Messe Frankfurt, the global exhibition organizer in collaboration with World Textile Information Network (WTiN) is creating a new platform for digital textile printing technologies, Avanprint. Messe Frankfurt and WTiN have signed a joint agreement to promote this new focus in the area of apparel fabrics and sourcing.

Avanprint will be launched at the Texworld and Apparel Sourcing international shows in Paris which will be held from 15 to 18 February 2016. The presentation will then be refreshed annually in parallel with the Paris winter textile exhibitions.

With their new show Avanprint, they are creating an innovative platform for digital print on fabrics and, with that, new sales opportunities for forward-thinking exhibitors and visitors that are passionate about design, said Olaf Schmidt, vice-president Textiles & Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt.

At the same time, they are expanding their global portfolio in a strong and growing market. In WTiN, they are very happy to have found a partner with extensive knowledge, longstanding experience and a global network.

WTiN managing director Mark Jarvis said that WTiN maintains close liaison with the digital textile printing technology community and received a clear message that this rapidly maturing sector would value its own exhibition platform, in order to expand its interaction with manufacturers, brands and retailers.

They have a longstanding and positive relationship as a publishing partner with Messe Frankfurt’s textile shows and it was natural that the two companies would work together on this project. WTiN brings its intimate knowledge of the digital textile printing market, gained through ten years of publishing Digital Textile magazine, while Messe Frankfurt offers its organisational strength and the opportunity to co-locate with a set of already successful textile exhibitions.

The announcement said that the new product area offers huge potential for growth as the new technologies create competitive edges: printing processes have been streamlined and accelerated; and new printers can reach top speeds of 75 metres per minute. The new machines also reward in sustainability terms, using a third of the water required in conventional printing, together with environmentally friendly inks.

Outstanding printing quality now reaches around 1400 x 1400 dpi, allowing textile designers to be more creative and flexible in their work, using enhanced models and forms. Brands are also are able to react to changing consumer needs quickly and individually.

Despite their competitive advantage, these developments are only just beginning to filter through to the market. Barely an estimated two to three percent of textile prints are produced digitally. However, an annual growth rate of 25 percent is expected globally. By 2017, the rate of digital textile prints should increase to five percent. Digital printing technologies show the highest potential for growth in the field of apparel fabric and fashion, which made up 45 percent of digital print products on the global market in 2014.

Encompassing textile printing machines, inks, software and services, Avanprint will be offering the latest developments in digital print technologies.