Textile Media … to Print, or not to Print?

There’s a big demand in the market that’s showing no signs of abating. With a little bit of experience you’ll be surprised how easy it is and how many more opportunities it will open up for your business. Here are 5 ‘myths’ about printed textile and my thoughts on why you really should consider the potential benefits to your business…

1. My customers don’t want printed textile

They most certainly do … especially if you’re serving customers in the retail or exhibition sectors where growth is most noticeable. The switched on retail chains are rapidly moving over to fabric lightboxes – it makes the shopping environment more enticing. Equally, there’s real growth in the exhibition sector with ease of transport, high creativity and tactile stand design being big motivators for the savvy designers. You could be a part of that growth too.

2. We’re too busy to add in textile printing

Fantastic! But… those that have already invested in textile print using their existing equipment and printers are even busier and even more profitable. You don’t want to get left behind in an increasingly competitive market, so is it a case of looking at how you can make better use of your current printer setup, by running more profitable print jobs for a shorter space of time?

3. I’m not confident enough to print textiles – can I really do it?

Yes you certainly can! You mightn’t be able to print an extensive range of textiles but you’d be surprised how many different types you can print with your existing resources. There’s been a real surge in development of fabrics suitable for UV, latex and solvent printing, so while there are certain benefits of using a dedicated textile printer with dye sub inks, there are plenty of companies producing some superb work with alternative ink technologies.​

4. Textile printing is too much hassle 

If you don’t start printing textiles, your competitors will (or already are) and you’ll get left behind. The race isn’t slowing down and progress in this sector is increasing year-on-year. There’s a shift in substrates that’s happening right now. The availability of new textiles is one of the driving forces but customer demand, as your clients see the benefits, is just as significant. The window of opportunity is wide open…​

5. There’s no money in it

There certainly is. Textile printing is a highly profitable revenue stream and unlike many other competitive sectors; printers that print textile can expect to charge more for the product because of the additional benefits it offers to the end-user. ​