Textile Insight

January/February 2018 ~ Textile Insight • 17 textileinsight.com DIGITAL PRINTING ON DISPLAY AT MAGIC weekly, is already changing the fundamentals of the supply chain, Gilboa said, and fueling what he described as "purchase-activated manufacturing." In the process, this is driving a demand for small-batch manufacturing, faster product turnaround, batch consistency, local manufacturing and increased automation. Digital printing has the potential to support all of those processes, as well as help apparel manufacturers and retailers meet growing customer expectations for immediate delivery of products that reflect creativity, variety and customization. Industry 4.0—an umbrella term for cloud-managed apparel manufacturing—is another growing textile industry trend. Highly computerized digital printers such as those being manufactured for the apparel industry by Reggiani are designed to plug into and work seamlessly with a cloud-based apparel manufacturing production system. Gilboa said concerns about the environment continue to strongly influence the textile and fashion industries and many of the new digital printers offer a full range of water-based inks considered eco-friendly plus reduce the amount of water that goes into the dyeing process. Although still water-intensive, digital printers use less water than conventional dyeing methods, and may also reduce fabric waste. According to Gilboa, 15 percent of the fabric intended for clothing currently ends up on the cutting room floor and with smaller runs possible inside a digital printing environment, there may be less fabric waste. With digital printing, there is also lower power consumption and less chemical waste. Currently, Gilboa said, digital printing is starting to be used for fast fashion, couture, sportswear and accessories such as scarves, ties, bags and belts. Digital printing is already growing rapidly in décor for items such as wall covering, draperies, upholstery and décor and a major element of textile-based signage. Projecting ahead, he said digital printing will have a wholesale value of $33B by 2021 and garments will represent "the lion's share" of that amount. Gilboa added that digital printing is still a small component of the fashion industry "but it's growing," because it "allows for greater creativity, smaller batches, ease and can also make it easier to market test a new concept." The technology is also relatively inexpensive. "You can buy a digital printer for under $50,000," he said, and the space requirements are smaller than those required by conventional dyeing methods. Yet, assembly is still an issue. Robotics technologies that would replace humans for cut and sew are in development, but still being refined. According to several at the workshop, this is the missing link in the garment manufacturing workflow process preventing digital printing from taking off in North America where very few cut and sew operations remain. Most cut and sew still takes place offshore, and investment in developing robotics has been slow in North America due to inexpensive labor overseas, but Gilboa expects that to change. As Gilboa and others at the workshop noted, digital printing has the potential to revolutionize the fashion industry. "There are great opportunities here," said Gilboa. "There are endless color and design options and many supply chain benefits." Although still in the infancy stages, digital printing is clearly gaining traction daily. O Attendees at this February's Magic sourcing show in Las Vegas will have the opportunity to see a digital workflow product line that includes cut and sew robotics on the show floor. Set up to show attendees the textile workflow in action from design to cut and sew, this active display will showcase a computerized design/pattern- making digital showroom, a system for converting designs into printing data for transfer to a digital printer, a digital printer in operation, a variety of image-fixation processes (calender, steamer, stenter) and robotic cutting and sewing. In other words, show attendees will see a full digital printing-based fashion assembly line first hand from design to final product. www.creora.com creora® is registered trade mark of the Hyosung Corporation for its brand of premium elastane. visit creora ® IRUWKHODWHVWÀEHU and IDEULFLQQRYDWLRQVDW ISPO Munich 28-31 January 2018 Hall: C4 Stand #306

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