Digital textile printing is one of the most exciting market opportunity in the print and textile supply sectors with double digit growth across 2016-2021, according to the latest report ‘The Future of Digital Textile Printing to 2021’ by Smithers Pira.
As per the report, the global digital printing market is valued at Euro 1.17 billion in 2016 with growth forecast at an annual average of 12.3 per cent for 2016-2021, reaching Euro 2.42 billion in 2021.
The study pointed that the volume of fabric printed with inkjet equipment will increase from 870 million m² in 2016 to 1.95 billion m² in 2021 at 17.5 per cent CAGR. The greatest acceleration will be witnessed in clothing segment, having key sub-segments of fashion, haute couture and sportswear. However, technical textiles will lose ground slightly, indicative of a lack of visibility of, or focus on, these smaller niche markets.
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Quick turnaround in fashion segment embraced by multiple mini-seasons and print-on-demand delivery models suits inkjet production with its reduced set up times. Furthermore, it is supported by the growing availability of web-to-print platforms. These portals are also enabling “value web” approaches – generating direct online sales of digitally printed clothing.
The report revealed that global textile industry dynamics are changing and the importance of Asian economies continues to increase, though there is also some backshoring/reshoring of production to North America and Europe to ensure quality in high-value applications. The parallel trend of near-shoring, shortening global supply chains, was poised to benefit Turkey, though this is likely to be cancelled or postponed in the short term.
“Growth is continuing at an attractive pace for investors and large corporations. This is witnessed by very important merger and acquisition activity in the past two years, with conglomerates from Japan and the US creating groups of companies,” said Dr. Justin Hayward, author of the report.
