AVA CAD/CAM
Introduction to AVA CAD/CAM
With a friendly and experienced technical support team on hand for customers 16 hours per day, AVA’s focus for over 40 years remains customer partnership, growing and sharing knowledge, and playing a positive and valued role across the lifecycle of printed decorative products.
Offering a suite of specialised software modules used worldwide across digitally and conventionally printed textiles, wallcoverings, and floor coverings, AVA delivers personalised training to every individual user.
AVA’s design software modules bring significant and measurable advantages to the whole workflow, from initial design and repeating, through colour separation and recolouring to digital printing and conventionally printed production.
We’re inspired by our customers and use their feedback in the continual development of the software.
Our close partnerships span industry and education, an area we are very passionate about.
Through regular CAD Specialist training courses, we are proud to support the next generation of designers, technicians and business owners to bring their talent to the market.
London, UK – 20 August 2026 – AVA CAD/CAM, a leading provider of design software and solutions for the textile and fashion industry, has announced its highly anticipated Top 10 to Watch 2026 list, recognising ten outstanding graduating textile designers from universities across the United Kingdom.
The announcement follows AVA's attendance at New Designers, the annual exhibition showcasing the UK's most promising creative graduates
Macclesfield UK – March 30th 2026 – In a move set to transform the digital décor printing industry, ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH and AVA CAD/CAM Group Ltd have today announced a strategic partnership.
This forward-thinking collaboration aims to drastically enhance operational workflows by integrating AVA’s industry-leading prepress software directly with the ColorGATE Productionserver.
This seamless integration addresses the urgent need for more efficient, sustainable processes, taking designs from initial preparation and colour separation straight through to flawless final print production.
8 March 2026 – Digital print technology innovator AVA CAD CAM has announced its International Women's Day spotlight, honouring the foundational work of pioneering colour scientist Dorothy Nickerson.
The tribute highlights Nickerson's essential contributions to colorimetry, colour difference evaluation, and industrial colour standardisation, which collectively serve as the backbone for modern digital print workflows and objective colour measurement.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – February 2026 – AVA CAD CAM Group is representing British textile capability at VIATT Vietnam 2026, supporting UK manufacturers, mills and suppliers as they present their expertise, innovation and product quality to the Vietnamese and wider Southeast Asian market.
Specialising in training, support, consultancy and software for the textile industry, AVA CAD CAM Group enhances creativity in design and manufacturing with its decorative print design software for fashion, home furnishings and various surfaces.
The company will be exhibiting at booth A-E28 in the European Zone, demonstrating how British innovation continues to drive progress in global textile manufacturing.
Manchester, UK – January 23rd 2026 – Manchester Metropolitan University has reinforced its commitment to equipping graduates for the evolving landscape of the textile industry by hosting the AVA CAD/CAM Training Certification.
As part of the institution’s 'Future Me Week 2026', this initiative bridges the critical gap between academic design disciplines and the digital and virtual innovation tools required by the modern decorative printing sector.
The university welcomed AVA CAD/CAM Group Ltd back to campus to deliver the specialized AVA Basic Training Qualification to Level 5, 6, and MA Printed Textiles students.
December 2025 - AVA CAD/CAM has announced its upcoming participation in Heimtextil 2026, where it will present the AVA Suite, an evolving collection of professional software tools designed to redefine the future of textile and decorative surface production.
Taking place in Frankfurt from January 13th to 16th 2026, the exhibition will provide a platform for the company to demonstrate how its advanced technology streamlines creative and production workflows while championing sustainability in manufacturing.
AVA CAD/CAM Group Ltd, a leader in specialised design and manufacturing software for the decorative industries, has announced its successful participation at the ITMA Asia + CITME SG 2025 exhibition in Singapore.
The event provided a significant platform for the company to engage with a diverse range of professionals from the global textile and surface design sectors.
Throughout the exhibition, AVA showcased its latest software innovations, which are engineered to enhance design workflows, improve production efficiency, and support sustainable manufacturing practices.
October 2025 - AVA CAD/CAM Group Ltd is reinforcing its commitment to transforming the design industry with its suite of specialised software.
AVA CAD/CAM will be taking part in ITMA Asia + CITME 2025 in Singapore from the 28th -31st October at the Singapore Expo at Booth C201, Hall 6, where it will exhibit the effectiveness of its platform.
AVA, a leading innovator in decorative printing technology, is highlighting its comprehensive CAD Specialist training programme designed to bridge the critical skills gap between education and the decorative printing industry.
The programme offers industry-standard certification that equips participants with essential skills in digital design, colour separation, and 3D visualisation
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”.