CONNECTING THE DOTS - POWERFUL PRINT ON DEMAND SOLUTIONS FOR ECOMMERCE FULFILMENT
“By acquiring Custom Gateway, we double down on our commitment to creating efficiencies, scalability, sustainability, and new opportunity for fulfillers and brands in the e-commerce age. Expanding our model of eliminating waste to the complete end-to-end production process” - RONEN SAMUEL | KORNIT DIGITAL
The accelerated growth of ecommerce in the current pandemic has further enhanced commercial opportunities for reactive on demand retailing.
Bricks and mortar destination retailers have seen their turnovers decimated whilst cut off from their physical revenue streams during the global lockdown. Each must now rethink the offline/online business model (and at great speed) to retain market share and to service a new era of post covid retail.
For those companies which already had a strong ecommerce identity - the story is very different - the corona virus has presented an unexpected opportunity. The acceleration of online sales during the corona pandemic is unprecedented - in the first 6 months of the pandemic online sales growth advanced 10 years (source: Mckinsey and co.).
Opportunity also presents a new series of challenges.
The consumer has changed, shopping online was once the preferred route to source discounted products hence the “Black Friday” phenomena. But - over the years ecommerce has continually thrived to encompass more than 20% of total sales for the apparel industry and alongside this a new industry sector has emerged – Print on Demand.
In a post Covid world online is the new high street and at full market value. This accelerated growth now delivers an opportunistic paradigm as consumers will continue to choose to shop in a secure and safe environment – their own homes!
But that’s not the end of the dilemma – The consumer has also evolved
Customisation and Personalisation are the new normal. Which presents a whole host of operational challenges for the manufacturer. Creating unique products at speed must be automated, it simply isn’t cost effective to use manual process, nor can such speedy deliveries be managed, produced and delivered in such a short time frame without the use of technology.
The Direct to Garment sector has shown continuous growth and prosperity, as printing technology has advanced the digital textile marketplace has flourished spawning a new industry now valued at $3.4 billion with an CAGR of 9.6% [source: Grand View Research].
Digital - direct to garment technologies enable print on demand across multiple products – not just T-shirts. The decoration market includes sportswear, athleisure, childrenswear, accessories, promotional items, and homeware. Pre-sewn garments or blank products that are customized and personalised only after the point of sale. To do so at any scale, large or small, requires a transparent, efficient workflow that can control the manufacturers supply chain, inventory and fulfilment automatically. But that’s not all – The consumer also wants to be part of the design process. Image manipulation and validation using 2D and 3D visualisation is now an inherent part of the process. Transferring all of this information electronically is the only viable solution.
The future of digital printing technology must therefore also offer its stakeholders a seamless suite of software that can control and or connect to 3rd party applications – the data within each and every transaction holds the intrinsic value of the sale – and is critical to successful print on demand.
Simplifying the workflow enables scaleable ecommerce alongside profitable customised production and fulfilment.
Kornit Digital have carved a strong leadership in the DTG marketplace with a suite of digital print technologies that serve both small and large-scale production onto both natural and synthetic textiles. Primed for the future of sustainable textile production all offerings use eco-friendly ink technology and offer a clean, energy efficient and importantly - future safe print solutions.
Offering print technology as we have discussed is only part of the challenge – the manufacturing industry needs an end to end solution.
The recent Kornit acquisition of the UK based software company Custom Gateway further enhances the Kornit portfolio and their commitment to deliver a seamless printing solution.
Ronen Samuel, Kornit CEO commented:
“They say fortune favours the bold, and we’ve long promised our customers and investors Kornit would do what was necessary to stay on the cutting edge of innovation in on-demand production. By acquiring Custom Gateway, we double down on our commitment to creating efficiencies, scalability, sustainability, and new opportunity for fulfillers and brands in the e-commerce age. Expanding our model of eliminating waste to the complete end-to-end production process, this brings us one step closer to our mutual vision of digital transformation in fashion and other decorated textiles.”
Custom Gateway seamlessly transfers the sale and the products DNA in a digital format for onward production and distribution.
Andrew Talbot, Founder of Custom Gateway commented: “We’re excited about bringing these two creative cultures together and know from experience Kornit and Custom Gateway are built upon a common vision. Together, we will provide global brands optimal control of their business, ensuring swift, socially responsible fulfilment, and in a profitable model that produces and ships orders in real time, without excess inventory or labour.’
The ongoing shift in consumer behaviour and the demand for sustainable production will continue to accelerate the growth of ecommerce. Manufacturing technologies, software and collaborative innovations are transforming the retail space, online and offline at pace.
The digital printing sector is pushing ahead and whilst disrupting established markets, it is also generating new entrepreneurial opportunities. Leveraging technology to enable sustainable manufacturing alongside accelerated market growth.
As the next decade advances (after a challenging start) we can look forward to an exciting next chapter in the ongoing digitisation of the apparel industry and the retail supply chain.
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”
The Urgent Need for Sustainability at Scale
The transformation at Coats provides a vital blueprint for the wider textile and apparel sector. True sustainability cannot be achieved in silos. As Dearing emphasised:
“Cross-industry collaboration is the engine of meaningful change. Brands, machinery suppliers, chemical providers, and fibre producers must act as an interconnected ecosystem”
Today’s customers demand superior product quality, real-time data visibility, and lightning-fast turnaround times.
For large-scale garment decorators, managing these expectations while balancing seasonal demand fluctuations - such as the massive surges seen during Black Friday - presents a monumental challenge.
"Relying on transactional vendor relationships and outdated legacy equipment is no longer sufficient to secure long-term stability and growth.”
Printing method is never a secondary detail. It shapes the entire life cycle of a product, from concept to customer. In today’s fashion industry, where margins are tighter and speed matters more than ever, technical knowledge has become a competitive advantage.
“The future of textile design belongs to professionals who can combine creativity with execution, aesthetics with practicality, and vision with production reality”.
Durst develops and markets advanced solutions for digital production, automation, and intelligent manufacturing across industrial applications worldwide.
Roland inkjet printers and printer/cutters are widely used in a variety of visual communication fields, including signage and interior decoration.
The leading manufacturer of digital and screen-printing machinery, coating, steaming and drying systems for textile and carpet processing
EFI Reggiani has become the trusted partner for integrated, scalable solutions for the entire textile process – from yarn treatment to fabric printing and finishing.
Epson industrial digital workflow for textile printing, from technology to inks, from pre- to post-treatment and learn about Epson Textile Solution Center.
Resolute isn't just a DTF printer and supply company, they are innovators in the field, shaping the future of textile decoration with innovative DTF solutions.
As the exclusive UK & Ireland distributor for Mimaki Engineering; its industry-leading product range that comprises solvent, LED UV, 3D, dye sublimation and textile inkjet printers, cutters, inks, software.
At Agfa, we believe in print as an essential and powerful medium of communication. Our mission is to enable printing businesses to achieve profitable growth.
Brother has a comprehensive range of solutions in the areas of direct-to-garment printing - from mass production to smaller printers for customisation.
VeriVide are the light and colour experts. UK based but global specialist in the design, development and manufacture of standardised lighting cabinets & digital imaging systems (DigiEye).
Since 1986, our aim has always been the same, to add value beyond print - to create cutting-edge laminating and print finishing equipment of the highest quality.
Kornit’s innovative printing technology enables businesses to succeed in web-to-print, on-demand and mass customization concepts.
Imagine a production process where 2D sewing and cutting happen in one seamless, automated operation - no manual handling required.
Award winning supplier wide range of Printers, Finishing Equipment, Inks & Media, RIP & Colour Management Solutions and Warranty & Service Support.
Soyang Hardware offers leading edge wide and superwide format print production hardware solutions from many of the industry’s biggest and best-known printer brands..
Klieverik is a leading manufacturer of rotary thermo-processing equipment, specialising in advanced textile applications.
With Barbieri, digital textile printers achieve professional ICC profiling, calibration, and quality control - leading to enhanced color consistency and confidence across all materials.
At China Print Supplies Ltd, we are more than just a distributor - we are your strategic partner in print solutions. With a commitment to excellence and a passion for innovation
A key supplier of dye-sublimation printing equipment, consumables, and support services to a diverse range of customers across the United Kingdom.