Mimaki Believes In Selling Reliability, Affordability And Functionality To The Customers

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Mimaki Believes In Selling Reliability, Affordability And Functionality To The Customers

The striking red booth at the end of the row, you cannot possibly miss the Mimaki booth. We caught Mike Horsten, General Manager Marketing EMEA, Mimaki in a happy mood, towards the end of ITMA and it showed that they had a great show. The man did not waste any time and was straight explaining his success story. In conversation with Mike Horsten.

What new did Mimaki present at ITMA this year?

We had got many many new things for ITMA this time. But most importantly we have been focusing on the idea of 'one machine for a multitude of dyes'. Based on this idea we have developed and showcased TX300P-1800 at ITMA. This machine prints direct on the textiles using a whole bunch of inks ranging from sublimation inks, reactive inks, direct disperse dye inks, pigment inks and acid inks. Designed for low-cost production of high-value digital textile applications the TS300P-1800 1.8m wide roll-to-roll sublimation inkjet printer is a dedicated transfer paper printer, offering new levels of quality and productivity. Its capabilities can be further enhanced with two fluorescent inks, which are available in yellow and pink. These fluro inks were made especially for use in the low-volume high-quality sublimation paper transfer market and are perfectly suited for fashion, sportswear, swimwear and shoes. This machine will for the first time open up the opportunity to print a whole range of target textiles and fabrics using one machine. Apart from this we have also introduced the 3.2 metre TS500P-3200. This highly productive digital textile printer will be commercially available in 2016; will deliver beautiful prints for wider textile requirements such as curtains, bed covers and more. This printer will use Mimaki's SB310 inks.

While the market demand is more towards 'single pass' digital printers, how do you see Mimaki placed within this market?

Mimaki began from the lowest rung of the market and over time have begun to elevate upwards with technology. And these technologies were always to meet the needs of the market at the lower rung. Over the years we have seen a vast open market in middle rung and while many companies are fighting to grasp the market at the top rung with ideas like 'single pass', we are happy to cater to the middle rung with our affordable innovations. We are more focused to bring out solutions.

Besides affordability, what are the other areas in which a customer benefits while using a Mimaki machine?

The biggest area in which the customer is going to benefit is of course reliability of the machines. We have been simplifying the complex technologies over the years and have been bringing it to the customers to ease out the printing functions. The functionality of the machines is not always visible to the customer and there is no harm in that too. Why do you need to know exactly what is making your machines. While companies are marketing the functionalities and trying to catch an eye, we can only say that we have been using the same for years in our machines, but never did we feel the need to harp on that. As we believe in selling reliability, affordability and functionality to the customers. We believe the customer is only concerned about the economics of the machines, inks and the production capacity of the machines. And Mimaki is ready to serve them the best in these two parameters.

Where does Mimaki stand on the parameter of sustainability?

Sustainability in the printing industry is a little tricky. With dye sublimation it is still achievable, but with reactive inks it is completely a no. But if you talk about the sustainability of the machines, I would say our machines are definitely sustainable. It is because of the reliability factor that we score high on sustainability when it comes to our machines. Customers end up using our machines for years without a stop. Our customers are running an old Mimaki machine for possibly as long as 17 years. What could be more sustainable!

You say "let's create together". So how do you account for your market share within the fashion industry?

If you consider the European market including Turkey, then Mimaki accounts for a big and comfortable share. Almost 70-80% of the fashion industry's requirement for digital printing is fulfilled by Mimaki in this zone. Today we live in an era of super fast fashion, fast fashion also seems to be a passé. So the more the changes, there will be a diverse emergence of fabrics & textile. Digital printing indeed is answer to changing fast pace of fashion.