The display and signage market led the way but now other market segments are following in its wake, realizing the potential of digitally printed textiles and flying the flag for the UK.
Move over Laurence Llewellyn Bowen, we all have the ability to become interior designers now. Just take a look on the Internet and you will find a number of businesses offering you the ability to turn your illustrations, designs and photographs into curtains, cushions, shower curtains, roller blinds, huge canvas triptychs and more, so much more.
This magazine has been writing about the potential of digitally printed textiles for well over a decade now, and it seems we are at the point when technological ability has finally caught up with the promise. Indeed the growth forecast for all areas of digital textiles whether in established new or emerging markets is strong.
A report carried out by Pira in association with Fespa published at the end of 2009, ‘The Future of Digital Print for Textiles: market forecasts to 2014’ forecast the market for digitally printed textiles to grow from €114.6m in 2009 to just under €1bn by 2014. In addition, the total installed base of digital printers for textiles was forecast to grow to 52,800 units globally by 2014, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.1%.
The process of digitally printing onto textiles has been around since the mid ‘90s using early wide-format inkjets or e-stat printers for direct to substrate or transfer methods. Limitations in hardware, materials and inks meant that the digital printing of textiles was really part and parcel of the sign and display portfolio, and this remains the largest market sector today.
At this year’s Sign and Digital show textile printing was prominently featured. Fujifilm for example showed off its textile wall-coverings amongst its product offerings, while visitors to Spandex were shown a number of innovative textile products with impressive display solutions to help large-format service providers get the most from their printers. Indeed CAGR for the display sector (indoor and out) as predicted in the Pira report - that includes flags, scenery and backdrops, banners and soft signage - was 51.5% for the current 2009 - 2014 period.
However, due to the ongoing developments in technology and the appearance of dedicated digital fabric printers, other major market segments such as clothing, household and technical textiles are increasingly migrating to digital print processes. The trend for the creation of one-off designs is also on the up.
The projected CAGR in the Pira report for clothing (incorporating swimwear, sportswear, fashion, haute couture, ties and scarves for example) is quoted at 67.0% for the 2009 - 2014 period. In the household category (incorporating sub divisions such as upholstery, carpets, curtains, bed-linens, decorative pillows and towels amongst others) the report predicts a CAGR of 56.3%. For the same 2009 - 14 period the CAGR for technical textiles (incorporating protective clothing, automotive, sails amongst others) is quoted as 47.9%.
Digital can bring out the best in fabric printing. Ostensibly a process of liberation, unlike traditional screen printing methods, there is no limitation to the number of colours that can be used – just wind back to London Fashion Week in February to witness the desirable, vibrant and highly intricate prints on the catwalk where 30 colours plus would not be an abnormality. The digital process is significantly quicker, cheaper and needs less manpower to administer. Minimum quantity becomes a thing of the past due to the on-demand nature of this technology.
Key findings in the Pira report stated that while textile production has moved to countries with low labour rates, digital printing may well change all that. Short-runs and agile manufacturing are set to force some production back to North America and Western Europe. More of the cotton that is shipped from the US to China for example, will stay at home, to be made into fabric that will be digitally printed locally to satisfy design-savvy consumers locally, while digital print will allow more designers to create and test new designs more quickly.
“One of the key findings of the Pira report is that we’re starting to see business coming back to the UK,” says Duncan Jeffries at Hybrid Services, UK and Ireland exclusive distributor of Mimaki equipment that is regarded as a leader in digital textile printing. “Backlash is too strong a word, but there is a movement against fairly anonymous mass produced product from places like the Far East and China,” he says.
Alison Smart of RA Smart says that the printing of textiles never really left this small island. RA Smart has been at the forefront of UK digital print technology for textiles for over a decade. Based in Macclesfield famed for its silk much of the company’s work can be seen on catwalks around the world as well as in leading retail stores.
RA Smart offers screenprinting, digital printing as well as traditional jacquard print weaving and is also a specialist textile reseller for Mimaki, working closely with Hybrid Services, installing a number of systems throughout the UK covering all application bases. The company started out as a screenprinter and engraver and evolved into digital on the back of this (it continues to offer a buoyant and busy screenprinting service). Signage has never been part of the company’s portfolio with the bulk of its customers coming from high-end fashion followed by top-end soft furnishings.
The company has grown year-on-year and continually adds to its arsenal of digital kit which to date stands at 13 machines in total. Smart (who when we spoke to her was busily navigating her way through the rigorous demands of the upcoming London Fashion week held in September), says fashion is more demanding than furnishing due to the four fashion seasons that designers have to create for each year.
Sampling is often cited as of the great success stories of digitally printed fabrics. Sampling turnaround times is significantly reduced from weeks to days – resulting in faster product times to market. And even though, when large volumes of fabric are printed out in the Far East, material sampling is still carried out in the UK.
Smart however, is keen to point out what she regards as a myth that the UK is a leader in short-run work and all high-end volume work is carried out in the Far East. RA Smart has the largest digital textile facility in the UK and outputs multiple thousand-meter orders. The fact that printing takes place in the UK’s silk center of Macclesfield gives RA Smart prints an attractive pedigree and substantial equity.
As for the future, Smart sees an onward march and growth. “We won’t go backwards, not now,” she says. The technology will continue to improve, speeds will increase as will print capacity.
Digital has also fuelled the public appetite for customisation and a number of businesses - many of them operating via the Internet - have sprung up to support this. “Trends in apparel are starting to influence interiors. The embellishment on clothing is starting to come through into furnishings,” notes Jeffries at Hybrid Services, adding: “The personalized market is growing and people are prepared to spend money on bespoke furnishings. There is also a feeling that people like to buy British.”
A good example of personalised furnishing is Rosablue, either available from its shop in Cheltenham or via its charmingly website (www.rosablue.co.uk). The company is a perfect example of the digital printing model, outputting high-end work on-demand for customers.
Winning the Times' vote for best deckchair a few years ago boosted Luca Menato and his wife Penelope's profile to such an extent that they're snowed under with work from their fabric and photo gift catalogue activities. All the items on their site are made to order by the Rosablue team in Cheltenham. All fabrics used are cottons designed and printed in-house by the Rosablue team. Once an order is received, the fabric is printed and the item made up. Deliveries take around a week to 10 days. Almost all the catalogue items can be personalised in some way. There is a dedicated range of photographic gift items and a service for designers wanting to commission items using their own images, drawings or patterns. The company also works with customers wanting to create customized memento items for weddings, birthdays and anniversaries.
As part of the Rosablue offering is The Fabric Press where customers can upload their own designs to create any of the products on the site such as cushions, tote bags, napkins, tea towels, deck chair slings, cloth covered journals and the like, or print lengths of customized cotton material. Bespoke fabric printing starts at £40 per meter, with a sampling service at £20.
Pira estimates that the world demand for textiles is growing at 2.5% per annum and all product segments will experience growth in digital printing. Indeed after 2012, it believes that digital will become the dominant process certainly where apparel is concerned. However, everyone in the business of textiles area – niche or otherwise – will be affected.
www.hybridsolutions.co.uk
www.rasmart.co.uk
www.rosablue.co.uk
www.thefabricpress.com
www.pira-international.com