Leveraging Interdisciplinary Research for Smarter Fashion
In this interview, Eldy Lazaro Vasquez, a Ph.D. candidate at the ATLAS Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder, an interdisciplinary institute for radical creativity and invention that works to transform ingenious ideas into reality through research, experimentation, and critical thinking, explains how she has invented a machine specifically designed to spin fibers from bio-based materials, with a view toward future scalability. The first material she experimented with was gelatin, leading to a textile publication's title of "Dissolvable Duds." Watch Video
Keypoint Intelligence's Johnny Shell on Digital Textile Production
Richard Romano talks to Keypoint Intelligence's Johnny Shell about trends and technologies in digital textile production. While currently accounting for less than 10% of all textile production, new technologies, consumer demands, and emphases on sustainability are driving more and more interest in digital textiles. Watch Video
Cool Tools at drupa: Mimaki
Mary Schilling chats with Marc Verbeem, Supervisor Product Management, Mimaki, about a greenfield concept for fabric printing, de-inking, and pollution reduction. This video showcases Mimaki's new Neo-Chromato process that transforms sublimation ink into gas for de-inking printed fabric. The technology, which can be applied with a dispenser, holds potential for larger machines and re-inking shirts. Watch Video
Cool Tools: Mimaki at drupa
Mary Schilling keeps on trucking through the coolest tools at drupa with her latest stop at the Mimaki booth to chat with Danna Drion, General Marketing Manager, Mimaki, to discuss how the company collaborates with designers, leverages AI and augmented reality to craft innovative products. They demonstrate printing on diverse surfaces and applications such as cushions and backlit products. Watch Video
Mimaki’s Textile Printing Solutions at drupa
Nick Gawreluk talks with Marc Verbeem, Supervisor Product Manager at Mimaki, about the company’s solutions for textile printing and sustainbability that were on display at drupa 24. Watch Video
Transitioning Digital Printing in the Textile Industry
Nick Gawreluk and Ronen Samuel, CEO, Kornit Digital, talk about the shift from analog to digital printing in the textile industry. They discuss the challenges and opportunities this presents, the evolution of direct-to-garment and direct-to-fabric and software solutions like KornitX for print-on-demand orders. Watch Video
Booth Tour: EFI Reggiani at drupa 2024
Paolo Torricella, Global Textile Segment Specialist, EFI, talks with Eric Vessels about what's new with the EFI Reggiani, which is capable of printing on any fabric. Watch Video
Product Strategy: Kornit at drupa
Guy Yaniv, President, KDEU, of Kornit Digital, talks about the trends they have been seeing in the consumer textiles and apparel market and how Kornit Digital is addressing a shift to on-demand apparel production. Watch Video
Debbie McKeegan of Texintel at drupa
Debbie McKeegan CEO of Texintel joins Cary Sherburne to discuss how Texintel nurtures and supports the next generation of designers within the digital textile industry. Watch Video
Cary Sherburne is Mic'd up and Ready to Roll
Cary Sherburne welcomes you to WhatTheyThink’s best ever studio and flaunts her digitally printed fashion, backdrop and more, all designed by EFI. We’re live in Hall 7! Watch Video
Road to drupa: Kornit's Danny Gazit Previews drupa 2024
Danny Gazit, Chief Product Officer at Kornit, takes part in our Road to drupa series and previews Kornit's presence at the trade fair. Kornit will be in Hall 4 on stand B45, but will also be shuttling people over to a brand new Experience Center in Dusseldorf during the show. Their focus will be on making new announcements related to flexibility, production, quality, and sustainability. Watch Video
Textiles Expert Debbie McKeegan Discusses Personalize/Make/Wear Event at FESPA
In several previous iterations of FESPA, Debbie McKeegan coordinated a Print/Make/Wear event to demonstrate the value of digital textile printing. This year, the event has been renamed Personalize/Make/Wear and will consist of two Smart Factory workflows: direct to garment and direct to fabric. She discusses how the event will work and the partners she is working with. Watch Video
University of Toronto's DREAM Lab Offers Promising Solution for Microplastic Shedding
In this interview with Professor Kevin Golovin, he explains the origin and results to date of landmark research on a coating that prevents more than 90% of microplastic shedding in the laundering process and its future potential as an oil repellant. Watch Video
Matthew Gresge Takes the Reins at SGS & Co.
Matthew is new to SGS & Co, but certainly not to the industry. He explains to Cary Sherburne all the connections that made taking on this new role an excellent opportunity. He talks about their role as an intermediary between brands/retailers and printers/packaging converters, how technology is changing the rules, and why he was excited to learn that SGS & Co was already using AI. And much, much, more. This is a not-to-miss interview! Watch Video
Customer Profile: EFI ecoTERRA Solution Offers Many Benefits for Textiles Printing
In this video, sponsored by EFI, Paolo Torricella, Global Textiles Segment Specialist at EFI Reggiani, talks about the ecoTERRA solution, a water-based printer that can print on any kind of textiles. Watch Video
Mimaki Offers an Integrated Direct to Film Printing Solution
Direct to Film printing is gaining steam and Mimaki has joined the fray. Victoria Harris, Senior Textile Segment Specialist, explains how the system works. Unlike many others in the market, it is a full end-to-end integrated system that provides a faster cycle time and prevents some of the issues print providers have had with multi-phase disconnected systems, including containment of the adhesive powder used in direct to film printing. She also discussed when to use direct to film versus direct to garment solutions. Watch Video
Mimaki's Neo-Chromato Process Enables De-Inking of Dye-Sublimated Textiles
One of the huge sustainability issues facing the textiles and apparel industry is the amount of post-consumer waste, much of which ends up in landfills. Mimaki is working to address this with a pilot project. Its Neo-Chromato Process removes inks from dye-sublimated fabric, resulting in a "clean" fabric that can be reprinted. Mimaki's Victoria Harris explains. Watch Video
SPESA Works to Build Cut-and-Sew Database
One of the biggest barriers to reshoring of apparel manufacturing to the U.S. is the lack of sewing talent. Among its many initiatives, SPESA, the association for suppliers to the sewn products industry, is working to build a database of cut-and-sew operations in the U.S. SPESA President Michael McDonald talks about these and other challenges the sewn products industry—and textiles as a whole—is facing. Watch Video
Raspberry Creek Fabrics Continues to Grow and Diversify
Raspberry Creek Fabrics, located in Utah, produces custom fabrics on-demand using digital printing technologies, a sustainable approach to producing apparel fabrics. The company is also primarily using Western Hemisphere mills, and partners with some local cut-and-sew shops if customers want that service. Also new is an integration with Etsy and a booming wallpaper business. Learn more in this interview with co-founder Justin Rammell. Watch Video
SwagCycle Continues to Deliver Landfill Diversion and Support to Charitable Organizations
In this interview, Ben Grossman of Boston-based Grossman Marketing, talks about his ninth acquisition in a decade, further expanding the company's Southeastern US footprint. He also provides an update on SwagCycle, an initiative dedicated to landfill diversion by arranging donations of unwanted, branded material to a variety of charitable organizations, including those helping with disaster relief, refugees, needy children, and more. Watch Video
BMC.fashion Sees Continued Growth in On Demand Fashion
Kirby Best is a veteran of on-demand, including his days running an on-demand book printing business, and now with a successful cut-and-sew factory in Arizona. Best shares the latest updates, including an exciting project in the bridal industry. Watch Video
Design Lab Miami Offers Sewing Education in Refugee Camps Around the Globe
Angie Cohen founded Design Lab Miami nearly 15 years ago, starting with a studio whose goal was to educate children about sewing, life skills, sustainability, and more. Today, she not only runs the studio, with students as young as 7, but she also travels the globe, primarily visiting refugee camps and developing countries to share those skills with young women, giving them the tools to make their way to a better life. In this interview, Angie shares the Design Lab story and some of her plans for the future. Watch Video
SPESA Speaks: Challenges and Opportunities Facing the Sewn Products Industry
Michael McDonald, President of SPESA, chats with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about the challenges and opportunities facing the sewn products industry, the importance of changing mindsets for brands and consumers and the progress the industry needs to make in automation. Watch Video
ITMA 2023 with Theo Van Bruggen of Optimum Digital
Debbie McKeegan, Texintel CEO and WhatTheyThink contributor, talks to Theo Van Bruggen of Optimum Digital to discover the latest developments for digitally printed textiles using pigment Inks. Watch Video
Exploring the TexCOL Pigment Solution with Klieverik
Debbie McKeegan, CEO at Texintel and WhatTheyThink contributor, talks with Jorg Schuurman and Johan Schenke of KLIEVERIK. They explore the Coldenhove TexCOL Pigment transfer solution, discussing applications, market shifts, and the transfer process using TexCOL paper for natural and synthetic fabrics using Klieverik heat-transfer equipment. Watch Video
EFI Focuses on Sustainability at ITMA 2023
WhatTheyThink's Adam Dewitz speaks with Scott Schinlever, COO of Global Inkjet Business at EFI, about emerging trends in the textile space, particularly the importance of sustainability, EFI's focus on this area, and the launch of their ecoTERRA Solution. Watch Video
Coldenhove Launches the Latest Innovations for Texcol Pigment at ITMA
Debbie McKeegan, CEO at Texintel and WhatTheyThink contributor, talks to Ron Sportel, Manager, Innovation & Development, and Federica Valente, Marketing Manager, at Coldenhove. Texcol Pigment transfer paper was first launched in 2019 and in this short interview they discuss the latest developments for the product and its applications in 2023. Watch Video
SubMFG/SaviCustoms Delivers On-Demand Cut-and-Sew Projects
SaviCustoms has been in business for 20 years, with work previously produced in India. As General Manager Jeremy DeBoer explains, the work was re-shored to San Diego a few years ago. He also started SubMFG as demand grew for on-demand work, and now on-demand comprises almost 50% of the company's work. His story is inspiring, from the perspective of re-shoring, automation, on-demand, and of course, the challenge of hiring talent. Watch Video
ITMA 2023 New Developments and Innovations for Transfer Paper with Coldenhove
Debbie McKeegan, CEO at Texintel and WhatTheyThink contributor, talks to Gijsbert Harmsen, Senior Sales Executive, and Federica Valente, Marketing Manager, at Coldenhove. They discuss the latest innovations recently launched at ITMA for interiors, apparel, and sportswear, as well as market developments and new applications. Watch Video
EFI Reggiani ecoTERRA Solution Provides More Sustainable Direct-to-Fabric Printing
In this video, sponsored by EFI, Paolo Torricella, Global Textile segment specialist at EFI, previews the EFI Reggiani ecoTERRA Solution, the all-in-one solution for pigment printing. It gives customers competitive advantages by cutting the energy and water consumption of the overall process for a more sustainable direct-to-fabric printing experience. Watch Video
ITMA 2023 Simon Daplyn of Sun Chemical on New Innovations and Inks
Debbie McKeegan, CEO at Texintel and WhatTheyThink contributor, talks with Simon Daplyn of Sun Chemical. They explore new innovations for reactive and pigment formulations, their applications and the market trends, and sustainability objectives driving the latest R&D projects. Watch Video
Fiery Digital Factory for Direct-to-Film Applications
Toby Weiss, CEO of Fiery, provides an update on its Digital Factory front end for direct-to-film printing. Weiss demonstrates how the Fiery Digital Factory paired with a Mimaki TxF150-75 DTF printer can be used for short-run apparel applications. Watch Video
EFI Launches End-To-End Digital Printing Workflow for Textiles with Focus on Sustainable Production at ITMA 2023
Debbie McKeegan, CEO at Texintel and WhatTheyThink contributor, talks to Micol Gamba, Product Marketing Manager at EFI, about EFI Reggiani fabric printing solutions. At ITMA 2023 EFI launched new hardware and software solutions that provide end-to-end digital printing workflows for sustainable textile production. Watch Video
Digital Textile Production Goes Mainstream with Kornit Digital at ITMA 2023
Debbie McKeegan, CEO at Texintel and WhatTheyThink contributor, talks to Danny Gazit, Chief Product Officer at Kornit Digital, about the company’s direct-to-garmut and direct-to-fabric digital textile print technologies. At ITMA 2023 Kornit unveiled new platforms to enable more sustainable textile printing and supply-chain management. Watch Video
Mimaki Focuses on sustainability and circularity at ITMA 2023
Debbie McKeegan, CEO at Texintel and WhatTheyThink contributor, talks to Arjen Evertse, General Manager Sales EMEA at Mimaki, about Mimaki’s approach to bringing sustainability and circularity to textile printing. Mimaki used ITMA 2023 to showcase new digital textile printers and new concepts for de-inking polyester textiles. Watch Video
Product Strategy: FUJIFILM Ink Solutions Group at ITMA 2023
Rachel Li, Segment Marketing Manager at FUJIFILM Ink Solutions Group, talks about the advantages of RxD aqueous pigment dispersions from FUJIFILM. RxD aqueous pigment dispersions have a higher pigment concentration to provide higher color strength for fashion, direct-to-garment, home décor, and other textile applications. Watch Video
Kyocera FOREARTH: New Printing System to Be Introduced at ITMA
Kyocera printheads are a popular component of many digital textile printing systems. Now, the company has introduced its own digital textile printer. FOREARTH, which will be on display at ITMA, is the company's first digital textile printing system, a direct-to-fabric printer with inline application of pre- and post-treatments that enable printing on virtually any fabric. Minimal water usage and reduced fabric waste are part of Kyocera's approach to improving sustainability for the textiles industry. Watch Video
Texintel's Debbie McKeegan Weighs in on Textiles' Digital Future
Earlier this month, in Debbie McKeegan's post, she noted that growth in digitally printed textiles is expected at 14.4% CAGR through 2030. Yet it will still represent only about 5% of global production of printed textiles. In this discussion with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne, she explains how younger designers and consumers have the ability to accelerate this growth even more and why it is important for the industry and the planet. Watch Video
Textiles Expert Kerry King Discussed Developments and the Future of Sustainable Textiles
Spoonflower, and its parent company, Shutterfly, originated as digital printing operations, and both have made significant technological advantages, Kerry King, Senior Director, Process Innovation for Textiles & Wallpaper, Spoonflower/Shutterfly, shares her thoughts on the changes and advances we have seen in 2022 in textiles and home decor, and what we might expect to see in 2023 and beyond. Watch Video
Future.Green's FutureCardVisa Promotes Green Shopping Habits
Gen Zer Eunice Jung is passionate about sustainability, and that passion really comes out in this interview, where she explains what is behind FutureCardVisa and how it can help consumers become more aware of their shopping habits, give more consideration to end-of-life for things they buy, and especially in fashion, using rental or resale to extend the life of garments with less ending up in the landfill. Watch Video
FLOCUS Takes a Sustainable Approach to Fibers for Textiles and Other Uses
FLOCUS was founded by Sara Cicognani and Jeroen Muijsers to leverage the unique characteristics of Kapok as a fiber for multiple uses, ranging from stuffing for toys and other soft products to yarns and fabrics. Muijsers, a textile engineer, learned about Kapok about 10 years ago and recognized its role in delivering a more sustainable textile industry and its link to regenerative agriculture for a holistic approach that not only delivers sustainable fibers but also benefits farmers in subtropical countries. Learn more in this informative interview. Watch Video
Regenerative Fashion: An Exit Strategy For Fashion’s Troubled Relationship with the Planet?
Paul Foulkes-Arellano of Circuthon Consulting is an expert in regenerative agriculture and regenerative fashion. In this interview, he shares his thoughts on the future of the textiles industry, and how regenerative fashion is an important element of making the industry more sustainable. And he discussed the link between agriculture and fashion as we move to a more circular economy. Watch Video
Printful Adds Coloreel On-Demand Embroidery for Increased Design Flexibility
Printful, who has 10 factories worldwide producing on-demand garments, is beta testing Coloreel on-demand embroidery. In this interview, Elina Kruze from Printful explains why the company was excited about the ability to offer customers more design flexibility in embroidery. Coloreel CEO Torbjörn Bäck shares his thoughts on how Coloreel on-demand embroidery changes the market and delivers a more sustainable solution. Watch Video
GroupeSTAHL North America’s Carleen Grey on Digital Transfer Materials for Textile Printing
Carleen Grey, CEO of GroupeSTAHL North America, demonstrates direct-to-garment printing with the company’s heat presses, using transfer material digitally printed on an HP Indigo. The 90-year-old company has been transitioning to digitally printed transfer materials for the markets it sells its heat presses into. Watch Video
Epson’s Tim Check on the New SureColor F6470H Dye-Sub Printer
Epson’s Tim Check talks about the new Pinnacle Award-winning SureColor F6470H dye-sublimation printer, the company’s first six-color 44-inch dye-sub. It offers options for fluorescent inks, orange and violet to expand the color gamut, and light cyan and light magenta for photographers and fine artists. Watch Video
Raspberry Creek Fabrics Continues to Grow, Innovate
Raspberry Creek Fabrics, based in Salt Lake City, was founded a decade ago, and has continued to innovate to meet emerging and existing market needs. Co-founder Justin Rammell tells the Raspberry Creek story, shares how automation has dramatically changed their business, explains the recent patent the company acquired, and mentions a move into wallpaper, a new business for them. The company has also established a marketplace for designers to be able to upload and sell their own designs. More coming in the future! Watch Video
Sonora Stitch Factory: Bringing Made in America to Sewn Products
Erica Yngve founded Sonora Stitch Factory a couple years ago in Tucson and acquired two existing businesses. She has about 150 sewing machines to address a wide range of cut-and-sew applications, from apparel and home decor to boat and airplane interiors. Due to the difficulty in sourcing local sewing skills, she has also established a training program for sewists, to benefit both her business and others in the area that require these skills. This is another example of a start-up that is helping to reshore the North American textile industry. Watch Video
Spoonflower and Shutterfly: One Year Later
Today marks the one-year anniversary of Spoonflower's acquisition by Shutterfly. Senior Editor Cary Sherburne interviews Michael Jones, Spoonflower General Manager, to discuss what the acquisition has meant for both companies and their respective customer bases, as well as what he sees happening moving forward. Watch Video
Heidelberg Gallus Begins to Offer its Screeny Silkscreen Program, for Non-Gallus Flexo Presses
Heidelberg Gallus has a long running program that offers silkscreen creation services as well as equipment and consumables for silkscreen creation on their flexo presses. Heidelberg has now opened up that program to the owners of competitors' presses as well. Watch Video
EFI Reggiani Acquires Inèdit
EFI announced yesterday the acquisition of Inèdit, the leading RIP for digital textile printing. The company has been using the Inèdit RIP for some time, and in this interview, Senior Vice President and General Manager Adele Genoni, explains why the acquisition is important to Reggiani. She also notes that EFI will continue to meet commitments with other suppliers that use the Inèdit RIP. Watch Video
Spoonflower and Shutterfly: An Update
In this video, Senior Editor Cary Sherburne speaks with Spoonflower's Kerry King, Senior Director of Process Innovation, about how things have changed for Spoonflower with its acquisition by Shutterfly almost a year ago, how they are adapting to the supply chain and human resources challenges, and her thoughts on whether reshoring of the industry will gain any kind of critical mass. Watch Video
SPESA President Michael McDonald Reports on Texprocess Americas
It's been four years since the last Texprocess Americas show, and according to SPESA President Michael McDonald, a co-organizer of the Atlanta event with Messe Frankfurt, it was an outstanding show, with the exhibit hall and the aisles crowded, and lots of innovation. Watch Video
Coloreel Changing the Face of Embroidery in North America
Ed Levy, Director of Software Technologies at Hirsch Solutions, discusses why customers are excited about being able to dye thread on demand with Coloreel. Hirsch Solutions distributes Coloreel along with conventional embroidery and direct-to-garment digital printing solutions, providing its customers with a wide range of garment decoration technologies. Hirsch has installed a number of Coloreel units in North America and sees significant interest from both existing and new customers in this innovative digital technology. Watch Video
Sourcing Responsibility Network and YESS Work to Improve Sustainability, Human Rights
As the world becomes more conscious of human rights abuses and the impact of carbon emissions on climate, it can be difficult for brands to really understand how these issues are addressed across their entire supply chain. The Sourcing Responsibility Network is working to help brands better understand and address these issues, and the Yarn Ethically & Sustainably Sourced (YESS) initiative is doing so especially as it relates to cotton farming and harvesting. Patricia Jurewicz explains. Watch Video
Digital Printing of Home Decor Items Spurs Growth for Catalyst Fabric Solutions
Founded in 2016, Catalyst Fabric Solutions produces a wide range of home decor items in a quick-turn B2B model using heat transfer dye sublimation with a variety of printer brands. Operations Manager Jim King explains the company's business model and outlook for the future. Watch Video
Ricoh Ups Its Fabric Printing Game with Direct-to-Film Solution
Ricoh has been working to increase the flexibility and capability of its direct-to-garment digital printing portfolio, including the Ri1000 and Ri2000 printers as evidenced by its recent announcement of the ability to add direct-to-film printing to these two printers, which will be on display at FESPA. General Manager of Industrial Printing for Ricoh, Dr. Christian Compera, explains. Watch Video
Graphene One Brings New Functionality to Textiles with Kyorene
Graphene was discovered at the University of Manchester in the UK in 2004 and garnered a Nobel Prize. It is being used in a wide range of industries to deliver unique characteristics but has been relatively slow to enter textiles & apparel. Graphene One covalently bonds the graphene into the Kyorene fiber family, ranging from viscose to nylon to polyester and more. Director of Sales and Business Development Dave Vanek explains. Watch Video
9FIBER Brings Sustainability to Hemp Processing
There has been a great deal of interest in hemp as a renewable source of fiber. But conventional processing uses toxic chemicals and results in a lot of waste. What if hemp could be sustainably processed, using the entire plant and reducing waste materials post-processing—AND could help save trees. Sound too good to be true? 9FIBER doesn't think so! Watch Video
SPESA and Messe Frankfurt Gearing Up for TexProcess Americas in Atlanta
SPESA and Messe Frankfurt are excited to be getting back to an in-person show. This year's event, scheduled for May 17-19, 2022, in Atlanta, Ga., will feature the latest technology for the sewn products industry. In this interview, Michael McDonald, SPESA's president, and Nina McCormick, SPESA’s past Chairwoman and CFO at DAP America, Inc. and the show's largest exhibitor, give us a preview of what to expect. Watch Video
EFI Reggiani TERRA Gold Digital Textile Printing Technology for Prestigious Shroud of Turin Replica Project
When The International Center of Sindonology in Turin, Italy, was seeking a way to create realistic replicas of the Shroud of Turin for distribution to selected churches and museums around the globe, EFI's sustainable pigment-based digital textile printing technology was selected. In this interview, Adele Genoni, Senior Vice President and General Manager, EFI Reggiani, shares the story. WhatTheyThink filmed exclusive video at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, so our members can experience this amazing replica. Watch Video
HeiQ AeoniQ Aims for a More Sustainable Textile Industry
Last October, HeiQ, a company known for its many fabric treatment solutions, announced its first foray into fiber development with a 100% cellulosic filament yarn called AeoniQ. The goal is to be in full production by 2025 and enable the textiles industry to begin to move away from petroleum-based fibers such as polyester. Carmen Danner, Director Business Development, and Enrique Herrero Acero, Chief Technology Officer, provide details. Watch Video
ISAIC Continues to Drive Skills, Innovation for the Sewn Products Industry
In this interview, Jennifer Guarino shares an update on the activities at ISAIC in Detroit, where they focus on innovation and talent development for the sewn products industry. Their unique approach to workforce management has helped attract many young people to the industry, with an average age of 31! Watch Video
Mimaki Continues to Innovate in Digital Textile Printing
In this interview, we catch up with Victoria Harris, Senior Textile Segment Specialist, Mimaki USA, who updates us on the latest developments from Mimaki for textile printing, from a new entry-level dye-sub printer to its unique dual-ink model, and more. She also talks about changing demands in North America as brands look to mitigate the supply chain issues driven largely by the pandemic. Watch Video
BMC.fashion Brings Ultra-Automation to Apparel Manufacturing
In this interview, Kirby Best talks with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about his latest venture, BMC.fashion. This vertically integrated and highly automated factory will include two Kornit digital textile printers, Gerber cutting, and 120 sewing stations. Kirby explains how he has applied all that he has learned over the years about on demand manufacturing to create a unique, highly automated and very innovative factory, including a unique process for training sewing talent that should make it easy to attract and retain this valued asset. Watch Video
King Pro: Custom Screen Printing with a Personal Touch
Dani Diarbakerly has leveraged her experience with screen printing into her own business. She offers a wide range of screen-printed apparel products including direct to garment, screen printing on blanks, and a cut-and sew operation, as well as embroidery. She believes the best approach to the business includes a personal touch to make sure that customers receive exactly what they are expecting, including design assistance where needed. Watch Video
Lux Research 2022 Foresight Report: Implications for Textiles and Apparel
In this conversation, Lux Research Senior Research Associate Tiffany Hua discusses the Lux Sustainable Innovation Model and identifies key elements that are applicable to a more sustainable future for textiles & apparel. Watch Video
Coloreel Explained
In this conversation with Mattias Nordin, SVP of Business Development for Coloreel, he explains how their on-demand thread coloring technology works, the benefit of coloring thread for embroidery on demand and talks about a recent sale of 10 units in Portugal. Watch Video
Why Limited Color Palettes are Important in Textile Printing
Mike Scrutton, Director, Print Technology and Strategy at Adobe, discusses how color management is different between commercial print and textile printing, and why limited color palettes are used in the latter. He offers advice for designers to consider when creating designs for textile printing in order to ensure design intent is met in production. Watch Video
Adding Textile Printing to the Mix? What You Need to Know about Color Management
In this interview, industry expert and Print & Packaging Portfolio Manager for X-Rite/Pantone Ray Cheydleur shares his thoughts on considerations for commercial print or display graphics companies who wish to add more textile printing to the mix, especially as it relates to good color management techniques. What's different, what's the same, and what types of instrumentation and processes work best for each. Watch Video
Curious About the Latest Research in Mask Efficacy?
Bryan Ormond, a professor at the Wilson College of Textiles, and his team received a grant from the CDC to take mask research to the next level. He explains it all in this video and also explains that you may be safer wearing different mask types in different conditions. We'll be back in touch with him as the research proceeds! Watch Video
Debbie McKeegan Reports from FESPA
FESPA is back to in-person in Amsterdam and according to textiles expert, FESPA evangelist, and WhatTheyThink contributor Debbie McKeegan, the show has been packed! Debbie takes us on a tour through Printeriors, where fabulous digitally printed and sustainable interior designs are on display. She notes that in the two years since the last in-person FESPA, she has seen a growing interest in sustainable fabrics and printing technologies, with many attendees wanting to know where and how to access and/or produce the types of materials on display at the show. Watch Video
SwagCycle Aims at Landfill Divergence
Every year, tons of unwanted materials end up in landfills around the globe. SwagCycle, founded by Ben Grossman of Grossman Marketing Group, is a platform that matches donors with recipients for materials that can be re-used or recycled, giving them a second life and keeping them out of the landfill. This includes such things as donations to charities like Dress for Success and Boys & Girls Clubs to finding ways to use ground up materials in insulation, mattress stuffing, carpet pads and more. Ben shares the details in this video interview. Watch Video
SPESA Gears Up for In-Person Executive Conference in Boston
In this conversation, Michael McDonald, President of SPESA, shares insight into what attendees can expect at the organization's upcoming Executive Conference, 27–28 October in Boston. He also discusses the challenges the sewn products industry is facing in a wide ranging conversation, from workforce development to supply chain to reshoring and more. Watch Video
EFI Reggiani Launches Third New Digital Textile Printer in 2021
The EFI Reggiani R&D team has been busy, despite the pandemic constraints. The recent launch of the EFI Reggiani HYPER, which EFI categorizes as the fastest multi-pass digital textile printer on the market, has already seen good success. Senior VP and General Manager Adele Genoni talks with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about EFI Reggiani's 2021 product launches, the company's FESPA plans, and the general state of the market as digital textile printing continues to gain share. Watch Video
AATCC Announces New Fiber Fragment Testing Standard
In this interview, Heather Elliot, previous chairperson of AATCC's RA-100 Committee and working for one of fashion's major brands, explains the role of the committee and what its fiber fragment measurement standard is designed to do. Our viewers may have heard the term microfibers, with respect to their contribution to pollution when they are shed during home laundry. Heather explains why they prefer not to use that term, and also provides suggestions about how consumers can minimize fiber fragment shedding as they think about how they launder their clothing. Watch Video
Shutterfly and Spoonflower Execs Talk about the Acquisition
When Shutterfly announced it was acquiring Spoonflower, we sort of said to ourselves, well, that makes sense. Now, Michael Jones of Spoonflower and Dwayne Black of Shutterfly share the entire story with our viewers—how the acquisition benefits both companies and their respective customers as well as the industry at large. An exciting move! Watch Video
From B2B to B2C: The Challenges
Kristen Dettoni founded Design Pool in 2019 as a B2B initiative targeting interior designers with an extensive design library and a network of printers who could execute their projects. During the pandemic, she launched Domanda Designs, a B2C initiative. In this conversation, she discusses some of the challenges with gaining mindshare in a B2C environment and what she is doing to counteract those. Watch Video
EILEEN FISHER Renew Seeks to Extend Apparel Life Cycle
Cynthia Power, Director, EILEEN FISHER Renew, describes the various ways the brand is taking back, reselling, and upcycling garments as well as recycling efforts to reduce the amount of textile waste in landfills. She'll be discussing this as the upcoming Smithers Digital Printing for Textiles conference as well. Watch Video
New Yarn Production Process Designed to Minimize Shedding of Microfibers
Fernando Marin founded Clean Ocean Fiber Tech to develop a new way of making yarn that significantly reduces, or even eliminates, microfiber shedding, a huge environmental issue. Laboratory tests in Brazil reveal that the Clean Ocean Fiber Tech fabric shed only 4 microfibers during the test, while standard fabric shed over 7,000 with a similar sized sample. Watch Video
The Promise of Pigment Inks
Dupont has been involved in production of inks for inkjet printing for more than 30 years. In this conversation, Eric Beyeler, Global Marketing Manager for Artistri® Digital Inks at DuPont, talks about their history, how their inks are distributed, and the promise of pigment inks for both commercial/packaging and textile printing. Beyeler will be speaking in more detail on this topic at the Smithers Digital Textile Printing US conference on June 30th. Watch Video
Home Decor to Take Center Stage at Smithers Digital Print For Textiles
Michelle Courtois is an experienced design professional with a passion for textiles, product development, and technology. While she started in apparel and has worked with many well-known brands, she is shifting her focus to home decor -- a booming opportunity as more people are choosing to continue to work from home and to spend more time and energy making their homes reflect their style and lifestyle. Michelle talks about the projects she will present at the conference and where she sees the home decor market going from here. Watch Video
EFI Reggiani Adds Ease of Entry Printers, Localized Ink Manufacturing, to Portfolio at ITMA Asia 2021
Adele Genoni, EFI Vice President and General Manager at EFI Reggiani, joins Senior Editor Cary Sherburne to talk about the company's first in-person presence at a major trade event since the pandemic began. At ITMA Asia 2021, EFI Reggiani is launching two new ease of entry digital textile printers and teasing a third that will be launched later in the summer. Watch Video
First Place Winners of the AATCC Concept 2 Consumer Student Merchandising Competition Discuss their Project and their Futures
For the 2021 AATCC Concept 2 Consumer® Student Merchandising Competition, AATCC received nine entries, with 19 students participating from five colleges and universities. In this video, we interview Evietta Chapman and Keaton Springer, the first place winners with their Circular Edit project. They talk about why they are choosing careers in textiles & apparel, what their project consisted of, and what their plans are after graduation in June of 2021. Watch Video
bluesign: Making Inroads on Increased Sustainability in Textiles & Apparel
With textiles & apparel being the second largest contributor to pollution, behind the petroleum industry, everything we can do to minimize that is important. In this discussion, Reinhard Umber of bluesign discusses the extensive process the company's partners must undergo to be able to use the prestigious bluesign logo and become a system partner. Watch Video
SAI-TEX USA Brings Sustainable On-Demand Denim Apparel Manufacturing On Shore
With a goal to ultimately employ 300 people, and with some very unique and sustainable ways of washing, preparing, cutting and sewing denim products, SAI-TEX USA is not only playing a substantial role in reshoring of apparel manufacturing, but has also introduced benefits of on-demand production to this product category. SAI-TEX USA President Kathy Kweon explains. Watch Video
The Fabric of Frank’s Life
Frank excitedly recommends a new book called “The Fabric of Civilization” by Virginia Postrel. He learns that the words “text” and “textile” some from the same root, and the “Stone Age” is misnamed. He ties it all together with a letterpress press used by the Folly Cove Designers to print fabric. Watch Video
New Entrants Bring New Ideas to On-Demand Manufacturing in Textiles
In this video, Marleen Vogelaar, who has a background in 2D and 3D printing, explains why she decided to enter the apparel industry with her company Ziel, and what the objectives and future plans of the company are, including stimulating on-demand manufacturing of apparel, and developing a software infrastructure that makes the process easier for manufacturers. Watch Video
Textiles, Sustainability, and Circularity: It's Not as Straightforward As You Might Think
Marci Kinter, Vice President of Government & Regulatory Affairs for PRINTING United Alliance, talks about the issue of sustainability and the circular economy as it affects the textile industry and the need to reexamine the supply chain to create a more environmentally conscious industry, especially in light of its fragility as exposed by the pandemic. Watch Video
There's an Urgency to Fixing the Textiles & Apparel Supply Chain
John Thorbeck of ChaingeCapital.com has been working with Stanford University on a number of sustainability issues relative to the textiles and apparel supply chain. In this interview, he communicates a sense of urgency for brands to implement programs that reduce inventory risk, freeing capital for necessary changes in the supply chain. It's a fascinating don't-miss conversation! Watch Video
Textiles Expert Lewis Shuler Talks About the Analog-to-Digital Transformation Underway in Textiles and Apparel
Lewis Shuler has worked at several well-known apparel brands and also spent 10 years working in China. He has tremendous insight to share about the current state of the industry and what it will take to accelerate both the analog-to-digital transformation and re-shoring of manufacturing. He also shares his thoughts on emerging technologies such as solid color spray dyeing. Watch Video
Runway Kit: Making Manufacturing Easy for Designers and Entrepreneurs
Runway Kit, a subsidiary of Sri Lanka-based MAS Holdings, was established in mid-2019 with the goal of providing professional manufacturing support to designers and entrepreneurs. Either starting from basic provided designs or from the ground up with a custom design, Runway Kit works with designers to create professional quality tech packs to enable manufacturing with them or with another manufacturer, with minimum order quantities as low as 100. Nethmi Wickramasuriya, Digital Launch Entrepreneur, explains. Watch Video
Domanda Lets Consumers Apply Professional Designs to Almost Anything
Kristen Dettoni founded Design Pool as a way to make her textile designs available to other designers and developed a network of printers who can execute those designs. More recently, she founded Domanda, an online store that enables consumers to use professional designs on a wide range of home goods. She talks about why she started these businesses, what she has been able to achieve, and how the pandemic has affected the demand for these types of services, especially in home and commercial decor. Watch Video
Banner Year: A Conversation with AATCC's Incoming President
Harrie Schoots is taking on the volunteer role of President of AATCC in the year the association turns 100. In this conversation, you'll learn more about Harrie, his goals and objectives for 2021 for the association, and see the energy and innovative thinking he will bring to the organization. Watch Video
Brother's Rick Frye Talks Sewing Automation
Sewing is often referred to as the "last mile" in the manufacture of sewn goods in terms of an overall automated workflow. Huge progress has been made in the level of automation, and an operator can be quickly trained to execute sewing of some types of items. But the fine work of sewing apparel is still out of reach. Rick Frye shares his thoughts about the current state of sewing automation, and describes Brother's new Bridge sewing technology. Watch Video
Mimaki Brings Digital Textile Printing Versatility to North America with Hybrid Fabric Printer
Victoria Harris, Textile Specialist at Mimaki USA, discusses the Mimaki TX300P-1800 MKII hybrid printer, which easily switches between pigment ink printing for direct to fabric and dye-sublimation inks for printing on heat-transfer paper, as well as other digital textile printing solutions from Mimaki. Watch Video
EFI Reggiani BOLT Wins an InterTech Award
Adele Genoni, General Manager of EFI Reggiani, talks to Cary Sherburne about EFI Reggiani’s BOLT being awarded an InterTech Award—the first textile product to win an InterTech Award. Watch Video
OnPoint Manufacturing and Gerber Join Forces to Launch Eloise.Fashion
Entrepreneur and innovator Kirby Best has been working with Gerber to make on-demand fashion design and manufacturing tools more accessible to designers and brands, especially smaller organizations that have found the cost of these tools to be a barrier. The result is Eloise.Fashion, where designers can leverage tools and technology to create designs, prepare them for manufacturing, and connect with manufacturing facilities such as OnPoint Manufacturing. Kirby explains it all in this video. Watch Video
How ISAIC Is Moving the Textiles Industry Forward
Jennifer Guarino, CEO and Chair of the Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center (ISAIC), based in Detroit, explains the multitude of programs the organization has in place to attract and train new industry talent, manufacture sewn goods such as masks and gowns, T-shirts, sweatshirts, and more, and to implement the newest technologies. Watch Video
Ricoh Ups Its DTG Game with the Ri-2000 Printer
Christian Compera, Deputy General Manager, Industrial Print Business Group, Ricoh, shares his thoughts on the digital printing opportunity in textiles, why Ricoh chose to enter the direct-to-garment (DTG) space, the family of printers it now offers, and where Ricoh may go in the future with regard to digital textile printing. Watch Video
Fabscrap Founder & CEO Jessica Schreiber Talks Sustainability
And she's doing a lot more than just talking. Schreiber participated on a Smithers Digital Textile Printing Conference panel, sharing her thoughts on recycled fabrics, textile waste and sustainability. In this video, she explains how Fabscrap is working in a number of creative ways to minimize the amount of fabric waste that goes to landfills. Watch Video
Digital Technology Changing the Face of Fabric Printing
At the Digital Textile Printing Conference hosted by Smithers, Jena Nesbitt, Product Strategy Director for Oregon-based Pine Crest Fabrics, presented a session on how digital printing has affected the ability of small manufacturers and direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands to develop trend right textile designs quickly and inexpensively. In this video, she talks about how digital printing technologies have changed the game for her business and her brand owner customers. Watch Video
Springs Creative Team Shares Latest Developments for Designers and Brands (Part 2)
In part 2 of this video interview, Kathryn Lawrie, Kathy Phillips and Cathy Valent share more of the latest developments at Springs Creative, including new acquisitions for its Baxter Mill archive, an increased focus on fabrics and designs for home decor, and its ability to help designers and brands find inspiration when traveling around the world to find new ideas has become difficult during the pandemic. Watch Video
Lilly Pulitzer Increases Agility, Reduces Lead Time with Digital Technologies
Margaret Getty, Senior Associate, Woven Fabric and Trim, for Lilly Pulitzer, shares the company's founding story and talks about how it has evolved over the years, most particularly, how digital design and print technologies have helped the company carve significant cycle time out of its go-to-market process. Watch Video
Springs Creative Team Shares Latest Developments for Designers and Brands (Part 1)
In the first part of a two-part video interview, Kathryn Lawrie, Kathy Phillips and Cathy Valent share the latest developments at Springs Creative, including new acquisitions for its Baxter Mill archive, an increased focus on fabrics and designs for home decor, and its ability to help designers and brands find inspiration when traveling around the world to find new ideas has become difficult during the pandemic. (Look for part 2 of this interview next Monday, 11/02.) Watch Video
AATCC Update: What's New and What's Coming
AATCC Executive Vice President Diana Wyman shares the latest AATCC updates, including initiatives that will be considered at the association's November virtual committee meetings, the availability of a PPE monograph on efficacy of various types of masks, sustainability, and more. Watch Video
Softwear Automation Sewbots: The Future of Apparel Manufacturing?
The sewing process has often been described as the "last mile" of apparel manufacturing automation. In this interview, Palaniswamy "Raj" Rajan, Chairman & CEO, Softwear Automation, talks about how sewbots, and in particular the sewbots the company is manufacturing, have the ability to automatically manufacture T-shirts today in amazing quantities, with a few toward being able to expand this capability to other apparel types in the future. He also shares projections about when the technology will be more commercially available. Watch Video
Innovations in Textiles: Viscose Made from Recycled Cotton
Lux Research Analyst Anthony Schiavo reports on the work being done by Europe-based Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research and Swedish company re:newcell to create viscose filament yarns from recycled cotton, a process that can help reduce textile waste that ends up in landfills and improve the industry's sustainability. These yarns, he says, can be seamlessly inserted into existing fabric manufacturing processes in place of viscose fibers created using a less sustainable process. Watch Video
Saint Louis Fashion Fund: Driving the Fashion Industry Forward
Susan Sherman, Co-Founder and Former Board Chair of the Saint Louis Fashion Fund, and Jon Lewis, who heads up Evolution St. Louis—a knit manufacturer— joined Senior Editor Cary Sherburne to discuss how the Saint Louis Fashion Fund is helping revitalize the fashion industry in St. Louis, once a fashion hub. The Fund also attracted Evolution and its advanced 3D knitting capabilities to the city. Watch Video
Sewing Automation: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Going?
Frank Henderson of the Henderson Sewing Company is the third generation running this family business and has been doing so for the last 40 years. He has an extensive amount of experience to share, including what's being done to accelerate reshoring of manufacturing of sewn products, how his company interacts with others in the industry to create innovative workflows, and what he sees as future developments in sewing, robotics, and workforce development. Watch Video
Tailored Industry: Revitalizing Knitting in Brooklyn
Alex Tschopp founded Tailored Industry with the vision of using 3D knitting machines to produce knitted garments on demand. After a period of educating brands and retailers about they benefit of on-demand production, they are now starting to take advantage of the service. He talks about progress to date and plans for the future. Watch Video
Michael McDonald Shares Insights on Current and Future Sewn Products
Michael McDonald, President of Sewn Products Equipment and Suppliers of the Americas (SPESA), provides background on the organization and discusses the latest developments in cut-and-sew automation with an emphasis on the "last mile" of sewing. He also discusses the need to attract new talent to the industry and cites some of the activities that are helping to do so. Watch Video
Pete Santora Shares Insight into the Future of Apparel Automation
Pete Santora has been working across a variety of industries to examine how automation can help reshore manufacturing and strengthen supply chains, especially post-pandemic. He shares his thoughts on automation in textiles and apparel in this video interview. Watch Video
How Will the Pandemic Affect the Global Textiles & Apparel Supply Chain?
The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare many frailties in the global textiles and apparel supply chain but may also be a driver for brands, retailers and manufacturers implementing significant changes as we move into the post-pandemic "new normal," according to textiles expert Debbie McKeegan. Watch Video
Debbie McKeegan Talks Textiles Sustainability
Debbie McKeegan, textiles expert and CEO of Texintel, shares her thoughts on how digital technologies can help ameliorate the huge sustainability problem facing the textiles and apparel industry, suggesting that coming out of the pandemic, there may be unique opportunities to change operating practices. Watch Video
EFI’s Adele Genoni Identifies Today’s Textile Trends
Adele Genoni, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EFI Reggiani, talks to Cary Sherburne about the most important trends in textiles as the industry continues its analog to digital transformation—including sustainability, data management, and AI and technical textiles. She also provides an update on EFI BOLT installations. Watch Video
David Gross of Conde Systems Explains How Easy and Affordable It Is to Enter the Product Decoration Market with Heat Transfer Dye Sublimation
David Gross of Conde Systems explains how his passion for heat transfer dye sublimation has grown into a highly diverse business that provides everything customers need to decorate just about any product, not only creating and producing items but helping them with marketing strategies as well. Users can enter this market with a minimal investment. Watch Video
Carolina Textile District Helps Match Entrepreneurs to Textile Manufacturing Resources
Tanya Wade explains how the Carolina Textile District acts as a matchmaker for companies and entrepreneurs interested in textile manufacturing in the U.S. to connect them with the necessary resources. Through an online application process, manufacturers, mills, pattern makers, and others can quickly review requests and determine whether to participate. Watch Video
American Color Imaging Adds Dye-Sub Products with Two HP Stitch Digital Textile Printers
Mark Lane, President & CEO of American Color Imaging, describes the company's journey from a portrait photo studio and wet photo lab to a digital operation that includes two HP Stitch digital textile printers for production of personalized blankets and other textile-based photo products. Watch Video
Print. Make. Wear. An Expanded Presence Planned for FESPA 2020
Debbie McKeegan, Textile Ambassador for FESPA and organizer of the event's Print. Make. Wear. exhibit, explains how the exhibit showcases technologies that are changing the future of manufacturing in textiles and apparel. She notes how the exhibit will be expanded for FESPA 2020 in Madrid. Watch Video
Adobe's Mike Scrutton Provides Updates on the Latest Adobe Textile Designer Developments and Adobe's New Design to Print Solution
Mike Scrutton, Adobe's Director of Print Technology and Strategy, brings our viewers up to date on the latest developments with Adobe Textile Designer. He also explains his participation in judging the SGIA Golden Image Awards, with entries including everything from banners, to signage, to prints, including full-color wedding invitations printed on slate! He also notes the launch of Adobe Design to Print, making it easier for designers to visualize how a design will actually look when manufactured. Watch Video
Can the "Last Mile" of Manufacturing—Sewing—Be More Automated? Frank Henderson Says Yes
A third-generation family-owned company in business for 50 years, Henderson Sewing Machine Company has changed with the times, according to CEO Frank Henderson. With sewing—the "last mile" in textile manufacturing automation—still requiring significant manual labor, Henderson talks about the challenges of automating textile sewn products and the progress that is being made. Watch Video
Shimmy Into the Workforce of the Future
Sarah Krasley, CEO of Shimmy, talks about the company's efforts to help with workforce education in the textiles industry through gamification. Initial efforts have been in Asia, but the company is also looking to bring its unique technology to North America as well. The goal is to help workers adapt to changes in the industry driven by new technology and automation. Watch Video
Scott Schinlever Presents an Overview of Gerber Technology's Role and Strategy in the Textiles and Apparel Market
Scott Schinlever, President and Chief Operating Officer of Automated Solutions for Gerber, discussed the company's strategy and how its acquisition of MCT fits in to the overall integrated ecosystem, from design to the cut piece. This positions Gerber and its customers to play in the fast fashion and microfactory initiatives that are gaining steam in textiles and apparel. Watch Video
U.S. Department of Commerce Sees Textiles as a Good Case Study for Reshoring Manufacturing
Lloyd Wood, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles, Consumer Goods and Materials, U.S. Department of Commerce, was a speaker at the recent SPESA Executive Conference and took time to share his thoughts about what the Department of Commerce is doing to help the textiles and apparel industry be more competitive. Watch Video
Debbie McKeegan Talks about a Holistic View of Sustainability in Textiles and Apparel
Senior Editor Cary Sherburne chats with Debbie McKeegan, Founder and CEO of Texintel, a UK-based advisory service focused on the textiles industry, about her perspective on making the textile industry more sustainable across the entire value chain. Watch Video
SPESA Executive Conference Addresses Issues Affecting the Sewn Products Industry: Trade, Workforce, and More
Michael McDonald, President of SPESA, the Sewn Products Equipment Suppliers of the Americas, discusses the challenges facing the Sewn Products industry, including misconceptions about employment in manufacturing that can be a barrier to attracting new talent. He discusses the role of the organization's Executive Conference, explains what attendees learned, and noted that James Carville, known as the Ragin' Cajun and a native of New Orleans, where the conference was held, was the keynote speaker. Watch Video
Small Business Administration Targets Textiles and Sewn Products as Biz Dev Case Study
Chris Pilkerton, Acting Administrator of the United States Small Business Administration, talks with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about his experiences with companies in the textiles and sewn products industries, especially their use of Maker Spaces to make resources more available to small businesses while also doing good for the community. It becomes a case study that can inspire other industries to adopt similar strategies for success. Watch Video
Meet the EFI BOLT Digital Textile Printer
EFI's Textile Product Manager Micol Gamba walks us through the capabilities of the EFI BOLT single-pass digital textile printer in this video sponsored by EFI. As the world's fastest digital textile printer running at up to 90 meters per minute, the EFI BOLT was shown running at the recent ITMA trade show in Barcelona and four units had already been sold at that time. Watch Video
Keypoint Intelligence on Textiles
Keypoint Intelligence - InfoTrends’ Ron Gilboa talks about the different kinds of textile printing applications and how print service providers can add more value for their customers by getting into textile printing. Watch Video
A Green Approach to Textiles
EFI Reggiani's Vice President and General Manager Adele Genoni discusses the progress of the analog-to-digital transformation underway in textiles and apparel in this video sponsored by EFI, including the benefits for brands and for the environment. She highlights several EFI offerings that make its approach to textile production greener. Watch Video
How the Digital Ecosystem in Textile Production Streamlines Operations
In this video sponsored by EFI, the company's Chief Revenue Officer Frank Mallozzi explains EFI's "ecosystem" approach to the markets it serves, focusing on the components that create an inspiration to production, shipping, and invoicing for textiles. He also outlines the range of EFI Reggiani printers available, from the entry-level Next to the EFI BOLT at 90 meters per minute at the high end. Watch Video
Application Development Is the Key to Spurring Digital Textile Printing Growth
Roman Barba, Market Development Manager, Textiles, for HP says, "When you buy a printer, it's not about the printer itself—it's what you can do with it." This philosophy is a key to HP's application development efforts in sportswear, fashion, decoration, and soft signage. Barba explains how HP approaches each of these markets from an application perspective in this video sponsored by HP. Watch Video
HP Makes Color Management Easy with HP Stitch Series Textile Printers
Joan Jorba, Textiles R&D Engineering Manager at HP, explains how HP has implemented color management for its HP Stitch S Series dye sublimation printers in this HP-sponsored video. He reports that the goal was to make color management easy, even for users who have limited color knowledge, and to ensure accurate color across fleets and with hybrid analog/digital production. Watch Video
Tim Williams Explains How Color Solutions International Helps Improve Color in Textiles and Apparel with Certified Color Standards
Color Solutions International Tim Williams provides background on the company and the value it brings to the textile and apparel supply chain. This includes integration with Datacolor's ColorReader PRO and Adobe Textile Designer. He notes that 30% of colors are from the company's ColorWall which has nearly 10,000 colors available, and 70% are custom colors requested by brands. Watch Video
HP Smart Services Improve Uptime and Productivity in Textile Printing
Joan Carol, Services Segment Manager, EMEA, discusses HP Smart Services for textile printing in this video sponsored by HP. He shares how the system works for both predictive and responsive service and leverages HP's large global service footprint for fast response when needed. Watch Video
Datacolor ColorReader PRO Can Shrink Color Acquisition and Approval from Weeks to Days or Hours for Textile Designers
Datacolor's Ken Butts explains the importance of its new ColorReader PRO in the overall textile and apparel design process, enabling designers to quickly and easily acquire color data from inspiration items that can be passed along the rest of the supply chain. The ultra-portable colorimeter also links to CSI ColorWall color libraries. It is also integrated with Adobe Textile Designer. Watch Video
Katelyn Lee of Cotton Incorporated Discusses Preparation of Cotton for Digital Printing
Katelyn Lee, Textile Chemist at Cotton Incorporated, explains how cotton, as a natural fiber, can be processed in the carding, spinning, and woven fabric preparation to prepare it as a good surface for digital printing with pigment or reactive inks. She also identifies developments the industry should be focusing on to make the process more effective and sustainable. Watch Video
How HP's PrintOS Helps Move Digital Textile Printing Forward
HP launched PrintOS for commercial print and packaging three years ago. Now HP has migrated this cloud-based production management solution to its new textiles business as well. In this video sponsored by HP, Jan Panek, Worldwide Software Solutions Senior Product Manager, explains how it helps textile printing operations be more efficient. Watch Video
Mimaki Continues Expansion of Digital Textile Printing Portfolio with New Product Launches at ITMA
Mimaki's Ronald Van Den Broek talks about what's new with the Mimaki digital textile printing product portfolio, including the Tiger 1800B MkII printing at 400 square meters per hour; the company's ability to control the entire workflow (both analog and digital processes); TA Job Control for advanced, interconnected job control; a new ink type for printing on real and synthetic leather; and the technology demonstration of a textile printer with a dual ink system to broaden the range of fabrics it can print on. Watch Video
How Digital Affects Sustainability in Textiles
Carlos Lahoz, Global Textiles Brands Strategist, explains the role of digital technologies in improving sustainability within the textiles and apparel industry in this video sponsored by HP, from design through production and supply chain. He talks about the role of innovation in helping move the industry to a more digital and sustainable future. Watch Video
Kornit Konnect Helps Textile & Apparel Designers and Producers Leverage Data as an Asset
Omer Kulka, Vice President of Marketing and Product Strategy for Kornit Digital, speaks with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about Kornit Konnect, a cloud-based solution that delivers on Kornit's vision of a data-driven business and production environment for textiles and apparel, stressing the importance of data as an asset in the design and manufacturing environment. Watch Video
The Digital Future of the Textiles Industry
Joan Perez Pericot, General Manager for HP's textile business, shares his thoughts on the current state of the textiles industry, the impact digital technologies are having, the opportunities he sees in the future, and the role HP wants to play in this evolving market. Watch Video
Pointcarre Helps Brands, Designers, and Producers Create a More Efficient Textile Design and Approval Process
Pointcarre develops, sells, and supports textile design software. President Steve Greenberg explains how the product helps brands and designers visualize the surface design of fabric prior to production. The product supports both Pantone and CSI color libraries. Watch Video
Twine Turns the Thread Market On Its Head at ITMA
Yariv Bustan, Vice President of Product Marketing for Twine, explains the company's digital thread dyeing system that creates on demand a multi-color thread on a single spool (or a single custom color) that can be used to produce complex embroidery, knitting, and sewing applications. He also comments on the sustainability aspects of the solution for these markets. Watch Video
The Importance of Implementing a Smart Factory Strategy
EFI's Senior Product Director for Scheduling, PrintFlow & TGO Udi Arieli, explains how FedEx Office has leveraged technology to build a Smart Factory, the benefits they have achieved, and why it is important for other companies to follow suit. Watch Video
SPGPrints' Jos Notermans Explains the Benefits of the Company's Archer Technology
Jos Notermans has been with SPGPrints almost since the beginning of the company's digital journey, joining the company in 1989. Most recently, he has taken over the role of managing the company's digital textile printing inks portfolio, including reactive, sublimation, and acid inks. He also explains benefits of the company's Archer technology and where the name came from. Watch Video
Conceptive Colors Produces Pure Dye Colorants for Digital Textile Printing
Parashar Kacha, Business Head for India-based Conceptive Colors, a manufacturer of reactive and acid dye colorants for both conventional and digital textile printing, explains how the company has ensured highly purified dye colorants while guaranteeing the necessary properties of these dye colorants following two years of intensive research and development. Watch Video
Mouvent, A Bobst Company, Launches New Textile Printer at ITMA
Reto Simmen, Chief Business Officer at Mouvent, a Bobst company, talks about full commercial availability of its digital textile printers (including a new model introduced at ITMA, printing at 400 square meters per hour) with reactive or acid dye inks. He also explains the unique compact, lightweight printhead cluster technology these printers use. Watch Video
Adobe's Mike Scrutton Offers Valuable Color Management Advice for Digital Textile Printers
Mike Scrutton, Director of Print Technology and Strategy for Adobe, talks about how Adobe Textile Designer enables brands to bring their defined color libraries into the world of digital textile printing. This helps ensure color consistency in a hybrid analog/digital production environment. Watch Video
Durst Discusses the Advantages of Digital Textile Printing
Durst Textile Segment Manager Martin Winkler explains how digital textile printing is being adopted both by traditional analog businesses and new online businesses. He also stresses the importance of an end-to-end workflow to address the shorter runs and faster cycle times occurring in textiles and apparel today. Durst also focuses on making these technologies more sustainable. Watch Video
Is Textile Printing a Business Opportunity for Printers? CMYUK Thinks So!
Robin East, Group Director for CMYUK, a UK-based graphic arts distributor, suggests that print service providers should be exploring digital textile printing as a new business avenue that offers higher growth rates than commercial print. He points out that digital print providers have many transferable skills that could serve them well in the textiles market, especially home decor. Watch Video
Pantone Adds Tools for Textile Designers
X-Rite/Pantone's Iain Pike talks about some of the changes the company has made to its offerings to simplify color selection and management for textile designers and others in the textile and apparel supply chain. New features include easier to use swatches, the i1Pro 3, and a partnership with Adobe at color.adobe.com for palette creation. Watch Video
How Do You Avoid B2B/B2C Channel Conflict? Chris Bernat of Vapor Apparel Has Advice
Chris Bernat, Chief Revenue Officer of Vapor Apparel, discusses how his company avoids channel conflict between his B2B and B2C apparel business. The company sells blanks as well as garments printed using dye sublimation. He discusses channel strategy, fabric sourcing, printing technologies, and more, including IT systems that facilitate an accurate just-in-time manufacturing environment for B2C. Watch Video
Ricoh Expands its Direct-to-Garment Offerings
Anne Veldman, Ricoh's direct-to-garment product manager, explains Ricoh's mid-range DTG Ri 1000 printer introduced at FESPA, and talks about Ricoh's strategy in the textile market going forward as well as the markets into which its DTG printers are being installed. Watch Video
Bluestone Fabrics Touts the Benefits of Digital Fabric Printing
Bluestone Fabrics, a wholesale digital fabric printing business, offers cutting, sewing, and packaging as well. Co-Founder and CEO John Otsuki talks with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about his efforts to educate the market on the benefits of digital fabric printing, including the ability to get products they never could before and to help make the industry more sustainable. He also talks about the need to introduce into the printing process things that will help in automating the sewing process, currently the least automated process in the manufacturing process. Watch Video
Design Pool Offers Interior Decor Designs and Links to Fabric Printers for Production
Kristen Dettoni, interior designer, founded Design Pool as a resource for highly curated interior textile designs as well as a way for designers to connect with fabric printers that have the capability to produce the work they need. Her goal was to make customization of interior decor more affordable and accessible. Watch Video
Fujifilm's Dr. Hamid Shirazi Explains the Company's Long-Time Participation in the Textile Industry
Dr. Hamid Shirazi explains how Fujifilm has participated in the textile industry for many years by providing contract manufacturing to OEMs for producing colorants and purification of those colorants. More recently, Fujifilm has launched colorants and inks for digital textile printing under its own brand. Watch Video
Why the EFI BOLT Is a Green Printer for the Textiles Industry
Paolo Torricella, Sales Segment Specialist for Digital Textile Equipment at EFI Reggiani, explains all the different elements EFI considered when designing the EFI BOLT single-pass digital textile printer in order to make the manufacturing process for the printer—as well as its use—as environmentally friendly as possible. Watch Video
Kornit Digital Looks to the Future of the Textiles & Apparel Supply Chain
Ronen Samuel, CEO of Kornit Digital talks about consumer demand driving changes in the textiles and apparel supply chain and what that means for apparel and interior design. It is moving from supply and demand driven by the brands to demand and then supply, moving from 18 months lead time to one month or less. He outlines Kornit Digital's role in helping to drive this change. Watch Video
Debbie McKeegan Addresses How Digital Technologies Make Textiles More Sustainable
FESPA Textile Evangelist Debbie McKeegan talks with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about how digital technologies are helping address sustainability issues in the textile industry, the world's second largest polluter. This includes not only the printing aspect, but the entire textiles and apparel supply chain. Watch Video
SmithersPira Digital Textile Printing Conference Helps Shape the Future of the Industry
Duane Neidert, Director of Operations, Americas, for SmithersPira, explains the genesis of its Digital Textile Printing conference and its future. The conference started about five years ago. Its goal is to educate the industry about the digital technologies that are shaping its future, from the print engines to inks and substrates/fibers, and the software and processes that are required for an on-demand production environment. Watch Video
Digital Printing Removes Barriers for Interior Designer Claire Vos
Claire Vos, textile designer for Interiors, shares her thoughts about how digital textile printing, and digital printing in general, has enhanced her business and opened a whole new world of design possibilities for her. Her work was prominently on display in the Mimaki booth at FESPA. Watch Video
HP Launches STITCH
Ester Sala, Global Business Director for HP, talks about the development and launch of the new HP STITCH dye-sublimation textile printing portfolio. By working alongside their customers, HP has created a product to solve real-life problems. Watch Video
Print. Make. Wear. at FESPA—An Inside View
Print. Make. Wear. is one of the highlights of FESPA, creating a microfactory environment on the show floor to demonstrate to attendees that just-in-time manufacturing of textiles and apparel is not only possible but is being done today. Debbie McKeegan, Textile Evangelist for FESPA, organizes the event and explains what goes into putting it together. Watch Video
Looking Inside the EFI FabriVU 340i
Senior Editor Cary Sherburne speaks with EFI's Senior Product Manager Mike Wozny about the EFI FabriVU 340i. Applicable to both the soft signage and textile markets, the FabriVU 340i incorporates patented print and calendering in one footprint and a one-step operation. Watch Video
HP Adds Dye Sublimation to Its Portfolio
Santi Morera, General Manager and Global Head of Graphics Solutions Business for HP, discusses the company's strategy for dye sublimation in the textile market and how the new HP Stitch fits into the current HP portfolio. Watch Video
Summa Adds Innovative Laser Cutter for Textiles
Wim Maes, Executive Director at Summa, talks about the company's entry into textiles to address the bottleneck created in the cutting department as textile printers gain in speed. The company acquired CadCam Technology, resulting in the development of the Summa L3214, a 3.2-meter laser cutting device that cuts while the fabric feeds across the table, enabling cutting at 800 square meters per hour. Watch Video
HP Enters the Textile Market with Stitch
Joan Perez Pericot, General Manager of the Large Format Graphics Division for HP, talks about the company's entry into the growing dye-sublimation-based textile printing market with HP Stitch. Watch Video
EFI Focused on Green Printing for Textiles
Adele Genoni, Vice President and General Manager of EFI Reggiani, talks with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about EFI's sustainable approach to digital textile printing, from design through production and finishing, including two sustainable inks to cover virtually all fabric types. Watch Video
Color ReaderPRO Helps Create Customized Fabric Designs
Thomas LaTempa and Oriol Martinez Riba announce the partnership of Datacolor and Inedit as they collaborate to bring Color ReaderPRO—a color-reading management device and associated mobile app—to the market. Watch Video
Textile Printing for Commercial Printers
Tim Check, Senior Product Manager for Epson America, talks about textile printing technologies and how commercial printers can use fabric printing to open up new business opportunities and offer more options to customers. Watch Video
New Enhancements Released in AccuMark Version 11
Mary McFadden, Executive Director of CAD Project Management for Gerber Technology, discusses the new enhancements to AccuMark Version 11. Gerber continues to make enhancements to this premier CAD system for the textiles and apparel industry. Watch Video
Customization is Key for Carriage House Printery
Michael Frankhauser, Owner of Carriage House Printery, shares his inspiring personal story, from designing equipment for a manufacturing company to starting his own custom textile printing company. Watch Video
When Fads Fade
Tim Brule, Vice President of Disruptive Technologies for Fanatics Inc., shares how this company has grown its business via online stores. From fast fashion and fad fashion, to micro moments, the world of fashion is rapidly changing. Watch Video
Spoonflower Celebrates 10 Years
Gart Davis, CEO of Spoonflower, takes us through the history of a company that has grown its business largely through digital textile printing and e-commerce and now celebrates its 10-year anniversary. Watch Video
The Advantages of EFI InNova Pigment Inks for Textiles
Paolo Torricella, Textiles Segment Manager for EFI Reggiani, describes the benefits of EFI InNova pigment inks for direct-to-fabric printing from vibrant colors to a lower impact on the environment. Watch Video
Champion Thread Company Brings Manufacturing Back to the U.S.
Matt Poovey, President of Champion Thread Company, discusses the importance of automation in bringing textile and garment manufacturing back to the United States. This industrial sewing thread manufacturer is leading the way with a number of innovations. Watch Video
Speed Outweighs Cost in Textiles
Karsten Newbury, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Software for Gerber Technology, discusses the trends driving change in the textiles industry. Now more than ever, the industry is about speed with pressure on brands and manufacturers for faster time to market. Watch Video
LACorp Is a Jack-of-All-Trades in the Textile Industry
Jeoff Bodenhorst, Jr., President of LACorp, talks about his contract cut-and-sew company that offers a wide range of services to the garment industry. He talks about how automation will continue to improve this part of the manufacturing process, which can often be a labor-intensive bottleneck. Watch Video
Kornit's Ryan Kurek on the Analog-to-Digital Transformation in Textiles
Ryan Kurek, Director of Marketing for North America at Kornit Digital, discusses the analog-to-digital transformation as it relates to textiles. As the way we buy clothing changes, the textile industry must adjust, with faster time to market and less waste in the supply chain. Watch Video
As Consumer Buying Habits Change, So Does the Textile Industry
Yoram Burg, Regional Sales Director for EFI Optitex, gives us an idea of what to expect in the textiles market as the analog-to-digital transformation continues to unfold. Companies need to develop product and get it to market faster than ever before to keep up with consumers' changing buying habits. Watch Video
OnPoint Manufacturing Automates Textiles
At TechTextil, Kirby Best, Chairman of OnPoint Manufacturing, talks about his company, which was founded based on lessons learned in the book industry. OnPoint produces original, beautiful textile work using automated production. Watch Video
Lectra: For Fashion and Furniture
Carlos Jimenez, Professional Services Manager of Fashion and Apparel for Lectra, discusses the broad range of services the company offers to streamline the process from design to cutting room for textile-based products. Lectra serves the fashion industry, as well as furniture and other market segments where textiles play an important role. Watch Video
New Coatings for Performance Fabrics
Mark Sunderland, Textile Engineer and Strategist at Thomas Jefferson University, discusses the future of coatings for performance fabrics and their effect on sustainability. Watch Video
Kornit Digital Offers Textile Printing Solutions
Sharon Donovich, Product Marketing Manager for Kornit Digital, talks about the offerings from this Israeli-based company, a solutions provider for printing on textiles. Kornit received a warm response to its line of direct-to-garment and direct-to-fabric printers at the recent TexProcess show in Atlanta. Watch Video
Trends in High-Performance Apparel
Mark Sunderland, Textile Engineer and Strategist at Thomas Jefferson University, discusses high-performance apparel and products, including new and emerging trends in moisture management and "wearables." Watch Video
Datacolor Rolls Out Spectravision for Measuring Printed Textile Samples
Mike Tancini, Director of Sales for North and Central America at Datacolor, describes Datacolor's services for the textile industry. The company recently introduced Spectravision, positioned as a game-changer for measuring printed textile samples. Watch Video
Looking at Textile Workflow Automation Through Apps
Dave Pullin, CEO of Coldlogic LLC, suggests apps as a solution for increasing workflow automation in the textile industry, much like JDF did for print, enabling systems to talk to each other, minimizing human intervention. Watch Video
New EFI Reggiani Pigment Textile Ink Eliminates Need for Post-Treatment
Giorgio Sala of EFI Reggiani talks about the company's new pigment-based ink for the FLEXY textile printer. The new ink contains a binder that eliminates the need for post-treatment, such as washing or steaming of the fabric, after printing. Watch Video
Mimaki Unleashes New Tiger Textile Printing System
Bert Benckhuysen, Senior Product Manager, EMEA, for Mimaki, introduces the new Tiger textile printing system, capable of both direct-to-fabric and transfer-based dye sublimation. Mimaki has also incorporated Tiger into its own microfactory concept for fast fashion and other textile-based applications. Watch Video
Scott Schinlever Continues Analog-to-Digital Transformation at Gerber Technology
Scott Schinlever, President of Automation Services for Gerber Technology, discusses the similarities and differences between digital and analog, as well as his move from EFI to Gerber. Watch Video
Durst's Textile Printing Strategy
Fabio Gromo, Global Sales Manager of Textile Printing for durst, describes the durst line of textile printers and capabilities as well as the company's strategies with respect to the digital textile printing industry. Watch Video
Lectra Launches Cutting 4.0, A New Platform for Textile Cutting
Frederic Gaillard, VP of Product Marketing for Lectra, talks to Cary Sherburne about Cutting 4.0, Lectra's new smart cutter for textile cutting that interfaces with Lectra Digital Cutting, a new cloud-based cutting platform. The machine receives orders and executes them, and sends back data so the entire process can be controlled in real time. The platform is designed to address the new challenges the company sees in the market, such as small runs and customization. The new platform also includes a fabric library. Watch Video
Lighting and Color in Retail Spaces
Ann Laidlaw, Consultant for ACL Color Consulting LLC, talks to Cary Sherburne about how ambient lighting impacts our perception of color—an important consideration in retail environments where the lighting under which a consumer views a garment may be different from that under which the garment was manufactured. Compounding the problem is the latest trend toward LED lighting (of which there are many different kinds) in retail stores, which can impact how a particular colored garment is perceived. Watch Video
Streamlining and Automating On-Demand Textile Production
Kirby Best, President and CEO of Purchase Activated Apparel Technologies (PAAT), talks about one of the biggest challenges he found in the analog-to-digital transformation of textile printing: the difficulty of feeding information to the production equipment. To realize all the advantage of on-demand production, all the systems within the operation need to be in sync and "talking" to each other. He talks to Cary Sherburne about how PAAT overcame that challenge. Watch Video
Inside FESPA 2018's Print Make Wear "Fast Fashion" Microfactory
Debbie McKeegan, Textile Ambassador for FESPA 2018, walks us through the Print Make Wear microfactory and demonstrates the process of textile printing from beginning to end. Watch Video
SEAMS: The Voice of the Sewn Products Industry
At this week's TechTextil, Will Duncan, Executive Director of SEAMS, talks about SEAMS which, for 50 years, has been the "voice" of the U.S. sewn products industry. Members include brands and retailers, as well as the textile supply sector. "Made in America" is the association's main initiative. Watch Video
Techtextil 2018: New Technologies—and Challenges—for Textile Printing
Brian Francois, Executive Vice President of AATCC, discusses the analog-to-digital transformation in textile printing, and identifies such emerging challenges as wearable technology and developing and implementing color standards for LED lighting. Watch Video
From Concept to Creation—Dover Digital Printing’s Microfactory Streamlines Digital Textile Production
Sebastien Hanssens, Vice President of Marketing and Communication for Dover Digital Printing, talks about the “microfactory” concept of on-demand digital garment printing, which Dover Digital Printing was demonstrating at FESPA 2018. “The Sports Factory” showcased customized athletic jersey printing from online ordering to printing and sewing. Watch Video
Digital Printing Hits a Wall. And the Floor. And Your Sofa.
Rachel Nunziata, Product Development Manager for 4Walls, talks about the design process for digital décor. 4Walls designs and prints wallcoverings and a wide variety of other materials, handling the process all the way from design through production. Watch Video
Direct-to-Garment Printing Becoming Popular and Profitable
Tim Check, Production Manager, Epson America, talks about direct-to-garment printing, particularly using the brand-new Epson F-2100 Series printer which can print directly on T-shirts, baby onesies, towels, and other kinds of fabric-based items. Garment printing is a growth area for not only traditional screen printers looking to print short-run items, but also for commercial printers who can complement other display graphics services they may be offering. Watch Video
Zazzle Well-Positioned to Help Drive Analog-to-Digital Transformation in Textiles
Senior Editor Cary Sherburne talks with Zazzle's Chief Fulfillment Officer Charles Ohiaeri about the role of digital textile printing in its ecommerce business that delivers personalized paper and textile products. He shares his views on the analog-to-digital transformation underway in the textiles industry and how digital can make the industry more efficient, profitable, and environmentally friendly, while giving consumers more choice with the ability to personalize or customize their garments and other textile-based products. Watch Video
Vapor Apparel: Breaking the Rules in Sublimation Printing
Chris Bernat, Chief Revenue Officer at Vapor Apparel, likes to break the rules. Fourteen years ago, the company determined that good fabrics for sublimation printing were hard to come by and worked to solve that problem. Today, the company provides high-quality blanks for shirts, accessories, and more, including sublimation-certified white and colored garments that perform on press and in the market, making its clothing in the United States. He also discusses the relative roles of digital and conventional printing for textiles. Watch Video
Ryonet: Driving Change in Garment Decoration
Ryonet's Ryan Moor talks with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about the overall positive impact the analog-to-digital transformation in textiles and apparel stand to have on the environment. He also discusses how his company is helping the people of Haiti by providing workers in his manufacturing operation in the country with a living wage, good working conditions, and more. Watch Video
CustomInk Believes Co-Opetition Is a Win/Win for Suppliers, Producers, and Customers in the Garment Decoration Industry
Andy Louis-Charles, Vice President of Business Development at CustomInk, one of the largest online custom apparel companies in the U.S., talks about the importance of mutually beneficial partnerships with others in the industry. He believes this practice of "co-opetition" raises the level for everyone in the industry. Custom apparel for events is a $7 billion industry—there's lots of room for everyone and an opportunity to grow the pie. With a bigger pie, everyone gets a larger slice, he says. Watch Video
Does Your Brand Reflect What You Are Made Of?
Robert Prioleau, Partner and Brand Director at the Blue Ion agency, and a principal of Outpost, another agency, explains what he meant during his talk at ThreadX, when he said, "The best brands are defined by what they are made of, not by what they make." What values, purpose, mission and cause are you bringing to the table on top of your great products and services?" Hear what he has to say, and think about how you can apply his advice to your brand. Watch Video
Is Your Tech Pack Smart Enough?
Matthew Cochran, CCO of of Purchase Activated Apparel Technology (PAAT), is building an open digital product development network, looking to augment the traditional tech pack that is the DNA of a product. His Smart Tech Pack (STP) technology is a machine-readable file that takes some of the opportunity for human error out of the garment manufacturing process. The goal of this digital product development network is to move to a design-sell-produce model as opposed to today's design-produce-hope-to-sell model. Watch Video
Analog-to-Digital Transformation Is Disrupting the Textiles Industry
Mark Coudray, Founder of Catalyst Plan, has nearly 50 years of experience in graphic communications. He talks about the analog-to-digital transformations that have occurred in the industry over the past few decades. The fourth iteration of analog-to-digital transformation is revolutionizing the discipline of marketing and having a huge impact on the textiles and apparel industries. He offers guidance to buy time and gain breathing room. Watch Video
Chris Simpson from Blue Ion Talks about Available Tools to Engage in B2C Marketing
Chris Simpson, Digital Marketing Director at Blue Ion, talks about how companies can make a transition from marketing B2B to marketing B2C. He identifies a set of tools from Google and others that can help companies add this new capability. Watch Video
The Amazing Story of Sandilake Clothing
Mel Lay, Owner of Sandilake Clothing, has a riveting story of how she went from producing clothing for her kids in 2014 to being a garment icon. Her business has grown largely through the use of social media, including her public battle with Target and ultimately her appearance on Shark Tank. Great story! Lots of guidance about how others can use social media to grow their businesses. Watch Video
Facing the Challenges of Waste in the Garment Supply Chain
Matthew Cochran, COO of OnPoint Manufacturing, talks about the feasibility of on demand manufacturing of garments to address Fast Fashion and the waste of time and materials associated with the traditional garment supply chain, moving from design-produce-hope-to-sell, to design-sell-produce. Watch Video
Fed By Threads Innovating in "Dirt to Shirt" Approach
Skya Nelson, COO of Fed By Threads, talks about the company's "dirt to shirt" strategy and its innovative approach to fibers that are environmentally sustainable and recyclable. One example is 65% recycled plastic bottles and 35% recycled organic cotton. Currently they are working on a recycled cotton fiber that prints well, recycles easily, and is cost effective. Watch Video
AccuLink Leverages Dye-Sublimation Printing for Business Growth
Tom O'Brien, President of AccuLink in Greenville, N.C., talks about how he was able to turn his business around following the recession by turning to dye sublimation of textiles, ceramics, and more. This commercial printer is also now one of the largest dye-sub operations in the Southeast with minimal investments as compared to normal commercial print investments—about 100 pieces of equipment that cost less than one digital printing press! Watch Video
First-Ever ThreadX Powered by SGIA a Success
In seeking to better serve its membership, SGIA took the advice of its Garment Decorating Committee to host an event dedicated to that under-served segment. Senior Editor Cary Sherburne was there, and explains why this event was different. The sold-out event will be held again next year, location TBD. Watch Video
How EFI Reggiani Is Helping Accelerate the Analog-to-Digital Transformation in Textiles
Adele Genoni, Vice President and General Manager for EFI Reggiani, speaks with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about how Reggiani fits into the EFI ecosystem. She explains how the company is moving the analog-to-digital transformation forward in textiles, and what she expects to see in the future, including reshoring textile production in North America and Europe. Watch Video
ThreadX: A New Event for Garment Decorators
SGIA CEO Ford Bowers explains the genesis of ThreadX as coming from a focus group of garment decorators who felt an event dedicated to helping with business and technology information them didn't exist. This first edition sold out, and SGIA is planning to do the event again next year. Hear what Bowers has to say and stay tuned for more news and videos from ThreadX! Watch Video
Grupo SG Now Offering EFI Reggiani Printers in Central America and the Caribbean
Thomas Lange, President of Grupo SG, a distributor serving Central America and the Caribbean, speaks about his long-term relationship with EFI and the addition of EFI Reggiani textile printers to his offerings. This region has a significant base of textile and garment manufacturing and many players are following the lead of brands and retailers in driving the analog-to-digital transformation occurring in these industries for faster time to market and improved profitability. Watch Video
EFI's Frank Mallozzi on Textile Portfolio and Strategy
EFI is going into its third year with the Reggiani portfolio of fabric printing equipment. EFI has recently brought new products to its textile portfolio to ease the transition into digital production including the EFI Reggiani VOGUE and EFI Reggiani ReNOIR FLEXY. Watch Video
EFI CFO Marc Olin Talks Connect, Nozomi installs, Pace Developments, and Textiles
Senior Editor Cary Sherburne talks to EFI CFO Marc Olin at EFI Connect 2018 about what is new at the event, including Nozomi installs and unique applications being employed by customers and Pace developments. They also discuss other product developments around textiles. Watch Video
