Zimmer Austria has added digital military camouflage printing to its application offering.
KUFSTEIN | Austria – March 2024 – Zimmer Austria, a leading manufacturer of screen and digital printing machinery, has established itself as a pioneer in the burgeoning field of digital military camouflage printing. Leveraging its extensive experience in the printing industry, Zimmer Austria strategically expanded its application offerings to include this specialized sector three years ago, while maintaining its core focus on carpets, terry towels, upholstery, transportation fabrics, technical textiles, and narrow fabrics.
Zimmer Textilegence Military Camouflage
The company has since deployed its innovative digital printing solutions in various countries and continues to invest heavily in research and development to address the unique demands of military camouflage.
“Our initial foray into camouflage printing presented a unique challenge,” explains Andreas Rass, CEO and Managing Director at Zimmer Austria. “We quickly recognized the complexity of this field, with its stringent specifications for color accuracy, infrared reflectance, and a variety of fastness properties tailored to specific applications.”
Military camouflage effectiveness hinges on meticulous color control and the ability to manage infrared reflectance. “Infrared control presents a particular hurdle,” Rass says. “It necessitates highly specialized inks and software, essentially introducing a fourth dimension beyond the standard Lab color space.”
The specific requirements for camouflage also vary significantly by country. “We’ve discovered that each nation not only utilizes distinct color palettes but also possesses unique infrared reflectance demands within the 700 to 1400 nm spectrum,” Rass adds.
Tailored Solutions for Military Camouflage Printing
Zimmer Austria offers a comprehensive range of solutions to meet the diverse needs of military camouflage printing. The company provides acid inks for polyamide fabrics, vat inks for polyamide/cotton blends, disperse inks for polyester, and pigment inks for aramides, mixed fibers, and coated fabrics. To ensure optimal performance, Zimmer Austria collaborates with specialized ink developers to create formulations that meet precise military specifications.
“We may even combine multiple ink classes to achieve the desired results,” Rass explains. “For camouflage applications, we offer the Colaris model, a digital printing machine capable of handling up to 16 colors on a 2.2-meter width at speeds of up to 7 meters per minute.”
Digital Printing Advantages for Special Forces Applications
While traditional rotary screen printing remains the preferred method for high-volume production of standard military apparel, digital printing offers distinct advantages for specialized applications used by special forces. “Digital printing’s inherent flexibility, along with its ability to handle an unlimited number of colors and repeat sizes, makes it ideal for these unique requirements,” says Rass.
Zimmer Austria has already deployed several digital printing systems for military applications. These systems are currently being used to produce camouflage webbing from polyamide and polyester, as well as camouflage fabrics made from nylon and mixed fibers using pigment inks.
www.zimmer-austria.com
