Huntsman Textile Effects has introduced a new range of reactive inks that deliver outstanding light- and weather-fastness for digital printing of polyester fibres. TERATOP® XKS HL inks are designed to help mills produce technical textiles with the highest color-fastness performance for the automotive, outdoor furnishings and home textiles industries.
Materials used in automotive interiors, outdoor furnishings and other demanding environments have to resist fading, yellowing or other color change when exposed to light and high temperature. While digital printing is ideal for producing highly patterned and vivid high-value textiles in an environmentally sound way, current digital ink technologies do not meet the industry’s weathering and sunlight-fastness demands. This is particularly true in the auto sector, where upholstery, seatbelt webbing and carpets are often subject to intense sunlight and temperatures.
“Color-fastness to light and heat are the critical success factors for technical textiles. TERATOP® XKS HL is the only ink range available in the market for industrial digital printing that meets the high light-fastness standards set by the automotive industry. This innovation from Huntsman helps mills improve its existing auto and outdoor products or move into this high-value segment of the market” said Michael Mordente, Director, Digital Inks for Huntsman Textile Effects.
The TERATOP® XKS HL inks are first-in-class disperse inks capable of printing on technical textiles that require extremely high color-fastness and tone-on-tone color fading. Mills can achieve the deepest black shades and a wide spectrum of colors, with metamerism consistency to meet the needs of customers and end-consumers.
In addition to helping mills produce high-value textiles, the inks also help improve mill competitiveness. Formulated for Kyocera print head technology, TERATOP® XKS HL inks offer excellent reliability, runnability and reproducibility. Mills benefit from faster production, minimal ink consumption, less wastage and reduced equipment maintenance. This helps maximize its productivity while reducing the cost of digital printing.
Automotive industry experts from Huntsman Textile Effects provide training, testing and technical support to mills using the TERATOP® XKS HL inks. Based on high-energy Huntsman dyes, patented chemistry and blends, the new inks are fully compatible with Huntsman’s UV FAST range of UV-absorbers, which help improve light-fastness, fiber stability and finishing products.