Innovate: Direct-to-Film Printing sponsor Aoyu New Material Technology has become a leading producer of adhesive powders for the proliferating direct-to-film (DTF) printing industry and says it has earned its standing by meeting customers' individual performance requirements.

The Zhejiang, China-based business can manufacture 8,000 metric tons of Polyurethane (PU) powders annually and, in 2024, produced more than 10,000 tons of hot melt adhesive powder. The company can also manufacture 7,500 and 5,000 metric tons of Copolyester (COPES) and Copolyamide (COPA) respectively.

China pioneered DTF technology and, over the last five years, its domestic market has enjoyed rapid growth. The country consumes 47% of the world’s DTF adhesive powders and represents 67% of global production. Aoyu currently sells 70% of its products domestically but export demand is growing as DTF technology continues to gain traction overseas.

Research and development
The quality of a DTF print relies heavily on the performance of three key components: adhesive powder, pigment ink and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) film. These elements must work seamlessly to achieve optimal results but, due to the complexity of coordinating these materials, the DTF printing process tends to be more manual compared to other garment printing methods.

That said, advancements in software and automation are streamlining