InPrint USA, to be held April 9-11, 2019, in Louisville, Ky., will once again be collocated with the International Converting Exhibition USA (ICE). InPrint will highlight exhibits from industry suppliers that service the functional, decorative, and package printing market. InPrint/ICE attendance will be highly beneficial to companies wishing to keep abreast of the newest technologies and to learn best practices in the complex operations of inkjet printing for plastics, metals, woods, glass, ceramics, and textiles, in market sectors such as apparel, automotive, furnishing and interior décor, labels, signs and banners, and packaging.

InPrint USA 2019 will partner with two major trade organizations; The Wallcoverings Association (WA) and the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA). For both the packaging and wall décor market, inkjet printing has the capability of meeting consumers’ demand for higher print quality, increased number of colors and faster response to market trends. In addition, digital printing enables customized prints and has the unique advantage of enabling color and design cohesiveness across multiple substrates. So for example, businesses such as boutique hotels, wishing to offer residents a lifestyle experience, can coordinate the print décor of ceramic, wood, and carpet flooring, with wall and window coverings, bedding and even packaging of personal care items. Round table participants at the 2018 InPrint conference felt that décor — including textiles, flooring, and wallcoverings — and packaging are the two segments that provide immediate growth opportunities. According to Boston-based I.T. Strategies, research consultants for the digital print community, wallcoverings saw more than $100 million in revenue in 2017, and is one of the many fast-growing sectors within industrial printing. To support the décor print market, a number of new colorant and machinery developments will be showcased that are worth investigation.

Colorant Systems

Switzerland-based Sensient Imaging Technologies, a subsidiary of Milwaukee-based Sensient Technologies Corp., recently introduced ElvaJet® Opal SB inks formulated for low-viscosity Epson® printheads. ElvaJet Opal SC inks for mid-viscosity print heads, such as Kyocera, were launched in 2018 and were awarded the ECO PASSPORT by OEKO-TEX® certification, a certification now also achieved by the ElvaJet Opal SB inks. Both the ElvaJet Opal SB and SC inks offer exceptional digital dye sublimation performance in terms of color, sharpness, and superior release from coated and uncoated transfer papers as low as 18 grams per square meter in weight, according to the company.

However, the greatest benefit to users may be the ability to standardize colors across different types of printers. Dr. Simon Daplyn, marketing manager of Sensient’s inks division stated: “Users of wide format and industrial printers in the same print shop can now reproduce the same output on all machines because ElvaJet Opal SB and SC inks use the same color reference. This standardization offers unique options for production flexibility and a reduction of consumable costs.”

Austria-based Zimmer Austria Inc. is a producer of machines for textile and carpet finishing. For special applications that require colorant penetration through the substrate such as carpeting, terry towels, flags, and plush, or heavy automotive and home décor fabrics, Zimmer offers the Colaris3 high-performance pre-treatment, digital printing, and colorant systems. The Colaris series of printers can be used with a variety of colorants such as reactive, disperse, acid, pigment, and vat. Inline pre- and post-treatment systems can be added to improve print quality and increase ink penetration.

MAGNOROLL GMA is used as an inline pre-treatment applicator for lighter to medium-weight fabrics.

CHROMOJET (CHR-DPT) is an inline pre-treatment system for medium to heavy substrates such as terry towels, flocked fabrics, velour and carpet.

SUPRAPRESS press station is used as a penetration and equalization device to ensure maximum penetration on qualities like carpets or polyester blankets. Products like velour, or even flags and banners, may also benefit from the additional pressing.

SUPRAFIX SHS is a combined, horizontal color fixation system using optionally saturated steam, superheated steam or hot air condition according to the amount of ink being used. The fixation activity is controlled by a flow through steam/hot air stream and ensures highest penetration, ink fixation and drying in a single pass at shortest possible time.

Printhead Development

The Colaris3 printers can be configured with up to 96 StarFire™ SG1024 compact industrial printheads. Developed by Tokyo-based Fujifilm, the StarFire SG1024 printhead is available in three models for Colaris3 printers, each with varying drop size capability — the SA model is intended for printing light- and medium-weight home decor, apparel, and flag substrates that can achieve ink penetration with drop sizes ranging from 12 to 35 picoliters; the MA model has capability of 30 to 75 picoliter drops and is best suited for medium-weight carpets velours, terry cloth and low to medium plush piles; and the LA model printhead is capable of 75 to 180 picoliter drop sizes for ink penetration of voluminous substrates such as heavier weight carpet, furs, and plush blankets.

The StarFire SG1024 printhead is a compact, self-contained unit built to withstand demanding industrial textile and other applications. The life of the printhead is extended because of the replaceable coated metal nozzle plate and continuous ink recirculation with RediJet™. The printhead is compatible with solvent, ultraviolet-curable and aqueous ink formulations.

Digital Dye Sublimation System Development

The Epson Group, led by Japan-based Seiko Epson Corp., has taken a whole system approach with the Epson SureColor F9370 Dye-sublimation Inkjet Printer. The machine offers industrial-level production speeds up to 1,169 square feet per hour and is equipped with dual PrecisionCore® TFP® printheads. The PrecisionCore print chips are based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology, which uses a 1-micron-thin piezo actuator that acts like a pump to deposit ink.

The ability to pump larger amounts of fluid through densely packed nozzles yields a multitude of small, round, precise dots ensuring a high print quality when reaching high print speeds. The UltraChrome® DS with High-Density Black dye sublimation inks, combined with the included Wasatch® SoftRIP® TX SureColor F9370 Edition softwear from Salt Lake City-based Wasatch Computer Technology, ensures a large color gamut and high color quality.

Features of the software include:

Color Atlas Generator — to create a custom swatch book and match colors accurately by specifying and printing a range of color swatches on a target fabric. RGB values for chosen swatches then may be entered into SoftRIP or saved to a Wasatch Color Database.

Color Neighborhood Analyzer — to specify a spot color and create a targeted 100-patch test pattern centered on that color.

Color Database — enables the user to maintain a list of saved and frequently used colors. The color chosen from the Color Database can be routed through ICC management or directly to print heads, depending on workflow needs.

Single Pass Printers

Single pass printers, capable of printing up to 70 meters per minute (m/min) when set with a CMYK colorant system, now surpass speeds of rotary screen printing. Unlike scan-type printers, single pass printhead systems print on the substrate as the fabric is fed under a fixed print unit. IT-Strategies reported that in 2017, the Lario printer manufactured by Italy-based MS Printing Solutions S.r.l., was installed in more locations that any other single pass printers.

New to this market, and introduced in late 2018, the EFI™ Reggiani BOLT, can reach speeds of 90 m/min. Unique to this system is a proprietary technology for combining digital and rotary techniques for hybrid solutions. One or more analog printing stations, which may be easily connected as an optional feature, can be integrated into the digital printer for special effects or spot colors. The robust recirculating printhead has been developed in partnership with a leading printhead manufacturer and will be available exclusively to EFI Reggiani. With drop sizes ranging from 5 to 30 picoliters, the Bolt is capable of high-quality grayscale images. The year 2019 may prove to be a game changer for digital printing as companies continue to specialize and provide innovative solutions for increased flexibility and speed to market.

The company will promote its expertise at Igatex Pakistan and Techtextil North America this month. © Picanol

Picanol, a leading textile machinery manufacturer, will participate in this month’s Igatex Pakistan 2019, the largest event for textile machinery manufacturers in Pakistan, which takes place from 26-28 February 2019, in Karachi. Picanol will be present at the booth of Madhani Associates, which has represented Picanol in the Karachi region for the last five years.

“Picanol machines enable production in the four main Pakistani weaving segments: denim, sheeting, bottom weight and terry towel. Both the OMNIplus Summum airjet and OptiMax-i rapier have proven to be the most productive weaving machines,” the company reports. “This is an impressive feat as weavers in Pakistan run the machines at maximum speeds – not a pick per minute less.”

Picanol’s high levels of productivity, speed and efficiency are complemented with the lowest running costs, which come thanks to a unique approach to energy saving, the company explains. “Ultimately, this makes a real difference and is the reason why the number of Picanol machines installed in Pakistan is continuously increasing.”

Picanol also offers an extensive range of services and support including training, electronic repairs, parts, weave-up upgrades, harness frames, machine installation and start-up, and textile set up and optimisation assistance.

The company will also promote its expertise at Techtextil North America 2019, which also runs from 26-28 February, in Raleigh, NC. Picanol will be present at a leading trade show for technical textiles and nonwovens with an information booth.

“The history of Picanol is clearly intertwined with that of the American textiles industry. Picanol set up its own organisation – Picanol of America – on 1 February 1966. Since then, America has always proven to be a market of great strategic importance as Picanol has installed tens of thousands of weaving machines at American weaving mills. Over the years, the technical fabrics segment has become a very dominant area, which makes Techtextil an important fair for Picanol,” the manufacturer reports.

The company will not only promote its rapier and airjet weaving machines at Techtextil, but also the extensive range of services and support that it provides to its many customers from its 18,000 sq. ft facility: training, electronic repairs, new machines installation and start-up, textile technical support, spare parts, and weave-up upgrades.

"The 10th HKTDC Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair will be held from April 20-23, 2019 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The fair is an ideal sourcing platform and an information exchange hub for fine home textiles. The fair will be held concurrently with the HKTDC Hong Kong Houseware Fair. The twin fairs will form a one-stop sourcing platform to meet buyers’ needs for all kinds of household items and home textiles."

The 10th HKTDC Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair will be held from April 20-23, 2019 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The fair is an ideal sourcing platform and an information exchange hub for fine home textiles. The fair will be held concurrently with the HKTDC Hong Kong Houseware Fair. The twin fairs will form a one-stop sourcing platform to meet buyers’ needs for all kinds of household items and home textiles.

High-end design-led textiles and furnishings in Hall of Glamour

The Hall of Glamour, the premium zone of the fair will feature high-end, design-led textiles and furnishings. Leading companies including Ava International, Craftex India, I&S, J-Tex (HK) and Kerala Balers, will be present at the fair. Alongside with first-time participating brand Casablanca in the Baby & Bedroom Textiles zone, these exhibitors will showcase their quality textiles covering bedding, curtains, carpets and towels.

Focus on sustainable products

The fair will highlight environment-friendly and sustainable products by labeling exhibitors with green products or hotel supplies for effective sourcing. Other zones include bathroom & kitchen textiles, carpet & floor coverings, window fashion & accessories, upholstery & furnishing products and design solutions and trade services.

Eminent brands to showcase

The fair will display a spectrum of quality textile products from eminent brands. Korean exhibitor I&S Co will showcase high-quality rugs and mats, one of which is the Dwinguler Yoga Mat. The mat adopts a three-layer structure, with the top and bottom foam to provide cushion and support and a fabric layer to prevent bending. Also, its non-slip embossing surface prevents the mat from moving around while exercising, making it suitable for intensive training such as yoga, pilates and gym.

Casablanca Home, a well-known local brand and a first-time participant will present a variety of bedding products, including the patented Anti-Mosquito Summer Quilt which is highly suitable for area under tropical climate.

Group Pavilions for distinctive products

Three textile industry associations from India, namely the Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC), Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) and Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) will form group pavilions to showcase the best of textiles products from the South Asian country. Adding to it will be two new group pavilion will be formed by ongxiang Zhouquan and Pujiang, which are both well-known manufacturing bases of premium bedding products especially quilts in Zhejiang Province of mainland China.

Events to facilitate information exchange

To facilitate business matching and networking, product demos and launch pad sessions will introduce latest products to buyers in an interactive and relaxing atmosphere. Participants can also keep abreast of the latest market trends and updates at the forums and seminars held by experienced professionals and experts in the industry.

"Luxury equaled to quality for many and for many others, fashion labels also equated to safety. They felt safe in buying certain brands like Volvo and Rolex as they ensured quality and a complete value for money to their consumers. However, over decades many luxury brands exploited this sentiment to unreasonably increase the price of their products. For instance, the Saint Laurent leather jacket, which consumers believe to be made from the best materials, plays on their psyche of having invested in a high work of art."

Luxury equaled to quality for many and for many others, fashion labels also equated to safety. They felt safe in buying certain brands like Volvo and Rolex as they ensured quality and a complete value for money to their consumers. However, over decades many luxury brands exploited this sentiment to unreasonably increase the price of their products. For instance, the Saint Laurent leather jacket, which consumers believe to be made from the best materials, plays on their psyche of having invested in a high work of art.

Fashion brands choose profit over quality

Today, the 20 biggest fashion companies of the world gobble up 97 per cent profit share. To achieve their set targets, these companies either slash the quality of their garments or increase prices. In fact, to sell their low quality clothes at higher prices, they double down on their runway shows, ad campaigns and influencer relationships, which ups the visibility – and lustability – of what they make, rather than the quality.

The result: clothes have become status symbol. Gucci, a brand which originally made goods from high-end leather goods, now makes clothes for the millennials that includes T-shirts, sweats, trainers and phone cases in coffer-swelling numbers. Like brand tees, they’re a way rep your love of the brand in a (comparatively) accessible way. But all this is quite different from what ‘luxury’ originally denoted.

Creating a hype to increase sales

Experts point out if something’s hyped, it doesn’t matter what material it’s made out of, if you want it. For example, Supreme’s box logo tees, which despite retailing for less insane prices, resell for up to £500. To create this hype, brands limit their accessibility. Supreme does it by creating lesser products. Others do it with price: Enfants Riches Déprimes, sells £1,400 hoodies, specifically to lock out a mass consumer. For Vetement, it’s about irony. Its DHL T-shirt appeals to only handful of fashion insiders.

Luxury brands would rather make a loss on their product than have their exclusivity diluted by selling it at markdown. These days consumers can buy mid-to-accessible luxury goods from smaller upstart brands, or even the high street, that are as good as or better than the pieces you would get from LVMH. The price reflects the prestige and branding of the product, so you get a £700 branded sweatshirt that was manufactured for less than £50.

Environmental consequences

The big loser is the planet which has to bear the environmental catastrophes caused by clothing industry. As per Fashion Transparency Index, which ranks brands according to how opaque their supply chains are, no luxury label appears in the top half. Though some have started revealing how their clothes are made, the prevailing trend is that the more expensive the clothes, the less clarity they offer about how they’re made. This is the opposite of how the luxury industry’s long positioned itself, as the home of craft and quality. A huge proportion of couture pieces today are sold at a loss to bestow an aura of quality on goods that are made cheaply but sold at massive markup.

The accelerated fashion cycle, where trends disappear in a matter of months, does not encourage craftsmanship. Instead, consumers prefer to buy clothes with a shelf life, both in terms of how they look and how they’re made. Instead of buying from established designers, they prefer products of the same quality from an upcoming independent designer.

The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) published its report on the fashion industry and the waste that it creates. The report outlines how British people buy more clothes per person than any other country in Europe. What’s more, this amounts to more than 300,000 tonne of textile waste flooding landfills or being incinerated. The report makes a number of recommendations, including creating mandatory targets on sustainability for all fashion retailers that have an annual turnover of £36 million (approximately $47 million) or more.

It also advances a scheme called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme. EPR would allow for monitoring compliance with sustainability criteria—for example identifying water usage and how to reduce it—and give benefits to companies who lower their environmental impacts. In practice this might mean a one-penny-per-garment charge which could be waived when retailers demonstrate they have attempted to reduce their impact in meaningful ways.

The report urges the government to support these efforts by shifting taxation systems to more directly encourage reuse, repair and recycling. It also advocates using models like those in Sweden that reduce VAT on clothing repair. This report offers a refreshing insight into an industry that has cultivated rock-bottom prices at a high, hidden cost. It highlights the people caught in its exploitative manufacturing chains and the wider public, who are getting poor-quality merchandise that is harming the environment. The report zeroes in on how fast fashion has failed and how a return to a culture of paying more for quality that will last is one of the key answers.

In 2018, Turkey’s textile exports increased seven per cent compared to the previous year. There are approximately one million people employed in the country’s textile and readymade clothing sectors. This number reaches two million if sectors such as retail and merchandising are included.

The Turkish textile sector has a strong image in the global market. The sector stands out with its state-of-the-art technology, flexible production ability, capability of producing special products and high-quality workforce. It is the biggest textile manufacturer in Europe. It continues to make significant breakthroughs not only in design and fashion but also in technical textiles.

Turkey is the seventh biggest cotton producer in the world. It has the biggest machinery park in the world. The biggest factory manufacturing quilt covers is in Turkey. The country is one of the top three towel suppliers in the world. The share of Turkey in global textile exports stands at three per cent, at 4.5 per cent in home and interior textiles and 1.5 per cent in technical textiles.

The Turkish textile sector has a very high potential especially in terms of value added production. The Turkish textile and readymade clothing sector as a whole has the highest foreign trade surplus. The sector ranks first in the country in terms of share in the gross domestic product and in terms of parameters such as domestic input use.

A new program launched in the UK aims at improving speed, productivity and sustainability in the clothing supply chain. The program, called Future Fashion Factory, is exploring ways to introduce new technology into the design process, shorten lead times and reduce waste. It has been set up to drive the UK’s economic growth by developing new products and services, creating new jobs and developing skills.

Future Fashion Factory is set to run until 2023 and has industry-wide backing, from companies making British yarns and fabrics – such as cashmere manufacturer Joshua Ellis and woolen mill AW Hainsworth – to some big retailers and brands, including Burberry.

Future Fashion Factory is expected to transform the UK industry’s capacity for new product innovation and create circular fashion technologies that reduce lead times and waste within the design process. The aim is to create a platform through which new technologies and processes can be developed and implemented.

The program’s focus includes developing data analytics and AI tools, and to help designers with decision making. It will also look at where waste is created in the production cycle, and examine ways to close the loop, developing new product designs that minimise waste at the end of product life, and making recycling easier and more effective.

Garment manufacturers in the Philippines want more tax incentives and subsidies. They feel subsidies, particularly for labor and power expenses, will bring down the cost of doing business in the country. In the meantime corporate income tax is being lowered and the tax incentive system is being revamped.

The textile and garment industry used to be competitive globally and was considered a sunrise industry in the 1990s. Export performance, however, dropped since the abolition of textile quotas by the World Trade Organization in 2005. As a result, garment and textile enterprises in the Philippines that relied on quotas underwent difficulties, leading to the closure of factories and downsizing.

Garment manufacturers say once the sector is revived, the Philippines can penetrate more markets, especially Southeast Asia, aside from the United States. One opportunity they see is that neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Myanmar are bursting with orders, have no more space for fresh new production and that this is the time for the Philippines to step in and take the opportunity. The US accounts for 60 per cent of Philippines’ garment exports. The rest are sold to the EU and Asian countries.

During the first nine months of the current financial year, KPR’s revenues increased by eleven per cent. Out of its total revenue, domestic sales contribute 59 per cent and exports 41 per cent. Total production increased by 15.84 per cent.

KPR Mills, based in Coimbatore, has increased its capacity to 115 million garments a year. It has emerged as one of the largest vertically integrated textile players with a presence across the entire value chain, from fiber to fashion. It is one of the largest knitted garment manufacturers in the country.

Its entire yarn capacity has been upgraded to value-added yarn (compact, melange, color melange, PC, slub and grindle yarn). Currently 19 per cent of the yarn produced is consumed captively to manufacture value-added products. Yarn sales contribute around 45 per cent to total revenue.

In fabric production, currently 60 per cent of the production is used for captive consumption to manufacture value-added products. The rest is sold to knitted apparel export manufacturers. Currently fabric sales contribute to five per cent of total revenues.

Key export markets of the company include Europe, Australia and the US. The company has set up a facility in Ethiopia with an annual capacity of ten million garments.

Indorama Ventures (IVL) has completed acquisition of M&G Fibras Brasil, in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Brazil. The Cabo plant manufactures and supplies polyester staple fibre, with total polymerisation capacity of 75,000 ton per annum. This acquisition is the company’s debut into the fibre business in Brazil and is a strategic step forward. It provides IVL a unique opportunity to add capacity in fibres and establish its presence in South America’s largest economy, Brazil.

The acquisition will significantly boost IVL’s presence in the fast-growing market in Brazil, where the domestic demand is expected to grow in response to a recent recovery in consumption. In addition, IVL is well-positioned to expand more into nonwoven applications which are growing strongly in Brazil, supported by the presence of global brands.

IVL has a good track record of successfully integrating acquired business into its operations. IVL anticipates lowering its fixed costs by creating synergies and operating efficiencies, driven by supply chain optimization with the delivery of PTA from a nearby location, and consolidation of its commercial offices by joining with IVL’s PET site.