Leading suppliers of digital printing technology will be making presentations at the first ‘European Digital Textile Conference’ for digitally printed home and household textiles. The conference will be held at the Fair and Exhibition Centre in Frankfurt am Main on 9 and 10 January 2014 and will give the industry a topical overview of the latest technologies, market opportunities, areas of application for mass-printing and sustainable production methods. The event is being organised by World Textile Information Network, an international news and information provider for the textile sector, and Messe Frankfurt.

From the niche to growth magnet

Digitally printed home and household textiles are gaining steadily in popularity whereby printed home textiles have long since developed into a major growth market for the textile industry with a volume estimated at around 12 billion square metres a year or around 40 percent of all printed textiles. The focus of digital-print production is on drapes and net curtains and bed and table linen. For products of this kind, manufacturers can draw on a host of new technologies, processes and production methods. The digital printing machines to be seen at Heimtextil 2014 permit a new variety of textile designs with virtually millions of colour shades. But that’s not all. The advantage of this technology, which is already changing the European apparel sector, is also characterised by greater flexibility and speed, as well as personalised production. New collections with individual patterns can be produced and supplied within two weeks. Therefore, the demand for digitally printed designs is increasing from year to year, especially in the apparel sector.

Declining price differences

But why has digital printing already developed into the norm in the garment sector while it is only just being discovered by the home textiles sector? Dr John Provost, Technical Editor of Digital Textile Magazine and industrial consultant, offered a number of answers in an article at the end of 2012. A role is played by technical progress and economic aspects. Thanks to new digital printing machines, textile manufacturers have been able to increase the previously low rate of production to several hundred square meters an hour. In the garment sector, the consequence for the market has been that the prices of printed textiles have levelled out almost completely, independently of the process used. For home textiles, the new digital-printing technology means manufacturers will be able to produce for the first time and cater for repeat orders comparatively quickly, flexibly and cheaply, even in the case of large minimum order qualities. Besides high-quality drapes and net curtains, the latest trends in the bed and table linen segment are also finding their way quickly onto the mass markets.

Technical progress is the driving force

Besides improved pre and post treatment methods, two technical developments resulted in the decisive step towards higher rates of production: new printing head and printing-ink technology. The latest generation of printing heads is distinguished by high reliability, ease of handling and flexibility in large-scale production. Moreover, modern printing systems use special inks containing pigments or insoluble vat dyes. Thanks primarily to improvements in the inks used, digitally printed home textiles are no longer overshadowed by their supposedly cheaper printed competitors.

Omar Kulka, Director Wide Format Division of Kornit Digital, confirms the importance of modern ink technologies for digitally printing large volumes. “We keep a close track of how new dye technologies are constantly being developed and, for our part, offer our NeoPigmentTM ink system – a robust, flexible and environmentally-friendly process that can drive the transition of home-textile printing into a digital, sustainable and cost effective ecosystem.” The dyes used must be suitable for all textiles, from cotton, via blended fabrics, to linen and silk, washable and environmentally friendly. Oeko-Tex 100 standards apply, for example, to baby and children’s linen. Thus, high quality and prompt availability are the distinguishing features of modern printing inks for digital production.

Complete solutions the key to growth

There are a number of obstacles to overcome to ensure that digitally-printed textiles reach the mass market, says Omar Kulka: “Especially in direct-to-garment and roll-to-roll printing, there are established standards, e.g., from screen and film printing processes, that the industry must adhere to.” Moreover, complete solutions are playing an increasingly important role. Modern systems, such as the Kornit Allegro, can carry out all printing-production stages in one step – from pre-treatment, via printing, to drying – and, according to the company, do so for fabrics of all kinds and with no supplementary steaming or washing. This is the future of digital printing for home textiles and an important step in the direction of mass production.

Hewlett-Packard （HP） has specialised in complete systems especially for wallpaper and other wall coverings. The company’s Latex HP Technology uses water-based inks with a high level of colour fastness and great environmental compatibility. Combined with systems for design and cutting, HP can supply fast printing technology for many backing materials, including textured and PVC-free wallpaper. “There is a trend moving towards unique pieces of work for homes and interiors, and the ability to customise designs is an important differentiator in the home and interior market”， says Terence Raghunath, Business Development Manager at Hewlett-Packard. “Digital printing is the segment that is growing at a rapid rate in the wall-coverings market as more and more designers and manufacturers are adopting digital technology”。