What are some of the biggest challenges facing digital print direct-print fabric manufacturers today?
Dix: Being able to respond to the printer’s project-driven needs in a quick manner is perhaps the biggest challenge we manufacturers facei. The second big challenge is trying to develop media that is universally compatible with all the different types of ink sets that are available. Solvents, eco-solvents, UVi-cure, dye-sub — and there’s three or four different types of dye sub: oil, solvent and water-based. It’s hard to come up with textiles that are still price competitive but that can perform under many different conditions. The green revolution is well underway and the graphic arts market is not immune to that. For manufacturers, the challenge here is sourcing green materials. A key component in green materials is that they need to break down. Whether they dissolve, compost or can be recycled another way, they must have that ability to break down. But on the other hand, there are forces telling us that we need to have the material last as long as possible. These dual forces seem
