Monna Lisa – a Home Textile success story

The three companies take part in Heimtextil 2017 
10–13 January 2017 – Frankfurt (Pavilion 6 Stand C10)

Monna Lisa Heimtextil Special Edition Images

Milan, 9th January 2017 – The Monna Lisa printer has made history in the Home Textile sector with more than three million square metres of pigment printed since 2005. This digital textile printer has revolutionised the textile printing market. It is the result of years of collaboration between Epson, a pioneer in digital printing technology for fabrics, and For.Tex. and F.lli Robustelli, companies that are now part of the Group. These three companies will be at Heimtextil to show the Home Textile and furnishing market digital printing on fabrics using high-quality pigments with a low environmental impact. 

The Monna Lisa is the result of more than a decade’s partnership between the three companies. It is a production digital printer with proven piezoelectric inkjet Epson technology. A Total Solution, the Monna Lisa is a fully-integrated system that handles the entire production run from pre-treatment to the final print. 

The Monna Lisa’s success is due to several factors. Not only is its quality and reliability crucial, and the printheads, inks and mechanics unique, continuous research ensures its excellence. The recent opening of Innovation hubs in the high-quality printing district of Como demonstrate this commitment. Based on the number of Monna Lisa units installed worldwide, Epson estimates that in 2015 approximately 900,000 square metres of pigment printed fabric was created (a 40 per cent increase compared to 2014). 

“Quality” and “reliability” are the watchwords for the Home Textile business segment. Giovanni Pizzamiglio, Epson Europe Head of Sales and member of the Fratelli Robustelli board, said, “Monna Lisa is a viable alternative for the textile market due to several key characteristics including reducing production time, ability to print on any type of fabric or using any design variant. It is possible to streamline sampling and prototyping production at a drastically reduced cost and with the best quality. Lower energy and water consumption make it a cutting-edge printer in the extraordinary evolution of printing technologies used in the textile industry.” 

Since 2005, Monna Lisa has been available in the Home Textile market with a 320cm model using light pigments. Its key feature is its ability to carry out high-quality printing on fabrics, whether it is made of cellulosic fibres or those mixed with polyester. This is possible due to the use of Genesta pigment inks, designed by Epson in partnership with For.Tex. The fact it does not require steaming and washing processes makes the Monna Lisa, with Genesta pigment inks, an eco-friendly solution, with low environmental impact. Fabrics printed with Monna Lisa machines feature high colour rendering, durability and reproducibility. This is essential for pre-treated fabrics used in the Home Textile industry. Through the innovation and quality of the Monna Lisa printer, it is possible to create products for the home – from soft furnishing to household linen. 

Monna Lisa, launched in 2003, is produced by the engineering textile company Fratelli Robustelli. This printer revolutionised the textile market by offering a digital tool that could shift from the sampling phase to reliable industrial production. Over the years, the Monna Lisa has evolved; from the first Monna Lisa Evo in 2011 to the latest model - the Monna Lisa EVO TRE. The latter marks a further step forward in the remarkable evolution of printing technologies for the textile sector.

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About Epson

Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to connecting people, things and information with its original efficient, compact and precision technologies. With a lineup that ranges from inkjet printers and digital printing systems to 3LCD projectors, smart glasses, sensing systems and industrial robots, the company is focused on driving innovations and exceeding customer expectations in inkjet, visual communications, wearables and robotics.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 73,000 employees in 91 companies around the world, and is proud of its contributions to the communities in which it operates and its ongoing efforts to reduce environmental impacts.

http://global.epson.com/

About Epson Europe 

Epson Europe B.V., based in Amsterdam, is the Group’s regional headquarters for Europe, Middle-East, Russia, and Africa. With a workforce of 1,700 employees, Epson Europe’s sales for fiscal year 2015 were 1,577 million Euros.http://www.epson.eu/ 

 Environmental Vision 2050

http://eco.epson.com/ 

Epson Italia

Epson Italy, national sales company, for fiscal year 2015 registered over 215 million Euros of sales with a workforce of about 175 employees. http://www.epson.it
 
About For.Tex 

For.Tex, located in Fino Mornasco (Como, Italy), is a company 100% owned by Epson Italia. Established in the Italian market as a trusted provider for dyes, thickeners and specialty for printing, For.Tex has established and consolidated its expansion to overseas markets with a particular focus on the Asian market with which it has established over the years a fruitful collaboration in particular with the most qualified Japanese companies producing dyes, specialty products for printing and specialty for the essential treatments agents of highly innovative content. In 2000, For.Tex was chosen by SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION, as official partner in regards of the ink developments, of the MONNA LISA® project and for the GENESTA® ink.
www.fortex.it
 
About F.lli Robustelli  

F.lli Robustelli  s.r.l, located in Villa Guardia (Como, Italy), is a company 100% owned by Epson Italia. Operating since the 1950s, F.lli Robustelli has always designed and produced photogravure and textile printing machinery and systems. Thanks to an ongoing relationship with its clients and the ability to blend textile and mechanical knowhow with new digital technologies, F.lli. Robustelli has developed partnerships across the world. Over 15 years ago, F.lli Robustelli developed an important partnership with SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION that resulted in the MONNA LISA® project. For this project, the company product engineered the first digital textile printing machine on Epson print technology resulting in a product that is known in the textile industry as the best digital textile printer in the world and making of F.lli Robustelli one of the major players in the digital textile printing revolution.
www.monnalisatdp.com

For more information:http://www.epson.it/

Silvia Carena

PR & Social Media Manager
Epson Italia s.p.a.
tel.+ 39.02.660321 - fax + 39.02.6123622 Email: silvia_carena@epson.it

Laura Mantovani / Laura Codispoti
Ufficio stampa F.lli Robustelli
Theoria srl
Tel. 02 2022151 Mobile  393 9859409 / 349 1612009
e-mail: epson@theoria.it