World’s largest Expo for printing including specialist segment for Textile & Garment Printing Technology

Touchpoint Textile Digital Micro factory at DRUPA 24
The textile industry offers cross-industry technologies for many sectors –touchpoint textile brings these companies together providing a space for cross-sector cooperation, new projects as well as product and manufacturing ideas. In cooperation with industry partners DITF (German Institute for Textile and Fiber Research) will set up a digital textile micro factory at DRUPA and, hence, a fully connected, integrated process chain ranging from the buyers’ requests and design through to large-format digital textile prints. Many exciting projects such as the efficient, personalised production of sportswear and outerwear from sustainable materials in one consistent digital workflow or a creative competition for young and upcoming designers feature on the agenda here. Touchpoint textile is supported by renowned partners such as Assyst, Brother, d.gen, the Albstadt-Sigmaringen University, KURZ, Luxion (KeyShot), Mey, Mitwill, Multiplot, Vaude and Zünd.

Looking at the current growth rate of digital textile, and considering that screen printing is still the main solution for garment applications, we recognise the need to bring together manufacturers and suppliers in the printing side of textile. Digital textile printing has been around for over 20 years now but it has never played a major role in this conservative market. There is however a visible shift from analogue to digital taking place in segments such as apparel or home textiles. Various estimates expect a growth of digital textile printing between 6% and 20% in the next decade. A new association can become a global voice for that entire market and can enable growth and strengthen the industry.

ESMA. (European Specialist Printing Manufacturers Association)
Another partner responsible for the lecture programme at touchpoint textile at DRUPA 24 is ESMA. (European Specialist Printing Manufacturers Association) Speakers from research, development, and industry will address questions related to print and finishing technologies, workflows, market developments or sustainability, to name but a few. The focus is also on trends and applications that tap into ever new potentials through the interplay between digital printing and textile print substrates.
ESMA’s target group includes all manufacturers of products used in textile printing workflow (digital or screen). This involves also all products and supplies that support the handling of fabrics (pre- and post-treatment). The textile printing applications can be soft signage (to a lesser degree), fashion, apparel, sports and swimwear, home textiles, technical textiles and home decor. We will focus first on suppliers of products for textile printing, and in the next step on printers, value added resellers and maybe even brands. It is important to cover the whole supply chain involved, in order to maximise the market change. The rapid change in ecological and social awareness impacts textile markets.

ESMA’s engagement in textile printing
As the importance of printing grows, we currently see no textile association which would focus on that aspect. Textile printing is a market with its own dynamics. Applications such as apparel or fashion are transforming to a much shorter supply chain with shifting responsibilities. In general, the market evolves in two directions: cheap production in South-East Asia and high-end smaller series in the Western world
6. The advances in digital printing technology are reaching a tipping point and therefore a dedicated association could offer guidance on several levels: technology, health, safety and legislation advice, as well as business support for diverse applications such as soft-signage, home textiles, fashion, apparel, garment, technical textiles or smart textiles.