Epson future proofs textile printing with Epson Textile Academy 2.0
23 December 2025: Technology leader Epson recently hosted its second Textile Academy Event at the company’s Textile Innovation Centre in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, UK. Building on the success of its inaugural Textile Academy earlier this year, the event welcomed Textile Design BA students from Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and Loughborough University. The event features workshops designed to enhance student’s practical textile printing skills; corporate and entrepreneurial business acumen; marketing and self-branding and environmental awareness around the textile industry.
Guest speaker AJ Weir from Burberry leads career insights
Adding industry insight at the event was guest speaker AJ Weir, Designer for Print and Textile Ready-to-Wear (RTW) at Burberry, who shared his career experience in textile design and the journey toward sustainable, circular production. AJ also provided guidance on career pathways in the industry, inspiring students to explore how digital textile printing can open opportunities for creativity, innovation and sustainability.
AJ Weir said “Bridging the gap between students and industry is fundamental not just to career opportunities, but to economic development, which is why I was so pleased to be invited by Epson to its Textile Academy. Print has been a part of the fashion industry since ancient times, and recent developments in textile printing have challenged the norms around design, development, and innovation. It’s been fun to see the versatility of print today and to tell students how rewarding and enriching print can be as a career choice. As sustainability grows in importance in every industry and walk of life, it is inspiring to see young people wanting to contribute with thoughtful, responsible print design.”
Hands-on, sustainable textile production
To show students how easy and sustainable the fashion supply chain can be with on-demand textile printing, they took part in a ‘no-sew’ dress workshop, new to Epson’s Textile Academy. Inspired by the viral ‘no-sew’ dress social media trend – students printed, cut, and modelled their own designs into simple dresses using dye-sublimation printing, with AJ Weir selecting the best designer and rewarding them with an Epson A4 dye-sublimation printer.
Ashley Hancox, Textiles student at Loughborough University, commented on the day “The day has been very informative and eye-opening. We have explored a variety of print processes and learnt more about the sustainability challenges within the textiles industry. We are usually only exposed to dye sublimation printing, so it’s been great to learn how direct-to-garment and direct-to-film printing techniques can be utilised. It’s so important for students to have access to events like today because it shows them the available options, from running your own business or the path to design houses through printing.”
Duncan Ferguson, MD at Epson UK and VP for Commercial & Industrial at Epson Europe said “The Textile Academy is about more than technology – it’s about sparking curiosity, nurturing creativity, and showing students the real-world potential of digital textile printing. Seeing them engage with the technology, experiment with design, and learn how sustainability and innovation go hand-in-hand is exactly why we created the academy. It’s incredibly rewarding to help shape the next generation of designers and innovators.”
https://press.epson.eu/
