The idea of carrying out fully programmed embroidering with just a single thread that can instantly switch between a palette of 12m colours during high-speed production would have been unthinkable not so long ago.

So too, would have been the ability to precisely deposit 270m 10-micron droplets of dye onto a fabric every second – and with variability of less than 1%.

These are just two examples of where digitalisation is taking the resource-intensive dyeing and finishing sector – with huge implications for resource savings.

Instant colouration
However, as a sobering reminder of just how difficult it is to launch such disruptive new technologies into the very traditional textile manufacturing market, Sweden’s Coloreel Group filed for bankruptcy last month (July 2024).

The decision was made due to the company’s inability to develop its business volume quickly enough to secure the operational financing it needed.

Coloreel technology makes the instant colouration of embroidery threads during actual production possible, and its advantages are immediately apparent.

In conventional embroidery, a large number of threads are required that need to be dyed, colour matched, transported and stored. Coloreel works from just a single thread and using CMYK technology can instantly print over 12m colours – roughly 80% of the Pantone palette.