Sean Milmo, European Editor01.21.20
Demand for textile print products and their inks and other consumables are growing rapidly in Europe, making them one the fastest expanding print sectors in the region.
Currently, clothing accounts for the majority of textile print sales, but its popularity is broadening in other sectors, while it is also gaining a presence in markets where it has had little or no presence.
Now in addition to fashion, its main markets include sportswear, banners and signage, soft furnishing and interior decor, medical textiles and automotive fabrics and upholstery.
The major drivers behind the growth are personalization and customization, flexibility, greater scope for creativity, lower materials costs and environmental protection.
The Rise of Inkjet
Although textile printing is still dominated by screenprinting, the application of digital processes, mainly inkjet, has been growing at the fastest rate, although more slowly than in other European printing markets.
A major feature of inkjet textile printing, as in other segments, has been its low-cost short-run jobs and operational simplicity. This has made it accessible to micro-businesses, even home-based ones.
A lot of the growth in textile print demand has been the availability of digital processes that enable a high degree of personalization. Inkjet has the necessary versatility and capability for short runs and the individuality of designs and data necessary for customization.
In a report issued last year, Smithers Pira forecast that from 2018-2023 the global digital textile printing market will have grown by a compound annual growth rate of 11.6% to €4.9 billion ($5.4 billion). This was a drop from the CAGR growth rate of 16% in 2013-2017, but this slowdown is to be expected when there has been early growth from a low base.
Digital processes only account for 5% of all global textile printing, mainly because it has hardly penetrated the high volume parts of the market for which its production costs remain too high.
In Europe, because of the high unit value of its products, digital textile printing has been growing at approximately double the rate of the rest of the textile printing market.
Clothing’s share of total digital textile’s printing output will remain at around 75% in 2023, similar to that in 2018, according to Smithers Pira.
Smithers Pira is expecting a strong expansion in digital textile printing for home decor products, like carpets, bed linen and curtains, with interior design companies opening up the market by giving opportunities to third party designers to offer their designs online.
Demand for textile-based soft signage will continue to increase as a result of more outdoor applications using light-resistant materials, particularly for flags and banners.
In technical textiles, covering automotive fabrics, medical textiles and protective clothing, there is less scope for design creativity with more emphasis on performance. As a result, this segment’s annual increase by value will, at 9%, be less than the average for digital textiles.
Large investments in R&D into ink chemistries in recent years by the textile printing press manufacturers, particularly the digital ones which tend to make their own inks, should soon come to fruition.
Key Ink Types for Textiles
The development of innovative inks has been concentrated on the main ink types used in textile printing. These include inks comprising dye sublimation and/or disperse dyes, acid and reactive dyes, pigment inks and latex and UV-cured inks. Also, there are the dry toners used to print transfers onto special release papers.
Dyes continue to be the core component of many textile inks because of their ability to penetrate and be absorbed by fibers. But demand for pigment inks has been boosted by the growth of direct-to-garment printing, such as with T-shirts. Furthermore, they have been adjusted to perform on roll-to-roll processes.
A key objective behind current R&D in textile inks is the development of multi-purpose inks that meet customers’ needs for lower costs and greater operational efficiencies. Thus an improved version of an existing ink would be more attractive if it carried out the functions of other inks.
Dye sublimation and direct-to-garment inks have a similar end result of strong and bright colors. OEMs and independent ink producers are now providing inks that can be used for both functions.
Increasingly OEMs are focusing on combining advances in printer design with innovative ink chemistries to give them a competitive edge in textile printing.
Last spring, Kornit Digital launched a process that deals with the chronic problem, particularly in digital printing, of dye migration with polyester textiles. Polyester has been printed predominantly by analog processes but, due to the migration issue, at a cost so high that it limits opportunities for polyester printing in digital.
The process developed by Kornit is based on a novel ink set and a physical and chemical process that allows low temperature curing while enhancing the material’s characteristics and providing superior fastness. “This unique process prevents dye migration on polyester,” the company said.
Digital Screenprinting Technologies (DST) has developed a process for textile transfer that combines digital and screenprinting processes.
The DST system makes it possible to utilize the quality, flexibility, productivity and details that digital offers. Using specially developed water-based and plastisol-based inks, transfers can be produced digitally for screenprinting that have all the characteristics of traditional transfers, such as stretch, durability and high-temperature wash resistance.
Mimaki launched at ITMA in Barcelona in June 2019 a hybrid printer accommodating both direct-to-textile and direct-to-transfer print capabilities with combinations of ink systems and substrates.
“The textile market is still relatively early on in the adoption of digital printers, with most textiles being printed in the conventional way and a lot of large players dominating the market,” said Ronald van den Broek, Mimaki’s GM sales for Europe. ‘’With this new hybrid printer, Mimaki has provided an affordable solution that lowers the barriers to entry for smaller print providers.”
He claimed that with the new machine his company was “effectively democratizing accessibility to textile printing.” With such innovations, “we expect to see improved growth of digital printing in textiles,” he added.
HP introduced last year its Stitch digital printer range which also combines dye sublimation and direct-to-textile capabilities in three models, two of them for entry-level users.
On the materials side, there have been major advances in the quality and range of printing fabrics. A lot of the European-based producers for printing are technological world leaders in textiles for building, interior decor and design in a sector now known as textile architecture. Suppliers are designing, developing and producing textiles specifically for printing.
These quality materials have been a factor behind the relatively fast growth in wide-format inkjet textile printing in which for high-value products Europe has become a world center.
They have enabled European digital textile printers to expand into a wider variety of sectors in some of which they have had little or no presence.
Dublin-based large format digital print provider Xtreme Signs and Graphics is focusing much of its business on textile print in exhibitions and signage after being introduced to materials made by Pongs of Germany by its UK and Ireland distributor CMYUK.
‘’We used to do vehicle graphics but we’ve completely got out of that,’’ said Pierre Pheiffer, owner and managing director of Xtreme Signs and Graphics, 70% of whose output is now textiles.
‘’Pongs (materials) are going to be a central part of what we will build our service offerings around,’’ he continued. ‘’The partners who work with us undertake exhibitions all over Europe. Textile is an excellent traveler - light and convenient. Textile is becoming the de-facto standard.’’
In addition to growing in the exhibitions and signage market, Pheiffer’s business is seeking to expand into interior decor – wall coverings and other architectural decorations. Besides being a supplier of textiles to large-format printers, Pongs is itself active in the design and development of materials for interiors, particularly restaurants and shops.
An integrated supply chain embracing inks and other consumables, printing machines and equipment and materials producers is probably needed to stimulate continued above-average growth in textile printing in Europe.
Already networks of distributors are emerging in the region, able to provide from a single source everything textile printers require, like inks, printing machines, equipment such as fixation units and pre-treatment and other accessories, all with technical guidance support.
With distribution becoming more integrated, textile printers will expect players in inks, machinery and materials to work more closely together, especially in the development of new technologies.
European Editor Sean Milmo is an Essex, UK-based writer specializing in coverage of the chemical industry.
Currently, clothing accounts for the majority of textile print sales, but its popularity is broadening in other sectors, while it is also gaining a presence in markets where it has had little or no presence.
Now in addition to fashion, its main markets include sportswear, banners and signage, soft furnishing and interior decor, medical textiles and automotive fabrics and upholstery.
The major drivers behind the growth are personalization and customization, flexibility, greater scope for creativity, lower materials costs and environmental protection.
The Rise of Inkjet
Although textile printing is still dominated by screenprinting, the application of digital processes, mainly inkjet, has been growing at the fastest rate, although more slowly than in other European printing markets.
A major feature of inkjet textile printing, as in other segments, has been its low-cost short-run jobs and operational simplicity. This has made it accessible to micro-businesses, even home-based ones.
A lot of the growth in textile print demand has been the availability of digital processes that enable a high degree of personalization. Inkjet has the necessary versatility and capability for short runs and the individuality of designs and data necessary for customization.
In a report issued last year, Smithers Pira forecast that from 2018-2023 the global digital textile printing market will have grown by a compound annual growth rate of 11.6% to €4.9 billion ($5.4 billion). This was a drop from the CAGR growth rate of 16% in 2013-2017, but this slowdown is to be expected when there has been early growth from a low base.
Digital processes only account for 5% of all global textile printing, mainly because it has hardly penetrated the high volume parts of the market for which its production costs remain too high.
In Europe, because of the high unit value of its products, digital textile printing has been growing at approximately double the rate of the rest of the textile printing market.
Clothing’s share of total digital textile’s printing output will remain at around 75% in 2023, similar to that in 2018, according to Smithers Pira.
Smithers Pira is expecting a strong expansion in digital textile printing for home decor products, like carpets, bed linen and curtains, with interior design companies opening up the market by giving opportunities to third party designers to offer their designs online.
Demand for textile-based soft signage will continue to increase as a result of more outdoor applications using light-resistant materials, particularly for flags and banners.
In technical textiles, covering automotive fabrics, medical textiles and protective clothing, there is less scope for design creativity with more emphasis on performance. As a result, this segment’s annual increase by value will, at 9%, be less than the average for digital textiles.
Large investments in R&D into ink chemistries in recent years by the textile printing press manufacturers, particularly the digital ones which tend to make their own inks, should soon come to fruition.
Key Ink Types for Textiles
The development of innovative inks has been concentrated on the main ink types used in textile printing. These include inks comprising dye sublimation and/or disperse dyes, acid and reactive dyes, pigment inks and latex and UV-cured inks. Also, there are the dry toners used to print transfers onto special release papers.
Dyes continue to be the core component of many textile inks because of their ability to penetrate and be absorbed by fibers. But demand for pigment inks has been boosted by the growth of direct-to-garment printing, such as with T-shirts. Furthermore, they have been adjusted to perform on roll-to-roll processes.
A key objective behind current R&D in textile inks is the development of multi-purpose inks that meet customers’ needs for lower costs and greater operational efficiencies. Thus an improved version of an existing ink would be more attractive if it carried out the functions of other inks.
Dye sublimation and direct-to-garment inks have a similar end result of strong and bright colors. OEMs and independent ink producers are now providing inks that can be used for both functions.
Increasingly OEMs are focusing on combining advances in printer design with innovative ink chemistries to give them a competitive edge in textile printing.
Last spring, Kornit Digital launched a process that deals with the chronic problem, particularly in digital printing, of dye migration with polyester textiles. Polyester has been printed predominantly by analog processes but, due to the migration issue, at a cost so high that it limits opportunities for polyester printing in digital.
The process developed by Kornit is based on a novel ink set and a physical and chemical process that allows low temperature curing while enhancing the material’s characteristics and providing superior fastness. “This unique process prevents dye migration on polyester,” the company said.
Digital Screenprinting Technologies (DST) has developed a process for textile transfer that combines digital and screenprinting processes.
The DST system makes it possible to utilize the quality, flexibility, productivity and details that digital offers. Using specially developed water-based and plastisol-based inks, transfers can be produced digitally for screenprinting that have all the characteristics of traditional transfers, such as stretch, durability and high-temperature wash resistance.
Mimaki launched at ITMA in Barcelona in June 2019 a hybrid printer accommodating both direct-to-textile and direct-to-transfer print capabilities with combinations of ink systems and substrates.
“The textile market is still relatively early on in the adoption of digital printers, with most textiles being printed in the conventional way and a lot of large players dominating the market,” said Ronald van den Broek, Mimaki’s GM sales for Europe. ‘’With this new hybrid printer, Mimaki has provided an affordable solution that lowers the barriers to entry for smaller print providers.”
He claimed that with the new machine his company was “effectively democratizing accessibility to textile printing.” With such innovations, “we expect to see improved growth of digital printing in textiles,” he added.
HP introduced last year its Stitch digital printer range which also combines dye sublimation and direct-to-textile capabilities in three models, two of them for entry-level users.
On the materials side, there have been major advances in the quality and range of printing fabrics. A lot of the European-based producers for printing are technological world leaders in textiles for building, interior decor and design in a sector now known as textile architecture. Suppliers are designing, developing and producing textiles specifically for printing.
These quality materials have been a factor behind the relatively fast growth in wide-format inkjet textile printing in which for high-value products Europe has become a world center.
They have enabled European digital textile printers to expand into a wider variety of sectors in some of which they have had little or no presence.
Dublin-based large format digital print provider Xtreme Signs and Graphics is focusing much of its business on textile print in exhibitions and signage after being introduced to materials made by Pongs of Germany by its UK and Ireland distributor CMYUK.
‘’We used to do vehicle graphics but we’ve completely got out of that,’’ said Pierre Pheiffer, owner and managing director of Xtreme Signs and Graphics, 70% of whose output is now textiles.
‘’Pongs (materials) are going to be a central part of what we will build our service offerings around,’’ he continued. ‘’The partners who work with us undertake exhibitions all over Europe. Textile is an excellent traveler - light and convenient. Textile is becoming the de-facto standard.’’
In addition to growing in the exhibitions and signage market, Pheiffer’s business is seeking to expand into interior decor – wall coverings and other architectural decorations. Besides being a supplier of textiles to large-format printers, Pongs is itself active in the design and development of materials for interiors, particularly restaurants and shops.
An integrated supply chain embracing inks and other consumables, printing machines and equipment and materials producers is probably needed to stimulate continued above-average growth in textile printing in Europe.
Already networks of distributors are emerging in the region, able to provide from a single source everything textile printers require, like inks, printing machines, equipment such as fixation units and pre-treatment and other accessories, all with technical guidance support.
With distribution becoming more integrated, textile printers will expect players in inks, machinery and materials to work more closely together, especially in the development of new technologies.
European Editor Sean Milmo is an Essex, UK-based writer specializing in coverage of the chemical industry.