Digital Printing Driving Innovation in Textile Printing
For decades, digital printing for the fashion, décor, industrial, and graphics industry was relegated to sampling and short run printing. With the advantages of innovative inkjet technology, the industry is now addressing the demand for environmentally responsible output, innovative designs, and the need to improve supply chain operation. This article examines the latest textile industry trends and examines the dynamics that digital innovations have on this massive industry supply chain. Innovations in design, digital print, as well as cutting and sewing of textile-based products.
The Textile Transformation
Like many industries, the textile printing market has been changing to adopt new innovative technologies aimed at addressing a new generation of consumers, brands, as well as the supply chain. This massive industry, with over a trillion and a half dollars in annual business value in the apparel and accessories sector, is undergoing a transformation.
Brands must adjust to appeal to a new generation of consumers who shop in both brick-and-mortar stores as well as through online retailers. With the digital age now an economic certainty, brands as well as textile mills must adapt. Many of these changes have evolved in the past decade as early high-speed production digital textile solutions emerged. The changes are impactful in several key areas.
Ron Gilboa is a director of InfoTrends’ Functional Printing and Packaging, and is responsible for conducting graphic communications market research, market forecasting, custom consulting projects, strategy and planning engagements, and creating editorial content for product and market analysis reports. Gilboa has been involved in the graphic arts and publishing industries since 1980. He rejoined InfoTrends in 2013 after the better part of a decade with Eastman Kodak, where he served in executive marketing roles in the Commercial Imaging group. Gilboa's roles at Kodak included vice president of marketing at Kodak’s Production Inkjet group, director of worldwide current marketing and operation, and director of worldwide communications. In these roles Gilboa managed a cross functional team responsible for overall go-to-market including strategy development, marketing operations, and in market execution across the individual regional strategic product groups. Prior to Kodak, he held senior positions as director of the Print On Demand and Publishing Service at InfoTrends (formerly CAP Ventures) and product management at Scitex Corp. Gilboa brings skills and experience in key print industries such as commercial, publishing, packaging, transaction, enterprise, as well as direct customer knowledge in vertical markets. Contact him at (781) 616-2108.
