Printhead Studio Shakes Up Digital Printing Industry with New Technology

Printhead Studio, the newly rebranded digital printing division of Rose Brand Inc., introduces its new direct dye digital printer and expanded capabilities. Executive vice president Josh Jacobstein says that "Our new state-of-the-art technology, combined with our digital printing experience in theatre and events, is a huge differentiator. We can now provide customers with incredible color accuracy in large format, 16 foot seamless, soft fabric drops."

The newly acquired state-of-the-art technology is Durst's Rhotex 500 printer. Printhead Studio managers have configured the printer to go beyond 4-color CMYK printing, to produce 6-color CMYK+OV prints. The 6-color printing process adds orange and violet to the standard four colors that most printers use, which are cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. The additional colors add greater depth, richness, and color accuracy. Jacobstein says that "Customers who are looking for visual impact, immediately spark to the difference in color vibrancy and accuracy between 4-color and 6-color printing. Designers light up when they see it." Furthermore, the new printer uses water-based and odorless dispersion inks, which are infused into the fibers of the fabric instead of printed on top of it. Therefore, images stay vibrant over time, even after multiple washings.

While enhanced color accuracy and vibrancy are significant advantages in and of themselves, the larger size and texture of Printhead Studio fabric backdrops are also of huge benefit to customers. Printhead Studio director Michael Reed says, "Our customers love the fact that we can deliver a 16' high seamless drop in virtually any length. Those dimensions are large enough for tons of seamless, printed backdrops and décor used in theatres, events, trade shows, visual merchandising, advertising, museum exhibits, architectural interiors, and outdoor media. Customers no longer need to worry about how their artwork will match up along the seams, because there are no seams."

The soft texture of the printed fabric provides even more advantages for customers. Soft fabrics fold without permanently creasing, so they ship inexpensively in compact packaging, as opposed to large tubes. Tubes trigger dimensional weight charges with shippers, which can add hundreds of dollars in cost to a large job. Furthermore, soft fabric installs easily and quickly since wrinkles stretch or "hang out" under tension.