#Digital Printing

2023-01-26

Epson and designer Yuima Nakazato show a glimpse of a more sustainable future for fashion

Epson has partnered with renowned Japanese fashion designer Yuima Nakazato and his eponymous YUIMA NAKAZATO brand at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week Spring - Summer 2023 to unveil creations that are both stunning and sustainable. In addition to utilizing Epson's digital textile printing to reproduce his unique and creative worldview, YUIMA NAKAZATO realized some of its creations with the help of a new, more sustainable and potentially industry-transforming textile production process.

Partnership combines inkjet and dry fiber technologies to create stunning designs from recycled clothing

Epson's dry fiber technology, which is already used commercially to recycle office paper and which requires virtually no water, has been adapted to produce printable non-woven fabric from used garments. The new fabric production process was revealed in Paris as part of a three-year collaboration between Epson and YUIMA NAKAZATO and was used in the creation of items for the first time during the latter's runway show at the Palais de Tokyo on January 25, 2023.

The collaboration between Epson and YUIMA NAKAZATO builds on the success of the company's printing support for his couture and evolves the level of his creations to enable the low-impact production of high-quality custom garments. Both Epson and YUIMA NAKAZATO are keen to raise awareness of the water and material waste associated with excess production. The Paris Show illustrates how switching to digital textile printing using more environmentally friendly pigment inks offers the fashion industry a more sustainable and less wasteful means of textile printing.(1)

The fabric taken to create the latest YUIMA NAKAZATO fashion line was derived from material from used garments sourced from Africa, the destination for many discarded garments from elsewhere in the world. Nakazato visited Kenya where he collected around 150 kg of waste garment material destined for the "clothes mountain" of discarded textiles he encountered there. Epson then applied its dry fiber process to produce over 50 metres of new re-fiberised non-woven fabric, some of which was used for printing with pigment inks with Epson's Monna Lisa digital printing technology.(2)

Hitoshi Igarashi from Epson's Printing Solutions Division explains the importance of the technology: "Although in its early stages, Epson believes its dry fiber technology combined with pigment ink digital printing could offer the fashion industry a much more sustainable future, significantly reducing water use while allowing designers the freedom to fully express their creativity.

"Epson's Environmental Vision is committed to contributing to a circular economy, and this development could be one step towards achieving this. Dry fiber technology applied to the fashion industry offers the possibility of producing material for new clothes that have been recycled from used garments."

In a trial of distributed printing for venue decoration, Epson inkjet printers in Japan and France with remote support from Epson engineers were used to create decorations in the venue space. Both Epson and YUIMA NAKAZATO intend to continue exploring the possibilities for contributing to a more sustainable fashion industry.

1) Digital textile printing using pigment inks offers a far more sustainable approach to the fabric production process. compared with traditional analog methods. In addition to pigment inks requiring significantly less water, the digital process requires far fewer stages and is less complex. Unlike analog it requires no plate production, washing or storage, results in little disposal of used inks, and allows on-demand production that contributes to less waste.

2) Epson's Monna Lisa digital Direct-to-Fabric printers use less water compared with analog methods. Pigment inks are more eco-friendly and Epson GENESTA pigment inks are GOTS approved by ECOCERT.

Epson launches SureColor G9000: high-production Direct-To-Film printer delivering greater productivity and reliability

Epson today announces the launch of the SureColor G9000, a new high-production Direct-To-Film (DTFilm) printer designed to meet growing global demand for flexible and efficient textile transfer printing. Expanding Epson’s DTFilm line-up alongside the SC-G6000, the SC-G9000 introduces enhanced speed, reliability and ease of maintenance for commercial garment decorators and textile producers.

Epson future proofs textile printing with Epson Textile Academy 2.0

Technology leader Epson today hosted its second Textile Academy Event at the company’s Textile Innovation Centre in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. Building on the success of its inaugural Textile Academy earlier this year, the event welcomed Textile Design BA students from Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and Loughborough University. The event features workshops designed to enhance student’s practical textile printing skills; corporate and entrepreneurial business acumen; marketing and self-branding; and environmental awareness around the textile industry.

Epson unveils Monna Lisa ML-16000JQ for more efficient and sustainable Jacquard fabric printing

Global technology firm Epson announces a new direct-to-fabric digital textile printer designed for jacquard fabrics. The Monna Lisa ML-16000JQ delivers direct-to-fabric double-sided printing on jacquard fabrics, meeting the needs of fashion designers looking to enhance their creativity by seamlessly integrating vibrant colours with intricate woven patterns.

VistaPrint increases apparel production capacity with Kornit Apollo

Kornit Digital (NASDAQ: KRNT), a provider of on-demand digital textile production technologies, reports that VistaPrint has significantly increased its apparel production capacity through the implementation of the Kornit Apollo system. The installation has enabled the international print and design company to add approximately 25,000 units of weekly production capacity while improving production speed, operational efficiency and order turnaround times.

Blue Tomato accelerates agile retail apparel production with Kornit Digital

Kornit Digital (NASDAQ: KRNT), a global pioneer in on-demand digital fashion and textile production technologies, is highlighting how Blue Tomato, Europe’s largest board sports retailer, is using two Kornit Atlas MAX PLUS systems to support a more agile approach to in-house apparel production. The systems are helping Blue Tomato respond faster to changing consumer trends, produce high-quality apparel for its network of 86 retail stores across Europe and reduce inventory by printing only what the market demands.

Stäubli to introduce new S3292 dobby for high-speed weaving at ITME India 2026

Stäubli will introduce its new S3292 dobby at ITME India 2026, taking place from December 4 to 9 at the India Expo Centre & Mart in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Designed for high-speed air-jet weaving, the new machine will be among the highlights of the company's presentation, which also includes warp preparation systems, cam motions, Jacquard technologies and digital services.

DITF develops bio-based binding fibers for wood-fiber insulation materials

As part of the CelluWoodFlex project, the German Institutes of Textile- and Fiber-Research in Denkendorf (DITF) are developing bio-based cellulose ester fibers as alternative binding fibers for flexible wood fiber insulation materials. In addition to the spinning process and the production of suitable staple fibers, the institute is also investigating how wood and cellulose fibers can be separated and recycled at the end of their useful life.

Reju expands textile-to-textile recycling network with six international fabric manufacturers

Reju, a textile-to-textile regeneration company, is expanding its industrial network through collaborations with six fabric manufacturers in Europe and the Americas. The initiative aims to accelerate the integration of regenerated polyester into textile manufacturing and support the development of finished fabrics for commercial applications.

Magnera highlights HighPleat™ filtration media technology at FiltXPO 2026

At FiltXPO 2026, held on October 28–29 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Magnera highlighted advances in air filtration media architecture, with a particular focus on its HighPleat™ platform for MERV 8–10 applications. The technology combines a lofted fiber structure with optimized pore architecture to address the challenge of balancing filtration efficiency, airflow resistance and contaminant-holding capacity.