“In a textile printing market in which Digital Textile Printing is predicted to be worth over USD $8 billion by 2030 (Grand View Research), and where some experts believe that 25% of all printed textile production will be digital by 2040 - machinery makers, software houses and ink manufacturers have together, made 2023 a year to remember.In 2023, the most significant trend is the move to offering one-step digital textile, direct to fabric pigment printing across the marketplace, from industrial volume to SME’s of varying scales”.

“Colour is defined by the designer at the beginning of the product cycle, and yet at that point, the designer usually doesn’t know how the product will be printed or onto what material. The designer may use multiple file formats all of which contain important information for the printer. Transposing this data into the correct language for printed output is a specialist skill.” Oliver Luedtke of ColorGATE for PIXEL to PARCEL

“All Hail the Power of Print – For ITMA didn’t disappoint. Packed with innovations at all levels the show proved to be an incredible success. Visitor numbers reached 111,000 from an impressive 143 countries, exhibitors peaked at 1,709 spread across an incredible 200,000 sqm of exhibition space. The venue was well organised, easy to reach and well serviced and for those that exhibited and those that visited - credited as a truly successful experience.”

From DTG & DTF to Screen Printing and from Digital Inks to Consumables the scope of innovation was evident to all attendees who showed great interest in the 70+ new product launches at FESPA.

With such a wide variety of offers on display, our Technical Editor highlights some of the notable unveilings that took place:

To frame the conversation Simon explained: “The apparel industry can be very inefficient. Up to Sixty percent of cost is the cost price of a garment can be the fabric alone, but it doesn’t matter what you’re paying if nobody is buying it. We need to be smarter at the front end, to be more profitable at the back end.” - Simon Platts

Milan design week once again delivered an unforgettable experience. “Celebrating design and utilising art to provoke conversation and stimulate change… This year there’s a new, palpable energy on the Interior circuit as it returns to full throttle, post pandemic. It’s a collaborative energy and a force for good. Regardless of industry sector, luxury or mass market, sustainability, circularity and responsible sourcing are finally mainstream.”

Dye Sublimation: Inks and Papers Review Q1 2023 “With a combined market potential total approaching USD 3 billion by 2030, unsurprisingly production of Dye Sublimation Ink and Paper, has attracted substantial commercial interest in the manufacturing community. With the start of 2023 witnessing widespread and comprehensive offers from the most reputable manufacturers.” - Texintel Technical Editor

“Zooming in on the digital machinery market which was valued at 320 million USD in 2018 and is now projected to reach 890 million USD by 2030, at a CAGR of 13.8% during the forecast period. (Future Market Insights)

The key takeaway here is that of this market, it was estimated in 2022, that a whopping 52% of all digital printing used dye-sublimation inks (Grand View Research) making it the largest ink type by usage in the digital textile print sector.” - Texintel Technical Editor

“The basis of the DTF economic model is the straight forward nature of the printing process, which is not only easy to learn, but also simple to execute. Printing onto a regular substrate like the PET film is an uncomplicated Digital Print procedure not unlike printing a paper or poster, which is a widely known operation in all sectors of the print industry.” TEXINTEL Technical Editor