The global textile market is, in a word, enormous. Grand View Research puts the market size at $1.837.27 trillion in 2023, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 7.4% to 2030. Printing textiles is in itself a sizeable market.

Breaking that down further, Future Market Insights places the global digital textile printing market at $2.99 billion in 2023, anticipating a CAGR of 12.1% to 2034, reaching $8.897 billion. That number seems to be in the center of most estimates. It’s thought that digital printing of textiles is approximately 5% of the total textile printing market, as dye-based printing and screen remain major processes.

However, a lot of the attention is on the digital printing side, as it is growing the fastest. There are many drivers pushing textile sales up – new and improved hardware, software and inks, as well as environmental, production and efficiency benefits.

During COVID, digital textile printing spiked in apparel, signage and other products, and while there was a slowdown after the pandemic subsided due to overcapacity in the market, industry executives report that growth has resumed across all applications.

Micol Gamba, product marketing and textile director for EFI, said that according to WTiN, the volume of textile digitally printed fabrics grew in 2023, but this was not reflected in units sold because of a still weak global economic recovery and uncertainty that led many companies to delay their investments.

“While 2024 still seems a slow year, growth is forecasted from 2025,” Gamba reported. “On the other hand, the lack of workers specialized in textile analog printing is reaching the highest recorded level, especially in EMEA, and this will open up a potential opportunity for further digital adoption.”

Ilan Elad, president of Kornit Americas, noted that digital textile printing hit a peak during the COVID era.

“Everything was moving to on-demand and e-commerce, and the second COVID ended, people wanted to go out,” Elad said. “We saw a huge drop in demand, or rather overcapacity. Things have gone back to pre-pandemic levels as demand has grown each year, and we are seeing a bit more movement in the market but we are cautious. We are starting to see movement, as the runs are becoming shorter and retailers look to replenish. People are buying much smarter than they were.”

Kitt Jones, business development and co-creation manager, Roland DGA, reported that Roland DGA is seeing growth in all areas of digital printing, including digital textile.

“We feel this is due to a growing demand for rapid customization and on-demand printing as well as innovations in printing technology,” Jones said. “Technological advancements such as improved printheads, higher resolution, and faster print speeds on less expensive printers have made digital textile printing more efficient and cost-effective. Overall, these factors contribute to a robust and expanding digital textile printing market.”

Simon Daplyn, product and marketing manager, Sun Chemical, said there is some growth in the digital textile printing market, though a number of markets have stagnated since peaking in 2021 when COVID lockdown measures were eased.

“Additional impacting factors include the war in Ukraine and its ongoing effect on energy costs, the subsequent conflict in Israel-Gaza and the general political instability globally,” Daplyn noted. “These issues have led to high inflation rates in many key countries, leading consumers to invest less in new garments and home textiles and leaving many brands and retailers with large stock inventories that have reduced the demand for new printed fabrics.

“Europe has been particularly impacted by these supply and demand issues, including digital textile strongholds like Italy and Turkey,” added Daplyn. “Asia, alternately, has seen growth in the last 18 months, mainly with equipment and consumables from Chinese manufacturers. There is optimism in the wider market for a return to stronger and sustained growth from the end of 2024, onward.”

“The digital textile market is continuing to experience growth, driven by the advancements in printing technologies and ongoing demand for customized apparel,” said Lily Hunter, product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America Inc.

Paul Edwards, VP of the Digital Division of INX International Ink, said there is growth occurring in the digital textile market, but it is very dependent upon the products and applications.

“The complexion of the market has changed quite a bit since the COVID-19 era, and trends and patterns have changed too,” he added. “Looking at some specific product areas, digital print in terms of roll-to-roll fashion applications that are using mostly reactive dyes has been quite challenging since the pandemic and is still slowly recovering. Dye sublimation products used for display applications, which took a significant dip due to event cancellations, have bounced back a bit quicker.

“However, growth is mainly in the applications more focused on shorter runs and personalization, where products are produced near to the end user rather than shipped from traditional textile producing regions in the world,” Edwards observed. “There has therefore been some nice growth in direct-to-garment applications (DTG) and within direct-to-film (DTF) applications, which include textiles as well as other substrates.”

Press Technologies on the Upswing

Much of the gains in the digital textile segment can be directly related to new presses that are improving quality and speed. Hunter noted that advancements in printing technologies are continuing to drive growth in the digital textile market.

“In addition to established dye-sublimation and direct-to-garment methods, there’s a growing demand for direct-to-film (DTFilm) transfer printing technology,” Hunter noted. “The expansion in technique, coupled with improvements manufacturers are implementing to new and existing printers, are making textile printing more accessible to businesses – from small creative entrepreneurs to large scale textile print houses – there are solutions designed to accommodate any size retailer.”

Hunter observed that manufacturers like Epson have been focused on delivering compact, cost-effective, high-quality digital textile print technology to creative professionals.

“For example, the SureColor F1070, a hybrid DTG and DTFilm printer, leverages Epson’s renowned digital textile printing and imaging expertise in an entry-level printer specifically designed to create new opportunities for businesses, giving them the ability to break into the garment decorating market,” Hunter said.

“Two elements are a gamechanger,” Elad noted. “Our MAX technology improved the quality of print to screen level. The Apollo improved the amount of throughput. With screenprinting, you can get two to three colors, and it makes sense for long runs. With the Apollo, because of the throughput, you only need one person for the whole process, which lowers the total cost of ownership. We are finding our niches – more colors, shorter runs.

“If a screenprinter has to run short runs for their customers, it becomes inefficient,” Elad added. “If you have a digital printer like the Apollo, you can do short runs on the Apollo and screen for longer runs. Our beta test companies all bought the Apollo afterward.”

“While many original equipment manufacturers (OEM) have reinforced their offerings of single-pass printing presses for high volume production, there are more high-volume scanning systems that have become popular with 32 to 72 printheads in the carriage,” said Sun Chemical’s Daplyn. “The large number of printheads allows for high volume printing with some press redundancy in terms of nozzle use and maintenance, making them the preferred choice for some converters.

Edwards said there has been several advancements and new players in the DTG and DTF markets.

“With DTG, Kornit was an early entrant to this market. Now there are several new players with competitive products being used in this application, including companies such as M&R, ROQ and Aeoon, to name a few,” Edwards added. “In the DTF space, there has been an explosion of printers on the market addressing DTF applications which include textile. These products are generally much lower in cost and productivity than the DTG printers, and many are coming from China.”

EFI’s Gamba said that operational efficiency is a compelling requirement to enable industrial customers to compete.

“With average job lots reducing and higher and higher variability in designs, high productivity, and efficient solutions are more and more required,” Gamba added. “The new EFI Reggiani EXTRA, for instance, is the printer that brings more colors to faster speeds. With up to 12 different colors in a row, EFI Reggiani EXTRA extends color gamut and depth printouts, increases penetration, and enhances printing quality that lets our customers express their creativity beyond any limit.”

Market Segments

In terms of the leading segments, ink industry experts point to apparel, soft signage and home furnishings as among the strongest markets. Edwards said that the market sectors with the most growth in recent years are the apparel industry and, to some extent, soft signage.

“The apparel industry, both in fast fashion and in direct-to-garment applications, has benefited the most by implementing digital print,” said Edwards. “It is now possible to provide fashion collections many times within one year, as opposed to the basic seasonal collections available historically. The shorter run lengths allow for lower risks, with new collection inventory and having to sell products which were not popular for lower costs, or to scrap them completely. They have the ability to turn around prints in days rather than weeks, with a local production facility driving the whole process, especially as it relates to DTG or DTF applications.”

“As digital printing becomes more available to smaller print shops, we are seeing the most growth in customized apparel, specifically t-shirts. We anticipate this trend to continue as more small business owners and Etsy shops gain access to the equipment and expand their offerings,” Hunter noted.

Gamba said that fashion remains the most important application for the digital textile printing industry.

“Sportswear’s market saw growth in the last years and is maintaining its steady growth, especially driven by dye sub-based printing solutions,” Gamba said “Following the hysteria in the interiors sector during the COVID lockdowns, the home textiles market got back to its moderate growth trend.”

Roland DGA’s Jones observed that there is a wide range of market growth, but some sectors, such as the interior design/décor market, are growing faster than others.

“Digital printing is being rapidly adopted within this market for producing custom curtains, upholstery, and other decorative fabrics,” Jones added. “Consumer interest in creating personalized and unique home environments is driving demand for these types of items. Interior design and architecture applications are also generating demand for customized wallcoverings, textile panels, and bespoke furnishings.”

Jones noted that the ability of innovative digital printing methods like the DG DIMENSE solution to produce stunning large-format prints with intricate dimensional designs distinguishes Roland DGA as a leader within this space.

“The DG DIMENSE digital printing solution is centered around the Dimensor S texture printer, which works in combination with special DG DIMENSE water-based inks and media to create one-of-a-kind wallcoverings and other types of textured output with incredible visual and tactile appeal,” Jones pointed out. “In addition, promotional products are regaining popularity, including branded apparel, banners, and tradeshow displays. The flexibility and speed of digital printing for textile applications make it an attractive option for businesses looking to produce small batches of prints with high-impact designs.

In terms of application areas, Daplyn noted that digital printing is quite well established in the majority of applications where there is consumer demand for goods such as fashion, sportwear and home textiles, although these markets have all seen some limitation in growth due to the global macro-economic situation.

“One area that has returned to growth in recent years is print for sign and display markets,” he said. “The significant return of exhibitions and promotional events, as well as a transition to less plastic-based signage with non-PVC fabric options, have expanded demand for digital sign and display.”

Advances in Ink Technology

Advances in ink technology are also helping to propel growth in the market, beginning with pigments.

“Pigment is a relatively recent industrial solution even if available for more than a decade now as the technology has struggled with vibrancy, durability, stiff fabric hand, and reliability inside printheads,” said EFI’s Gamba. “In recent years, we were able to overcome the limits with increased color brightness, enhanced washing and rubbing fastness, as well as high compatibility with printheads.

“The last technological advancement in this area is our EFI Reggiani ecoTERRA solution,” Gamba added. “Eco-friendly, water-based EFI Reggiani ecoTERRA is the game-changing, all-in-one solution for water-based pigment printing that requires no ancillary equipment for pre- and post-treatment as the entire printing and finishing process happens inside the printer itself. By dramatically reducing water, energy, and chemical consumption in the overall process, customers can now obtain a truly sustainable, direct-to-fabric printing solution.”

Daplyn said that ink companies are continually looking to innovate solutions that will add further value to the market by improving sustainability and compliance credentials, reducing the number of print processes, increasing color varieties or expanding the range of printable substrates.

“In the textile printing market, many dyes are substrate-specific, so the technology has advanced to a level where only incremental benefits are expected,” Daplyn continued. “For example, while reactive dyes for cotton, viscose and silk are already highly developed, recent formulation advances have enabled a reduction in the amount of dye washed out of the fabric post-processing, reducing the effluent treatment needed. Sun Chemical has recently launched a new range of reactive inks, Xennia Amethyst Evo, which are designed to increase process efficiency, balance color and reduce dye wash-out after fixation.”

Daplyn said that a major focus of development is digital pigment printing.

“Many companies are working to close the perceived gap between pigment- and dye-based inks in terms of color vibrancy and fastness,” said Daplyn. “Use of advanced binders and finely tuned dispersion chemistry is now allowing the technologies to exhibit similar performance.”

In this area, Sun Chemical will soon launch a new range of pigment inks for industrial textile printers called Xennia Sapphire.
“These inks offer increased fastness and better color strength, as well as improved cross-substrate applicability and on-printer performance,” Daplyn reported.

Edwards said that the developments in pigmented ink products helped considerably.

“Previous processes such as reactive dyes required a lot of processing and created huge amounts of dye colored wastewater to eliminate. This is one of the reasons why much of the printing has been carried out in certain regions of the world,” Edwards pointed out.

“The advent of pigmented inks – with both a good color gamut and the ability to pass critical textile product requirements such as washability and the feel (with your hands) of the product – are why these printed products are finding acceptance in the marketplace,” added Edwards. “Recent improvements in the flexibility of pigmented inks have allowed the DTG applications to be more successful due to improving the feel of the product. And improvements to pre-treats and pigmented inks have allowed for the printing of multiple different fabric types with good adhesion performance.”

Jones said that advances in ink technology are playing a crucial role in driving the growth of digital textile printing.

“Such advancements include improved color quality and durability, more eco-friendly inks, enhanced fabric compatibility, and faster drying times,” added Jones. “The introduction of high-performance inks designed for specific textile applications, such as sportswear or technical textiles, has been another important development. These inks can provide additional functionalities, like moisture-wicking properties or increased resistance to abrasion, adding value to the end products.”

“Ink technology is a key component of digital textile printing, with ongoing enhancements that improve print quality and performance,” Hunter said. “Advancements in ink technology have improved the cohesion between ink and fabric, increased fabric versatility, refined the hand feel of garments, enhanced washability, and expanded color gamuts — all contributing to superior final output.”
Epson produces UltraChrome DS ink, leveraged in the SureColor F-Series line of dye-sublimation printers, including the new SureColor F9570H.

“On this new model, the ink set incorporates expanded color gamut with options like fluorescent pink, fluorescent yellow, orange, and violet,” Hunter said. “It delivers vibrant, versatile results with vivid colors, smooth gradations, rich blacks, and high definition, all while offering extremely fast drying times. The Epson UltraChrome DS ink is OEKO-TEX ECO PASSPORT certified, ensuring it is safe for adults and children, including infants.”