Como hosted the conference on the digital textile industry organised by Seiko Epson Corp. The Japanese company; which helped build the Digital Textile Valley by investing in Como for more than 15 years to develop its digital textile printing segment, welcomed operators from all over the world.
The event opened with a keynote from Seiko Epson President, Minoru Usui, who will unveil “Digital printing and sustainability” – the third Book by the Textile Solution Centre, opened in Como by Epson, For.Tex and Robustelli to promote digital printing
Capital city of the industrial district; centre of excellence for high-quality fabric printing and recently at the forefront in the development of the digital textile industry; Como hosted the Epson Textile R-Evolution event, organised on the 20-21 November by Epson together with F.lli Robustelli and For.Tex. The focus has been the present and future of digital textile printing; a sector in which Como has played a fundamental role thanks to local companies acting as experimental laboratories for the most innovative technologies to develop the worldwide trend. It was a unique occasion to find out about Epson’s commitment, objectives and future strategies; and to examine the latest technological developments presented with F.lli Robustelli and For.Tex – now part of the Epson Group.
Como is an important center in textile printing
Capital of the silk and a landmark for all the most important fashion brands; Como has played a leading role in the technological transformation of the fabric printing industry. With digital printing production exceeding 60 percent; the evolution of the Digital Textile Valley Made in Italy is today a fact. This development has been boosted also by Epson which has been investing in the Como area since 1998; the year it started to cooperate with Robustelli and For.Tex. This ongoing commitment is demonstrated by the opening in 2014 of the Textile Solution Centre; the state-of-the-art centre for sector research, training, promotion and development, and the recent creation of two other centres; the Innovation Research Lab, dedicated to digital fabric printing ink technology research and development; and the Printing Research Centre, created to support Epson inkjet technology’s future developments related to fabric printing.
Global President Seiko Epson Corp, Minoru Usui said: “Last year, Epson outlined its ten-year corporate vision in which we pledged to continue to boost the competitive advantage of our products and achieve growth in new domains by becoming a valued and indispensable partner. Textile printing is one such new domain as we believe the time for digital to replace analog is now. To this, Epson brings unique technological expertise including our original and proprietary Micro Piezo inkjet technology, which we have perfected for digital textile printing and includes our state-of-the-art PrecisionCore printheads”.
Inkjet printing: the future of textile printing
Originally created to speed production times and reduce pattern book production costs; in 20 years digital printing has taken a leading role in the design and production of printed fabrics. There is a consensus that inkjet printing is the future of the textile printing; so that in the fashion industry – particularly sensitive to versatility, speed and customisation – an ever increasing amount of printed fabrics is realized using the inkjet technology. The advantages are not only economic and practical but also ecological. The sustainability aspects have found a powerful ally in digital textile printing.
To deal with this critical topic, during the event; the three companies presented “Digital printing and sustainability”, the third of the Textile Solution Centre Book series. The report provides an in-depth examination of sustainability applied to the digital printing on textile sector. It starts with an analysis of the economic and cultural background which the technology is now a part – its fashion sector connections and the continually evolving market dynamics. The technological aspects of printing processes are analysed along with the environmental impact of the technology and an outline of the trends in future developments.
This is an opportunity to stress the extent to which Epson, For.Tex and Robustelli are committed to sustainability; and how a total solution is typified by their continuous search to achieve a minimal environmental impact through practices; such as eco-design and chemical certification. It is a constant quest for excellence which, after the launch of the first Monna Lisa in 2003, continues to offer the textile sector a unique solution and reference standard for the high-quality textile printing sector today with the Monna Lisa Evo Tre – the latest model in this successful series of industrial printers.