Textile Printing is widely practiced all over the world as the fashion industry is always coming up with various clothing trends. Most of the time these trends include beautiful patterns and designs printed on them. What is textile printing? Textile printing is the process of applying color to fabric in definitive patterns or designs. Properly printed fabrics have the color completely bonded with the fiber, to be intact even after washing and applying friction. In printing, wooden blocks, stencils, engraved plates, rollers, or silkscreens can be utilized to make patterns of colors on the fabric. Colors used in printing contain dyes thickened to avoid the color from spreading due to capillary attraction beyond the limits of a pattern or design. There is another way of textile printing other than the above-mentioned techniques and that is Digital Textile Printing.

Understanding Digital Textile Printing

Digital textile printing is explained as any ink jet based technique of printing colorants onto fabric. Most of the time, digital textile printing is referred to when identifying either printing smaller designs onto garments such as T-shirts, dresses, and promotional wear; abbreviated as DTG, which stands for Direct to garment printing and printing larger patterns onto large format rolls of textile. The latter is a rising trend in visual communication, where advertisement and corporate branding is printed onto polyester media. Examples are flags, banners, signs, and retail graphics.

History Associated

Digital textile printing began in the late 1980s as a potential replacement for analog screen printing. With the origin of a dye-sublimation printer in the early 1990s, it became possible to print utilizing low energy sublimation inks and high energy disperses direct inks directly onto textile media, as opposed to print dye-sublimation inks on a transfer paper and, in a separate process utilizing a heat press, and transfers it to the fabric.

It is considered to be more costly than conventional or traditional textile dyeing. However, it is environment friendly and can be utilized to manufacture custom materials.  Digital textile printing provides the capacity to print detailed outlines in splendid colors.

Process of Digital Textile Printing

The inks utilized in digital printing are made as per the type of fiber, such as cotton, silk, or polyester. During digital printing, the fabric is inserted into the printing device with the help of a roller. The process includes adding ink to the surface in the form of small droplets. After that, the fabric is then finished by utilizing either steam or heat treatment boosting efficiency. Additionally, some inks require washing and drying.

Market Perspective

According to a detailed report by DataIntelo, the Global Digital Textile Printing Market was valued at USD 2.2 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach approximately USD 7.5 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 19.1%, during the forecast period, 2020 to 2026.

The market is on the path to experience significant growth attributing to the surging demand for printed textiles. Furthermore, an increase in per capita disposable income in emerging nations combined with a swift change in fashion trends with the latest printed garments are expected to bolster the market growth during the forecast period. Moreover, developing the application of textile printing in vehicle wrapping, automotive interior decoration is expected to propel the market growth in the automotive sector. However, fluctuating prices of raw materials and hazardous effects of digital printing inks on infants and old people are anticipated to restrict this growth. Additionally, technology developments, such as hot-melt printing for textile applications and 3D printing (additive manufacturing) is expected to foster new opportunities penetrating new segment growth in the upcoming time.

Companies such as Epson, leverage on the rising demand for digital and high-quality textile printing in advertising and industries to generate demand. Moreover, companies are adopting 3D printing solution that would also be utilized in soft signage print and textile market. The E-Commerce industry is poised to flourish and acceptance of digital printing media is expected to increase in the coming years.

Segmentation of the Market

Based on ink types, the global Digital Textile Printing market is segmented into Reactive, Acid, Direct Disperse, Sublimation, Pigment, and Others. During 2019, disperse and sublimation inks market segment accounted for the major shares of the market. These inks are extensively utilized in the textiles and clothing segment and soft signage attributing to the benefits such as non-solubility, resistance to damage, and colorfastness. These disperse inks are used in hydrophobic fabrics by heating liquor at elevated temperatures.

Regional Outlook

Based on regions, the market is divided into Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. Developing countries in Asia-Pacific are anticipated to experience steady growth rates, attributing to the growth of the overall economy. Additionally, the surge in investments by key manufacturers in the region aids market growth. Technology advancements in digital printing, quick utilization of digital textile printing in paper and clothing industry are fueling the demand for digital textile printing, especially in Italy, Germany, and the UK. Domestic players are providing high-quality digital printing services at lower prices attracting local customers.

Prominent Players and Their Efforts

Some of the key players in the digital textile printing market are Durst, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Inc, MIMAKI ENGINEERING CO., LTD., JV Digital Printing, Seiko Epson Corporation, Dover Corporation, Digitex India Inc., DICKSON COATINGS, Electronics for Imaging Inc., AGS Transact Technologies Ltd., d.gen Inc., China Dyeing Holdings, Ltd., Kornit Digital, Ricoh Company Ltd., AM Printex Solutions, Mehler Texnologies, Roland Corporation, Fisher Textiles, Inc, Glen Raven, Inc., and Dazian LLC., among others.

• Mimaki rolled out a 3D printing technology at FESPA which is the first-ever 3D printing solution and would also be utilized in soft signage print and textile market.
• In February 2018, Epson released a new digital fabric printing microsite for fashion designers, which was designed to offer informative digital fabric printing destinations and solutions for various applications.

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