New textile printing technology developed in Eureka project

A new textile printing technology developed in a Eureka project called Factory Copritex will allow European manufacturers to compete with Asia’s low production costs, by making it economical to have short print runs. At the same time the process is said to be less polluting than existing techniques.

The continuous inkjet printing method was developed in a collaboration between the French inkjet specialist Imaje and Dutch textile printing system developer Osiris. Traditional screen printing involves the creation of one screen for each colour used in the design. These have to be changed during the printing process, meaning the machine has to be stopped at regular intervals.

With inkjet technology the whole pattern can be printed in one pass. The technology works on fabrics that are hard to print successfully with traditional techniques.

The advantages of the new system could give European textile producers a competitive edge in the face of competition from Asia. “China is able to produce at a lower price level,” says Osiris’ Chief Executive Officer Haje van Wesen. “We are getting closer to those price levels, but China cannot supply the time-to-market that we can. If you have a design, you could have a print on a piece of fabric within two hours, so you could walk out with a blouse within a few weeks”.