Archroma's Inkpresso Offers Benefits That Were Not Possible So Far In Inkjet Printing

Rendezvous

Archroma's Inkpresso Offers Benefits That Were Not Possible So Far In Inkjet Printing

With a motivation to induce sustainability at every stage of the textile chain, Archroma brought a series of green products and processes to ITMA Milan. The booth was always bustling with curious visitors. Stealing some time from the business conversations, we got a chance to chat with Beate Pluckhan, Head of Sales Europe/Africa, Archroma, to get a deeper insight into their green perspectives.

Archroma at this year's ITMA at Milan came with this clear motto 'colour enhanced, performance enhanced, sustainability enhanced'. How is it received?

The message is quite clear, we are definitely a partner of choice in our segment within the textile industry in that Archroma offers colour, chemical and finishing solutions from the fibre to the final products. We offer products and processes along the textile chain and ensure that at every stage Archroma is present alongside the customers. At ITMA, we have been tapping most segments of the textile industry at one go and our presence has been extremely well received so far.

Inkpresso is the new technology that you brought to ITMA. How is this going to benefit the industry?

A major component of ready-mixed inks is water. This, however, leads to higher transport costs, increasing environmental impact and reduced shelf life. The Inkpresso system enables mixing of the required ink on site and on demand. Developed together with Ink-Situ, a Swiss technology provider, the system brings together benefits that were unattainable so far in inkjet printing: Production flexibility, no shelf-life problems, a larger colour spectrum and the possibility of an individual coloristic fingerprint.

How do you see the global market progressing for Archroma in the coming months?

We can definitely predict a growth in specific segments of the textile market. And walking on the growth path we are trying to increase our footprint in different segments including the technical textile arena, apparel segment to increase the sustainability quotient in these segments. We are focusing on the technical textile industry quite wholeheartedly to support innovation through sustenance at every stage.

We discussed performance and colours, how do you account for the sustainability enhancement of the processes within the textile industry?

We strive to lead the sector in sustainability with new processes such as ADVANCED DENIM, EARTHCOLORS and ONE WAY Sustainability Service.

Earthcolors: Archroma's patent-pending new dyestuff offers rich earthy colours from natural waste such as almond husks that are fully traceable by the consumer at the point of purchase.

Advanced Denim: Archroma's award winning concept ADVANCED DENIM allows the world's most popular fabric to be produced without compromise to design neither creativity nor environmental impact. The process consumes up to 92% less water, zero water wastage, 87% less cotton and 30% less energy consumption.

ONE WAY Sustainability Service: Introduced in October 2012, ONE WAY helps mills and brand owners to develop innovative textile solutions that are both more ecologically and economically sustainable. Our ultimate aim is to provide a fast, measurable and reliable approach to the selection of chemical product and process solutions. We are constantly improving the ONE WAY Calculator, which was recently selected as the engine behind the bluesign® blueXpert resource tool that is due to launch in 2016.