Sustainable textile digital printing solutions

Nirvana Belt is the world's first and only textile pre- and post-treatment and water-free solution developed by Optimum Digital in Turkey, helping to protect the rapidly dwindling clean water resources and managing to reduce the production costs of printing machines. The new technology eliminates the need for pretreatment (paste) and post-press processes required for traditional textile applications, thus completely avoiding the heavy use of chemicals and water consumption in these processes. This sustainable textile printing solution from Optimum Digital reduces total costs by 50% and energy and chemical costs by 80% in addition to conserving natural resources and preventing wastewater from occurring. Nirvana Belt delivers effective and premium printing on all fabrics with zero water consumption and responds strongly to new market demands for design freedom, custom fabrics, short-run printing and faster reordering.

The dramatic leap forward in industrial production over the past 50 years has had an increasingly negative impact on the environment and natural resources. Since 1970, 83 percent of freshwater species populations and one-third of wetlands have disappeared, and nearly 2 billion people now live in areas at risk of severe water scarcity. The textile industry, which pollutes 20% of the world's water and consumes a lot of clean water in dyeing and traditional printing processes, also plays a key role in creating a sustainable world. According to the study, the annual water used in textile/garment production (93 billion cubic meters) is enough to meet the consumption needs of 5 billion people. Optimum Digital has been in the digital printing business since 1994 and has developed innovative technologies that provide ambitious solutions to the high levels of water consumption and pollution in traditional textile printing applications.

The period of pre- and post-processing (pulp-free) and anhydrous pigment printing in the textile printing process

Although reactive printing is one of the methods used in traditional textile printing applications, it can only be printed on cellulose fabrics, but nowadays machines capable of printing on cellulose fabrics and polyester fabrics are preferred. However, in the traditional method, the fabric undergoes a series of chemical processes before printing, and after printing, it also undergoes different processes such as steam, water and fixing color. Today, it takes around 95 to 400 litres of water to produce one kilogram of textile products, and textile wastewater containing a large number of organic and inorganic pollutants is a serious danger to human and environmental health. In addition, this introduces legal obligations such as the installation of a treatment system and high operating and investment costs. With innovations in pretreatment and anhydrous pigment printing, Optimum Digital offers an effective solution to this problem and enables zero water consumption for textile printing. It eliminates wastewater, chemical contaminants and high energy consumption from conventional printing.

Optimum Digital launches the Nirvana Belt, a new way to produce high-quality textiles without pre- and post-treatment or water

Another disadvantage of traditional textile printing technology is due to the need for additional machines in the pre-treatment and post-printing processes, and due to the additional costs incurred by the manufacturer using chemicals in the process. Nirvana Belt textile printers eliminate the need for additional machinery for pre- and post-printing drying, washing and steaming processes, and avoid spending extra effort, time and cost to produce environmentally friendly, high-quality fashion prints with innovative technology. In this way, pre- and post-processing and waterless printing technologies provide printing with the opportunity to lower production costs per square meter, cutting costs in half while reducing energy and chemical costs by 80%. In addition, there are more workplaces in the facility due to the use of fewer machines in the printing area.

Abandon the environmental innovation of traditional printing

The Nirvana Belt provides manufacturers with the benefits of environmental certification and reliable printing in compliance with Greenguard, Gots, Oeko-tex and Green to Wear standards, bringing new power to mass production through pre- and post-processing and waterless printing. It is possible to print on polyester, cotton, synthetic cotton and all other fabrics on the same machine; in addition to elastic and non-elastic garments, it is used in many different application areas such as tablecloths, sportswear, curtains, bedspreads, flags and upholstery fabrics. The Nirvana Belt enables manufacturers to get any print pattern with excellent fastness, accurate color and soft touch, with up to 8 colors to choose from per line for a vibrant and colorful print. Best Numbers also offers color expertise for custom color profiles.

The Nirvana Belt meets all the requirements of traditional printing in full-width textile printing while minimizing its impact on the environment. Equipped with 32 printheads and printing up to 800 square meters per hour, this pigment printer is a true printing solution for many different applications with a print width of 2050 mm. Nirvana Belt textile printers feature an intelligent automatic magnetic head cleaning system. It also eliminates dirt build-up with its integrated screw brush. The printer includes an industrial drying unit and a closed design system for safe operation and noise reduction, as well as an easy-to-use practical cleaning unit designed to reduce downtime. Nirvana Belt uses pre- and post-processing and waterless printing technology, and with its user-friendly design and all the environmental and investment advantages, the printing process can be carried out quickly and easily.

"Zero water" for a livable world

The Nirvana Belt Innovation Series was developed through detailed research to meet the textile printing industry's needs for efficient, environmentally friendly production, highlighting the company's claims when it comes to textiles. Taner Güven, CEO of Optimum Digital, said they have conducted in-depth research and development on digital printers and that they will continue these innovations without slowing down. Güven stressed that these were developed using robust infrastructure and also allowed for version updates for future sector needs, saying that "this innovation is a technology open to development and will help move into the future".

Güven stressed the importance of innovation in sustainability in the textile printing industry, which has a great impact on the environment, and expressed the following view: "We must quickly create circular value chains for a sustainable world. Due to the overuse of water and wastewater containing contaminated chemicals, today's traditional textile printing methods cannot achieve environmentally friendly production. We have made a revolutionary innovation that both contributes to the textile industry's transition to sustainable production and responds to the changing needs of the market as a brand, with countless innovations based on half a century of digital printing experience. Our pre- and post-treatment and water-free printing technologies have been developed to eliminate the liters of water required to produce zero-water-consumption printed textiles and also prevent the use of contaminated chemicals. Therefore, I can easily say that the Nirvana Belt, produced with a technical approach that respects nature, brings a new breath to the sustainability-oriented textile printing industry in the new era. We know that every drop of water we clean protect and save is our future. We are proud to be the first company in the world to achieve this goal. ”

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