Images Magazine Digital Edition May 2018

Vastex: LittleRed X2D Infrared Dryer Vastex International launched the LittleRed X2D infrared dryer in April. It’s designed to rapidly cure DTG printed textiles, as well as plastisol, water-based and discharge printed garments. “The LittleRed X2D Dryer is our smallest and most affordable DTG-capable dryer,” reports president Mark Vasilantone. “This new technology speeds the curing of inkjet, water-based and discharge inks, as well as DTG digital inks, making the X2D good value for smaller shops.” The X2D has a high powered, pre- heating zone that reportedly boosts ink temperatures to over 149°C within the first several centimetres of conveyor travel inside the 69cm heating chamber. Two closely spaced, height-adjustable infrared heaters and dual zone heat controls are designed to maintain consistent temperatures. The X2D-30 has a 76cm wide belt and two 61cm wide infrared heaters, and is reported to be capable of curing 240+ garments per hour with plastisol inks, 90+ garments per hour with water-based inks, and up to 26 garments an hour with DTG/digital white ink at 3 1/2 minutes dwell time. The X2D-54 model has a 137cm wide belt with two 122cm wide infrared heaters, and promises to cure 480+ garments per hour with plastisol ink, 180+ with water-based ink and up to 52 garments per hour with DTG/digital white ink at 3 1/2 minutes dwell time. “Fully expandable, additional heating chambers and conveyor belt lengths allow for future expansion as business needs warrant,” adds the company. www.vastex.com The new LittleRed X2D-54 infrared dryer from Vastex www.images-magazine.com MAY 2018 images 55 DRYERS, CALENDARS AND HEAT PRESSES “Not only can M&R’s patent-pending Sprint 3000 DHZ function flawlessly as a full-width split-belt 183cm single- chamber gas dryer, it can be converted on the fly into twin 91cm heat chambers,” reports M&R. The heat chambers can be set at different temperatures and the belts can be run in the same or opposite directions. Operators can switch between single-zone and dual-zone curing as needs dictate, and they have the option of heating only one zone when both zones aren’t required, therefore decreasing energy costs. “In essence, operators can run two 91cm dryers in the same footprint as M&R’s standard 183cm Sprint 3000,” the company explains. Key features include a variable-frequency AC-drive motor; M&R’s patent-pending Teflon-coated fibreglass Patriot Belt with the SureTrak roller system for precise dryer belt tracking; the patent-pending AccuSet retention-time belt-speed controller that is said to make it easy to duplicate settings and eliminates the need to convert feet per minute into the time substrates will spend in the heat chamber; Job Recall, which allows operators to store operational parameters and then recall those settings for similar substrate/ink combinations; high-capacity circulation and exhaust blowers; and M&R’s Maintenance Minder System, which alerts operators when scheduled maintenance is due. www.mrprint.com The Sprint 3000 DHZ Dual Heat Zone gas dryer from M&R M&R: Sprint 3000 DHZ Dual Heat Zone Gas Dryer