Mimaki has announced the launch of two new fluorescent inks for its TS300P-1800 inkjet textile printers. The inks, which will be commercially available from the first week of December, will be demonstrated at ITMA, the textile and garment machinery exhibition, which will take place in Milan from 12th to 19th November.

Mimaki said the new neon fluorescent inks, which are available in yellow and pink, are suitable for fashion, sportswear, swimwear and shoes and are specially developed for use in the low-volume, high-quality sublimation paper transfer market. The TS300P-1800 was launched at Fespa in Cologne in May and is specifically designed for digital low-cost production of high-value applications.

The manufacturer said the combination of this machine with the new inks opens up a new range of possibilities for textile printers and garment manufacturers. “Fluorescent colours are in increasingly high demand in the fashion and sportswear markets. We introduced yellow and pink because with this combination it can also make green,” said Mimaki EMEA general marketing manager Mike Horsten.

“With these new neon inks, designers and garment manufacturers will be able to extend the potential of digital printing solutions to the production of high quality running clothes and other applications that are personalised or have unique designs and need to stand out for safety or fashion purposes.”

“There have been other manufacturers in the market that came up with fluorescent inks but the stability of the fluorescent was too weak to really produce big quantities of garments,” said Horsten.