Explore ideas, evidence and developments across the textile value chain.
373 articles · latest first · 121–144
Insight24 Nov 2015The UK-Dutch merger of Lawton Yarns Ltd with Spin-group BV has created a carpet-yarn spinning business with a turnover of more than €100m and over 600 staff in mills across Europe.
Insight13 Nov 2015In a world first, Zimmer Austria has revealed a joint project with DyStar to develop a commercial platform for digital printing with vat dyes. It said the ultra-high-lightfast application, scheduled for launch in mid-2016, is aimed at exacting markets such as high-end upholstery, terry towels, workwear and military fabrics.
Insight6 Nov 2015Durst has revealed that it is to arrive at ITMA Milan with a complete new family of high-production multi-pass digital textile printers, for both fashion and home textiles. The Alpha series will be offered in widths from 190-330cm and configured with up to 8 colours and 64 600dpi print heads, dubbed the Alpha-S. Durst says productivity is up to 460 linear metres/hour, which means the new model is aimed at the same market applications as the company’s existing Kappa series. It is not clear yet whether the Alpha machines will be market alongside or in substitution for the Kappa.
At ITMA 2015 in Milan, Zünd, together with industry partners, will be demonstrating how textile and garment manufacturers can make their production processes more efficient, profitable, and transparent with its ‘Simulate, Print & Cut’ workflow software.
News14 Oct 2015Kyocera has developed a new 150dpi inkjet print head that enables simultaneous four-colour (CMYK) printing from a single head. The Kyocera KJ4B-0150 offers 150dpi resolution for each colour (600dpi total), with a printing speed of 76.2 meters per minute. Available in January 2016, it is intended for used in industrial printing equipment, including textile printers.
Insight13 Oct 2015Fabric-on-demand pioneer Spoonflower has bought its fourth Kornit Allegro wide-format pigment printing system and will install it in its recently announced Berlin, Germany, facility, marking a key moment in the international expansion of the company, which is based in North Carolina, USA.
News7 Oct 2015Konica Minolta has opened its new €5 million textile innovation centre in Como, near Milan, at the same time demonstrating its flagship Nassenger SP-1 single-pass digital textile printer, whose launch is timed to co-incide with the forthcoming ITMA.
Insight27 Aug 2015The announcement of a $25 million private-equity investment in US fabric-on-demand printer Spoonflower is a landmark moment for the company – not least because it is to be the occasion for international expansion, with the opening of a European office in Berlin.
Insight23 Jul 2015Delegates at the WTiN South America Digital Textile Conference yesterday were among the first to hear of a new line of digital textile pigment inks from DuPont, for high-productivity roll-to-roll applications. The inks come under a new ‘DuPont Xite’ brand, complementing the company’s long established DuPont Artistri ranges.
Insight30 Jun 2015Messe Frankfurt is tapping into an exciting growing market for the textile manufacturing industry. In collaboration with WTiN, the global exhibition organiser is creating Avanprint, a new platform for digital textile printing technologies.
Insight23 Jun 2015In the latest sign of renewed confidence in the British textile sector, Coats Threads has returned to the London Stock Exchange after a 12-year absence. A globally recognised name and a business dating back to the 1750s, Coats was originally listed as a public company in 1890 but was taken private again in the dark years for British textiles that came soon after the Millennium, when it appeared the West might entirely lose its textile industry. Its new flotation comes in the 125th anniversary year of that first listing.
Insight23 Jun 2015Textile machinery giant China Hi-Tech Group has offered no explanation for the abrupt sacking of Dr Stefan Schlichter, CEO of German-based operating company Autefa Solutions Group. A statement yesterday said only that Dr Schlichter has been dismissed with immediate effect from all his offices at Autefa as a result of a shareholders' resolution of Hi-Tech Textile Holding GmbH (HTTH), the Chinese parent’s Austria-based investment arm.
After launching the ColorBooster 250 at last year’s FESPA Digital, this year’s FESPA Global Expo saw Hollanders sell its first ColorBooster 320, the new wider version of the entry-level textile printer. London based, ExhibitGraphics has purchased the machine, which will be delivered at the beginning of January, according to the company’s owner Ken Laidlaw.
Insight16 Jun 2015Naming new products can be a trademark minefield - not least in the digital textile printing sector, where product introductions seem to happen almost on a daily basis. Creative minds long ago ran out of all the possible takes on the elements ‘digi’ and ‘tex’ and have to work harder for originality. So it’s not surprising that when Pigment.inc, the new roll-to-roll division of Australia’s Impression Technology, launched its RoTx printer at the recent FESPA it ran into objections from competitors who found the name had too much of a familiar ring. Managing director Steve Richardson has today signalled the immediate rebranding of the RoTx to GoTx, “to avoid confusion”.
Insight15 Jun 2015The German government is promoting the concept of Industry 4.0, predicting nothing short of a revolution in smart industrial production, including in textiles – and aspects of this visionary project will be promulgated at the 9th International CFK-Valley Stade Convention, which opens tomorrow in Stade, Germany. This annual event for the Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) sector, covering applications in lightweight engineering materials, will take as its theme ‘Industry 4.0 for Composites’.
Spanish textile-chemical producer Polysistec has given WTiN.com more details of its recently announced ‘new complete process’ for polyamide preparation and dyeing, which it says can substantially reduce common problems such as unlevelness, differences of affinity, lack of fastness, a long dyeing process and high water consumption.
Textile printing applications are expanding gradually but with purpose from their origins in decoration to fulfil practical functions in a range of technical uses. One of these that shows promise is the creation of textiles that emit light, and ESMA, the European association for manufacturers of screen and digital print equipment, has scheduled a ‘masterclass’ on the POLEOT (Printing Of Light Emitting devices On Textile) project – aimed at developing luminescence technology for a wide range of new textile applications, predominantly intended for safety apparel and other high-visibility products.
