Pigment inks targeting the roll-to-roll digital textile printing market have improved substantially over the last decade, often promising to reduce the sector’s environmental footprint by removing energy-intensive process steps associated with dye-based direct-to-fabric ink formulations.

While pigment ink consumption has grown in the inkjet space, the category has been unable to expand its market share, according to proprietary data from WTiN. This is largely because the print quality of pigment inks remains inferior to that of reactive formulations, which continue to dominate printed cotton-based applications. Cotton is the second most common substrate in the digital textile printing market behind polyester.

Although research and development (R&D) has enhanced the colour gamut, viscosity and fastness properties of pigment inks, efforts have also been made to future-proof the reactive process, offsetting the impact of pigment innovation. O’ROBE from Konica Minolta is one such solution. The technology applies the lowest volume of pre-treatment necessary in a precise location, with the aim of reducing process steps, lowering energy use and supporting faster, more flexible production.

Pigment systems, however, have the advantage of entirely eliminating the washing phase and