Program
Day 1 - Thursday 28 September
8h45-13h Session 1
Introduction
- Key Industry Trends and Technologies that Reframe Textile Manufacturing, D. McKeegan, Texintel (UK)
Market shifts have accelerated the digitisation of the Textile Industry and affect all stakeholders across the industries complicated supply chain. In this presentation we will explore markets, buying behaviours, new technologies, materials, and their impact on future production. - Facts and fairy tales in Digital Textile Printing, J. Notermans, SPGPrints (NL)
The presentation will address how confusing and sometimes even misleading the information about Digital Textile Printing can be. All printers have multiple printing modes, using uni- or bi-directional printing, single pass, one pass, multiple pass, etcetera. What are the differences and when to use what? The perfect print quality normally comes with a sacrifice on speed, or a fast print mode can only print certain designs. Data about resolutions can be very confusing, what can you expect from it and maybe even more important, what not? Pigment printing is becoming very popular, but what is the real workflow? Do you need to pretreat the fabric or not? - Keep going, keep growing, H. Haas, CHT (DE)
After more than a decade of industrial digital textile printing, mills are now actively seeking to differentiate themselves from competitors. Within this talk, we will have a look at current technological advancements that might further enhance the ecological footprint of digital printing. In addition, we will shed light on some challenges of printing mills that might have kept them from growing in the past years and give insight into overcoming some of them. - Enter new dimensions with Jettex P inks in digital pigment printing and Explore DyStar pigments sustainable applications - Jettex inks – Unleash your creativity, H. Ozkok, M. Dorer, Dystar (DE)
Abstract (tbc)
Coffee Break
- Maximising print performance with reactive and acid inks, S. Daplyn, SunChemical (UK)
As the market for fashion and accessories has grown and developed, digital printing has become an established tool to enable vibrant prints onto natural fibres with reactive and acid inks. Whilst established technologies, both reactive and acid inks require careful process management for optimal results. Raw material selection, fabric preparation, printing and finishing all play critical roles to deliver the required print output. We will explore the impact of dyes and pre-treatment, the fabric and how when managed correctly there are sustainability benefits to be found. - Bio-based products and sustainable process - Urea replacement in inkjet printing, S. Hane, T. Ruchser, Tanatex (DE)
Within the last decade, digital inkjet printing has become an excellent alternative to traditional printing. Digital inkjet printing delivers a variety of benefits such as greater production flexibility, limitless design possibilities and significant reduction in water and energy consumption. However, there is a downside. It requires a higher amount of chemicals in its fabric preparation compared to traditional printing. One of those chemicals is urea. When discharged, a high load of nitrogen is present in the effluent. Urea, which consists of 47% nitrogen, can be stripped from effluent using sophisticated, water filtration systems, however, these are costly and vulnerable to failure or accidental discharges. A better, more sustainable, solution is to reduce the amount of urea in your production processes, and ideally removing it altogether. The answer: TANAJETTM BioThe TANAJETTM Bio products are free of urea. We’ve replaced this ‘key substance’ with bio-based materials while still being able to achieve the market’s required results as well as complying to all ecological requirements. Our new range of TANAJETTM Bio products are a gamechanger for the textile industry due to its ability to create and manufacture greener textiles by transforming towards a more sustainable production process. - DMIx®: an innovative digital solution designed to revolutionize the physical supply chain, G. Willschütz: ColorDigital GmbH (DE)
During this presentation, we explore the potential of DMIx®, an innovative digital solution designed to revolutionize the physical supply chain. Specifically, addressing the long-standing challenges of color matching and communication, DMIx offers a groundbreaking digital approach that transcends physical limitations and enhances efficiency, accuracy, and consistency throughout the physical and digital supply chain. As we enter an era where sustainability, cost reduction, speed-to-market and transparency are critical for market share, DMIx emerges as the transformative catalyst capable of propelling the industry into a new era of accessible color and supply chain management, driven by sustainable practices and advanced digital technology. - Can digital pigment be the first choice for fashion? R. Li, FUJIFILM Ink Solutions Group (UK)
Advancements in digital printing technology are creating new opportunities for fashion designers and manufacturers, with dye-based inkjet the dominant technology for its vibrancy and softness. Digital pigment technology offers advantages in its simpler process and potential lower environmental impact compared to dye. But can digital pigment technology truly deliver the properties required for fashion applications? In this presentation, we will explore this question, and consider what ink developments would be required for digital pigment to be the technology of choice.
13h-14h Lunch 14h-18h30 Session 2
- Digital print of camouflage and technical textiles, T. Naschberger, Zimmer (AU)
The lecture deals with the digital printing of camouflage and technical textiles Camouflage:- Definition of military camouflage; color and infrared specifications
- Applications and requirements; fabric compositions and ink selection
- Advantage, disadvantage, and challenges of digital camouflage printing
- Where are we standing, where are we going?
- All technical textiles have special demands on functionality and fastness - a challenge for digital printing
- Examples of Colaris printed samples (seat covers for transportation; aviation carpet; heavy Cordura fabric for sportwear)
- Reducing wastewater pollution generated by digital printing with reactive dyes, a new solution for sustainable wastewater management, P. Cusaro, Lamberti (IT)
Waterborne digital reactive dyes process requires several manufacturing steps that include the pre- treatment, fixation of dyes and the wash out of all treatments. Those steps need to be managed with proper chemicals and detergents to reduce the impact on polluted wastewater. In regards of ink jet printing with reactive dyes, we will compare the chemicals used at the present with our innovative biodegradable and bio-based pre-treatment and detergents, chemically developed to improve the reactive dyes digital printing process. The comparison will be presented showing the results at same level of quality and fastness on final printed fabric. All our biodegradable pre-treatment and detergents are based on innovative chemicals coming from vegetable sources and have been developed to minimize the impact on wastewater up to a possible reuse of the same wastewater. - Why digital textile printing with polyurethane based pigment inks makes the textile industry more sustainable, I. Bargende, T. Michaelis, T. Pohl, Covestro (DE)
For the textile industry, sustainability is a matter of great urgency. According to the European Parliament, the fashion industry alone accounts for 10 % of the global CO2 emissions. Clothing and shoes in particular represent a significant environmental problem. Obviously, the textile industry is ripe for a change. In view of the high overproduction in the textile industry, disruptive technologies, processes, and material solutions are necessary to enable a more sustainable future of the industry. A technology shift from analog to digital textile printing technologies can help to produce single-digit lot sizes close to end customers and in an energy- and resource-saving way. This enables customer needs such as individualization and short-term availability to be met while simultaneously utilizing more sustainable printing processes. Polyurethane dispersions can help to overcome existing process and application challenges in digital printing, in particular in inkjet printing with pigment inks. They thus represent a material solution that, as an enabler, represents a technology shift towards more sustainable textile printing technologies. In this talk, most recent developments for white inks for DTG (direct-to-garment), Roll-2-roll (R2R) and DTF (direct-to-film) processes will be highlighted. - PERACTO Pigment Ink Technology – Innovation for water and energy reduction in digital inkjet printing and continuous dyeing of textiles, T. Schmaus, Farbenpunkt (DE)
Abstract - Tbc
Coffee Break
- Can textiles become the new standard for visuals..., M.Horsten,Agfa(NL)
Today, visuals are made on a multitude of ink technologies, from UV to Solvent and from Wax to UV Gel but can Dye sublimation replace these technologies and become more eco-friendly than the other ink technologies. Reactive and acid textile inks are still very energy and water intense and pigment inks are still too expensive for large productions, Dye sublimation offers all the benefits. So, let’s look at the opportunities. - PVC-free,ECO-friendly and BIO-degradable banners for Soft Signage Printing, L.Tack, Captics(BE)
Abstract – Tbc - How to reduce the environmental impact of a new collection through digitalization? I.Cornu, CETI (FR)
LCA to compare the impacts of physical prototyping with digital prototyping as we have a full platform dedicated to digitalization of fabrics,garment design, garment production. In 2022, as part of the ECYTWIN project, CETI partnered with GEMTEX, a multidisciplinary national research laboratory of ENSAIT Engineer School, to study the environmental impact differences between a virtual and physical prototype of a dress. For years, the production of a garment required the validation of a final prototype, called Pre-Production Sample, involving many steps to improve the prototype before the brand was fully satisfied with the product. This process was quite time consuming and complex, generating an excess of prototypes and transports. However, today's sophisticated and accurate digital tools facilitate the entire prototyping process by providing a realistic representation of the product digitally, including the fabric and shape design. This new approach reduces the need to create numerous physical prototypes.
As the digitalization of creation appears to be a new lever to reduce the environmental impact of the fashion industry, CETI and ENSAIT have gathered the creation processes of 11 companies in the Textile, Fashion & Clothing sector, in order to carry out a comparative LCA of physical and virtual prototypes. - ProjectS2GXR:R&D of textile trade platform with extended reality to increase the matchmaking potential of low-tech SMEs via cost-efficient and immersive showrooms,Heymans Patrick (SkalUP – Univ. of Namur, (BE), Kaiser Christian (Univ. Albstadt-Sigmaringen, Faculty of Engineering, Albstadt, (DE), Khodabandeh Saman (Mitwill Textiles Europe, FR)
Project S2G XR is a research and development initiative aimed at increasing the competitiveness of European textile-producing SMEs by providing them with a cost-effective and immersive trade platform. The platform is designed to enable B2B suppliers to digitize, manage, develop, communicate, and push/pull their products more efficiently and at a lower cost, thereby making them more competitive in the market. The platform is powered by state-of-the-art XR plug-ins that create high-definition 3D showrooms for garments, providing potential B2B buyers with access to a pool of unique and price-competitive products from Europe. To ensure accurate and valid production data for goods being visualized in XR, the platform relies on colour configuration, which is an essential aspect of the research. Mitwill Textiles, a digital print micro factory with expertise in colour management systems, will help create and apply colour profiles to digital models, employing various algorithms and colour profiles to create a seamless and visually appealing experience for end-users. The methodology for this research includes literature reviews, empirical data collection, qualitative interviews, and data analysis to draw scientific conclusions. The platform's prototypes will be developed subsequently. To quantify the project's impact and formulate verifiable results, we will use the methodical strategy of designing and defining user scenarios, testing, and proving those, and incorporating industrial insights and research from partners. Overall, project S2G XR aims to mitigate the problematic import volumes of European textile brands and buyers by providing a sustainable, transparent, and peer- reviewed platform that allows European textile-producing SMEs to compete more effectively in the global market. - Next in fashion? Digitalization in fashion,Çiğdem Ertikin, Univ.Istanbul(TR)
The emergence of social media has brought about an irreparable transformation in the way fashion is presented. Social media platforms have enabled users to seamlessly communicate and interact with fashion brands. As more people turn to social media for wardrobe advice and to follow new trends, fashion brands have also actively adopted social media tools. By leveraging social media, fashion brands can gain increased brand visibility, reach a wider audience, and attract potential customers with diverse characteristics. Social media has, in many ways, modernized the fashion industry by democratizing fashion presentation. Fashion is no longer limited to a certain segment of consumers, but accessible to all segments. Digital-based fashion allows anyone to express and disseminate fashion ideas without any barriers. Furthermore, social media has greatly influenced the way consumers shop and make purchasing decisions, causing fashion brands to allocate their marketing budgets differently than before. In this context, fashion phenomena with many followers and influencers on social media have become a popular marketing method. In addition to all of these, digital influencers, also known as "virtual people," started with Lil Miquela, who was first created by Trevor McFedries and Sara DeCou in 2016 and now has almost 3 million followers on social media, have become the newest faces of the fashion marketing world. In the past, fashion bloggers were seen as potential replacements for printed fashion magazines. However, with the introduction of Instagram into our lives, fashion bloggers have evolved into fashion influencers. While this new phenomenon is still in its early stages, we are already seeking fashion advice from virtual influencers. So why is digitalization important in fashion presentation, and furthermore what is next in fashion?
18h30-21h Walking dinner
Day 2 – Friday 29 September
8h45-13h Session 3
- Enabling circularity in the bedding Industry through digital Identification, S. Cognie, TripleR.io (BE)
TripleR is a Circularity Enabler for the Bedding Industry by creating digital twins and connecting involved stakeholders to a cloud platform.
A Digital Identifier stays attached to the product and its relevant information remains available in the cloud platform during the whole lifetime. Stakeholders such as sorters, dismantlers and recyclers that connect to the platform close the loop and enable true circularity. WWW.TRIPLER.IO - 4D body scanning as a tool for compression stocking development, Olena Kyzymchuk, Kyiv National Univ. of Technologies and Design, Ukraine (UA), Technische Universität Dresden, Germany (DE)
Modern innovative technologies are being successfully implemented in the development of compression clothing. Compression garment are skin-tight elastic garment designed to apply pressure to a certain part of the body. Requirements for pressure are based on two aspects: clinical effectiveness and comfort in wear. For clinical effectiveness, a tightly fitting garment made of elastic fabric is necessary to produce the required pressure over the scarred area, and the pressure should be capable of being maintained over a prolonged period of time. However, if the pressure values are higher than the patients’ pressure pain thresholds, they cannot accept the garments. Thus, the correct adaptation of such clothes to the individual geometry of the body is an important aspect both compression effect and clothes comfort. The project focuses on 4D body scanning for the investigation the changes in size and shape of lower legs at static position and during different activity (walking, going upstairs, bending etc.) to develop a tool for evaluation the ready-to-wear compression stockings effectiveness as well as for design individual clothes. Modern innovative technologies are being successfully implemented in the development of compression clothing. Compression garment are skin-tight elastic garment designed to apply pressure to a certain part of the body. Requirements for pressure are based on two aspects: clinical effectiveness and comfort in wear. For clinical effectiveness, a tightly fitting garment made of elastic fabric is necessary to produce the required pressure over the scarred area, and the pressure should be capable of being maintained over a prolonged period of time. However, if the pressure values are higher than the patients’ pressure pain thresholds, they cannot accept the garments.
Thus, the correct adaptation of such clothes to the individual geometry of the body is an important aspect both compression effect and clothes comfort. The project focuses on 4D body scanning for the investigation the changes in size and shape of lower legs at static position and during different activity (walking, going upstairs, bending etc.) to develop a tool for evaluation the ready-to-wear compression stockings effectiveness as well as for design individual clothes. - Textile Based Sensors and Electrical Switches Made by Printing Technology, R. Schneider; H. Brühl, S. Frick, P. Feurer, S. Brenner, A. Lenz, V. Bartsch, R. Wolfe, DITF-Denkendorf (DE)
Smart Textiles and E-Textiles represent a fast-growing market and proximity sensors, and electrical switches represent key components for this market. The development of sensors and electrical switches applying printing technologies will be presented. Imprinting of relevant electrical electrodes on textiles is possible by use of carbon paste or carbon ink or silver-based inks. Stretch-sensitive sensors (motion sensor) as well as electrical switches on basis of both electrical resistivity and capacitance measurements will be presented. The latter acts as proximity switch and enables contact-free switching of electronic devices. The sensor signals were analyzed with a miniaturized integrated electronic circuit as well as with the help of a resonant circuit to control a switching function. The sensor provides good abrasion resistance. - Pigment printing evolution with Texcol® - transfer printing on natural fibres! Jorg Schuurman - Klieverik, Gijsbert Harmsen - Coldenhove (NL)
Texcol® is a pioneering technology which allows users to transfer with a one-step waterless process onto a wide range of natural and blend textiles. Texcol® pairs nicely with the Klieverik Vertex-T calender, an compact machine which can be a perfect extension for sublimation customers who want to start printing on natural fibre textiles. It’s time to discover how today’s unique digital printing technologies can open up new possibilities and accelerate evolution towards products which match evolving customer demands and sustainable production.
Coffee Break
- How a digital color workflow accelerate time to market and increase quality control in a sustainable way, P. Mulder, X-rite (UK)
- Digital Fashion, Thu Ha DO, Xuyuan TAO, Ludovic KOEHL, Kim Phuc TRAN,and Xianyi ZENG- Univ. Lille, ENSAIT, ULR 2461 - GEMTEX - Genie et Matériaux Textiles, Lille (FR)
The advent of Industry 4.0 and the transition to Industry 5.0 have brought a significant promise for technical enterprises, presenting opportunities for these organizations to contribute to the advancement of humanity. As clothing is an essential human requirement, companies operating in the garment industry must adapt to this revolution with agility and responsiveness to satisfy diverse market demands. The emergence of 3D computer-aided design systems (e.g. 3D garment CAD) for the fashion and garment industries provides a promising avenue for comprehensive garment processing, virtual shopping, and fashion shows through technological advancements. However, the current applications of 3D garment CAD software may be limited because it usually deals with complex manual operations and design effects are strongly related to the technical skills of the individual designer. Therefore, a digital technology platform (named Digital Fashion) is developed that aims to create a Cloud Computational Interactive-Design System (CCIDS) to facilitate effective interactive communications among consumers, designers, and manufacturers on product performance requirements, product features, performance evaluations, and certifications. Digital Fashion can precisely provide digital fabric, garment, and synthetic human models that accurately represent the garment’s appearance and behavior are crucial for the effective application of these systems which can provide valuable insights for both customers and designers, making this a crucial aspect of the process. The fundamental function of the platform is to design a cloud database that includes a virtual lifestyle environment and virtual fitting environment, reflecting knowledge about garments (i.e., body shape, fabric properties, and garment parameters). A recommendation system is developed based on the virtual database that provides relevant fashion design solutions (styles, colors, and materials) to designers according to the personalized fashion requirements of consumers. Additionally, the system recommends relevant functional design solutions (such as functional performance of materials) to designers based on the personalized requirements of consumers for their lifestyle. The platform also evaluates virtual fittings in terms of fashion, fabric hand, thermal comfort, and movement performance of designed garments and adjusts parameters according to the evaluation results. - Testimonials from Textile Companies
- Colour management and the daily struggles in digital textile printing, K. Verhenne, Digitex (BE)
The daily problems we face with possible solutions. Choice of fabric, which criteria are important in the choice of ink in consultation with the customer, how to communicate with (fashion) customers, use of checklists in production. - The challenge and pitfalls when digitally printing “all-over prints”, K. Allison, Liebaert, RectoVerso (BE)
Abstract TBC
- Colour management and the daily struggles in digital textile printing, K. Verhenne, Digitex (BE)
- Sustainable self-charging power systems developed by inkjet printing, G. Kignelman, B. Demedts, Centexbel (BE)
A modern car requires more than 60 sensors to monitors aspects such as temperature, speed, and humidity. These sensors are powered by the electricity generated by the car’s battery with cables exceeded 4 kilometres. Theses cables, alone, account for 30 kilograms. This extra weight results in even more energy consumption in the car. What if this extra weight could be limited by enabling some sensors to produce their own electricity? This is the question the that the EU-funded SUINK project is addressing by developing self- charging power systems capable of harvesting energy from the vibrations in the car. These developments are based on the combination of biobased, conductive, dielectric, and piezoelectric inks that will be applied by inkjet printing on biobased flexible surfaces. These solutions will enable to produce innovative sensors able to create their own energy rather than needing electricity from the vehicle’s battery. Placing sustainability at its core, SUINK considers the end-of-life management of its components already at the design and product development phases for examples by avoiding the use of critical raw materials and using sustainable processes. These does not come without challenges. These challenges, as well as solutions to overcome these, will be presented. - Future Fabric: looking beyond traditional textile printing, J. Westerhoff, SPGPrints (NL)
The possibilities and opportunities for the future of fabrics will be discussed, showing specific examples of non-woven and printed electronics applications. Insight into how SPGPrints is innovating in these fields. - Innovations and future developments in digital technologies for printing, dyeing, and finishing, M. Van Parys, UNITEX (BE)
The lecture deals with novelties on the level of inks (waterborne, UV), hardware (printers for yarns, fabrics, garments), robotica and how to reduce the pre- and posttreatment steps. Furthermore, digital technologies have also potential for dyeing and topical finishing processes offering a lot of new possibilities and at the same time saving natural resources (water, energy).
Conclusion 13h Lunch