38 images OCTOBER 2026 www.images-magazine.com MARKET INTELLIGENCE Consumable growth One area that is positively flourishing is consumables. Andy Hancock, founder of Indie Ink where sales were up around 25% year-on-year during the first seven months of 2026, says that while the team expected the DTF market to continue growing, “the scale a persistence of that growth has st surprised us. It has matured very yet there still seems to be plenty momentum in the sector.” From Indie Ink’s point of view, t maturity is creating opportunities he says. “As more printers becom established and their equipment out of warranty, they are increasi willing to look beyond the consu supplied by their machine manuf and consider alternative suppliers “We’ve seen that reflected in our own business, with more established DTF users approaching us for UKmanufactured inks and consumables.” It’s a similar story at hardware and consumables supplier InkTec, says sales manager Sarah Hall. “While system sales continue at a healthy pace, we have seen a notable acceleration in demand for consumables, particularly DTF inks and films,” she comments. “Many early adopters of DTF are now reaching the point where warranties on their existing machines are expiring, making them more open to evaluating alternative ink solutions. “This shift is probably also being driven by the desire to reduce operating costs without compromising performance or print quality. As a result, while demand for new DTF systems remains steady, growth in the consumables market is particularly strong, which probably reflects that the number of printers in the sector are maturing while the customer focus is now more on their long-term operational efficiency.” Strengths and limitations As DTF settles into its new position as an established print method, the hype around it seeing off all other types of print has started to die down too. Ben at Xpres has remained firm in his belief that direct-to-garment (DTG) printing is here to stay. “There is no clear cut answer to “should I look at DTF or DTG” as it’s very end-user led. Are you producing an order of 100 uniforms with a company logo? Are you printing for retail? Is the customer ecologically conscious? A print house looking to accommodate everyone shouldn’t be looking at which is better but seeing the benefits of offering both.” Iva Vlahek, key account manager and marketing specialist at hardware manufacturer Azonprinter, adds: “DTG and DTF are increasingly being viewed as complementary technologies rather than competitors where one technology has to completely replace the other. As the market matures, customers are becoming more knowledgeable about the strengths and limitations of each process.” Folker goes a step further, commenting: “We are seeing a renewed interest in DTG, particularly amongst manufacturers who wish to et themselves apart from he competition through softer feel, high-quality rints and a more sustainable roduction process.” It’s not a view Colin of Resolute shares. He believes that until DTG prints can be produced without pretreatment, “it will not make a comeback”. “People put up with pretreatment because it was the only option at the time; being able to produce textile prints without it and onto polyester is the attraction for DTF.” DTF alsooffers other advantages over DTG, according to Dominic at David Sharp: “We have found that DTF wderless update There have certainly been some interesting advances in powderless DTF over the past year, and I think the technology has real tential,” says Andy Hancock of e Ink. t the moment, though, the ems we are seeing tend to ire dedicated or specially figured hardware, particularly re a jettable liquid adhesive ing used in place of the tional powder. For most ing DTF users, it is therefore simply a case of changing ink onsumables and carrying on their current machine. m sure powderless will become a more significant part of the market, particularly because of the potential for cleaner working environments, simpler workflows and softer-feeling transfers. However, I don’t think we are at the point yet where it can be considered a mass-market, plug-and-play replacement for conventional DTF.” Over at David Sharp, the company’s own trials of powderless inks are ongoing. “At present, they aren’t quite there, but no doubt they will improve in time,” says Dominic Bunce. “We consider them still to be in their infancy, and not something ready for the mass market, but that is changing all the time.” Jim Nicol of TMTC is less enthusiastic: “In regards to the powderless option we have opted to remain with the powder curing simply due to the outstanding durability that makes the DTF process unique. Why change or create an issue that doesn’t exist! With the introduction of new and more refined powders together with half-tone images the feel remains outstanding and durable beyond expectations.” y and ill quickly, of hat s, me comes ngly mables facturer s. Pow “T pot Indie “At syste requi confi wher isbei tradit existi not s or co with “I’m b a k s e c s D m s th a p pr A print created using the Roland TY-300 DTF printer, which was updated this year David Sharp’s DTF transfer service has seen a 34% increase in sales
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