For those of you in the know, the potential of digital fabric printing is enormous. From fashion and apparel to home furnishings and sportswear, there isn’t one area that hasn’t gained or isn’t gaining from the new printing technique, anywhere across the globe.
According to the latest Smithers Pira report, we will see the digital fabric print industry more than double in value by 2021, touching €2.42bn in the same year. Adding to that, an Allied Market Research study predicts that it will achieve a CAGR of 17.9%, by 2022.
The numbers are impressive indeed!
The advent of expertise inks and machines that can produce customized products quickly and the rise in purchase of family-owned textile businesses by more prominent corporations have primarily contributed to the industry growth.
Gherzi, a think tank, conducted a global study to identify the main reasons for increased investments in digital fabric printing.
1. Sustainability: Digitally printed fabrics are of high quality and remain from any wear and tear.
2. Speed: Printing companies can print on fabric faster due to advanced machinery and inkjets.
3. Flexibility: Any number of fabrics can be printed as long as there is a demand and the right resources are in place to supply that demand.
4. New business models: As the eCommerce industry is booming, more and more online retailers see digital fabric printing as a business that will flourish.
In other news, older technologies like screen printing have become commercially un-viable as consumers now prefer speedy, on-demand customized printed fabrics. And digital printing has made that possible.
With a Grand View Research Inc. report estimating the overall global textiles market to be worth $1,237.1bn by 2025, we can safely say that it is indeed an exciting time for printers and ink companies to become opportunistic and to go digital.
Let us divulge further into why digital fabric printing is the next big thing in printing:
Smaller productions, customized fabric prints
The digital fabric market has a lot of growth potential especially in the clothing and garments segment, according to Allied Market Research. For fashion and apparel businesses, where the customer demand is more but orders take longer to get delivered can primarily benefit from the new printing technique.
Let us explain how.
Since digital fabric prints happen faster and are cost-effective and durable, such businesses can shift their focus from producing in bulk to running shorter productions. Through this, they can not only restock faster but also have newer designs in store to keep customers coming back for more, which wasn’t possible earlier.
Personalized fabric printing, anyone?
So, you went online and designed a t-shirt for yourself from scratch, with a custom printed pattern set into the placket. You were able to pick the best design from a dozen choices, online and the comfort of your home.
Moreover, the personalized t-shirt didn’t burn a hole in your pocket, and you received the order within seven working days. And today, you are happy to flaunt that t-shirt wherever you go. Trust us – the concept of printing on the cloth was utterly unheard of till a few years ago.
Be it business-to-business or business-to-customer, digital fabric printing has branched just about everywhere. The commercial viability of the printing technique has enabled print companies to offer such a service, without the hassle of managing an inventory.
Design‘N’Buy, for instance, has implemented the t-shirt design software on various storefronts of leading printing companies, so that the latter’s customers can design a t-shirt on their own with ease and in a fun way.
From marking specific printable design areas that can be personalized using the design editor to providing pre-designed artwork templates and font library, the Design’N’Buy software ensures that any customer can create a great-looking product in minutes.
Personalized fabric printing made easy!
Affordable wide format digital fabric printing
Technically speaking, digital fabric printing refers to an inkjet-based method of printing colors onto a fabric. This not only covers smaller garments like t-shirts, promotional wear, and jacket but also wide format rolls of fabrics including quilts, bed sheets, duvet covers and more.
Digital fabric printing offers the flexibility and cost-effectiveness to meet the demand of customers, especially in an era of eCommerce.
Today, there are so many online retailers like Bags of Love, Fabric on Demand and Spoon Flower that offer a great variety of products with personalized prints on them. They can cater to customers at a much faster pace and with minimal financial risk – all thanks to digital printing.
Digital printing on different types of fabrics
From canvas and cotton to lycra and silk to polyester, many fabrics are popularly used for printing purposes. Cotton, for example, has always been the number one choice to print on. An Allied Market Research report states that it will continue to dominate the charts even in 2022.
The advent of technology has facilitated the use of different ink chemistries used for printing on different kinds of fabrics. For instance, acid dyes are apt for nylon and silk, disperse pigments are used for polyester, and reactive and textile dyes are perfect for natural fibers such as cotton.
Customers can expect to get prints done on different kinds of fabrics, cost-effectively and through the same production method.
Over to you
Digital fabric printing will continue to flourish and increase its overall contribution to global textile printing. Thankfully, there are many reliable printing solution software that enable eco-friendly productions and deliver high-quality prints, without burning a hole in the pocket.
If you are eyeing the industry and want to become a successful online player for custom digital fabric printing, then it is best to take help of web-to-print technology. Design’N’Buy offers a solution apt for your storefront that will enable your customers to print and order custom fabrics easily.
If you are interested, contact us at [email protected] and a member of our staff will reach out to you to understand your business requirements. Speak to you soon!
