Editor’s Note Fabric’s Secret Decorative textiles offer some of the highest growth opportunities, but this adjacent market offers challenges as well. By Denise M. Gustavson It is not a secret that textile printing is one of the biggest growth sectors of the industry. But when it comes to talking about the fabric and textile market, it can mean different things to different people. On the graphic arts side, it might be soft signage, printed using various ink technologies from dye sublimation to latex and, in some cases, UV. For others it might mean decorative textile printing, which would include garment, apparel, fashion, industrial, and home décor printing. These two segments—graphic arts and decorative textile printing—drive digital fabric and textile growth worldwide with the graphic arts segment representing 71 percent of unit placements in 2014 while the remaining 29 percent went to the decorative side. But where’s the real growth opportunity? InfoTrends’ annual Digital Textile Market forecast projected a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39 percent between 2013 and 2018 in digital textile print volume (décor, apparel, and industrial fabrics). That might be hard to believe, but not when you step back and take a look at the market as a whole. According to the InfoTrends, the worldwide textile market is valued at more than $1 trillion and boasts more than seven billion customers. Traditionally printed textiles have the lion’s share—35 billion sqm—while digitally printed textiles represent only 0.8 billion sqm. This segment is ripe for the transition to digital. InfoTrends’ Ron Gilboa highlights the benefits digital printing brings to 4 Wide-Format Imaging | July 2015 www.MyPRINTResource.com GROUP PUBLISHER Kelley Holmes kelley@Wide-formatimaging.com | 800-616-2252 x6104 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Denise M. Gustavson denise@wide-formatimaging.com | 800-616-2252 x6218 Contributing Editors Toni McQuilken Pamela Mortimer Jeffrey Steele Mark Vruno Joann Whitcher CORPORATE OFFICE 1233 Janesville Avenue, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 Phone: 800-616-2252 Account Executives Kimberly Jorgensen x6103 | kimberly@wide-formatimaging.com Paul Zimmerman x6214 | paul@wide-formatimaging.com Media Production Representative Connie Wolf x1679 | Connie.Wolf@cygnus.com Art Director Yuly Osorio x1732 | Yuly.Osorio@cygnus.com CIRCULATION Jackie Dandoy Jackie.Dandoy@cygnus.com 800-547-7377 x1711 For change of address or subscription information, call 877/382-9187, fax 920/563-1704, or circ.wideformatimaging@omeda.com REPRINT SERVICE To purchase article reprints please contact Brett Petillo at Wright’s Media at 877/652-5295 ext.118 or e-mail bpetillo@wrightsmedia.com LIST RENTALS Elizabeth Jackson ejackson@meritdirect.com | 847-492-1350 x18 CEO Paul Bonaiuto President Chris Ferrell CFO Ed Tearman SVP, Strategy & Business Development Blair Johnson VP, Marketing Gerry Whitty VP, Technology Eric Kammerzelt VP, Production Operations Curt Pordes Excecutive Vice President Gloria Cosby VP, Human Resources Ed Wood 2013-2018 Digital Textile Value of Print by Application Garment is the Leading Digital Textile Printing Application with 65% of Print Value Source: InfoTrends this market (i.e. high-definition graphics and more colors, excellent printing definition, unlimited designs and repeats, customization, one-of-a-kind or limited-run premium products, and a wide range of materials), but also cautioned PSPs that it involves more than simply putting in a textile printer and a shingle outside proclaiming you can print on fabric. “Venturing from digitally printed textile sign and display applications into the realm of fashion and décor fabric manufacturing is a quantum leap as it requires not only the right equipment but, more importantly, a strategy, business plan, and a clear understanding of what is driving market demand. Those PSPs that can craft a winning value proposition, as well as invest in technology and partnerships, stand to grow their business and capitalize from this industrial growth opportunity,” said Gilboa. Learn more about the textile market—as a whole—in the article “A Closer Look at Digital Textile Printing” starting on page 12, and then take a deeper dive into the media side of the textile equation in the article “Weaving Dreams” starting on page 14.
Wide-Format Imaging July 2015
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