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[The Note] The influence of COVID-19 on the international textile market: Is the corona virus leading the textile industry to digital maturity?

In recent months, COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, is holding the world in its grip. The effects are felt everywhere, in all countries, industries and businesses. The virus also has some serious consequences for the textile industry. Logically, a lot of people within the industry wonder what impact this pandemic has on the textile market, both in the short as well as in the long run. What does this mean for the market? And for the production of printers and textiles? One certainty is that a lot of things have changed since the rise of COVID-19 in China.

In this blog I will give SPGPrints’ view on some of the consequences of COVID-19 on the textile market worldwide, and why we think this might lead to an increase of digital maturity within the industry. Let's start at the beginning.

[The Note] The value and non-value of comparing colors in digital textile printing ink

An important factor in achieving the best digital textile printing results is the quality of the ink that you use. Choosing the right ink is not a trivial activity, as there are a lot of suppliers and a lot of options on the market. In this blog, I will explain which aspects you have to take into account when selecting an ink supplier. There is a lot more to consider besides simply comparing the base colors and the price per kg.

[The Note] Textile printing speed: promise and reality

As mentioned in my blog about hidden costs in digital printing, printing speed is a factor that greatly influences the cost of digital textile printing. The maximum speed of a printer is often being used as a Unique Selling Point (USP) by printer manufacturers. However, in the long run, it is not the printing speed that is most important; the final printing quality that can be produced is the priority and that determines the printing speed that can be achieved. 

[The Note] The hidden costs of digital textile printing: what to pay attention to when buying a digital printer

Choosing for a digital textile printing solution nowadays means having to choose from a large number of printer manufacturers and ink suppliers. By nature, one of the first characteristics buyers pay attention to is the price of the machine or the ink. Sadly, buyers often only take these price tags into account when they select a machine or an ink, and they forget to look at all the other costs that come with running the machine in a way that accommodates their production volumes. This so called “Total Cost of Ownership” (TCO) is the real thing that matters and that should determine a decision what to buy.

[The Note] Digital textile printing and sustainability: reducing the ecological footprint of printing

Sustainability is becoming increasingly more important in today’s society, even in the more polluting industries. Luckily, new innovations help to make production processes less damaging for the environment. A great example of this is digital textile printing, which innovates the industry of textile printing. But is digital textile printing really less harmful to the environment than conventional textile printing? After all, chemical material is printed on textile, whether the process is digital or not. On top of that, the printed product in most cases still has to be steamed and washed. This is why the ecological footprint of textile printing will not be zero. What can we do to reduce the ecological footprint of textile printing? 

[The Note] Direct sublimation printing: Advanced sublimation printing in terms of quality and sustainability

Awareness around the importance of sustainability is growing rapidly in a lot of industries. The textile industry included. Sustainability is all about meeting society’s present needs, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. In other words: we want to preserve our planet, without having to compromise on quality. Solar panels and electric cars are excellent examples of sustainable solutions. But also in the textile industry, new, more sustainable solutions are on the rise. In the past, sustainability was in practice always linked to the price of it, and expensive sustainable solutions were often not implemented. Now the environment is more on top of mind, the market demands higher levels of sustainability for future generations. In the textile industry, direct sublimation printing is an answer to this new, but pressing demand.

[The Note] Maximize the print performance of your digital textile printer with the new Archer+ technology

Although digital textile printing has helped to increase quality levels, accelerate time-to-market and create completely new business models, there is one important challenge almost all digital printing companies face: maintaining a high and above all stable printing quality. Are you interested in improving your quality levels significantly? The new Archer+ technology of SPGPrints proved to be the solution to this ever-pressing challenge of digital textile printing companies worldwide.

[The Note] Textile printing techniques: the five main types of printing on fabric explained

Printing on textile is a craft that has been practised for decades. Not surprisingly, throughout these years there has been a lot of development in the field of textile printing. From hand-block printing to digital printing: the process of printing on fabric has become faster and more innovative resulting in higher quality textiles. Nowadays, the possibilities are endless. Curious what types of industrial textile printing you can use for printing designs on fabrics? Below we’ve summed up the five main printing types and their most important benefits.