India Has Huge Potential in Digital Printing: Akshay Kanakia
30 October 2025: At the end of the day, the pros and cons of analogue vs. digital printing depend on the specific requirements of the job. However, digital printing offers distinct advantages – particularly in turnaround time, flexibility, and creative freedom. Direct Textile Printing (DTP) also marks a revolutionary step forward in terms of environmental sustainability. Compared to traditional printing methods, digital textile printing reduces:
– Ink/dye consumption by 20-40%
– Water usage by 40-60%
– Energy consumption by 50%
According to the latest survey, the Asian region currently accounts for only 30% of the global digital textile printing market, while Europe holds the largest share at 45%, and the Americas nearly 20%. Interestingly, Asia supplies over 60% of the traditional textile printing market. This indicates considerable opportunities for growth in digital textile printing, especially in India and other emerging markets.
The Growth of Digital Textile Printing
A recent report estimates the global digital textile printing market at approximately USD 7.5 billion, with strong growth projected at around 34% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) through 2019 for applications in garments, home décor, and industrial segments. As mentioned earlier, while Asia dominates traditional textile printing, its share in the digital sector remains low. This gap represents a significant growth opportunity, particularly for India.
The Role of Textile Printing in India
Traditionally, after agriculture, the textile industry has been the largest generator of employment in India – for both skilled and unskilled workers. It continues to be the second-largest employment-generating sector, providing direct employment to over 35 million people. Digital textile printing is a $7.5 billion market, expected to grow over 34% globally-offering tremendous opportunities. In fact, the potential in India could far exceed these projections. For businesses looking to enter this space, it’s recommended to start with entry-level digital printing machines and then gradually invest in higher-end solutions.
Digital Printing: Current Use & Technical Landscape
In India, digital printing is primarily used for short-run and specialized jobs. Although it delivers excellent print quality, it is relatively expensive and slower than conventional techniques like:
– Table screen printing (manual)
– Flatbed screen printing (semi-/fully-mechanized)
– Rotary screen printing (fully automated)
However, digital printing offers unique advantages that these traditional techniques cannot match. While it does come with limitations, its benefits are significant.
As someone involved in design processing and digital colour separations since 1995, and having pioneered the use of computer technology in the industry, I can speak firsthand about the transformation it has enabled. I remain a committed student of the craft – always learning, refining, and implementing innovations.
Main Advantages of Digital Printing
– Ability to print in single or multiple colours (even countless shades) using limited base colours, with smooth gradient effects, closely matching the original design.
– Capability to print in any repeat size – or even without a repeat (which is impossible with traditional techniques).
– Ideal for short-run and specialized printing jobs.
– Precise replication of any type of design with high accuracy.
– Resource savings across the board: area, labour, time, ink, water, power and reduced wastage.
– Numerous hidden efficiencies compared to conventional printing.
Despite these advantages, digital textile printing has not yet gained widespread popularity in India.
Challenges & Limitations of Digital Textile Printing in India
– Higher cost compared to traditional printing.
– Lack of comprehensive knowledge about the limitations and hidden drawbacks.
– Overemphasis on advantages shown by vendors – without understanding practical limitations.
– Misconceptions about the types of designs suitable for digital printing.
Digital Textile Printing in India: The Present Scenario
Currently, around 1,000 high-end digital textile printers are in operation in India. Digital printing has also begun to penetrate Tier II and Tier III cities, thanks to its increasingly economical entry cost. It is projected that this number will grow to 3,000 in the next three years.
In Surat – the silk city of India – out of 2,500 textile mills, only around 80 use digital printing. This illustrates the massive untapped potential.
Most digital printing is done on polyester fabrics using dye sublimation.
– The ideal production speed for the Indian market is 200 sq.m/hr, though demand for higher-speed machines is rising.
– For higher volumes, rotary screen printing remains more viable.
Market Statistics
– Only 1% of textiles are printed digitally (~384 million metres)
– About 2.5% (~75 million metres) are printed with DTG (Direct-to-Garment)
– Revenue size: 1,000 crore (including inks)
– Ink consumption: 8-12 gm/m
– Annual ink consumption: 700–800 metric tonnes
The Future of Textile Printing in India
Given current global political and economic conditions, I believe India has a very bright future across sectors, especially in textile printing – since textiles are deeply integrated with fashion and culture. However, one major challenge remains: coping with the growing demand. Fortunately, India has top-tier capabilities – from fabric producers to processors and printers.
Where We Must Improve: Designing & Design Processing
In my interaction with many digital printers, a common complaint is the lack of market-acceptable designs. Many designers rely too heavily on ready-made internet resources rather than developing original, market-ready designs. I believe: “Talent cannot be taught, but the skill to process designs can be learned.”
The Real Gap: Understanding the Technology
We adopted digital printing technology without fully understanding:
– Its advantages
– Its limitations
– And the practical challenges that emerge over time
While technical issues can be resolved by engineers, the bigger issue lies in synchronizing the production output with the creation and processing of appropriate designs. We’ve invested in high-productivity machines, but design creation and processing remain a weak link.
Final Thoughts & Personal Experience
Having been part of the printing industry since the mid-1970s, I’ve witnessed the evolution – from block printing to stencil, roller, screen, flatbed, rotary and now digital printing.
I was among the first to introduce computer-aided design processing and colour separation in the industry. This field is vast, with many parameters influencing success. While it’s hard to capture everything in writing, I’ve tried to share the most critical insights here.
Contact for Collaboration or Consultation
I am open to sharing my views, experience, and knowledge with those who are genuinely interested.
About Akshay Kanakia ….
I started my career in the mid-70s in the family textile printing and processing house. I have practical knowledge and experience in the entire process of fabric from raw to finish, especially in printing and designing. I was the first to introduce the concept of C.A.T.D.P. (Computer Aided Textile Design Processing) in the year 1995 and successfully catered the industry till 2007. After that I have focused my attention in training the students for C.A.T.D.P. and was associated with 6 top Fashion n Textile institutes in Mumbai. I have authored a book ‘Textile’ explaining in depth the process of C.A.T.D.P. and have organized several awareness seminars for use of technology in textile printing industry. I have trained 450 plus students on one-on-one basis and have processed 150,000 designs till date. I have been associated with 20+ textile printing and design processing units as a consultant. Learning new technology, updating myself and sharing my knowledge, experience and teaching the students is my passion.
Kanakia.akshay@gmail.com
