Popular Mechanics (South Africa)
The printerior revolution
Digital textile printing has landed in South Africa. Lumka Nofemele explores how this technology is not only creating artistic pieces in record time, but is also boosting our economy – and environment.
Digital textile printing gamechanger
Printeriors are hot right now. Shorthand for printed interiors, the term refers to everything from custom wallpapers to murals, digitally printed textiles and wall art, printing on woods, metal, ceramic tiles, glass and perspex.
“Globally, designers are taking the printerior trend to mainstream use by leveraging the advances in digital textile printing,” says Craig Whyte, CEO of digital printing specialists Artlab. Designers are using the technology to create bespoke furniture coverings, cushions, wall coverings, flooring, drapes, table tops, even windows and mirrors, all on-demand and with no minimum dimensions. “With this technology now arriving on our shores, we expect to see the local design community experiment with the printeriors concept to create fresh new, authentic and unique design,” says Whyte.
Most of South Africa’s textile printing is still conducted on a large scale in China, but the arrival of new digital textile printing technology lowers the barrier to entry for local textile manufacturers. It does this by enabling unique on-demand prints without the huge minimum volume that’s a prerequisite for the mass-produced Chinese options. This means that both local print suppliers and buyers can mutually benefit and save on printing costs.
“Essentially, the new digital printing technology enables medium and short-run printing without the major start-up costs. (This) opens the market to smaller new players as well as enabling the more established players to experiment with designs, fabrics and colours in an affordable and accessible way,” Whyte says. And with the new tech enabling printing on any kind of material – natural and synthetic fabrics, wood, steel, glass – designers are limited only by their imagination.
South Africa’s clothing and textile industry has struggled immensely over the past two decades. In just 15 years since 2002, the industry went from employing 200 000 people to a mere 90 000 today. “The loss of jobs in this sector has had significant consequences, partly because three out of every four textile and clothing workers are women. For the industry to move from survival into a more consistent growth phase, it needs a shot in the arm. We believe digital textile printing is just that,” says Whyte.
“Despite coming off a low base of 2 per cent of the total textile market, digital textile printing is set to drastically disrupt the traditional textile industry. Analysts estimate that the global digital textile printing sector will grow by 25 per cent per annum over the coming years. Half of that growth will be centred on Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.”
Whyte has watched countless factories and businesses shut down and hopes that his work in digital textile printing can contribute to an economic upward turn for the country as a whole. “For us, digital textile printing marks a revival of industries related to clothing, upholstery, soft furnishings and more. The new technology gives old artisans and small businesses a cost-effective
way to revive their craft and improve their livelihoods. We’re trying to create a platform for the industry. There’s a strong sense of entrepreneurship in what we’re trying to achieve.”
Digital textile printing has already helped revive Europe’s textile industry. “Large fashion brands such as Zara use digital textile printing to quickly design, print and roll out new styles and fashion to their stores in an environmentally sustainable manner,” says Whyte. “This allows them to stay on-trend without incurring the significant costs and potential wastage of doing large-volume print runs in China.”