Concepts that were just emerging or evolving at a slow pace have suddenly gained momentum, and one such value-added technology is digital textile printing and direct-to-garment printing. The accelerated growth witnessed in this domain is backed by the fast-paced changes in the fashion industry, led by an evolving customer that is looking for a great combination of sustainable solutions and quick deliveries – the two strong pillars of digital printing technology. Players in this segment are grabbing the opportunities to grow and the results are showing. Kornit Digital – an Israel-based digital printing company that clocked US $ 193 million revenues in 2020 – is laying down on-point strategies for the global fashion industry, coming up with solutions that are a perfect blend of technology and sustainability.

Kornit is one of the most respected digital printing companies in the textile & apparel industry with years of leadership dominance as one of the fastest digital printers for direct-to-textile and direct-to-garment printing which keeps sustainability at the centre stage and is focused on eliminating excess inventory through its breakthrough on-demand technology. The company is also among the few digital printing companies that have solutions specifically for the fashion industry unlike other printers that are catering to other industries as well as fashion, hence the R&D is very industry-relevant.

Interestingly, ever since micro-factories have come into existence, Kornit is the only player in the digital printing domain which is aggressively teaming up with fashion manufacturers all over the world to showcase new-age micro-factories where they can imprint designs on various fabrics at the push of a button, accelerate production speed as well as achieve zero water waste by cutting out typical dyeing process. Hence, Kornit’s role is crucial when we talk about on-demand fashion production that leads to a more sustainable environment.

A manifestation of their position as a market leader in the area of fashion is obvious from the fact that Kornit is organising fashion shows all over the world. Its 2021 Tel Aviv Fashion Show grabbed eyeballs as it was touted as the greenest fashion week ever where no bottles of champagnes, no plastic cups, napkins or stirrers were needed! Its Fashion Show + Industry 4.0 event was held from November 2-5 in Los Angeles.

Giving wings to the company today is Ronen Samuel, who has over 20 years of printing industry experience and took responsibility of leading Kornit Digital in these very challenging and competitive times as its CEO in July 2018. In a freewheeling conversation with Team Apparel Resources, Ronen shares Kornit’s plans, new developments, fashion retail market trends, changing manufacturing landscape and shifting consumer preferences. Excerpts from the exhaustive interaction….

AR: What changes have you seen in digital textile printing in the last couple of years? Where is it headed from 2022 onwards?

Ronen: With the rapidly growing needs to providing consumers with endless product variety, customisation options and next-day delivery, the transition to on-demand manufacturing and fast store replenishment has been dramatically accelerating. Digital textile printing is one of the main pillars of efficient on-demand manufacturing value chain and the same has become much more efficient, sustainable and high quality, catering exactly to brands’ needs. Together with the digitisation of additional manufacturing steps, it will continue to impact the world for the better in terms of pollution and water waste, while improving efficiencies across the manufacturing process and answering ever-evolving consumer preferences.

AR: Kornit commits to reduce overproduction of fashion by around 1.1 billion by 2026. What is the strategy when brands are importing more and consumers are still going for fast fashion?

Ronen: E-commerce has accelerated rapidly during COVID-19 and is expected to continue growing even as a huge number of physical stores all around the world are closing their doors. This trend will continue to accelerate further and traditional retail will have to evolve or die. We’ve seen many big, established brands and retailers going out of business since beginning of 2020 because they lacked the online presence and the ability to adjust their retail and manufacturing methods.

Fast fashion is one of the main reason for 30 per cent overproduction in the industry. Fast fashion and traditional retail’s supply chains can’t support the online model and are simply inadequate. 18 months’ supply cycles are practically creating HOPEcast situations where brands are stuck with tremendous inventories, putting pressure on their P&L and massively hurting their profitability, not to mention consumer’s loyalty and satisfaction. Shift to on-demand manufacturing which supports the online business model (close to the end-consumer either on-shore or near-shore) is not an option for fashion brands – it’s a necessity.

Consumer behaviour is also evolving. Consumers are more environmentally conscious and willing to spend extra on items from brands that are more sustainable and community-oriented. We’ve witnessed a demand shift towards higher quality items, purchased with more intent over fast-fashion and low-quality items. This is a trend that started not long ago and is rapidly accelerated due to COVID.

AR: On the technology front, Kornit is considered one of the best printers in the world. What according to you are the best technological advancements incorporated in your digital textile and garment printers…

Ronen: Kornit has always been a technological innovator – catering exactly to evolving consumer needs and shifting market trends. To revolutionise fashion with on-demand production, it will require end-to-end digital transformation. Our mission is to become the operating system for sustainable, on-demand fashion. To become that Operating System (OS), first we are digitising the production floor, converting analog decoration processes like dye-based printing, heat transfer, screen print and embroidery to digital to create a much more efficient and sustainable digital production that enables on-demand and freedom of creativity. We are also working on digitising the entire production floor like warehousing and inventory management, sewing-cutting and media handling.

We’ve recently introduced our brand new MAX technology, currently based on the successful Atlas platform but will soon be launched on the Poly and Presto platforms as well. MAX technology brings the highest quality and durability, impressive productivity, new applications and a sustainable process to digital printing. MAX includes the new XDi technology with the functionality that controls not only colour but provides absolute digital control of colour, form and structure.

This unique technology allows us both to replace analog applications like embroidery and vinyl with digital processes and to enable new, never seen before, applications. MAX technology also includes automation technology which relieves many pain-points of this labour-intense industry and dramatically increases our systems’ productivity.

We’ve also recently acquired the Boston-based Voxel8 with a unique technology of 3D printing on textile. This technology will enable us to enter markets like functional wear, protective gear and footwear.

The second pillar of the OS is KornitX. KornitX is the SW (software) layer of the solution.It’s the engine and the brain behind the operating system, managing every aspect of the end-to-end process, from empowering the front-end steps like design, order management and virtual catalog to smart routing of orders and a network of fulfillers enabling a TRUE proximity production and brand integrity to manage end-to-end from ERP to inventory to print, cut-sew, pack and ship. KornitX will become the standard for on-demand production.

AR: How different is fabric/textile printing from direct-to-garment printing? What’s the recommended method (fabric printing or garment printing) to get better print quality and durability? Does it depend on applications?

Ronen: Kornit’s technology, both direct-to-fabric and direct-to-garment, produce in retail quality with excellent durability. Kornit’s unique and patented process allows manufacturers to print on any type of fabric, even on dark polyesters, with the highest quality and fastness in the industry.

We have recently partnered with threeASFOUR, a trio of transnational designers based in New York City, to produce a collection for New York Fashion Week, incorporating both direct-to-fabric and direct-to-garment technologies to create a unique, one-of-a-kind collection.

In the Tel Aviv Fashion Week, we’ve collaborated with many designers who created a complete collection – from idea to catwalk – in just two weeks and a single dress in one day. Direct-to-fabric is mainly used to manufacture all-over printed items like home décor and fashion. Direct-to-garment is mostly for the decoration of a wide range of finished garments like T-shirts, jackets, pants and many others.

AR: Kornit is very active when it comes to setting up micro-factories in the western part of the world…Is there any similar development in Asia Pacific? How relevant are micro-factories when order volumes are high?

Ronen: We see tremendous potential in Asia-Pacific becoming one of our main growth pillars. Asia’s advanced eCom market pushes the transition to on-demand, sustainable manufacturing in proximity to the consumer. We are in discussion with some of the biggest e-commerce players in Asia who are interested in Kornit’s advanced solutions, both direct-to-fabric and direct-to-garment. Micro-factories can produce items in very high volumes, as we learned from our customers and by partnering with industry leaders like Fashion Enter who manufactures for ASOS in an on-shore model.

AR: Going forward, what are your plans for growth in post-COVID era?

Ronen: We are continuing the great momentum with a goal of US$1 billion revenue in 2026 and becoming the operating system for on-demand sustainable fashion. KornitX is growing to become the go-to solution for brands for on-demand manufacturing. Driving millions of impressions to our network of fulfillers, enabling a sustainable manufacturing in proximity to the end-consumer.Our strategic accounts continue to expand globally with many projects in execution, expressing the trust and strong partnership with Kornit.

We are also focusing our efforts and investments on development to continue and introduce innovative technology to improve efficiency, productivity and sustainability of the manufacturing process and enable new applications.Exciting things are coming… stay tuned!