Digital textile printing at drupa 2024: a turning point for the industry
27 December 2024: Digital textile printing has not taken off as quickly as many expected in recent years. This is not unusual for new technologies, which are often introduced with great enthusiasm and a certain amount of hype. Similarly, the transition from analogue to digital black and white and colour commercial printing took years to become widely accepted.
For a short time during the pandemic, it looked like the big breakthrough for digital textile printing was there. With supply chains between Asia and the West disrupted, retailers and brands were looking for cost-effective ways to fill their shelves. They turned to digital textile printing (direct to fabric and direct to garment). However, after this brief surge, the share of digitally printed textiles has stagnated at around 10 percent.
drupa 2024: greater focus on textiles
drupa 2024 offered a unique opportunity to explore the digital possibilities for the textile industry. More than 30 exhibitors presented their solutions – from fabrics to inks, printers and consumables. A big step forward from drupa 2016 was ‘touchpoint textile’, an area dedicated to the fully connected production chain from design to finished product. The forum showed how the textile industry can be transformed through innovative business models and cutting-edge technologies.
New possibilities for digital textile printing
One of the highlights of the show was a highly automated inkjet printing machine from Kornit Digital, designed specifically for high throughput and in many ways on a par with conventional technology. It can process a wide range of materials including cotton, polyester, silk and even leather. With a production capacity of up to 400 T-shirts per hour, it demonstrates just how efficient and flexible digital textile printing can be today.
A turning point for the industry?
When we look back in a few years’ time, we may well realise that drupa 2024 was a decisive turning point for the textile and apparel industry. The many innovations and discussions at the trade fair showed that the digitalisation of textile production is in the starting blocks and has great potential.
It remains to be seen whether the technologies and solutions presented at drupa 2024 will accelerate the hoped-for change. If companies use the knowledge gained at drupa 2024 to adapt their strategies and prepare for the next steps towards digitalised, sustainable textile production, history could repeat itself – digital textile printing could make the same breakthrough in the near future as digital printing on paper did in its day.
https://www.drupa.com/en/Program/Forums/touchpoint_textile
