Milan, Italy, will be the next venue for the Fespa Digital Textile Conference on 30 September 2016. The conference is the latest in series of digital textile conference led by Fespa over the past eight years that have been designed to help Fespa’s global printing community develop their skills and opportunities in this area.
The September 2016 programme for the Fespa Digital Textile Conference will give print service providers insights into the market segments of digital textile printing, feedback and advice from successful printers, and technical advice, along with updates on the latest machinery, software, inks and textile technologies.
The conference will be delivered in both English and Italian. Confirmed speakers and panellists so far include Enrico Barboglio (Fespa Italia), Duncan MacOwan (Fespa), Ron Gilboa (InfoTrends), Fulvio Alvisi (AIDT), Andrea Ferrero (Miroglio Textiles), Lorenzo Zottar (The Color Soup), Gianluca Brenna (Stamperia di Lipomo), Dario Garnero (Stamperia Serica Italiana) and Andrea Barbiani (MS Italy).
Neil Felton, Fespa CEO, said: “Today, digital accounts for only a small proportion of all textile printing, but this is forecast to grow substantially in the years ahead, with estimates suggesting that digital could account for 5% of textile printing by 2020, up from 2% today.”
The Fespa Print Census, printed in May 2015, showed that 81% of printers were seeing growth in the textile segment, higher than any other application segment. Digital technology was also found to be key, as over 50% of respondents expected digitally produced garments to become an important alternative to screen printing in the next two years. Many respondents were investing in this growing segment, with 21% of respondents intending to spend on textile printers and 12% planning to acquire thermal transfer equipment. At the Fespa Digital exhibition in Amsterdam in March 2016, fashion and garment printing was shown to be the primary area of interest for printers.
The conference will be supported by the Fespa Italia Association, Sistema Moda Italia, the Italian Fashion and Textile Federation, and MS Italy. The Italian Textile Designers Association and Associazione Italiana Disegnatori Tessili are also supporting the conference and will field speakers.
Registration for the Digital Textile Conference is open to any printer. Full details on registration and the conference programme can be found at the Fespa website.
