Digital pigment printing uses a 20th of water required by traditional methods
Colorjet, a leader in the wide format digital inkjet print technology in the Indian subcontinent, is globally known for its commitment towards technological innovations, strong outreach, service infrastructure and complete customer focus. Smarth Bansal, brand manager of Colorjet Group, talks about the company's products and addresses sustainability issues.
What is the size of the global digital printing industry? What percentage pie do India and China hold?
About 1.4 billion square metres of fabric has been printed digitally until 2016. India and China collectively share 40 per cent of this pie.
How would you describe the digital textile printing (DTP) market in India? At what rate is it growing?
DTP is growing now in a big way as compared to a couple of years ago when one saw only a handful of direct-to-fabric machine installations. Today, almost 400-plus installations can be seen. We are recording a CAGR of about 20 per cent.
What share of your revenue comes from the textiles niche?
Approximately 25 per cent of our share comes from textiles.
What is the USP of Colorjet products?
Colorjet products have a solid and rugged build, the prices are about 30 per cent less than Italian or Japanese machines, their printing quality is unmatched, and they are made in India.
Which are your major markets? Which new markets do you plan to explore?
In India, the northern and western regions are our major markets, and we are now exploring the southern and eastern parts. Internationally, we are looking to explore the Southeast Asian region.
Which digital printing trade events are you participating in? Which new products will be displayed?
We recently participated in ITMA Istanbul 2016, ITMA Shanghai 2016, Heimtextil 2016 and Gartex 2016. We will also participate in ITME India 2016 in Mumbai, Garfab 2017 in Surat, and Garment Technology Expo 2017 in New Delhi.
What can be done to make this industry more sustainable to meet global standards?
Wastewater treatment is one of the issues that need to be addressed to make this industry more sustainable.
What are the latest technological innovations taking place in the digital printing machinery industry?
Single pass is one of the latest technological innovations. Printing with pigment inks is also under development and being offered by a lot of players as it does not require pre or post treatment.
Please share details of the last two fiscals and your expectations from the next two.
We had great years as we installed more than 70 machines and moving forward, we are expecting this number to quadruple.
What challenges does this industry face? What do you propose to overcome them?
A major challenge that this industry faces is water wastage. We suggest the industry should use digital pigment printing which uses merely 1/20th of the water required by traditional printing methods.
Do you plan to invest or expand your manufacturing facilities?
You will see that in the coming years. We will share the details as and when they are released for the media and public.
Published on: 23/12/2016
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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