Image Courtesy of Monforts
Humans are the only primates without fur to protect themselves from the elements and first used animal skins and furs to shield themselves from either the cold or from UV radiation, depending on where they were in the world.
Over 5,000 years ago, fabrics woven from plant fibres and wool were then developed, bringing many advantages such as their warmth, softness and breathability, as well as UV-shielding, and the development of dyeing gradually gave rise to the concept of fashion.
There remained, however, a problem – protection against rain for those in wet climates, and later, for seafarers. Furs and leather were still widely used for this purpose until very recently.
Waterproofing
It took until the 19th century for a workable solution to finally be developed by the Scottish textile manufacturer and inventor Charles Macintosh, although waterproofing garments with rubber was not a new idea, having been practiced by the Aztecs in pre-Columbian times.
When a method was developed for coating a fabric with rubber on one side and heating it in a dryer with the addition of sulphur, the Macintosh coat was born.
Later, French scientists made balloons gas-tight and impermeable by impregnating fabric with rubber dissolved in turpentine, but this solvent was not satisfactory for making apparel.
Macintosh too, first impregnated a thick woollen fabric with a solution of natural rubber. The result was waterproof but stank of petroleum and was sticky due to the wool grease.
Only when a method was developed for coating the fabric on one side and heating the rubber in a dryer with the addition of sulphur – the process of vulcanization – was the Macintosh coat fabric ready for commercialisation
How the fabric was coated and in which drying oven it was vulcanized is unfortunately not known, but this development formed the basis for textile coating as we know it today.
Air knife coating
There are two fundamentally different basic coating processes – air knife coating and roller knife coating.
In air knife coating, a squeegee blade brushes over the surface of the textile, pressing the highly viscous coating paste into the spaces between the material.
It is impossible to coat low-viscosity chemicals with this method or the paste will drip through the meshes/weave interstices.
Air knife coating, however, is used firstly wherever sealing of the fabric is required, for example on umbrellas to prevent spray mist getting through to the inside. Other examples include shower
curtains, rainwear, bag and rucksack fabrics, tents etc.
Air knife coating is also used for mattress tickings and upholstery fabrics. In this case a back coating is applied which has a double function – the material is made liquid-tight and in addition it is fixed. In the case of upholstery fabrics, this fixes the pile, but can also be used to achieve technical effects such as flame protection.
In fashion and decorative articles, air knife coatings are also used for one-sided colouring, while textile materials for shoes are coated to make them waterproof.
Technical Textiles
The areas of application with the air knife coating of technical textiles are extremely diverse, ranging from filter fabrics to textile seals and to carbon fibre impregnation.
In addition to coating with a thickened paste, there is also air knife coating with foam. In this case, physical foam is produced in a special foam machine (similar to whipped cream) and placed in front of the coating knife. The foam is pressed into the fabric by the knife and the foam is destroyed.
This so-called unstable foam coating is used, for example, for over-dyeing jeans. In a coloured/colourless version, nonwoven fabrics are also fixed and overdyed in this way.
The term “unstable” does not mean this is bad foam. Unstable foams remain stable below room temperature for at least five minutes and do not decompose, but the air bubbles then burst under the knife, or at the latest when the foam is subsequently heated in the dryer.
Foam coating with the air knife has many advantages – by diluting the coating chemical with air, less drying power is required, and the penetration depth is lower, while the breathability of the textile is maintained.
Roller knife coating
In roller knife coating – also called roller nip coating – the application with the knife is practically flying, without touching the upper side of the textile.
This has various effects on the final product. The application in the nip, for example, covers the surface of the textile with the coating compound to give this side of the fabric a plastic-like surface, which is determined by the chemistry used.
Well-known examples of roller knife coated fabrics are tarpaulins, life jackets, carpet backing, upholstery fabrics, trunk covers, sealing materials and many others.
Roller knife coating places very high demands on the precision of the machine, in contrast to air knife coating. Nevertheless, combinations of these two coating types are mainly offered today.
For this purpose, the coating knife bar is designed to be horizontally adjustable and the precision achieved depends on the supplier of the coating machine.
The roller knife can be used in the same way as the air knife with paste, for example in the coating of PVC tarpaulins, emergency slides, inflatable boats and sealing mats.
Both unstable and stable foams are used in roll knife coating. If a layer of unstable foam is applied, it decomposes in the first zones of the dryer.
The roller knife coating of unstable foams (also referred to as “metastable foams”) is used in the production of jeans to dye over the denim material on one side, for example. By applying the coloured foam on the surface, a good over-dyeing is achieved, which can be washed out easily in industrial laundering to achieve the desired “stonewash” effects.
Stable foams survive the drying process in the dryer (under very mild drying conditions) and leave the dryer as a foam layer.
Black-out fabrics
A good example of an application for roller knife coating with stable foams is in the production of black-out fabrics for blinds or curtains. These products require special treatment in order to retain the softness of the fabrics and to ensure that it is still possible to wind blinds up and down.
A special coating called Black-Out has been established to achieve this, involving a three-stage series of stable foam coatings with the roller knife.
The first coating is usually white, followed by a black layer and then a white layer again. These three layers are dried and are with a crush calendar after each layer is applied. A fourth dryer passage then cure all three layers together with the possible addition of a last topcoat to improve the grip.
This process is complex and expensive, and mistakes can result in the entire production run being rejected, so experienced and trained personnel are required.
A similar process is used in the production of advertising banners, which is called ‘block-out’. This is a multi-layer foam coating to prevent the image/text of the banner from showing through on the back side of the material.
Rubber coating
Let’s return here to the Macintosh and coating with rubber, as a rather amazing application for roller knife coating.
The applied rubber layer is so waterproof and airproof that such materials can also be used for lightweight boats, life rafts, life jackets and emergency slides in aircraft.
However, such basic waterproof fabrics have a problem in apparel, in not allowing the moisture generated by the wearer to escape.
Consequently, the textile industry was challenged to develop a material that would repel rain, but at the same time be breathable for the wearer.
Probably the first product to meet this challenge was (and still is) marketed as Gore-Tex® for outdoor clothing. Gore-Tex®, however, is not a coated fabric, but a waterproof, breathable membrane that has been laminated.
The availability of water vapor permeable polyurethane dispersions also allowed direct coating on the inside of the fabric. This is where roller knife coatings are applied. Depending on the required stress, stable foam coatings and also paste coatings are used.
Speciality print leaders from five Southern European countries will meet in Porto next month for the eleventh FESPA Southern European Congress, taking place on 11–12 November at HF Ipanema Porto, Portugal.
The two-day event, which is organised by five FESPA member associations – FESPA France, FESPA Italia, FESPA España, APIGRAF (Portugal) and the FESPA Hellas Association (Greece) – gives members of the community in Southern Europe the opportunity to benchmark their own strategies against peers facing similar conditions, as well as compare notes with neighbouring markets on customer expectations, workforce shortages, investment and new technology.
Batley, West Yorkshire – October 2026 – Roaches International, a member of the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA), has dispatched its largest integrated order for textile laboratory equipment to date.
A total of 19 testing machines weighing more than two tonnes have been delivered for a new laboratory being established by Indonesia's Alia Digital Printex, underscoring the British manufacturer's capability to supply complete testing facilities rather than individual instruments alone.
Mortsel, Belgium – October 29th 2026 – Agfa Inkjet Solutions has announced Experience Day 2026, a hands-on event dedicated to demonstrating how advanced inkjet printing and precision finishing can work together within a single, integrated workflow.
The event will take place on Thursday, 26 November 2026, from 09:00 to 15:00 at Agfa Headquarters in Mortsel, Belgium.
Developed in partnership with Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems, Experience Day 2026 will give print service providers a first-hand look at how combining print and finishing technologies can boost productivity, broaden application possibilities, and open up new business opportunities across sectors including signage, display, packaging, and corrugated production.
Balrothery, Ireland – October 2026 – Retink Graphics has added a second Epson SureColor R5000L latex printer to its Balrothery production floor, supplied by digitalprint.ie.
The investment follows strong returns from the company's first R5000L, which the team says paid for itself before they decided to expand.
Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg – October 2026 - The CHT Group has announced the expansion of its dyes portfolio with two new additions: BEMACID Brilliant Blue F-WN for polyamide and wool, and BEZAKTIV Solar Yellow ONE for flexible dyeing processes.
The launch reinforces CHT Group's commitment to delivering high-performance, sustainable colorant solutions for the global textile industry.
Both new dyes address growing demand among textile manufacturers for products that combine color brilliance, process reliability, and responsible formulation.
Staffordshire, UK – October 2026 – Staffordshire Signs & Graphics Ltd has announced the installation of a new DLI-3325 flatbed printer, supplied by China Print Supplies UK Ltd.
The investment marks a significant step forward for the business, enhancing its production capabilities and expanding the range of signage solutions it can offer customers.
The installation follows months of careful planning, with the new machine now in place and undergoing fine-tuning and staff training ahead of full commissioning
Corby – Northants – October 2026 – Keencut Ltd, a leading innovator in the cutting and finishing equipment industry, has today highlighted its Evolution3 Lift & Hover technology, a breakthrough system designed to make material positioning faster, easier and more accurate than ever before.
The new technology allows operators to adjust, align and achieve perfect positioning with precise control, all through simple single-person operation.
By streamlining what has traditionally been a multi-step, often cumbersome process, Keencut is addressing a long-standing challenge faced by professionals across the sign-making, graphics and framing industries: achieving exact cutting precision without compromising on speed or efficiency.
Istanbul – Turkiye – October 2026 – Optimum Digital has announced that Kilim Home, an established Turkish carpet manufacturer serving international markets, has invested in its direct-to-carpet printing technology.
The move strengthens Kilim Home's production capabilities and marks a significant step forward in the company's ongoing embrace of innovation within digital carpet manufacturing.
Frankfurt am Main, Germany – 27 October 2026 – Heimtextil, the international trade fair for home and contract textiles, has announced the launch of the Functional Futures Lab, a new showcase curated in partnership with Future Fabrics Expo.
Taking place from 12 to 15 January 2027 in Hall 4.1, the exhibition will spotlight materials engineered to meet the evolving functional demands of architecture, interior design and hospitality, from thermal regulation to flame resistance and durability.
The Functional Futures Lab will present both visionary prototypes and commercially available solutions, with each exhibit's stage of development made transparent through Technology Readiness Levels
Shanghai, People's Republic of China – October 2026 – KARL MAYER will present a comprehensive portfolio of advanced warp knitting and warp preparation technologies at ITMA ASIA 2026, taking place from 20 to 24 November at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) in Shanghai.
The company's presence spans two exhibition halls, with warp knitting innovations on display in Hall 4.1, Booth C18, and warp preparation solutions featured in Hall 3, Booth
Bolzano, Italy – 26 October 2026 – Durst will participate as Leading Sponsor at Viscom 2026, taking place on 28 and 29 October at Allianz MiCo Milan.
In the year marking its 90th anniversary, the South Tyrolean company returns to the leading event for the Italian visual communication market with a new format, a new location, and the Italian debut of a new printing technology.
Durst's presence at Viscom underscores the company's commitment to maintaining close dialogue with customers, prospects, and industry professionals.
Clay Cross – UK – July 2026 – Resolute highlights its new DTF Pneumatic Twin Platen Heat Press, a professional-grade heat press designed to help print shops increase output, improve consistency, and reduce downtime across high-volume production runs.
The machine's dual-platen design allows operators to prepare the next garment while the current one is being pressed, significantly reducing idle time and increasing throughput.
This makes it particularly well-suited to print shops running large direct-to-film (DTF) and transfer print operations, where speed and consistency are critical.
Pattern Room Launches New Pattern Room Experience, Making Online Design-to-Pattern Faster Than Ever
Victoria, Australia, 27/10/2026 – Pattern Room, the online pattern-making studio founded by Australian pattern maker Julia Watts, today announced the launch of its updated platform, introducing a new guided design pathway, an in-house sampling service, and an expanded catalogue of styles for apparel businesses worldwide.
The update is designed to make it faster and easier for designers, garment technicians, and manufacturers to move from concept to production-ready pattern, without the friction that has traditionally slowed the early stages of garment development.
Athens , Greece – 23 October 2026 – UFABRIK has extended its European distribution network into Greece with the appointment of TSEKMERES GS, an established supplier to the country's textile, screen and large-format digital printing industries.
The agreement brings UFABRIK's digital textile portfolio to a market where UV and Latex technologies remain dominant, but where dye-sublimation is emerging as a significant area of potential growth.
The partnership will focus on providing high-quality textiles for silicone edge graphics (SEG) applications, alongside a wider substrate offering for the Greek market.
São Paulo, Brazil – October 2026 – FESPA has announced that FESPA Brasil 2027 will take place from 1 – 4 March in the Blue and White Pavilions of Expo Center Norte, São Paulo.
The leading digital printing exhibition will bring together the sector's biggest global players to showcase the latest solutions across packaging, textiles, signage, and personalised products.
As one of the most visited exhibitions organised by FESPA, FESPA Brasil 2027 will give visitors access to complete solutions and technological innovations spanning print shops, packaging and labels, textile printing, personalised products, 3D printing, and signage and wide format, among other sectors
New York City, USA, October, 2026 – NedGraphics, a global leader in textile and apparel design software, today announced the official launch of NedGraphics 2027, a major software release designed to bring creativity, technology, and production closer together through a more connected and flexible digital ecosystem.
At the center of NedGraphics 2027 is OPTINEDCloud, a new cloud storage and asset management environment integrated across key NedGraphics applications.
OPTINEDCloud gives design, approval, and production teams a centralized space to store, organize, visualize, share, and manage product development files.
Mönchengladbach, Germany – Monforts will showcase its latest advances in finishing, coating and energy-efficient processing at India ITME 2026, as the region's textile manufacturers increasingly look beyond volume production towards higher-value fabrics.
The German finishing machinery specialist will exhibit in Greater Noida , India at stand A5 in Hall 1 from December 4-9.
Milan, Italy – October 22nd 2026 – Agfa Inkjet Solutions today announced it will present its award-winning Jeti Bronco H3300 HS live at Viscom Italia 2026, taking place 28–29 October at the Allianz MiCo Convention Center.
Visitors can see the hybrid wide-format printer in action at Stand 8 B17/C20, where Agfa will demonstrate its capabilities for sign and display businesses seeking greater productivity without compromising on image quality.
The 3.3-metre Bronco H3300 HS delivers print speeds of up to 450 m²/h while maintaining high image quality, combining the flexibility to handle both rigid and roll media in a single hybrid platform.
Berlin, Germany – 21 October 2026 – NVIDIA today announced that Europe's leading ecosystem partners are adopting the NVIDIA DSX™ AI Factory Platform to build AI factories that minimise water consumption for cooling and use less power for the same AI output.
The platform also helps partners bring new capacity online faster and adapt workload power consumption to support grid reliability.
NVIDIA DSX is a full-stack AI factory reference architecture, co-innovated with the world's leading infrastructure companies, in which compute, networking, storage, software, power and cooling are codesigned as one system.
East Sussex, UK – October 2026 – Vivid Laminating Technologies has announced that Pureprint Group, a leading print and marketing services business, has selected its multi award-winning Veloblade technology for use across its operations.
The decision underscores a shared commitment to innovation and efficiency within the print industry.
Imst – Ostreich – October 2026 – DyStar, a global leader in textile chemistry and innovative solutions, has announced its pivotal role in helping Textildruck Imst (TDI) achieve successful certification of the German "Multitarn" camouflage print.
The achievement, reached within a matter of months despite an ambitious timeline and exceptionally stringent requirements, enabled production to commence on schedule as part of a strategic collaboration with Getzner Textil.
The certification process demanded rigorous standards across colour performance, durability, infrared signature, and safety compliance.
From the outset, DyStar supported TDI by supplying the necessary products, technical expertise, and hands-on application support required to meet these demanding benchmarks.
Milan, Italy – October 2026– Epson will present its latest advancements in signage, UV printing and textile customisation at VISCOM 2026, taking place at Allianz MiCo Milan on 28-29 October.
Visitors can find Epson at Gate 3, Stand G14, where the company's specialists will demonstrate how its newest technologies are helping businesses expand into high-value applications through superior print quality and precise colour management.
As visual communication and personalisation markets continue to evolve at pace, Epson is positioning itself at the forefront of that change.
Leicester, UK – October 2026 – VeriVide is an official RAL Distributor in the United Kingdom, giving UK designers, specifiers and manufacturers direct access to the complete range of RAL colour standard products.
The appointment reinforces VeriVide's commitment to supporting the architecture, interior design, and industrial design sectors with reliable, globally recognised tools for accurate colour communication.
South Normanton – UK – October 2026 – Sun Chemical, a global leader in printing inks, coatings, and pigments, today reinforced the importance of looking beyond colour when selecting dyes for printing inks, urging formulators and manufacturers to weigh performance data alongside colour accuracy to achieve reliable, long-lasting results.
While colour remains a defining factor in dye selection, Sun Chemical emphasises that performance properties are equally critical to a dye's overall suitability for an application.
These include lightfastness, which is shaped by dye concentration, binder composition, substrate, and testing conditions; resistance properties, such as bleed resistance and over-lacquering resistance; and migration behaviour, which can vary depending on the substrate, coating, and storage conditions.
United Kingdom – October 2026 – Textile Skills Centre has announced a new Design to Print Competition in partnership with Prinfab, the UK's leading digital fabric printer.
The competition invites UK schoolchildren aged 5 to 18 to submit original textile designs or artwork for the chance to see their work professionally printed onto fabric.
The initiative aims to give young designers a tangible, industry-standard outcome for their creative work, while introducing them to the practical realities of textile design and digital printing.
Telford, UK – October 2026 – Ricoh UK has announced the return of Print Evolution Live, its flagship industry event, for a fourth consecutive year.
Taking place on 10-11 November 2026 at Ricoh's Telford site, the event will once again bring together leaders from across the print sector to explore the strategic shifts shaping the industry's future.
Karachi – Pakistan – October 2026 – ZIMMER AUSTRIA successfully concluded its participation at IGATEX PAKISTAN 2026, one of the region's leading exhibitions for textile and garment technology.
The event highlighted a growing shift among Pakistani manufacturers toward high-value technical textile production, a trend that aligns closely with ZIMMER AUSTRIA's innovative solutions.
Throughout the exhibition, ZIMMER AUSTRIA demonstrated the capabilities of its #magnoroll and #colaris technologies, both designed to support manufacturers moving into advanced technical textile segments, including coating, printing, and specialty fabric production.
Southend – Essex – October 2026 – Vivid Laminating Technologies Ltd has announced the successful installation of its multi award-winning VeloBlade Nexus cutting system at Guardian Exhibition and Display, a leading name in the exhibition and display industry.
The installation, completed last week, equips Guardian Display with one of the most advanced cutting solutions available, reinforcing the sector's ongoing shift towards greater automation and precision.
Uxbridge, UK – October 2026 – Perfect Colours will host a Celebration in Colour event on Thursday 5 November at the Xerox UK IC Centre in Uxbridge, giving attendees a first-hand look at the new Proficio colour presses in action.
The event will showcase the capabilities of the Proficio range, with live demonstrations featuring a striking collection of fluorescent colours designed to push the boundaries of what print professionals can achieve with colour technology.
Goor – Netherlands – October 2026 – ColGraphix, a company at the forefront of innovation in the transfer paper industry, today announced the appointment of Gijsbert Harmsen as its new Senior Account Manager.
Harmsen brings with him a wealth of industry expertise and an extensive professional network, strengthening ColGraphix's position as it continues to lead the market into a more sustainable and efficient future.
The Path Foward: Connect Every Link:
Design, colour, workflow, production, data. Each link now depends on the one before it, and the printers who will lead the market are those who strengthen the whole chain, not just the machinery at its centre.
So, this autumn, ask the bigger question on your own shop floor.
Not "Which printer?" but "How well does my business connect demand, design and production?"
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?