INTRODUCTION
Aiming to contribute to society
through inkjet printers.
Hayashi:
Our focus was on the new possibilities of inkjet printers. The apparel industry uses large amounts of water in the manufacturing process, and the environmental impact of overproduction and the disposal of large amounts of inventory has become a major problem for society. We realized that if we could create a new inkjet technology by combining the Kyocera Group's capabilities in inkjet printhead development, digital product development for MFPs and printers, and chemical material development, we could contribute to reducing the environmental impact of the apparel industry and shortening delivery times.
Maruta:
Kyocera originally had a 50% share of the textile printing inkjet market with its printer printhead* and had accumulated solid know-how and technology. However, the textile printing industry was shifting from analog to digital,
and society as a whole was becoming increasingly paperless, so a new development was needed. We decided to try something new, thinking that there must be more that inkjet printers could do, as well as from the perspective of the company's growth.
Hotani:
As we reexamined the basic technology, we realized that digital textile printing could address the apparel industry's environmental impact problem. For example, the garment production process suffers many losses, such as the enormous amount of water consumed in the printing process that uses dyes and a large amount of disposed clothing. With the goal of contributing to society through this initiative, the entire team has been working together to promote the project.
*Reference: World Textile Information Network
