“On opposite sides of the world, governments are waking up to the challenges of controlling the Textile Industry, and of providing a transparent and effective regulatory system.  As yet, the pace is slow, but the direction of travel is apparent: To achieve safe and sustainable textile production coupled with extensive consumer information”.

“When I am sourcing new antique prints or curating new artwork collections, there are designs that I just know will be best sellers, that clients will snap up, and have been the designs that are loaned out again and again over the last decade. But why?” Cheryl O’Meara Print Pattern Archive

“The designer of the next decade must act as a solutions architect, crafting a product that is built to last or built to be repurposed, recycled, or remade. Its provenance should be transparent and both ethical and viable. Good design is after all the best architect for environmental balance. Mother nature taught us that. .” Debbie McKeegan for PIXEL to PARCEL

“Interior products fit perfectly into the on-demand model, and whilst their patterns and designs, and schemes might be visually complicated, the manufacturing route is much shorter and simpler than that of Apparel. Whatever product you might want to create, there is now almost certainly a digitally printed solution, and one that’s affordable and available locally, on-demand.” FESPA Textile Ambassador”.

“Growing concerns over sustainability in the printing sector have increased demand for digital textile printers. Digital textile printers offer design flexibility and faster production rates. As a result, they are being widely used globally. Key companies are looking to develop advanced printing equipment to expand their customer base.” Lead analyst at FMI

“Key market shifts have ensured that all stakeholders in the digital technology sector look to on-demand production as the future of print. To facilitate this technology needs to go beyond rotary, to build a seamless architecture that supports multiple textile industries of varying scales”.

“ITMA showcased many new technical advances for digital textile printing, behind each was AI (at varying degrees), moving to eventually offer the ability to control and measure the entire process of production. By intelligently and automatically fine tuning each jetted ink drop, faulty print head, ink formulation, to ensure the efficient use of design, materials, and product application, whilst conserving natural resources and energy usage” Debbie McKeegan for PIXEL to PARCEL

“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”.

Welcome to the Texintel Graduates 2023 interview series showcasing a snapshot of talent creatives emerging from University here in the UK. In todays episode we interview Sarah Mills a final year BA Textiles Design graduate from Birmingham City University winner of the Epson “Design in Context” Award. Sarah commented: “I've been on a mission to capture the breathtaking beauty of the British countryside and highlight the diverse wildlife that lives in it. I aim to design a commercial luxury interior collection of woven, etched, and printed fabrics in order to celebrate the beauty that is quickly becoming lost in our countryside. The outcome of the project aims to produce long-lasting luxury fabrics that could be applied to several products in the home, these consisting of curtains, wallpapers, lampshades, and cushions”.

“At this year’s London Fashion Week numerous notable pieces were created with digital print as designers chose to adopt more unique, colourful, and flexible ways to take their inspired work from imagination to catwalk. For many, the technology gave them the ability to make their designs stand out with personalisation and customisation. They were also able to adapt and change up or switch out ideas with greater immediacy for more dynamic collections.”

“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.”

“The digital textile soft signage market has grown exponentially over the last ten years and continues to drive the digital textile agenda as recent analytics confirm. The progress is reflected in the numbers, for out of a global printed signage market predicted to be worth USD $41.39 billion by 2027 (Mordor Intelligence) the digitally printed component is predicted to rise from 56.73 % in 2022 to a staggering 86.74% by 2027 (Research & Markets).”

“This season we wanted to push our garments towards couture, really intricate embroideries, intricate prints, vibrant prints, deep colours and shades. That’s the vision behind the aesthetic of the brand - I guess, it’s couture inspired. Kind of very elegant, and quite sharp cutting. We print all our fabrics (well almost) in house using the Epson technology. We can test everything instantly in our own studio, depth of colour, texture - everything. I want to make beautiful clothes, so we want people to be able to view the collection and women say, “Oh, I love that dress” - Richard Quinn

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