Textile Insight

IN THE MARKET | DIGITAL PRINTING CONFERENCE Positioned for Positive Impact 16 • Textile Insight ~ January/February 2018 textileinsight.com Makers Take Note: Digital Printing Represents Apparel's New Frontier. By Glenna B. Musante n November, two industry associations that rarely cross paths joined forces to present an intensive, two-day workshop on digital printing, an emerging technology that may have the potential to reshape the manufacturing side of the apparel industry. Digital Printing Conference V2.0 was sponsored jointly by AATCC, The Association of Textile Colorists and Chemists, and SGIA, The Specialty Graphics Imaging Association. It was held in Research Triangle Park, NC. Many of the attendees expected the workshop to focus on digital printing for home décor or textile-based signage, but as luck and new trends would have it, the focus was apparel and the potentially disruptive impact digital printing could have on the world of fashion. And several large brands were there to hear all about it. The meeting room – which was packed both days at capacity – included a solid representation from brands such as Lilly Pulitzer, Lululemon, VF Corporation, and Levi Strauss as well as well-known textile and retail giants such as Milliken, Target, Glen Raven, Cotton Inc., Spoonflower and Springs Creative. The speakers represented a wide variety of textile and printing industry disciplines. This included experts in digital printing technologies and pigment dyeing as well as fashion industry experts in color communication, apparel manufacturing workflow, on-demand fashion manufacturing and cloud-based production environments. According to several of the workshop presenters, digital printing is less expensive, quicker, less cumbersome and less manpower-intensive than conventional fabric printing methods. It's also beginning to play a role in reducing some of the long lead times associated with apparel mass production. It can be employed "on demand," easily churn out fabric in short runs, and in the process reduce shipping costs, costs related to warehousing space and losses tied to unsold product. Some presenters even indi- cated digital printing could bring apparel manufacturing back to North America. But whether it triggers a reshoring Renaissance or makes it easier for offshore manufacturers to churn out products cheaper and more quickly, the general impression over the course of the workshop was that it's time for apparel manufacturers to take note and begin incorporating digital printing into their manufacturing processes. An Attractive Option Ron Gilboa, director of Keypoint Intelligence InfoTrends, kicked off the workshop with an overview of the textile industry and the impact digital printing is already having on fashion. According to Gilboa, digital printing supports several larger textile industry trends, and this is starting to position digital printing as an attractive option for manufacturers. First, said Gilboa, fast fashion is driving a demand for short lead times, smaller production runs and quick production turn around times from design to store delivery. Meanwhile, online shopping, which continues to increase I "Digital printing is growing because it allows for greater creativity, smaller batches, and can make it easier to market test a new concept." Ron Gilboa, director of Keypoint Intelligence InfoTrends Digital Textile printing is attracting interest among major brands such as Lululemon and VF Corporation.

• Cover