Textile Printing
What is your next textile printing evolution?
Wednesday 27. October 2021 - Interest in the opportunities presented by Direct to Garment (DTG) printing has increased following the pandemic. The global disruption to supply chains encouraged a renewed focus on reshoring and a redefining of sustainable production.
By Axel Stuhlreiter, Head of Textile Solutions, Graphic Communications Group, Ricoh Europe
It encouraged designers to explore the flexibility and creative capabilities fast, responsive, and affordable DTG printing delivers.
These are among the contributing factors driving market growth to £2.31bn by 2023 according to Future Market Insights. Its complete list states:
The growing demand for sustainable printing
Faster adaptability for clothing lines
New emerging technologies in the fabric printing industry
The reduced cost of printing digitally
The growth of ecommerce clothing sales
The influx of creative design in fashion.
New and emerging technologies and the reduced cost of printing digitally are both topics Ricoh will be focusing on at next weeks Innovate (October 25 to 29). At the Ricoh sponsored virtual, 24-hour, five-day, event we will show print innovators how to respond to these drivers. We will help them identify ways to expand their digital textile offering and drive revenue.
Among the new technologies opening up fresh market opportunities is the Ri 1000 Direct to Garment (DTG) printer. It now offers Film Transfer printing capabilities via its new Print Mode White after CMYK. Retrofittable, the option complements the Print Mode White Ink first for traditional DTG printing. Fast and simple, the evolutionary process completes highly creative results quickly and affordably. Using pre-printed designs, foiled images are added to pre-treated garments using heat transfer technology. Designs can be created and stored as Ready-to-Go transfer film for fast utilisation on cotton, synthetic fibre, and many more materials.
The process is particularly suited to materials that are not ideal for DTG such as water repelling surfaces like leather and nylon. It also perfect for synthetic sport jerseys and workwear due to its high fastness at heavy duty washing cycles.
The quality and versatility of other devices in Ricohs DTG range will be showcased, too, including the compact Ri 100. It makes printing a one-of-a-kind T-shirt or bag simple. The Ri 2000 will demonstrate its ability to deliver uncompromisingly high performance, innovative features, and unrivalled value.
Ricoh will present its new DTG inks as well. These are now Global Organic Textile Standard 6.0 (GOTS) compliant and meet worldwide recognised requirements for organic textiles, extending market application possibilities.
There will also be an update on Ricohs new Textile Competence Centre located in Frankfurt Airport. It provides a demo space for Ricohs complete digital textile production portfolio and software solutions.
As a visitor you can your take your time to view the numerous product demonstrations planned, enjoy a library of educational and inspiring videos, and explore an array of creative applications. You can book a one-to-one meeting or ask questions via a responsive live chat function.