News: Dimix.Screen becomes official distributor for INPRO

The screen printing industry is evolving at a breakneck pace. Where the focus in the past was mainly on pure production power, today’s attention is increasingly shifting towards automation, safety, ergonomics, and naturally, ecological responsibility. At Dimix Screen, we understand this shift better than anyone and strive to optimally support our customers in this crucial transition. That is why we are more than proud to announce that, effective immediately, we have become the official distributor of the renowned INPRO equipment for the Benelux market.

This strategic partnership enables us to provide you not only with the best printing and pressing equipment but also with the most advanced solutions in the field of washing, developing, and reclaiming systems. By doing so, we close the loop in your production process and elevate your screen printing business to a higher level of efficiency, consistency, and sustainability. Whether you are active in textile printing, graphic screen printing, or industrial applications; the quality of your final product begins with a perfectly prepared and thoroughly cleaned screen.

Why Choose INPRO? The Revolution in Reclaiming

INPRO, an innovative pioneer based in the Netherlands, has earned its stripes worldwide as the undisputed market leader in washing, developing, and reclaiming systems, specifically designed for the screen printing sector. Manual cleaning and stripping of screens has traditionally been a very time-consuming, physically demanding, unpleasant, and—importantly—often unhealthy process. The frequent exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), irritating chemicals, and aggressive solvents posed significant health risks for operators, alongside a substantial ecological footprint.

INPRO has fundamentally revolutionized this entire process. With their advanced systems, including the robust Tigerclean and innovative in-line series, they have set an entirely new standard where maximum safety, far-reaching ecology, and unprecedented production speed take center stage. Reclaiming is no longer a “dirty job” tucked away in the back of the workshop, but a streamlined, controlled, and high-tech part of your professional prepress department.

In-Depth Technical Advantages of INPRO Equipment

What makes INPRO’s technology truly superior compared to traditional or competing methods? Let’s dive deeper into the technical specifications and best practices.

1. Safer, Healthier Working Environment and Ergonomics

By making the switch to INPRO’s automated, closed wash booths, combined with their smartly designed, environmentally friendly chemical lines, you reduce your employees’ exposure to harmful vapors to an absolute minimum. The systems are designed with hermetically sealed circuits and seamlessly integrated extraction capabilities, meaning dangerous aerosols and chemical fumes simply cannot enter the operator’s breathing zone.

This has a direct, positive impact on workplace health, leading to lower absenteeism and significantly higher employee satisfaction. Furthermore, you ensure that your company effortlessly complies with increasingly strict health, safety, and environmental legislation (including REACH and local emission guidelines). Ergonomics also improve drastically; the heavy physical burden of manual scrubbing with high-pressure cleaners is definitively a thing of the past.

2. Consistent Top Quality, Precision, and Reduced ‘Ghosting’

In screen printing, reproducible consistency is the key to a successful business. Manual developing and cleaning almost inevitably leads to variations in quality. One operator might spray with more or less pressure than another, the soak time of the chemistry fluctuates, or a bit too much water or product is used. Automatic developing and cleaning with INPRO equipment, on the other hand, guarantees an extremely constant, machine-controlled result.

The standardized pressure of the precision nozzles, the constant water temperature, and the highly precise chemical dosing ensure that each individual screen is treated with the exact same level of perfection, time after time. This not only benefits the razor-sharp development of your finest halftone details but also optimizes the overall lifespan of your valuable mesh. The dreaded phenomenon of ‘ghosting’ – the retention of hardened ink or emulsion residues in the fabric structure – is drastically reduced thanks to the perfectly balanced and powerful cleaning cycles.

3. Sustainability and Efficient Water and Chemistry Management

One of the most impressive and forward-thinking technical features of the INPRO systems is the extremely thoughtful management of consumables. Through the implementation of advanced filter systems (such as ingenious cascade filters and settling tanks for solid residues), the used water and cleaning chemistry are kept usable for much longer in a closed loop.

The chemistry is very accurately dosed via pump systems and applied evenly over the mesh surface, which completely eliminates overspray and unnecessary waste. This closed system is not only a blessing for the local environment but also ensures a very significant reduction in your monthly operational costs in the medium to long term. Separating solid particles from the liquids means you have to dispose of less hazardous waste.

ROI Calculation: Does the INPRO Equipment Pay for Itself?

When entrepreneurs consider investing in high-quality automation, a frequently asked and perfectly logical question is: “What is the exact Return On Investment (ROI) of such equipment?” For many screen printers, the initial capital investment in automation seems like a substantial hurdle. Let’s take a critical look at the hard numbers and the often hidden costs of the traditional, manual reclaiming process.

Labor Costs: Manual stripping, thorough degreasing, drying, and preparing for a new emulsion layer can easily take 15 to 30 minutes per screen, depending on the frame size and the stubbornness of the contamination. In an advanced, automated INPRO in-line system, multiple screens can be processed simultaneously or seamlessly consecutively in a fraction of that time. This leaves the operator’s hands completely free for other, much more profitable prepress or printing tasks. Suppose we assume a conservative saving of 15 minutes per screen, and your company processes 20 screens per day. Then you save an impressive 5 hours of expensive, qualified labor costs per day. On an annual basis, this efficiency gain adds up gigantically.

Chemistry and Water Costs: Manual cleaning is standardly associated with a structurally high and completely uncontrolled consumption of fresh tap water and expensive cleaning agents. The hyper-efficient recycling systems of INPRO can often reduce your total chemistry consumption by up to 50% to 60%, and drastically curb water usage. Additionally, the costs for the regulated disposal of liquid chemical waste drop very significantly.

Extended Mesh Lifespan: Due to the machine-controlled process, the fine mesh is subjected to much less severe mechanical stress (no aggressive, manual scrubbing with hard brushes), and the deep-rooted formation of stubborn ghost images and mesh clogging is prevented. In very concrete terms, this means you can reuse your screens significantly more often before they need to be restretched and glued. This substantially lowers the ongoing costs for new mesh and screen tensioning.

When we combine all these crucial factors into a financial projection, we see in practice that the ROI for an investment in a fully-fledged INPRO system in a medium to large screen printing company is often realized within a short time frame of 12 to a maximum of 24 months. By the way, our Dimix Screen specialists are happy to make a fully customized ROI calculation for you, based exactly on your specific production volume, screen sizes, and current cost structure.

Local Support, Installation, and Premium Service

An extra strong asset is that the state-of-the-art INPRO equipment is proudly designed and manufactured in the Netherlands. This offers an unprecedented logistical and communicative advantage for our customers throughout the entire Benelux region. Coupled with the trusted, unparalleled service level of Dimix Screen, you are always assured of lightning-fast and effective support.

Our dedicated team of strictly trained and certified technicians not only takes care of the careful, flawless installation and seamless commissioning of your new equipment into your existing production flow but also guarantees periodic preventive maintenance and very fast interventions in the event of any technical calamities. Because we are directly connected to the local factory, a continuous and rapid availability of all original spare parts is 100% guaranteed. Together, we ensure that any costly downtime of your valuable production capacity remains strictly limited to an absolute, negligible minimum.

Best Practices and Professional Tips for Optimal Reclaiming

To immediately get the maximum return from your (new or existing) reclaiming setup, our specialists are happy to share some professional best practices from years of technical expertise on the shop floor:

1. Clean Screens As Quickly As Possible: Absolutely do not let ink dry in the screen unnecessarily long after a production run. The faster the excess ink is removed with spatulas and the screen enters the wet wash process, the faster and easier it is to remove the ink residues and the emulsion. This significantly reduces the chance of the ink baking in and subsequent ghosting.
2. Always Choose the Right Chemistry for the Right Ink Type: Ensure that the cleaning agents in your machine are perfectly chemically matched to the specific ink types you use daily (whether that’s plastisol, water-based, aggressive solvent, or UV inks). The wrong, incompatible chemistry can strongly slow down the stripping process, leave stains, or in the worst case, unintentionally cure the photo-emulsion or damage the fabric of the mesh.
3. Ensure Consistent Maintenance of the Filter System: A high-quality automated system operates solely at maximum efficiency if the filters are clean and highly permeable. Follow the prescribed weekly and monthly maintenance schedule of your INPRO system extremely meticulously to prevent blockages, sludge formation, and a resulting reduced water pressure at the nozzles at all times.
4. Check the Balance Between Water Pressure and Temperature: For flawless, fast stripping, the right balance between the kinetic pressure of the spray heads and the temperature of the water is essential. Consult the technical data sheets (TDS) of your specific emulsion supplier and accurately adjust the parameters of the INPRO machine accordingly for the best result.
5. Implement a Strict ‘First In, First Out’ Workflow: Organize your prepress so that clean, fully degreased, and perfectly dried screens are properly stored vertically in a darkened and dust-free environment. Always use the oldest prepared (coated) screens first (FIFO principle) to prevent cross-contamination, dust encapsulation, or natural aging of the unexposed emulsion, which can lead to problems during the final exposure.

From Compact Prepress Setups to Fully Industrial Solutions

The true strength of the impressive INPRO range lies in its exceptional modularity and scalability. Whether you are at the helm of a passionate, starting or small-scale screen printing studio urgently looking for a compact, ergonomic, and safe washout booth with a smartly integrated filter system, or you lead an immense, industrial and multi-shift print company that requires a fully automated in-line reclaiming line (magazine to magazine); INPRO’s rich portfolio covers it entirely with unprecedented finesse.

For smaller runs, prototypes, and prepress rooms with very limited available floor space, INPRO offers extraordinarily smart stand-alone units that seamlessly and safely combine functions such as washing, stripping, and drying on a few square meters. For large-format graphic screen printers or textile companies with sky-high, continuous production volumes, robust, modular in-line systems can be assembled. These industrial titans process hundreds of screens per day, effortlessly and almost without any manual intervention, sending productivity through the roof.

The necessary transition to a safer, significantly more efficient, cleaner, and above all much more profitable prepress department has never been so tangible and accessible. The experienced team of Dimix Screen is ready at any time to thoroughly analyze your current, daily workflows on the shop floor with you. We listen attentively to your specific pain points and challenges, calculate the realistic potential savings, and advise you, entirely without obligation, on the perfect INPRO configuration that exactly matches your specific needs, budget, and vision for the future.

Are you completely ready to definitively bring your prepress department into the 21st century, relieve your employees, and stay a crushing step ahead of the competition? Then contact the technical experts of Dimix Screen today for an enlightening, in-depth conversation or a demonstration of the transformative, market-leading systems of INPRO.

Want to learn more about these screen printing solutions?

Explore the technical specifications of INPRO Combi-Compact and INPRO or contact the specialists at Dimix.Screen for tailored advice or a live demonstration.