Chinese printer manufacturer Atexco has sold more than 40 machines during ITMA 2023 and 75% of those are to South Asian print service providers.
Atexco had been in discussions with many of its customers prior to the show before closing deals in Milan, but some of the sales were agreed live at the expo.
South Asia is a burgeoning market for digital textile printing. The region’s domestic apparel is largely cotton based, which boosts demand for direct-to-fabric machinery, but sublimation technologies are growing their share of the market in line with South Asian exports to consumer nations.
Charles Fu, Atexco’s regional sales manager, said: “We expect to sell over 50 printers while at ITMA. Our high-and-lower-volume machines have been in equal demand.”
The company is showcasing its VEGA X1 Pro, Model H and VEGA 9180DI printers in Milan.
VEGA X1 Pro is a pigment solution that can achieve 24-hour printing and produce up to 5000m/day. The machine is 1.8m wide and features 16 Kyocera print heads which print seven colours. Fu said the biggest advantage of the VEGA X1 Pro is that it reliably prints onto any fibre and, depending on the print design and factory conditions, can achieve a top speed of 320m/h.
Atexco distributor MZTEX, headquarted in Barcelona, Spain, has sold the VEGA X1 Pro to fellow Barcelona-based company Argimode S.A. Europe is a target market for Atexco, Fu said that the OEM has a strong install base in Northern Italy and Türkiye.
Model H is a 1.8-metre-wide sublimation printer equipped with 16 Kyocera print heads. The four-colour solution can achieve a standard running speed of 430m/h.
Meanwhile, the VEGA 9180DI is another 1.8-metre-wide printer. It can accommodate eight colours and is compatible with reactive, disperse, acid and sublimation inks.
Atexco is exhibiting in Hall 7, Booth D102.