In textile printing terms, it is estimated that on a worldwide scale cotton is the material most commonly used, with polyesters accounting for a relatively small percentage overall. Placing this into the context of digital printing, dye sublimation and polyesters are married through necessity and are the most commonly used amongst the display producers in this country as well as many other parts of the world. Applications produced onto cottons, silks, blends, linens and man-made fabrics have necessitated specialised digital printing equipment with much of it geared for high throughput industrial use. Pre-treatment is required as is fixation to bind the pigments to the textile, and the correct absorbency levels are important to achieve vibrancy of colour and to minimise bleed. The topic of digital textiles has warranted seminars and discussions which have demonstrated many of the capabilities of this type of production, taking it beyond its more conventional boundaries of sampling and garments through to a myriad of new applications. These include soft signs, banners, flags, wall coverings, furnishings, curtains and blinds but, increasingly, printers are finding additional instances where fabrics can be used instead of more conventional display options. Many exhibition graphics, for examples, can now be produced using textiles and these have the benefits of being much lighter in weight than their conventional counterparts and give greater flexibility when being fitted into frames. For back-lits, the type of light which shows through textiles renders a less harsh and more inviting look. And there's the additional benefit that, once used, the material can be folded up and kept for further installations with minimal likelihood of creasing or getting damaged.

In larger sizes, the question can be begged: "When is a textile not a textile?" and this applies to jobs such as building and scaffold wraps where fine meshes are used to conceal inner workings yet afford enough light for those behind to see what they're doing. Again, lack of weight and ease of installation without damage are amongst the key criteria for this sort of job as, increasingly, are environmental demands for materials to be used which can be recycled when no longer needed. This is particularly pertinent where large areas of fabric are required; no-one wants to see short-term graphics in giant sizes end up as land-fill. Many of today's digital textile print businesses have evolved from analogue processes into newer technology. Companies, such as Eindhoven-based Dereumaux XL, originated in this market sector but has moved into using other ink technologies as well, including high-speed UV-curable production. Currently, Dereumaux prints around 120,000m2/year onto textile as a preference to solvent-based output for a range of applications including displays, point-of-sale work and banners. With EFI Vutek FabriVu printers which use oil-based direct sublimation, the benefits include end results being free of solvents and PVCs. From a retailer's perspective, there are plenty of examples where new collections of designs for curtain and upholstery fabrics can be produced digitally, thus eliminating the need to hold vast stocks of swatch-books and examples. Textile samples can be printed to order, on demand, and end customers can even have the flexibility of choosing their own colour-ways which they know can be re-ordered quickly and easily in the exact amounts needed.

Personalisation and the general drive for shorter volumes have thus contributed to digitally printed textiles, with traditional analogue processes now being superseded in many areas. Price is a dominating factor, as well as convenience, and specialist company RA Smart reports that it has seen considerable growth in digitally printed textiles over the last year. "The bulk of our growth in digital has predominantly been in fashion, but the costs involved on the furnishings side are starting to hit the threshold for replacing some forms of traditional print," says Alison Smart, director of print at RA Smart. "The downward pressure in price on digital print has made it very competitive against traditionally produced print and with no screens to pay for, no limitations on pattern repeat size, numbers of colours and, most importantly, no minimum run lengths, it's easy to see why." In a market where traditionally printed designs would often warrant a minimum 1,000m run lengths and the costly production of pattern books, before even a metre of furnishing fabric has been sold, the advantages of digital become more apparent. Whilst RA Smart happily takes on 2,000 to 3,000m digital runs of fashion fabrics for production, the beauty of digital print means a 60m or 120m run for a designer is also achieved easily. In fact, 40 colourways of one design could easily be produced in as little as 40m of print. "The process is 'risk reduced' comments Smart. "There's no need to now print offshore, as it can be happily done digitally in the UK."

With RA Smart's strong presence in the furnishings industry, the link to production wallcoverings is obvious and the Macclesfield-based company recently added another Mimaki JV5 to its capacity in order to assist with sampling and production work. "Our ability to print wallpaper digitally with solvent or pigment ink goes hand in hand with our furnishings prints," Smart suggests. "We have a bank of Mimaki JV5s and TX2s, alongside even larger volume Italian made production machines that, together, can produce prints onto silk and cotton, transfer prints to polyester and direct prints to high end wallcovering stock." Mimaki's printers are also being used to deliver creativity with its JV5 capable of printing bespoke mural wallpaper - as offered by Kent based Muraspec Wallcoverings. "The purchase of a solvent digital printer has provided us with a platform to grow business and support and broaden our product portfolio," says Muraspec's design, process and digital manager, John Langfield. "Our bespoke digital mural business adds a dynamic vitality to our product offering, relevant to all of our key commercial sectors. The ability to provide large scale designs, images and personalised graphics onto our specially developed wallcovering opens up opportunities not possible within our stocked range."

Muraspec uses a combination of AVA software and a Mimaki JV5 printer to produce accurately colour-matched and aligned wallpaper for commercial installations. The AVA software allows the company to integrate the Mimaki into its existing product workflow, providing precise sampling material for research, product development and custom work. No discussion about digital textile printing would be complete without reference to its place in fashion. For students entering the world of design and print, having a university or college equipped with industry standard machinery and software can make a real difference to preparing for the world of work. One such university with a long-standing commitment to investing in the latest technology is the London College of Fashion. The Digital Print Bureau is a specialist operation for the University of the Arts at London College of Fashion. This brings together quality fabric printing, experience, professionalism and creativity. Providing a personal service intended to meet the needs of the students, research and external clients. Rob Burton from the Print Bureau states: "Our unique selling point is our experience, knowledge and understanding of the integration of digital technologies and fashion." The Print Bureau uses a combination of AVA CAD/CAM design software and a suite of Mimaki TX direct-to-textile inkjet printers to create unusual partnerships with new, emerging and established fashion creatives and entrepreneurs. This helps them to realise their ideas in print through consultancy and research.

This set-up produces the high quality of print and colour reproduction that enables the Print Bureau to respond to the requirements of the high fashion world. Be it for fashion week runway shows or research projects, the ability to produce short runs of bespoke printed fabric in a very short space of time is an invaluable tool. One of the Print Bureau's clients, Fanny Karst, creates one-off tailor made dresses under the label 'Old Ladies' Rebellion'. Featured heavily in the European press, Karst - as a 25 year old - bucks the trend in high fashion with a list of models working the catwalk for her, often well into their seventies (her oldest model is an octogenarian). Her clothes are bespoke silk dresses and two pieces adorned with digital print that creates an elegant and irreverent look for ladies who want something a little different to dress up (or down) in. With her collections produced digitally using the Mimakis at the Print Bureau's facility, the creative edge that this technology gives her allows her to work with washed silks and other materials in designs that she describes as "straight and bold, no fuss - no frills". Retailing at between ?500 and ?600 a time, these are certainly not frivolous purchases but the attitude that she, her models and her clientele communicate is one that's intriguing, modern and makes great use of available technology.