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Maintaining momentum in home textiles
It has been a rollercoaster couple of years for the digital textile printing market. It endured an unprecedented drop in demand during the pandemic in 2020 only to experience a recovery way above expectations. Now, there are a new set of global challenges proving as problematic as Covid-19. The initial doom and gloom following the outbreak of the virus was short lived. But, in the first half of 2020 the situation was precarious for brands, retailers and print service providers (PSPs). Covid-19 lockdown measures spread West impacting the three key markets of Asia, Europe and North America. Due to lockdowns and the closure of non-essential retail, the digital textile printing market experienced its worst six months on record, according to WTiN . Globally, the market suffered a 47% decline in productivity in the first half of 2020. However, the reopening of consumer nations triggered a surge in demand for digitally printed fabric - indeed textiles of any kind. It resulted, initially, in record breaking growth in H1 2021, but since then challenges have emerged. To put it simply, global supply chains proved fragile and buckled under the weight of the pressure. There is a shortage of shipping containers and HGV drivers, staff shortages have caused backlogs in ports, and fuel and raw material prices have reached record highs. Collectively, this has sparked rising inflation and a global cost of living crisis. All before the start of a war in Europe. Sustainable demand During a crisis there are always winners and losers. An unforeseen effect of lockdown was the willingness of consumers to invest in their homes, both structurally and decoratively. This sparked demand for digitally printed home textiles, thus boosting the application’s market share. In contrast, demand for fashion and soft signage nose-dived as social gatherings and events were cancelled. The digital printing hall remains a recent addition to Heimtextil, but it
Digitally printed home textile products at a previous Heimtextil event
is likely to grow in popularity based on events of the last two years. The digital textile printing market is also benefiting from a shift to more versatile manufacturing and green production. This year, sustainability will be a theme that runs through the event. Organiser Messe Frankfurt has coined the phrase ‘Sustainability.Mindset. Responsibility’. Sustainability is something inkjet technologies facilitate through on-demand manufacturing and lower ink consumption. When analysing the digital textile printing market, pigment inks feature under the umbrella of sustainability. Their green credentials rest in the fact they don’t require pre or post treatments. This means fewer chemicals are used in the printing process; therefore, no water is required to wash the fabric post print. But the fundamental question is how quickly pigment inks will erode the use of reactive dye formulas in the roll-to-roll space? Not long hope environmentalists, a lot of R&D has been spent by leading ink developers on improving the fastness properties of pigment inks. However, they remain noticeably more 2022 looks set to be the year in which full event calenders return. It has been a long two years for OEMs; they have been starved of face-to-face gatherings which often generate sales leads. But despite the absence of events, innovation didn’t expensive than reactives. The return of events
stop and there were a multitude of new product launches in the digital textile printing space, some of these will be promoted at the Heimtextil Summer Special 2022. To illustrate Heimtextil’s growth and prominence, there were just six product groups, 679 exhibitors, 76,000 sqm of floor space and 38,000 visitors at the inaugural exhibition in 1971. Fast forward to 2019 and the same categories totalled 14, 3,025, 238,000 sqm, and 67,500 respectively. The event will likely grow stronger as it accommodates innovative technologies that are proven to enhance interior textiles. Similarly, as home textile applications consolidate a larger share of digital textile printing output, leading OEMs will further prioritise the Frankfurt-based exhibition. But one question to consider is whether home textiles can consolidate the market share it established during the pandemic. Was the spike in demand the beginning of sustained growth for digitally printed home textiles, or just a craze? Maintaining market share could be challenging due to the recovery of the fashion, sportswear and soft signage sectors, but not impossible. India and Pakistan, two high-growth markets for digital textile printing and ones which are renowned for interior textile production, will likely play a key role in the growth of digitally printed home textiles moving forward.
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