62 email: editor@printmonthly.co.uk May / June 2025 - Issue 354 TEXTILE PRINTING tation, all make textiles a great solution for eco-conscious print buyers, and this is no doubt driving growth.” PLASTGrommet manufacture a range of finishing solutions for the textile signage market including eyelet, welding, and slitting machines. The company’s research and development is fuelled by, as Menéndez puts it, “our dedication to solving customer challenges in innovative ways”. The company will launch four new solutions to the market at this year’s FESPA Global Print Expo. Among these products will be the new All in One EDGE banner finishing machine. The solution includes the same integrated welding, eyeleting, and cutting capabilities as PLASTGrommet’s All in One, but aimed at medium-sized companies at a lower cost. The company’s new TexWiz solution will also be shown for the first time at FESPA Global Print Expo, utilising the company’s All in One platform. TexWiz aims to demonstrate new sewing automation capabilities for textile finishing by adding a sewing module to the All in One. Menéndez stresses that when adding textile to your print offerings, you should not underestimate the importance of investing in finishing capabilities along with your printing, to avoid the risk of downtime and bottlenecks. “There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution when it comes to textile finishing,” he insists, adding: “Printers should look for a solution that is flexible and adaptable depending on the specific needs of each job.” Menéndez also highlights that when adding textile printing to your portfolio, it is important for printers to really understand the different properties that any new material has. He comments: “If you are a printer that has traditionally produced vinyl banner products for example, then producing a mesh banner product will require different printing techniques, and of course different finishing. Unless you’re using a coated textile material that is suitable for being welded, textile products will require sewing, and the type of sewing you need will differ depending on the product you are producing.” Menéndez is very positive about the future growth of the textile printing market. “We are seeing huge growth in this area, especially with large-format print customers adding more textile products to their portfolios all the time,” he asserts. “Everywhere you look, the use of textile is growing.” In analysis of the textile market by Ink World Magazine, the publication asserted that “the global textile market is, in a word, enormous”, valuing it at $1.837trn (£1.44trn) in 2023 and projected to grow ▲ Epson announced a new direct-to-fabric digital textile printer designed for jacquard fabrics – the Monna Lisa ML16000JQ The first common method of textile printing originated in China, with examples of woodblock printing discovered as early as 220 AD Factoid
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