTF) garment printing. The company’s foray into fluorescents will make the forecasted 2022 Pantone Colors pop, as the fashion industry looks forward to hot “Innuendo” pink, dynamic “Dahlia” Purple and daring “Daffodil” yellow.
Photo – STS Inks archive ©
This announcement follows the STS Inks’ recent launch of its groundbreaking compact modular Direct-to-Film printing system and the company’s certification of its DTF line of inks for human-ecological safety according to ECO PASSPORT by OEKO-TEX.
“We saw the excitement surrounding the blacklight room at a recent European Printing Event and knew now was the right time to get into the fluorescent game,” said Shahar Turgeman, who founded STS Inks in 1999. “We have a head start as the first ink manufacturer that can offer the marketplace a simple new way to make customized garments literally glow.”
The fluorescence is visible in black light and ultra-violet lighting, both of which are commonly deployed at the concert and sports venues, as well as in other brightly lit environments. STS Inks’ 8-channel DTF printing system is the only printer of its kind worldwide that allows the installation of both fluorescent yellow and fluorescent magenta, plus two white inks, without necessitating the removal of the yellow and magenta cartridges from the CMYK ink palette. Offering additional ease-of-use, the STS Inks Flexi DTF Pro edition allows the user to select and mix spot colour directly from the Editor or Production Manager, eliminating the need for external software programs such as photoshop or CorelDRAW.
Among the many advantages of DTF over DTG (direct-to-garment) processes in using fluorescent inks are first, the fabric does not need labour-intensive pre-treatment; and second, DTF uses much less ink. Where DTG requires 200% white ink, DTF needs a mere 70%.
The recently-introduced STS Direct-to-Film (DTF) modular system was developed in partnership with Mutoh, a best-selling manufacturer of wide-format printers. The centrepiece of the new system is a compact printer that measures 24″ and is built to fit onto a table-top or rolling stand in any size print shop. The exclusive STS Inks DTF System is designed to be the most cost-effective, hassle-free solution to simplify the process of quickly creating custom t-shirts and apparel.
