The garment decoration sector continues to shift from direct-to-garment (DTG) into direct-to-film (DTF), according to new analysis by research group International Data Corporation (IDC).
Shipments of DTF machines in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in April to June 2024 increased compared to the previous quarter while DTG dropped over the same period.
According to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Industrial Printer Tracker, this matched a global trend where “we continue to see the move from direct-to-garment (DTG) into direct-to-film (DTF)”.
Roberto Alunni, IDC’s senior research director for EMEA, explained: “Shipments of DTF machines in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in April to June 2024 were the main driver for the 68% growth in direct-to-shape (DTS) category over the first quarter of the year, compared to a drop of 14% in DTG for the same period.”
Talking about the broader DTS category including DTF, he added: “A few vendors in the DTS category experienced shipment delays in Q1 2024 for EMEA. As a result, the sequential growth rate looks high. Despite this temporary disruption, the broader trend toward DTS has been evident since late 2021 and early 2022 in EMEA.
“The demand for DTS products remains robust despite the challenging economic conditions, and as a result the outlook appears positive.
“Vendors continue to introduce models that are both versatile and cost-effective, with improvements in technology contributing to operational efficiencies for end users.”
Overall, the quarterly tracker showed shipments in the industrial print sector were “essentially flat” with total shipments growing by only 1%. The wide-format print segment was “effectively flat” quarter on quarter, with growth coming from DTS and industrial textile printing.
In the UK, garment decorators continue to invest in DTF systems such as BE Uniforms, featured in the September 2024 issue of Images magazine.
