On-demand direct-to fabric printing may be the best opportunity for the often-misunderstood fashion industry.
McKinsey estimates that 71% fashion producers want to set up nearshore operations. On-demand production models help ensure that these ambitions can be realized.
Digital print technology is the key to unleashing creativity and answering consumer demand for more sustainability. It also makes it easier to answer consumers’ questions more accurately and cost-effectively.
Although analog production will continue to be used for small orders and simple quantities, there is a shrinking demand. Producers who need flexibility in their operations, diversification to answer changing market dynamics and challenges, and profitability from any order increasingly realise digital isn’t simply a nice have, it’s a must have.
People expect to find exactly what they’re looking for, buy at the touch of a screen, and have it in a day or two.
Digital textile printing is the only real way to respond to this demand quickly and without any complications. Simply put, 30% is going to waste. Digital on-demand production capabilities are an effective way to avoid inventory creation.
This means that producers can produce more products and have more applications with fewer resources. This means that you supply by demand, not inventory. You can also plan and adjust in real-time.
Why Kornit
Kornit Digital’s digital direct to fabric system is the only one that utilizes pigment-based technology. Inline fixation and curing allow for single-step production of durable, retail-quality impressions on a variety of fabrics in any quantity.
Customers often credit the system for allowing them to quickly and cheaply fulfill their designs. This is a great alternative to dye-sublimation of polyester, which can be used to meet the needs of a B2C operation.
Used in conjunction with Kornit’s proprietary NeoPigment Robusto ink set, Kornit production systems are Oeko-Tex Eco Passport certified, GOTS approved, and Bluesign certified to meet the highest sustainability standards, while the softener solution ensures a soft hand-feel to meet the needs of even the most discerning fashion designers, as demonstrated by an eclectic group of designers participating in our series of Kornit Fashion Week events, which saw creators bring both fashion and home décor collections from design to reality in mere weeks using this on-demand production technology.
As outlined in Kornit’s 2021 Impact Report, a life cycle assessment of Kornit Presto S demonstrated the system uses up to 95% less water and 94% less energy relative to contemporary screenprinting solutions, while producing up to 83% fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
Producors can quickly create samples and never have to produce excess inventory by using Kornit. This allows Kornit users the opportunity to set up profitable nearshore and onshore operations in high-cost cities like London, New York, Los Angeles, and New York.
This is ideal for a consolidated “micro factory” model that incorporates the complete end-to-end production of finished goods under one roof, while inline pretreatment of materials helps mitigate reliance on sourcing pretreated materials, and in some cases enables custom printing of unique materials provided by the designers, brands, or end-consumers themselves.
Blur, a Portuguese company, offers complete production services to fashion companies. These include printing, embroidering and pattern development, prototype manufacturing and full production. Blur also offers dropshipping and direct-to-consumer services. This makes high-quality fulfillment possible for a growing customer base.
Blur realized that dye sublimation was not only able to produce durable, brilliant impressions for poly-blend sportswear and home textiles, but also for natural materials. This drove them to add Kornit’s direct-to-fabric (imprinting rolls of material, to be cut and sewn for various applications or as custom-designed fabric sold as it) digital print capability, enabling a broad range of product offerings for their customers—including the production of new samples within 30 minutes.
“Kornit is the most eco-friendly solution on the marketplace, since it uses 100% biodegradable inks,” says Blur Founder and CEO Mariano Dias. “Our printers now run 24 hours a day. Although we can produce any quantity, including large quantities of one-piece pieces, our main order sizes are 500 pieces. Kornit’s printers give us total flexibility, and the quality is just outstanding. Today, we have some clients who only want to print with Kornit technology because of that.”
“Total flexibility, and the quality is just outstanding”
Blur is a Portugal-based company that offers full production services for fashion brands. This includes printing and embroidery, pattern development and prototyping, and production of complete collections. It also offers dropshipping and direct to consumer services. This allows for high-quality fulfillment to a wide range of customers.
Blur realized that dye sublimation was not only able to produce durable, brilliant impressions for poly-blend sportswear and home textiles, but also for natural materials. This drove them to add Kornit’s direct-to-fabric (imprinting rolls of material, to be cut and sewn for various applications or as custom-designed fabric sold as it) digital print capability, enabling a broad range of product offerings for their customers—including the production of new samples within 30 minutes.
“Kornit is the most eco-friendly solution on the marketplace, since it uses 100% biodegradable inks,” says Blur Founder and CEO Mariano Dias. “Our printers now run 24 hours a day. Our main order size is 500 pieces. We can print any volume, from one-piece to large quantities. Kornit’s printers give us total flexibility, and the quality is just outstanding. Today, we have come clients who only want to print with Kornit technology because of that.”
Next-gen capabilities
Kornit’s state-of-the-art Presto MAX system changes the game as the first digital direct-to-fabric print system offering white-on-black impressions. It can create 3D effects that mimic screen, vinyl and embroidery using one pigment-based printing mechanism.
Digitized production capabilities are necessary for a digitally digitised market. Technologies such as screens and dye-sublimation have their place – but digital is a complementary solution that enables self-expression (unlimited designs, colours, etc.It opens up new possibilities, optimizes production (eliminating inefficiencies or wasteful overproduction), as well as better aligns with online commerce to respond to the worldwide explosion of creativity. It is able to handle more complex jobs, and it has a lower total cost of ownership. This allows for more jobs to be produced quickly and with less setup time. While maintaining high quality, consistency, and high quality, it also maintains a low level of labour. It solves supply chain problems by enabling localised, on-demand fulfillment. And it’s cleaner, which is increasingly important to everyone, but especially to younger generations who spend according to their values.
Kornit.com provides information about how to create new opportunities and grow your product lines, as well as building a more sustainable organization with transformative digital-on-demand capabilities.