Milan, Italy – The hub for digitally printed fabrics

For centuries Milan and the lake Como region have been the trend setters for fashion and décor industries and a source of innovation in fabric printing. Thus it’s no surprise that the wave of digital printing technology that is emerging in many industrial markets is making significant impact on the region. With its early roots in the 1990’s, inkjet innovations found their way into Italian digital printing systems for fabric by companies like Robustelli. Today, this area is brimming with solutions from companies such as Aleph, F-tex, DURST, Kornit, Regianni, MS Printing systems and more. Over the past decade these innovators developed solutions aimed at producing eye catching fabrics that are on display in catwalks around the world from Milan, New York, Tokyo and Paris.

The dedication by printer manufacturers and digital ink manufacturers such as Kiian, SPG Prints, Sawgrass, Xennia, just to name a few, is now fundamentally changing the landscape of textile printing. From one of the most labor intensive and polluting industries, digital printing is ushering in an area where production efficiency and environmental reasonability go hand in hand. One of the leaders, Miroglio Textiles, attested to this impact by reducing water consumption in digital processes by over 90% and reducing their CO2 emission by more than 25%.

InfoTrends research indicates that about 370 Million square meters of digitally produced fabrics in garment, décor, and industrial applications were manufactured in 2013, and the trend is for more rapid growth in the future.  This is a testament to the impact digital printing technologies have on the textile marketplace. One venue where these technologies were showcased was at the FESPA event in Munich, Germany this past May. FESPA, an end user centric organization, keeps developing events for sharing industry trends and innovation the next one is in collaboration with InfoTrends and other industry leaders this coming October in Milan, Italy. FESPA has organized a gathering of textile experts that will share trends, technology, and innovations that influence the future of digital textile printing.

Hope to see you there,

Ciao…