SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — May 2, 2017 — With a long and successful history of developing outstanding products to meet the demands of the marketplace, INX Digital (stand B5-F40) will introduce three new TRIANGLE® brand inkjet inks at Fespa Germany, May 8-12 in Hamburg, Germany.

Eco-solvent ink OKS will be formally introduced, along with LV8 and XCS, a pair of solvent inks that have been developed for the alternative inks market. OKS is designed to run on the OKI ColorPainter H3-104s solvent printers. Marco Zanella, Sales and Marketing Director for INX Digital EMEA and Managing Director of INX Digital Italy, anticipates that OKS will be available in eight colors after the show. He has high expectations for these inks.

“All three inks were created by our first class R&D department, which provides the foundation for success in the marketplace. XCS was fully developed in Europe, leveraging our high quality Japanese group’s technologies and expertise,” remarked Zanella. “XCS is a good choice for large volume printers with its tremendous reliability, excellent high performance and other characteristics. It also has competitive running cost factors for large drop-size inkjet heads.

“OKS, LV8 and XCS are products wholly developed at our European R&D, located in the Czech Republic and headed by Mr. Mizutani, who joined us from the Sakata INX R&D unit in Japan,” reports Avi Bukai, Operations Director for INX Digital EMEA and Managing Director of INX Digital Czech.

“LV8 is a very flexible and multi-purpose ink,” continued Bukai. “It jets very well through several mid-sized drop volume print heads, which many printer manufacturers use today. LV8 employs materials that were recently developed to provide competitive advantages. This includes outstanding jettability at higher printing frequencies and longer open time for total printing readiness when requested.”

Zanella said that two well-known and established products in the wide format marketplace will be on display in the INX Digital stand. Both the TRIANGLE DT7 aqueous water-based textile inks and MSS eco-solvent inks offer high performance, exceptional value and many other benefits.

DT7 is a truly reliable and affordable ink for direct-to-textile printing on polyester, nylon or mixed synthetic fabrics used in sportswear and outerwear that contain a minimum of 60% polyester. It also is the right choice for banners and flags using the same material. Fast drying and ATX-free, DT7 inks provide a wide and vivid color gamut, excellent transfer capabilities and outdoor durability.

MSS inks are very cost efficient when used in tandem with Mimaki printers. Formulated for color and chemical compatibility with Mimaki SS21 inks and available in CYMK, MSS is known for its high performance, outstanding durability, and is fast drying and compatible with a broad range of media. Like DT7 and other TRIANGLE inks, they are supported by INX’s worldwide outdoor durability warranty and Ink Train warranty. MSS ink customers also can expect less waste when using cartridge-to-cartridge changeovers.

Zanella said Fespa Germany visitors should stop by the INX Digital stand and be among the first to learn about the new TRIANGLE INX Club and the rewards that are available.

Posted May 2, 2017

Source: INX

WILMINGTON, Del./MIDLAND, Mich. — May 2, 2017 — DuPont and The Dow Chemical Co. announced that China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has granted conditional regulatory approval of their proposed merger of equals.

MOFCOM’s approval is conditional on DuPont and Dow fulfilling commitments given to MOFCOM in connection with the clearance. This approval continues the progress that the companies have made to secure regulatory clearances around the world for their procompetitive merger, which will drive innovation and competition.

Specifically, and consistent with commitments already made to obtain the European Commission’s regulatory approval for the proposed merger of equals, Dow and DuPont will divest certain parts of DuPont’s crop protection portfolio and research and development pipeline and organization and Dow’s global Ethylene Acrylic Acid copolymers and ionomers business.

In addition, Dow and DuPont have made commitments related to the supply and distribution in China of certain herbicide and insecticide ingredients and formulations for rice crops for five years after the closing of the proposed merger of equals.

China is a critical market for both Dow and DuPont and will be for the three intended independent companies that will be created following the merger. The intended three-way separation is expected to unlock significant value for all stakeholders as each company will be a growth-oriented leader in attractive segments where global challenges are generating strong demand for their distinctive offerings.

Dow and DuPont continue to work constructively with regulators in the remaining relevant jurisdictions to obtain clearance for the merger, which they are confident will be achieved. On March 27, the European Commission conditionally approved the merger. The companies reaffirm their expectation for closing of the merger to occur between August 1, 2017 and September 1, 2017, with the intended spin-offs to occur within 18 months of closing. The companies expect that the first step of the intended separation process will be the spin-off of the Materials Science Company, assuming such sequencing would allow for the completion of all intended spin-offs within 18 months of merger closing and would not adversely impact the value of the intended spin-offs.

Posted May 2, 2017

Source: Dow Chemical

MONCHENGLADBACH, Germany — May 1, 2017 — Tavemex SA de CV of Mexico has become the second denim producer in the world to install a Monforts Eco Denim Line, and the first to use the technology for finishing denim fabrics of up to 300 grams per square meter.

The first installation, in 2016, was to a Vietnamese producer of lightweight denim fabrics.

Tavemex, which is based at Tlaxcala in Mexico, completed installation of the Eco Denim Line early this year and after only one month of operation was recording an 80-percent reduction in water usage.

For Tavemex, the investment in the new Monforts technology comes at a time of fundamental change for the company.

Previously known as Tavex, the company was part of a multinational enterprise that originated in Spain and had denim-manufacturing plants there and in Morocco, Brazil and Argentina, as well as Mexico.

Tavemex is now however an independent Mexican-owned concern, with its prime market being the United States.

Tavemex’s installed capacity is now 2 million meters per month, Part of current production is gradually being moved from the existing tenters to the new Eco Denim Line.

The equipment was delivered from Monforts in Germany via the manufacturer’s distributor for Mexico, Sattex-Mexico. A Monforts engineer carried out installation, and in depth training was provided.

“Our main reason for investing in the Eco Denim Line at this time was to satisfy those of our customers who have been requesting us, more and more, to use less water in dyeing and finishing,” says Arturo Ornelas Elizondo, Tavemex’s industrial director.

“They themselves have been trying to use less water in their garment production, to the point in some instances of softening fabrics to break the starch and avoid using water.

“Their need is to meet stringent environmental standards, and also to respond to strong customer demand for more environmentally friendly products.

“We use our own well for water supply, so the water cost is relatively low, but we are saving more than 80 percent on water usage, and this will enable our customers to label their products in the stores respectively.”

Usually denim is processed through a number of cylinder dryers that are steam heated, and stretched in a large stretching unit that applies high force to the fabric in order to achieve the necessary weft.

The Monforts Eco Line innovation uses a modified Thermex Hotflue Chamber that generates the necessary moisture and temperature for making the denim stretchable, whilst incorporating a soft stretching of the fabric by using many rollers instead of only the one or two in a traditional stretching unit.

This consequently saves on the volume of water needed to generate the steam, and also saves on the amount of energy required to convert the water to steam.

The Tavemex factory uses fuel oil for its steam supply, being located too far from a natural gas supply to pipe in gas, and Elizondo says that the Eco Denim Line is projected to save energy.

“We are still in the process of transferring the production from the traditional stenters to the Eco Denim Line, but we estimate that ultimately we shall save between 20 and 30 percent on steam generation” he says.

The denim is treated much more gently with the Eco Line, and Elizondo says the highest fabric quality can be achieved, certainly to the same standard as with the steam cylinders.

The new installation includes a Monforts Eco Applicator, which applies the chemicals, replacing a conventional padder. This reduces the drying needs and therefore energy consumption, due to the fact that the Eco Applicator applies less moisture to the fabric.

Less water usage also means less wastewater, and again although this has little effect in financial savings, the environmental aspects are very beneficial.

“This will also give us the opportunity to improve our wastewater plant to the latest European standards.”

Elizondo adds that the response of Tavemex’s customers to this new installation has been very favourable.

“They started to ask us for ways to reduce water usage about four years ago,” he says. “We worked with our chemicals suppliers to reduce the water during the dyeing process, but although giving us an advantage, it was still not enough.

“Now however the reduction is dramatic. It is creating new marketing advantages for our customers.”

The new company ownership means that Tavemex, once part of the world’s largest denim producing conglomerate, is now an independent Mexican producer facing stiff competition. The company is confident that the Eco Denim Line will help it stay at the forefront.

Posted May 1, 2017

Source: Monforts