Analysis of status and trend of global textile digital ink jet printing

by Zhong Mengxia

As an important part of the industrial chain of textile industry， printing and dyeing industry is an important link to drive spinning and weaving and improve the grade and added value of clothing and household textiles， also a key industry to ensure the competitiveness of textile products.

Digital ink jet printing， as a new printing method， fits the current personalized and changing consumption trend， adapts to the change of new business model， and becomes the fastest growing field in printing and dyeing industry recently. The pandemic in 2020 stimulated a new round of industrial digital transformation. In this process， the automation and intelligence of printing and dyeing industry was further accelerated， and digital ink jet printing technology was meeting a new opportunity.

Market survey of printed fabrics

The global printed fabric market is mainly distributed in North America， Europe， Asia and Latin America， with a market scale of about 55 billion meters. From 2014 to 2018， the global output of printed fabrics increased year by year， and decreased slightly in 2019. Affected by the COVID-19 in 2020， the output is expected to drop to about 46 billion meters， down nearly 20% year-on-year.

Printing methods mainly include direct printing and transfer printing. Direct printing is that directly permeating or transferring dyes to grey cloth through silk screen and roller to realize flower pattern printing； Transfer printing is printing the pattern on the transfer paper with a roller， and then printing the pattern on the grey cloth by hot pressing and transfer printing. Because transfer printing is mostly used for chemical fiber fabrics， with the increase of chemical fiber fabrics and the advantages of flexible and simple process，the output of transfer printing has been greatly improved.

China occupies an important position in the global textile printing and dyeing process， and the output of printed fabrics in China accounts for about 30% of the world. From 2014 to 2019， the output of printed fabrics in China remained at about 16 billion meters. Affected by the pandemic， the output of printed fabrics in China was about 15-16 billion meters， which decreased slightly year-on-year.

The development of textiles digital ink jet market

Global textiles digital ink jet market

Digital ink jet printing has experienced from single proofing use to mass production. In recent years， with the rapid decline in equipment and cost， the printing accuracy and speed have been greatly improved， and its characteristics such as no need for plate making， long printing time， small printing batch and environmental protection have adapted to the current textile market. The application of digital ink jet printing technology in printing and dyeing industry is increasing and its market share is expanding now.

Digital ink jet printing meets the downstream demand of small batch and inventory under the pandemic because of its flexible start-up and less labor. The impact of COVID-19 on digital ink jet printing industry is not prominent. It is estimated that the global digital ink jet printing output in 2021 will be basically the same as that in 2020.

Digital ink jet printing in Europe has always been at the forefront of the global digital ink jet printing industry， and it is the biggest demand and production place of digital ink jet printing products. It has changed from designbased mode to small-batch production mode， and gradually developed to batch production. At present， more than 90% of European printing enterprises have adopted digital ink jet printing proofing， and the output of digital ink jet printing products has accounted for more than 25% of the total output of printing products； In East Asia， represented by China， South Korea and Japan， the output of digital ink jet printing accounts for about 8%-10%； Digital ink jet printing accounts for about 3%-4% in Southeast Asia and 3%-4% in South Asia， among which Pakistan is outstanding， with digital ink jet printing accounting for 10%-12%.

China textile digital ink jet market

In recent years， digital inkjet printing technology has been widely concerned and developed rapidly in Chinas printing and dyeing industry. From 2014 to 2019， the proportion of digital ink jet printing increased from 1.8% to 11.2%， and the proportion of digital direct injection products in the total printing increased from 0.5% to 2.1%； The proportion of digital transfer products in total printing increased from 1.3% to 9.1%. In 2020， under the effect of COVID-19， digital ink-jet printing will adapt to market changes and meet new consumption demands， and the market application will be further expanded.

Digital transfer printing equipment is simple and investment is small， which can adapt to the development trend of rapid market change， small batch and short cycle. It has become a production and processing method with rapid development and expanding popularization and application. Up to 2019， the proportion of digital transfer printing in digital ink jet printing has exceeded 80%， and the proportion of digital direct jet printing in digital printing products is less than 20%.

It is estimated that by 2025， the output of digital transfer printing will reach 2.7 billion meters， with an average annual growth rate of about 10%； The output of digital direct printing reaches about 2 billion meters， with an average annual growth of about 33%.

Digital ink jet equipment situation

Global digital ink jet equipment market

From 2014 to 2019， the number of digital ink jet printing equipment in the world increased steadily. Digital transfer printing equipment accounted for more than 80%， and digital direct jet equipment accounted for less than 20%. Among the digital transfer printing equipment， most of them are low-speed machines with a price of 30，000-80，000 yuan and a printing speed of less than 30 m/h， with a general service life of 2-3 years.

With the continuous improvement of digital ink-jet printing technology and the release of quality and differentiated consumer demand， digital ink-jet printing equipment has entered the peak period of upgrading.

Market segmentation and the increasing proportion of high-end models are the main features of this stage. Fast speed， high precision， strong stability and the proportion of digital ink jet printing equipment combined with rotary screen or flat screen printing schemes continue to rise. In 2019， the global digital ink jet printing equipment was eliminated by 18，700 units， and it is estimated that the global digital inkjet printing equipment will be eliminated by 11，000-13，000 units in 2021. Among the obsolete equipment， the low-speed digital transfer printing equipment which has been used for about 5 years accounts for more than 80% of the obsolete equipment.

China digital ink jet printing equipment market

With the maturity of technologies and the increasing market demand， digital ink jet equipment was growing in China. From 2015 to 2019， the installed capacity of digital ink jet printing equipment in China increased year by year， and the number of equipment in 2019 was more than doubled compared with that in 2015. The rapid development of digital ink jet printing in China has played a positive role in promoting the transformation and upgrading of the industry.

Transfer printing equipment accounts for about 90% of the digital ink jet printing equipment in China， and contributes more than 80% of the output of digital ink jet printing. With the decline in the price of digital direct-injection printing equipment， the extension of the service life of nozzles and the improvement of printing efficiency， digital direct printing equipment has been gradually recognized by the market， and its installed capacity has increased year by year， with the market holding increasing. By the end of 2019， the holding ratio of digital direct-injection printing equipment has reached 10.65%.

In 2019， Chinas digital ink jet printing equipment entered the peak period of elimination， and the eliminated 10，550 digital ink jet printing equipment were basically digital transfer printing equipment， which basically synchronized with the elimination situation of global digital transfer printing equipment. It is estimated that in the next five years， the newly installed digital ink jet printing equipment in China will still maintain an average annual growth rate of 20%-25%， and by 2025， the number of equipment will reach 140，000 units.

Global ink consumption of ink jet printing equipment

Overall consumption

Printing ink， as a necessary consumable， has high requirements in color fastness， coloring rate and adaptability to nozzles. In terms of raw materials， there is no difference between digital ink jet printing ink and traditional printing dyes. However， due to the different ink feeding and coloring forms， printing ink has higher requirements than traditional printing dyes， especially in terms of particle size， suspension stability， crystallization control， etc.， so as to meet the requirements of high-precision digital ink jet printing nozzles for efficient working state and service life.

The cost of printing ink has a certain influence on the popularization and application of this printing process. The price of printing ink has dropped sharply， and the overall price has dropped by 90% since 2011. The sharp drop in ink prices has promoted the popularization and application of digital ink jet printing technology to a certain extent.

The global consumption of digital ink jet printing ink has increased year by year， reaching 57，500 tons in 2019 and nearly doubled in the past five years， in which active ink accounts for about 20%， dispersed ink accounts for about 60%， and other inks such as acid and paint ink account for about 20%. The change of ink consumption in digital ink jet printing reflects the prospect of digital ink jet printing technology. It is estimated that the global consumption of ink will reach 160，000 tons by 2025.

Domestic consumption

Chinas digital ink jet printing ink has experienced a development process from completely relying on imports to basic localization， and the ink price has dropped from higher than 1000 yuan/kg to the current price of most kinds of inks lower than 100 yuan/kg. In terms of quality， some domestic digital ink jet printing inks have reached the level of imported inks. The localization of printing ink has strongly promoted the digital printing industry in China.

At present， Chinas digital ink jet printing ink consumption accounts for about 37% of the world. Among the ink consumption， dispersed ink accounts for nearly 80%， which is directly related to the high proportion of digital transfer printing in the total printing； Active ink accounts for about 15%， and other inks account for about 5%. From 2014 to 2019， the consumption of dispersed ink increased from 3，600 tons to 17，000 tons， with an average annual growth rate of 36.4%； The consumption of active ink increased from 1，040 tons to 3，300 tons， with an average annual increase of 25%.

Driven by the downstream market， the consumption of digital ink jet printing ink in China will increase slightly to about 22，000 tons in 2020. In the next five years， the demand for digital ink jet printing ink will further increase. It is estimated that the annual consumption of digital ink jet printing ink in China will reach about 49，000 tons by 2025.

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period， digital ink jet printing will continue to grow steadily. By 2025， it is estimated that the global digital ink jet printing output will reach 15 billion meters， accounting for about 27% of the total printing volume. The output of digital ink jet printing in China is about 4.7 billion meters， accounting for 29% of the total domestic printing and 31% of the total global digital ink jet printing.