Mimaki Europe presented a new vision, structure and strategy as it looks to the future after 50 years in business, at the recent FESPA Global Print Expo 2025 in Berlin. Mimaki’s new technology and pioneering ink products represented over half of the company’s product line-up being demonstrated live on its FESPA stand.
These latest solutions include the new Mimaki UJV300DTF-75 printer, which leverages Mimaki’s UV printing expertise to deliver a reliable solution for object decoration, enabling high-quality, durable prints on surfaces that were previously unsuitable for direct UV printing.
Launched recently, the new Mimaki ELH and ELS inks were also showcased for the very first time. These sustainable inks deliver the same high-standard functionality as equivalent Mimaki inks but have been formulated to be completely free of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) and, uniquely, Carcinogenic, Mutagenic, and Reproductive toxicants (CMR), therefore reducing the impact on human health and the environment.
Two new printers, the JV200-160 and Tx330-1800, made their debut in EMEA. An easy-to-use roll-to-roll printer, the JV200-160 uses eco-solvent inks and offers reliable signage production with outstanding print quality. Created for the textile and apparel markets, the Tx330-1800 is equipped with a dual ink set capability to seamlessly switch between textile pigment inks and dye sublimation inks for a more diverse range of applications in one machine.
As Mimaki kicked off this innovation-packed FESPA, the company officially announced Arjen Evertse’s promotion to Director Sales, along with the landmark news that he is the first locally appointed member to join the Mimaki Europe Board of Directors.
Evertse commented, ‘Mimaki is a truly international company and my appointment to the Board is a demonstration of the company’s goals to reflect this global reach and market influence within its leadership team.
‘This new role coincides with an exciting phase of Mimaki’s evolution, where the regional Mimaki businesses will be even more aligned with the global sales strategy and implement new team structures to support changing market demands. After over 20 years with Mimaki, I have witnessed the business lead and inspire change across the industries we serve. Now, in our 50th year, it’s the ideal time to look to the future and adapt our strategy to meet the new demands of the market – many of which we have been instrumental in creating! Our vision now is to support the needs of a more diverse, flexible print industry.’
Mimaki Europe will implement a new strategy that enables further ‘horizontal growth’, as Mimaki’s new product introductions continue to push the boundaries of what is possible and open up opportunities in new markets, and ‘vertical growth’ as it continues to support entry-level and industrial scale print production. Mimaki’s new ‘Print Different’ ethos underpins this approach. ‘Print Different’ not only encapsulates Mimaki’s legacy of breakthrough technologies but also highlights the company’s continuous commitment to driving creativity, differentiation and sustainability in the digital printing industry.
Trends In Africa
Charnia Yapp, Publisher at Sign Africa, interviewed Arjen Evertse, sales director at Mimaki Europe, and Hüseyin Şarerler, Mimaki Eurasia Area Sales Manager, at FESPA Berlin.
1. What are the top printing trends in Africa, and how is Mimaki tapping into these?
Direct to film (DTF) was something that Mimaki had never done before, and we knew that there was still a lot of room for us to do something in Europe or even in the US. When we had a conversation about Africa, we thought that given the price difference and the exchange rate, that DTF was probably not going to work in the region, but we couldn’t just assume it wouldn’t work without even trying.
So we had the conversation with Graphix Supply World (GSW), our Mimaki distributor in sub-Saharan Africa, and they decided to install a DTF unit in their demonstration room and explain to their customers what the technology was all about. GSW have been selling units every single quarter since, with really good success stories. We have countries in Western Europe that are not performing with DTF the way South Africa is performing for us right now, which is something completely different to what we expected.
There’s also a part of the market that is becoming less price focused, and more focused on continuity, reliability, availability of spare parts after one or two years, and someone who can service a machine – so it’s the whole system. You’re not just buying a printer, you are becoming part of an ecosystem, in which we take care of you, which is very different than us just selling a product to you and leaving you to figure things out on your own.
In South Africa, that understanding of the whole system is growing. More companies are investing in blue chip manufactured products that are part of such an ecosystem with the necessary support, supply and reliability, because every day you don’t print, it costs money. It’s about looking more at the longer term, and that is positive for us.
If we look at new unit placements, South Africa is one of the very few countries in the EMEA that is still growing. It’s a lot of entry-level equipment, because normally when you see a textile market which grows very fast, you also see that the type of printers that companies buy is changing from entry-level to more mid-range or higher-end. Last year, we sold quite a few mid-range products as well. So there’s very much a visible developing textile market.
2. Which product innovations at FESPA Berlin will be available in Africa?
During the FESPA Africa and Sign Africa expo from 9-11 September, we’ll probably be showcasing our 3.2m TS330-3200DS sublimation printer. UV DTF is something we should definitely bring to South Africa.
3. Can you comment on the importance of the African market to Mimaki?
It’s about the growth potential – Africa is one of the few areas where we can still grow a lot. It’s an important market.
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