Digital printing on fabric is a method of printing colorants onto fabric using inkjet-based printers. This process allows for printing smaller designs onto garments and printing larger designs directly onto textile media. Digital printing technology started in the late 1980s as a possible replacement for analog screen printing. With the development of a dye-sublimation printer in the early 1990s, it became possible to print with low energy sublimation inks and high energy disperse direct inks directly onto textile media, as opposed to printing dye-sublimation inks on transfer paper and, in a separate process using a heat press, transferring it to the fabric.

Digital printing on fabric is a relatively new way to print on fabric, and it is just like when you print a photo to your inkjet printer at home. The printer feeds a roll of fabric through a large-format inkjet printer, and the design is printed directly onto the fabric. Digital printing enables precise reproduction of very fine lines, with strong color consistency. There are mainly two successful digital printing methods: sublimation digital printing and direct digital printing.

Digital fabric printing is a growing market and will continue to grow as a viable mainstream option in the specialty imaging community, and it will be getting a bigger market share in the apparel and home furnishing segment. It is important to see it as a complimentary technology to conventional printing as compared to a competition.

The benefits of digital printing on fabric include:

• Versatility: Digital printing is more versatile because you can either print on specific placements or choose to print a repeated/ allover print onto the fabric yardage.

• Detailed and accurate designs: Digital printing is able to print much more detailed and accurate designs than traditional screen printing.

• Reduced waste: Digital printing reduces waste as designers can print fabric on demand one meter at a time, which means a lot less fabric and ink waste.

• Precise reproduction: Digital printing enables precise reproduction of very fine lines, with strong color consistency.

• Affordability: Digital printing fabric is becoming a much more affordable option.

On the other hand, screen printing is a very affordable fabric printing method, and screen-printed garments have a classic look and feel that digital prints cant replicate. Screenprints are also extremely durable and last for a very long time, and its easy to screenprint on lots of different types...