STS Inks

There’s a big difference between seeing print technology online and experiencing it in action.

We’re looking forward to connecting with print professionals, talking shop and showing what STS solutions can do on the show floor. If you’re heading to PRINTING United Expo, come spend some time with the team and get a closer look.

Every rigid job a shop sends out is margin walking to a competitor, and it usually goes out because nothing in the building can hold the substrate flat.

The STS 2512 UV flatbed prints a 100 by 51 inch bed and takes material up to 4 inches thick. Glass, ceramic, metal, PVC board, acrylic, wood, PU and wallpaper go on the table and come off printed.

Three to eight Ricoh GEN5 or GEN6 heads, and channels configurable to CMYK plus light cyan, light magenta, white and varnish. Production speeds run to 484 square feet an hour on GEN6.

It sits in a range that also includes the AI flatbed, the 3220, the 3200 single pass and the C-3 cylindrical.

See the flatbed range: https://stsinks.com/product-category/printers/uv-flatbed-printers/

Grain size and melting point are what separate one DTF transfer powder from another, and STS manufactures five grades rather than one.

P-5 adhesive runs 80 to 170 microns and melts at 90 to 115°C, or 194 to 239°F, supplied in 2 kg. P-6 low migration runs 80 to 200 microns and melts at 80 to 95°C, or 176 to 203°F, in 1 kg. P-7 soft runs finer at 60 to 140 microns across the same melting range, in 1 kg.

TPU white ships in 2 kg and TPU black in 1 kg. Every grade is 100 percent thermoplastic polyurethane resin, formulated to bond with STS DTF inks.

Shop DTF transfer powder: https://stsinks.com/product-category/dtf-transfer-powder/

What are the production capabilities of the XPD-924D?

Here, we provide a quick look at what the XPD-924D can handle:

1. the printer’s speed, 2. roll capacity and 3. potential output for DTF production.

Learn more at stsinks.com.

Why do some printers use Light Cyan and Light Magenta in addition to CMYK?

Swipe through for a closer look at how these lighter inks contribute to print quality.

Learn more about digital printing and ink technology at stsinks.com.

Doors open tomorrow in Las Vegas, and the fastest way to judge a machine is to stand next to one while it runs.

STS is bringing six to PRINTING United Expo for live demonstration. The XPD-924D roll-fed DTF printer. The S-24 automatic TPU powder shaker. The C-3 cylindrical UV printer. The S-604 UV DTF printer. The C3135 automatic cutter. The CT24-XY automatic XY trimmer.

That is a full DTF line from print through powder, cure and finishing, plus direct-to-object UV, in one place and under load.

PRINTING United Expo, Las Vegas Convention Center, September 23 to 25.

See the lineup: https://stsinks.com/upcoming-events/

A textile shop running Mimaki on one line and Roland on another usually carries two dye-sub accounts, two lead times and two sets of colour to manage.

STS manufactures dye-sublimation ink across all of it. Mimaki SB53 and SB54 in 440ml cartridges, 2 litre bulk bags for SB53, SB54, SB610 and SB411, Roland Texart in 1 litre bags, Mutoh in 1 litre bags, and 1 litre bottles formulated for Kyocera and Ricoh printheads.

Beyond process colour there is fluorescent yellow, orange, green, violet and blue for work that has to hold up under a brand standard.

Shop dye-sublimation ink: https://stsinks.com/product-category/ink-types/dye-sublimation/

On a dark garment the white underbase decides the job. If it sits thin or shifts between runs, nothing printed on top of it looks right.

STS manufactures DTG ink in eight colours, black, cyan, light cyan, magenta, light magenta, yellow, red and white, formulated for Epson, Ricoh, Fuji Dynamic, Panasonic and Kyocera printheads on cotton and cotton blends.

It comes in the format your machine takes. Brother GT-3 in 380ml GC-30 bags, GT-5 and GT-7 in 500ml GC-50, GTX in 700ml, and 1 litre bulk bottles for Epson and Brother platforms. Volume shops can go to 19 litre jugs or 190 kilo drums.

Shop DTG ink: https://stsinks.com/product-category/ink-types/direct-to-garment/

Buying DTF film on width alone is how a shop ends up trimming every sheet by hand or running a 24 inch roll through a 13 inch machine.

STS manufactures transfer film in 13, 24, 32, 36, 48 and 51 inch widths, so the roll matches the printer instead of the other way round. The instant hot and cold peel double sided matte film handles both release methods, and the cold peel V3 rolls run 328 feet for long production days.

For work that needs to look like more than a transfer, there is gold, silver and glitter foil in 24 inch by 164 foot rolls.

See the film range: https://stsinks.com/product/sts-inks-24-dtf-film-instant-hot-cold-peeling-double-sided-matte-v8/