(Image courtesy of Texintel)

The dye-sublimation process continues to dominate the world’s digital textile printing markets. While dye sublimation is best limited to printing only polyester fibers, its broad use across apparel, home textiles, and soft signage accounts for its extensive volume.

Looking at the bigger picture, the global digital textile printing market size, which was valued at US$2,669 million in 2022, is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.4% from 2023 to 2030 when it will reach US$8,957 million (Grand View Research).

Zooming in on the digital machinery market, it was valued at US$320 million in 2018 and is now projected to reach US$890 million by 2030, at a CAGR of 13.8% during the forecast period (Future Market Insights).

The key takeaway here is that, of this market, it was estimated in 2022 that a whopping 52% of all digital printing used dye-sublimation inks (Grand View Research) making it the largest ink type by usage in the digital textile print sector. Polyester digital print properties such as fine photographic detail, short process time, and top of the range fastness performance make the dye-sublimation method the process of choice for many commercial printers.

This growth and pre-eminence of dye sublimation is also driven by the continued growth of the polyester fabric market which is expected to boom to 149 million tons by 2030, reflecting the growth and popularity of polyester apparel, especially in Asia, as well as the relatively cheap and general availability of PET, the core chemical component of polyester.

Meeting this upturn in growth, the supply chain has had to grow in proportion, with new inks and ink suppliers, and new transfer paper suppliers working with machinery manufacturers to maximize the economic potential of digital dye sublimation.

Faced with such a broad and expanding market sector by 2023, digital print machinery manufacturers responded with a wide range of machinery to suit most budgets and most production requirements.

Autumn 2022:

Epson launched two new SureColor dye-sublimation machines designed for low- to medium-volume printing on textiles and other surfaces.

• The SC-F6400 provides an extended color gamut by offering the use of CMYK, plus a choice of either fluorescent pink and fluorescent yellow, light cyan and light magenta, or orange and violet. This machine was paired with Epson’s first six-color 1,118mm (44-in.) dye sublimation printer, the SC-F6400H, which won a PRINTING United Alliance Pinnacle Product 2022 award,  and opens the door to an expanded range of potential applications for both textile and rigid substrates.
• Also available from Epson is the Industrial SC-F10000 which is engineered to achieve industrial reliability and round-the-clock productivity—all at a low total cost of ownership. Epson’s most advanced dye-sublimation printer to date, the F10000H features six, all-new 4.7-in. PrecisionCore printheads to deliver roll-to-roll performance at speeds up to 255 sq. m/h.

Also in the Autumn of 2022:  

• Mimaki added the TS330-1600 sublimation transfer inkjet printer to its headline 330 Series platform. Enabling both volume production and high image quality printing for the textile and dye sublimation industry. Equipped with new functions to improve stable operation, the TS330-1600 can achieve a print speed of 69 sq. m/h. in high-speed mode, with its fastest mode reaching up to 135 sq. m/h.

• Faster still, from HP, The HP Stitch S1000 at a 126-in. working width is designed to provide rapid turnaround production start-up times and production speeds of up to 2370 sq. ft./h. (220 sq. m/h.). Additionally, it also offers the possibility to double the throughput on substrates of up to 63 in. (1.6m) with a dual roll accessory.

• At Agfa, The Avinci CX3200, printing at 270 sq. m/h. in express mode, produces consistently vibrant high-quality prints on a wide range of polyester-based fabrics for indoor or outdoor soft signage, interior decoration, and fashion items. It can print directly to fabric, which is easy and fast, and ideal for applications such as flags, soft signage, and interiors. It can also print on transfer paper, which is perfect for obtaining super-sharp backlit applications with deep blacks, as well as for handling really stretchy fabrics.
• Also at 126-in. width is the Nirvana Paper from Optimum Digital Planet, which produces at 560 sq. m/h. in draft mode and 340 sq. m/h in production mode. This is Optimum’s flagship printer which has a patented jumbo roll feeding system for reliable high-quality paper printing at high speed. The printer can also be configured for direct-to-fabric printing.
• From Hanrun Paper comes the Hanrun I3200 a 1.8m, 8-head sublimation printer using the self-developed all-aluminum ink stack, which is more reliable and durable. The printer has an automatic constant temperature drying system to ensure that the printing material is heated evenly and has good ink absorption, allowing a vivid and full printing effect.

Beyond these, at the industrial level, where consistent speeds of over 400 sq. m/h. are claimed:

• The EFI Reggiani Next, an industrial beltless digital printer, prints on paper for transfer with four double heads and very brilliant colors. At a width of 340cm, it is capable of speeds in excess of 500 sq. m/h. using 3,000m paper rolls to ensure 24/7 production.
• Also falling into this production volume are the EFI VUTEk FabriVU 340i+ machinery and the MS MiniLario both of which are capable of serving high-volume, long-run textile mills and independent manufacturers

This extensive array of digital textile dye-sublimation printing technology now available, across all volume tiers, reflects the unrivalled commercial opportunities to be harnesses, at all levels for digital dye-sub printing.

The diversity of the dye-sublimation sector and its client base offer many avenues for opportunity—from desktop to start-ups and small e-commerce print providers to large industrial textile manufacturers worldwide.

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