UAE holds the world's fourth position as largest trading centre of textiles, generating an approximate $17.5 billion annually. With the growing demand within the fashion and retail industries, the country’s textile printing industry is set to gather momentum to grow at a rapid pace within the next 4-5 year, said Mr. Abdul Rahman Falaknaz, Chairman of International Expo Consults.

Falaknaz stated that the UAE can capitalize on the fast growing textile printing industry as the country has a huge potential to become one of the market leaders. Screen printing continues to hold a major share of the global textile printing market, in terms of production volume of printed textiles. However, it is facing a strong competition due to the fast adoption of digital technology. They have therefore tried to grow this market further by bringing global brands to their SGI Dubai show in 2016.

Digital printing technology is also poised to benefit immensely from the success of fast fashion, which requires manufacturers to reduce time to market in order to capitalize on the short-lived window of opportunity offered by fast changing fashion fads.

Growth in the coming years will surely be driven largely by the digital textile printing market. Manufacturing of high-quality inkjet print heads, presence of open system inkjet print heads that enable use of inks from multiple vendors, and launch of lower priced competitive solutions are expected to fast-track the adoption of digital printing technology.

Falaknaz further stated that as UAE is one of the most fashion forward places around the globe, they are sure to adapt this style--whether it's for the fashion or the interior design industry. Digital printing gives freedom not just for designers but also for fashion enthusiasts as the latter can design their own prints and acquire a tangible version of it--whether it's clothing, accessory, or even furniture".

The SGI Dubai 2016 show that concluded today is one of the most anticipated events of the year in the MENA region with the successful history of creating a great platform for exhibitors and visitors in the signage, digital signage, retail signage solutions, outdoor media, screen and digital printing industries.

SGI Dubai 2016 had an exclusive textile printing focused pavilion called 'SGI Textile'. This section of the show unveiled new technologies under two broad printing categories namely 'technical fabric' and 'garment decoration' alongside other major pavilions.

At the SGI Dubai Brother Middle East, Magic Touch and several other brands showcased some of their textile printing machines. The exhibition welcomed over 400 exhibitors from over 34 countries and attracted close to 13000 local and international visitors. The event showcased innovative printers and digital signage panels worth over AED220 million. Exhibitors at the show have signed contracts worth millions of dollars during these 3 days.

Especially UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have created a huge demand within the sign, graphic and imaging industry with several high-end malls, new airports, industry exhibitions around the clock and launch of many other upscale clusters.

According to the Global Industry Analysts report, with technology enhancements aimed at improving print speeds, design and efficiency the printed textiles market is projected to touch 29.8 billion square meters by 2020.