As digital textile printing industry picks up in India and more players make their foray into this segment, trade event such as Digitex Show provides a dedicated space to all stakeholders to congregate, network and put forth their innovations.
Digital Textile Printing is picking up in a big way in India, slowly replacing the conventional method of screen printing. According to a report by Markets and Markets, the global digital textile printing market is expected to reach $2.31 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 5.59% during the forecast period. It is evident that a major proportion of this growth will come from the Indian market as the country is growing rapidly as a hub of garment and textile manufacturing.
The high uptake of digital printing is driven by a lot of factors such as tilt towards sustainable printing, increase in the demand for customised printing, reduced wastage, shorter print cycles due to elimination of unnecessary steps, fast-changing fashion, rise in online shopping and technological innovations in inks and printers that lead to higher output at lower costs.
Roll to roll printers are most commonly used for digital textile printing processes for both garments & textiles as well as soft signage. They can print on a variety of materials including silk, cotton, wool, rayon, polyester, etc. and thus can be used in a range of applications such as upholstery, scarves, ties, shoes, bags, sportswear, footwear, clothes, etc. They are highly useful for soft signage industry too and are used for making banners, flags, posters, vehicle wraps, POP/POS displays, etc.
Giving his comments on digital textile printing, Neerav Goswamy, Director, AT Inks, said, “Digital textile printing is having a fast and steady growth to become the defacto only form of textile printing as it offers, variability, innumerable color options, small run options, reduced water consumption, reduced effluent treatment costs and ease of use for the customer. More high speed machines are being launched and good quality ink manufacturers are getting into this industry to support the future of the growth of digital printing.”
“Digital printing may bring about a revolutionary change in printing at the point of sale. Though it is easier said than done, this may be the only technology that can actually provide this option. If it can evolve to the level where a retail shop could print textile on its own and sell it to the customer, then, a large volume of inventory issues can be addressed and it can completely change how business is done today. In India, DTP will bring about a decentralisation of business from its usual pockets of textile business and spread it all across India. It will help reduce effluent streams as well as help bring in newer designs and a wider variety of colours in each design to the market, while at the same time help in reducing inventory at all levels of the business.”
In such a scenario, it is imperative that the entire industry should be brought together on a common platform so that ideas and thoughts are exchanged, and industry could flourish. Comprehensive trade shows such as Gartex Texprocess India act as a stepping stone for a lot of players in the industry, and help them represent themselves as a key stakeholder in the garment and textile manufacturing value chain. The 4th edition of the Show concluded last month after three days of high-rush activity that saw 10,390 visitors attending the event to witness the latest innovations in garment & textile manufacturing technology.
A key attraction at Gartex Texprocess was the Digitex Show, which was a segment dedicated to digital textile machinery and solutions. It was bustling with activity as most of industry’s biggest players participated in the event and showcased the latest developments in machinery, inks, software and services in digital textile printing. The Show offered a chance to visitors to experience technologies first-hand through live demonstrations that helped them understand the benefits of these machines, especially in the soft signage and sublimation printing segments.
Some of the key players who participated in the Show include Apsom Technologies India Pvt. Ltd., Arrow Digital Pvt. Ltd., A.T. Inks, Britomatics India Pvt. Ltd., Colorjet India Ltd., Cosmic Trends Pvt. Ltd., DCC Print Vision LLP, Dupont Advanced Printing, Epson India Pvt. Ltd., Fortuna Colours & Prints LLP, HP India Sales Pvt. Ltd., J.N. Arora & Co Pvt. Ltd., Mimaki India Pvt. Ltd., Negi Sign Systems & Supplies Co., Orange O Tec Pvt. Ltd., Mehta Cad Cam Systems Pvt. Ltd., amongst several others.
Digitex Show at Gartex Texprocess also proved to be a promising platform for new product launches as some leading companies chose this event for unveiling their latest solutions for the Indian audience. HP Inc launched a new portfolio of digital textile printers under Stitch series – HP Stitch S500 and HP Stitch S1000. As per a company press release, these printers are equipped with HP Smart Printing capabilities powered by cloud-based technology, applications and services designed to maximize uptime, provide exceptional line-of-sight and simplify production processes.
Vitesh Sharma, Head of Sign and Graphics, HP Inc. India, said, “The introduction of this breakthrough innovation in the textile printing industry will enable businesses to increase their production at a relatively lower cost and time. The new HP Stitch printers will redefine the dye sublimation printing market and pave the way for more digital print transformations in the future.”
Negi Sign Systems & Supplies Co. introduced Negijet Textile Printing Machine – TXR-1900. The machine is designed especially for high-quality, high-productivity and high- performance, and opens a new possibility of textile printing with state-of-art digital technology and customer-focused approach of daily smooth operations and reliable printing. Bundled with Professional Textile Rip Softwares for better colour reproduction and Print Quality, it comes equipped with Ricoh Gen5 printheads.
Commenting on the participation and launch of their printer in Gartex Texprocess, Girvir Singh Negi, MD, Negi Sign Systems & Supplies Company, said, “I remember that when we started offering sublimation printers, there were only a few suppliers in India. Then digital printing technology was introduced, which changed the scenario altogether. Further, with the introduction of DTG printers, the stakeholders in the garment & textile industry are getting new avenues and opportunities. Gartex Texprocess India is instrumental in giving the required push to the speed of innovations in the digital textile printing technology by providing a platform of this stature. This year, we have introduced sublimation printer. Along with that, we have also put our DTG printers on display which has been attracting many visitors. We look forward to being a part of this exhibition next year as well.”
Apsom Technologies too introduced two printers, one of which is Nassenger PRO 120. It comes with high-density 1024-nozzle independent-drive inkjet printheads and is capable of high speed printing upto 120m2 / hour. Vir Vikram Bhatia, Managing Director, Apsom Technologies India Pvt. Ltd., said “We just launched two machines here at Gartex Texprocess – one if for printing on polyester and the other is for printing on cotton and other natural fibres. Nassenger PRO 120 is based on Konica Minolta printhead and is reasonably lower priced.”
The extensive exhibit profile at Digitex ranged from new printers and inks to upcoming techniques offered by digital printing for home furnishing & interior decoration, apparel & fashion and corporate interiors. On the display were digital textile machinery, digital textile printing machines, dye sublimation process, screen printing machines, T-shirt printing machines, transfer printing process, digital textile printing chemicals, digital textile printing inks (disperse, reactive and pigment inks), heat transfer machines, sublimation paper, software & several others.
Moreover, it’s a great opportunity for digital printing companies, signage industry stakeholders, screen printing industry people from graphic arts industry, merchandisers and other industry players to interact with the leading digital printing technology suppliers and to witness the latest range and innovations in the sector.
Organised by the MEX Exhibitions Pvt. Ltd. and Messe Frankfurt India, Gartex Texprocess India is aimed at taking the country’s textile and garment manufacturing industry to the next level. The next edition of the Show is set to take place from August 21-23, 2020. The organisers are now also taking the Show to Mumbai and the inaugural edition will be held in March 2020.