EXQUISITE ITALIAN SILKS FROM MANTERO SETA PRINTED TO PERFECTION WITH EPSON MONNA LISA DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
“Mantero inaugurated their new digital textile printing department in 2014, some seven years ago and is now proud to own six Monna Lisa printing systems - and only uses Epson technology. The company has invested in every ML generation and now manufactures over 120,000 meters of printed silk per month using Epson’s Monna Lisa - Evo Tre technology suite. Each machine produces between 18,000 and 25,000 metres of high quality, luxury printed silk per month.” COPYRIGHT: © Mantero EPSON
Italian textiles are synonymous with prestige and luxury – beautiful quality yarns woven to create exquisite silk fabrics, expertly printed with rich, intense colours and statement designs – together these qualities create textiles that transcend time.
At the heart of Italy’s Como region, the Mantero family have been manufacturing high quality printed textile collections for over a hundred years. The company designs, creates, weaves and prints accessories for the luxury and high-end fashion brands. And if that’s not enough Mantero Seta is registered in the record of historic companies – an accomplishment that witnesses the leading position of the Company.
Founded in 1902 by Riccardo Mantero the company is now in the hands of the family’s fourth generation. Over the last 100 years the business has seen many changes within the fashion and accessories marketplace in which they specialise – luxury is at the heart of their business and on this there has never been any compromise.
Since the early twentieth century, Mantero has set a benchmark for undisputed quality in the high-end silk market. Luxury textiles have always been at their core. Originally founded as a business trading in luxurious textiles, in 1940 the company began printing, weaving and dyeing. With a worldwide reputation and a historic provenance – Mantero Silks are now renowned worldwide.
A key and peculiar element of success is represented by a treasure trove and a historic reference to the family’s passion for luxurious printed silk:
The Mantero Archive is considered one of the world's richest and most extraordinary textile archives. It contains more than 10,000 books, 60,000 scarfs, thousands of hand-drawn designs stored by subject, test papers, prints on fabric, joint fabrics and jacquards from the most prestigious fashion houses. With the acquisition of French, British, German and American textile archives, the Mantero archive is priceless”
Franco Mantero, CEO has always had a clear vision on the importance of technical innovations:
“Until the nineties, dyeing and printing was still done using traditional screen-printing techniques with frames and cylinders. Then digital textile printing came on the scene. We were drawn to digital because, as a large company - investing continuously in printing, digital was the cutting-edge and we were determined to be the first company to use it!”
It took a few years to convince people of the merits of digital technology. Franco explained further “Quality remained a priority for us, but you cannot ignore the flexibility of digital production – the possibility for designing, making alterations with ease, enlarging and rescaling, adding and removing elements to meet the stylists’ requirements. All of this was naturally impossible with screen printing, be that frames or cylinders.”
“For us digital printing could only mean the Epson Monna Lisa – for reasons of quality. The Monna Lisa stood out ahead of its competitors for print quality, reproductivity, and reliability. All of these ingredients were key factors in our choice and partnership with Epson to ensure that Mantero would continue to provide the excellence and dependability that we have always been proud to offer.”
Mantero inaugurated their new digital textile printing department in 2014, some seven years ago and is now proud to own six Monna Lisa printing systems - and only uses Epson technology. The company has invested in every ML generation and now manufactures over 120,000 meters of printed silk per month using Epson’s Monna Lisa - Evo Tre technology suite. Each machine produces between 18,000 and 25,000 metres of high quality, luxury printed silk per month.
Antonio Rezzonico commented: “We made this choice because we consider the Monna Lisa machinery suitable for the type of high-end silk market that we focus on. We can range from large size designs with millions of colours to micro patterns for products such as ties where detail is of great importance. Mantero manufactures printed accessories, and in this product group, the right and rear sides of the fabric are equally important. Colour penetration in a fabric is fundamental, as it is colour management. The first-generation Monna Lisa printing machine gave excellent performance but with the Evo Tre we have achieved even better results.”
Mantero Seta’s product hub is of primary importance – it’s underpins the business. “The vast archive is a rich source of inspiration for an incredible team of over 100 creatives, textile designers, product managers, masters of colors. Recreating and manipulating the historical archive provides a powerful design resource for the business. Utilising digital printing is essential and a great means of conveying these two elements.” commented Franco Mantero.
“Mantero 1902 – the company’s owned brand - collections contain a concentrated version of the Mantero Archive – with designs that have been recoloured and freshly interpreted with a passion for mix & match to create new patterns starting from designs coming from past decades and from other countries.
The final, magnificent, design reproduction on fabric is reached thanks to the Monna Lisa digital textile printing equipment, and I think this combination has created, and continues to create remarkable results” added Franco Mantero.
With Epson’s Monna Lisa technology, Mantero have ensured that where tradition meets innovation their reputation for high quality printed silk is maintained.
As they continue into their next century this remarkable Italian family textile business has joined the past and the future together with great effect.
COPYRIGHT © Mantero
