“For example, the HP Latex series can print onto a variety of substrates, paper and approved textiles, which allows the PSP to extend their services into different sectors of the marketplace. Using just one machine that can service Events, Interiors, Wallcoverings and Textiles offers commercial diversity”.
Digital technologies have transformed the landscape of print. In doing so, they have also opened up many new opportunities for the print sector, where speed of supply, alongside customisation is demanded.
Navigating the myriad of machinery on offer can be somewhat daunting, and so it’s important to concentrate on your own business model and its objectives in order to make the correct purchase.
As technologies have advanced, hybrid production in now also available.
For example, the HP Latex series can print onto a variety of substrates, paper and approved textiles, which allows the PSP to extend their services into different sectors of the marketplace. Using just one machine that can service Events, Interiors, Wallcoverings and Textiles offers commercial diversity.
The Interiors sector provides a vibrant market for customised products.
These can be B2C or B2B, and as a dense sector there are many existing and new entrepreneurial print businesses adapting to service this space. Personalisation demands efficient, streamlined manufacturing because each job is manufactured as a single unit, not in volume. Therefore, it’s important that the design and print route is a simple as possible. Colour management is an important factor, and pre-press sampling needs to be kept to a minimum and automated wherever possible.
The HP Latex suite offers a number of embedded tools, both within the default software and the machine’s functionality, that reduce the time taken to run a new print job. For example; when printing wallcoverings the machine can auto detect and measure the white balance of the substrate, and inbuilt colour management software simplifies substrate profiling to enable efficient, speedy production.
The fashion and sportswear industries demand speed and design diversity.
“Adapting to the new normal, and the demand for customised products, requires the digitisation of the print workflow - to deliver efficient, profitable and sustainable textiles”.
In particular, for the sportswear market where customisation is a predominant factor, no two teams look alike, and garments have to be replaced often for events and competitions. Within the fashion sector, the need for design diversity alongside reduced inventory are driving the uptake of on-demand digital print. Collections and garments need to be refreshed, on a seemingly infinite cycle. All of which puts a strain on the conventional supply chain. It’s for this reason the we see the gradual adoption of digital technologies within the sourcing routes for fashion brands and their manufacturers.
The ability to manufacture short-run production has already proven to be a successful business model for the dye sublimation print sector.
The HP Stitch offers a new generation of print technology that will further disrupt this area of the market, with a machine built for ease of use, and as such, simplifying the textile printing process. Used alongside 3D software and garment design programs, both the fashion and sportswear marketplaces are set for some serious disruption when utilising the latest HP technologies.
The HP Stitch is built to service multiple business sectors, from established to emerging. The Stitch family (S300-64, S500-64, S1000) offers a suite of affordable machines, suitable for the entry level textile entrepreneur, independent designer or print practitioner. Its equally suited to both low and medium volume production, with speeds ranging from 60sqm to 160sqm per hour. All available by default with variable ink feed systems, both cartridge and bulk, and machine widths to address the requirements of each business sector.
The HP Stitch digital printing technology addresses the needs of four market sectors, Wide Format textiles, Interior Décor, Sportswear and Fashion.
Each of these markets have industry specific requirements and specifications, and whilst the printing technology for polyester is the same, the end-user’s requirements by marketplace are vastly different. Importantly, the fabric types and textile constructions used (although all polyester) are specific to each sector’s end use, and by way of example; the sportswear industry utilises knitted and woven fabrics that require stretch, whilst the Interior Industry uses predominantly woven fabrics, that do not stretch or shrink. The Events and Retail signage markets use polyester fabrics, and often require a duplex printed surface. Using direct to fabric printing (not paper transfer) the HP Stitch equally serves the wide format print space.
The HP Stitch digital textile printing machine is an intelligent technology suite, and one that communicates with the printer by sharing data and alerting the operator to servicing, print errors etc. This reduces the time required for attended printing. The design of the product reflects the textile markets increasing requirement for efficient production and the conservation of both valuable ink resources, materials and energy with embedded technology for print repeatability across multiple devices, colour management, fault diagnosis, remote fault reporting and analytics.
Adapting to the new normal, and the demand for customised products, requires the digitisation of the print workflow - to deliver efficient, profitable and sustainable textiles.
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Rebés's story isn't one of nostalgia - It's a working blueprint for how heritage manufacturers can stay indispensable in a market that rewards speed, certification, and specificity in equal measure. Four million metres of stock mean nothing without the digital printing capability to turn it into something distinctive.
A 150-year name means nothing without the R&D discipline to win a tender for antistatic, carbon-fibre-infused uniform fabric on the first attempt.
Image Credit: Tejidos Rebé
What if the next dress you wore never touched the factory floor?
This is no longer a fringe experiment. It is a maturing production model, backed by genuine material science, real circularity, and an AI-assisted workflow that is becoming more accessible by the month.
Her advice to designers and brands alike is refreshingly practical: start small, get hands-on with an accessible 3D printer, and build fluency before the technology becomes table stakes. The businesses that treat this moment with curiosity, rather than scepticism, will be the ones shaping fashion's next decade rather than reacting to it.
The 2027 FESPA Awards are now open for entry, and the message to businesses across textiles, apparel, interiors and beyond is simple: your work deserves recognition. Every gold winner featured here started in the same place every entrant does - with a project they believed was worth submitting.
As the only independent awards programme with 18 categories dedicated to print and signage, FESPA offers a genuinely global stage, with shortlisted entries displayed at FESPA Global Print Expo in Spring 2027.
Colour Is Too Important to Leave to Chance
Print will always be the part of the garment people see first.
But the sum of all parts — the fabric, the trims, the fasteners, the finish — is what determines whether a design actually delivers on its promise. Brands that continue to treat colour as a single creative decision, rather than a coordinated technical discipline spanning their entire supply chain, will keep paying for it in re-dips, delays, and disappointed design teams.
A Century of Textiles, and an Ever-changing World
Few companies can trace their roots back more than a century and still count themselves among their industry's innovators. Texia, headquartered in Monistrol de Montserrat, Spain, is one of them.
But the story of Texia is not simply one of longevity.
It is a story of continual reinvention. As the textile industry has grown more global and competitive, Texia has repeatedly reshaped its business, investing in technology, developing its own brands, and placing sustainability at the centre of its mission. In doing so, it offers a compelling example of how a heritage manufacturer can lead rather than follow through a period of profound industry change. Image Credit: Texia
What are we craving Ultimately?
The instinct to slow down while simultaneously optimising every measurable aspect of life isn't a passing curiosity. It's a structural response to a world that feels increasingly unstable, and it's reshaping what people expect from their homes, hotels, workplaces and healthcare environments alike.
For the design and manufacturing sectors, this means rethinking both product and process.
The Structual Shift is Real and its Already Here
Volumes are moving east, where digital production is accelerating rapidly. Consumer behaviour has shifted.
Demand is now driven by personalisation, shorter buying cycles, and an expectation of near-instant responsiveness. Regulatory pressure is intensifying, with supply chain transparency now a legal and commercial fact in many markets. And margins? They are under sustained, structural pressure.
This is not a temporary disruption. It is a fundamental reordering of how textile manufacturing must operate.
The Challenge: Standing Firm as the Industry Shifts
The wallpaper landscape has changed dramatically. Digital printing has lowered the barrier to entry, spawning countless direct-to-consumer brands and pushing much of the market towards faster, cheaper production.
At the same time, manufacturing in the UK has grown steadily harder - rising minimum wage, national insurance, energy and substrate costs all bear down on margins. Surface Print have embraced all of these challenges - and stand resolutely prepared for the future.
From Helsinki's printing mill to Paris's Le Marais, discover how Marimekko is scaling a design-led brand with purpose, craft, and bold innovation.
But what makes Marimekko's story compelling is not just its aesthetic legacy?
The word "toxic" carries weight. It conjures danger, harm, and things best avoided.
“Yet in the textile industry - Where between 3,000 and 10,000 chemicals move through the supply chain, a reflexive fear of the term is one of our biggest obstacles to progress.”
This article distils the key takeaways and what buyers, designers, and brands should be asking right now.
What Is the Digital Product Passport?
At its core, a Digital Product Passport is a digital record attached to a physical product - For a printed textile product, this means the DPP would capture data on the substrate, inks and dyes used, the printing process and technology, chemical compliance, environmental impact (including water and energy use), supply chain traceability, and end-of-life instructions.
The Market Gap that Changed Everything
Future Fashion was founded in 2019, timed deliberately to coincide with a pivotal moment in global textile technology: the commercial launch of the EFI Reggiani BOLT Single-Pass digital printing system.
The founders recognised that single-pass architecture had fundamentally changed what was industrially possible - and that Pakistan's domestic market had yet to catch up.
Print is no longer defined by the inefficiencies that once characterised it…as advances in production processes and technology have significantly improved its environmental performance.
Taran Rai, Corporate Sustainability Manager at Epson explains why?
The story of what happens when young designers access digital technology is still being written.
What once was a theoretical sustainability goal seems to have shifted into an active regulatory reality.
Is the Textile Market Finally Recovering?
After a difficult few years, there are genuine reasons for optimism. Duncan was candid about the challenges: "The market for textiles has been very difficult over the last three years. I'm not going to hide the truth there. But the tide is turning.“
A profound shift is currently reshaping the sector
Changing consumer expectations demand greater design diversity, faster turnaround times, and sustainable manufacturing practices.
To thrive, interior brands must adapt their supply chains, bringing production closer to the end consumer and moving away from bulk manufacturing.
Digital textile printing offers a definitive solution to these operational bottlenecks.
Digital transformation doesn't announce itself.
It accumulates - one innovation at a time - until an entire industry looks back and realises the ground has shifted beneath its feet. That's precisely where textiles stands today.
The conversations happening now about AI, automation, sustainability, and digital product passports are not theoretical. They are shaping decisions being made on factory floors and in boardrooms right now.
“By leveraging advanced digital textile printing, Marylene Madou has successfully merged traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. Her approach offers a blueprint for how independent designers can scale their brands globally while maintaining a minimal environmental footprint.”
The textile industry is undergoing a vital transformation. As the insights from Techtextil and Texprocess reveal, the path forward relies on a combination of sustainable hardware, intelligent chemistry, and seamless digital workflows.
From Zimmer's industrial-scale energy reductions and Stratasys's on-demand 3D embellishments, to Kornit's single-step technical printing and the unified digital ecosystems of NedGraphics and Optitex, the tools for change are here. To stay competitive, brands and manufacturers must adopt these innovations, moving away from fragmented, wasteful processes towards a truly connected, circular economy.
Friedmans stands as a testament to the power of combining traditional textile knowledge with forward-thinking innovation.
“Operating from their UK headquarters, Friedmans now serves a diverse array of sectors, including swimwear, dance, entertainment, sportswear, interior decor, prosthetics, and even pet apparel. With a strategic supply chain that reliably serves clients worldwide”
The apparel decoration industry is decisively moving away from isolated, analogue production tools toward connected digital manufacturing environments.
"Kornit’s unwavering commitment to transformative technology continues to disrupt the status quo. For business leaders and innovators ready to capture the future of apparel manufacturing, the path forward is clear”
Friedman’s is a UK-based wholesale specialist. Offering stretch textiles, digital print & foil effects, supplying designers and brands worldwide.
Print On Demand fulfilment platform enables anyone to create a drop shipping business, with integration into the most popular e-commerce platforms.
Prinfab® is an award winning textile print on demand service. Using industrial Epson™ print tech to deliver a high quality and consistent service to 30,000+ customers worldwide.