I4F, a group of companies providing patents and technologies to the flooring industry, announced that U.S.-based HMTX Industries has signed a new i4F license for digital printing technologies and acquired a Hymmen Jupiter Digital Printing Line. This will be the first Hymmen printing line in China.

HMTX’s sustainable and socially responsible flooring products will be digitally printed with Hymmen’s Jupiter JPT-C print-to-board line in the near future. HMTX Industries is a global new materials flooring company serving a diverse cross section of the construction and renovation market places. HMTX companies and brands include Halstead, Metroflor, Teknoflor, Aspecta and Allure.

“We have made a commitment to be the most innovative flooring manufacturer in the new materials arena," said HMTX CEO Harlan Stone. "The decision to transition to digitally printed products represents the biggest contributor towards achieving this goal. Speed to market will go from six months to six days. I think this says it all! I4F has long been our technology partner of choice and now, yet again, it is supporting us on our unwavering journey towards responsible innovation.”

HMTX will continue its Digital Transformation with a Hymmen digital printing line as the center piece of a process that begins with the group’s bold “Create-Visualize-Realize” center, located at its, soon to open, new global headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA.

Designed to enable 24/7 industrial production, Hymmen’s Jupiter JPT-C print-to-board lines deliver intelligent and precise register accuracy. This ensures the highest levels of color stability and print quality output while maintaining printing speeds of 25-50 meters per minute, the company said. HMTX has opted for eight-color printing with DLEplus digitally embossed-in-register lacquer structures.

Digital printing will play a crucial role in the future of new material flooring as it enables unlimited design and embossing-in-register flexibility and can be applied to a wide range of materials. This facilitates faster response times to market demands and a better way to provide leadership in design and decor.