Traditional screen printing processes involve a lot of time and effort. In today's fast paced industry, the focus is shifting towards digital printing methods... here, AR explores the top trends within it.

2. F
ashion of the future has a best friend named customization – from
the prints and colours that we opt to wear, to the sizes and shapes
that best suit us, fashion increasingly is more about feeling at home
with oneself, rather than blatantly following trends.
The fashion industry, on the whole, is going through a revolution of sorts
with respect to the 'see-now-buy-now' strategy. Products from the runway
hit stores and ultimately wardrobes of the consumers, faster than ever.
This trend is a direct reflection of the fact that fashion events and trends
have become increasingly consumer-facing in the age of digital and social
media. The strategy fills the gap wherein the consumer previously had to
wait 6 months to purchase a garment, but now can literally 'see and then
proceed' to 'buy' them instantly.
Designers and high fashion brands are looking out to capitalize on the hype
created around this scenario to not only tap into their customers' demands,
but to also battle the hindrances created by fast fashion brands that come
out with knock-offs at the drop of a hat.
However, this entire change in attitude and business ideals calls for a major
shift in the production timeline. Prints and patterns are crucial elements in
this chain. With the time and effort involved in traditional screen-printing,
quite a hefty number of designers and manufacturers are increasingly
looking at digital printing options which comparatively possess a
Digital Printing Trends 2018

3. shorter timeline.
As opposed to its counterpart, digital printing also ensures a higher quality,
more unique designs at scale and a myriad of colours and hues.
The cost performance for small production runs also translates into looks
that can be created on a scale of one – rather than thousands. This directly
caters to individual customers' demands by producing personalized
designs.
Still a relatively new technical development in the domain of fashion
textiles, the coming years seem like a rousing period for digital textile
printing.
However, as this sector experiences a boom within the industry, especially
with a significant dip in the cost of ink and print production, it stands the
chance of becoming a commonplace within the world of textile printing.
Garments such as T-shirts, shirts and dresses might serve as the most
common applications in digitally printed textiles but what remains to be
seen is the outreach of this particular mode of printing and where it leads
to.
Here, we have put together trends in the digital print domain which will
impact the approaching Spring/Summer 2018 season in a big way, laying a
foundation for the future of this promising sector…
Digital Printing Trends 2018

4. Water Colour Prints
Clothes served as canvasses for
designers this season flaunting
motifs that appear to be
dissolving and diluting into
abstract imagery in watercolour-
esque finishes and ink-blot
patterns.
Vivid hues pop up against sober
white bases for a youthful appeal
that embraces a new softness
through colour-bleed edges and
blotchy watermarked surfaces.
Florals and motifs that give off a
certain hand painted feel come
together to form minimalist
placed designs.
Digital Printing Trends 2018

5. Water Colour Prints
Digital Printing Trends 2018

6. Retromatic
Let's take a trip down memory
lane into the retro-inspired
world of the swinging sixties
with psychedelic patterns,
stripes and blooms taking
centre stage.
Femininity takes on colour
blocked tones with a palette of
camel, mustard yellows, navy
blues and burgundy reds that
mimic the nostalgic mood of
current times to a better world
in the past.
Digital Printing Trends 2018

7. Retromatic
Digital Printing Trends 2018

8. Seascape
Nautical inspirations and stripes
have emerged victorious even
this season across all age
groups.
The bolder and more vibrant
stripes from Spring/Summer
2017, have given way to
mellowed down seascape prints
and nautical illustrations that
garner a modern graphic appeal.
The colour palette takes on
shades of blue from ink to
cerulean sky which works in
harmony to enhance the
Digital Printing Trends 2018

9. Seascape
Digital Printing Trends 2018

10. Abstracticism
No longer limited to wall
hangings, graffiti and canvasses,
abstract prints and patterns lend
an art-school inspired feel for
Spring/Summer 2018.
Tribal influences rendered
through slim, linear designs and
modest two-tone geometric
patterns, present themselves in a
minimalist aesthetic mode
whereas all-over prints create an
optical illusion in a stark palette
of classic black and white.
Digital Printing Trends 2018

11. Abstracticism
Digital Printing Trends 2018

12. Tropical Exotica
While previous seasons
focused intently on the more
whimsical side of tropical
prints, Spring/Summer 2018
channels in the darker side of
exotic flora and fauna and
island life.
Temperate prints feature
patterns of island-scapes,
sandy beaches, tropical wildlife
and lush flora and fauna, palm
trees and leaves in washed out
tones of magenta, green, ochre
and blue.
Digital Printing Trends 2018

13. Tropical Exotica
Digital Printing Trends 2018

14. Iconography
Satirical takes on modern day
daily life references that mirror
the dialogue of the times, are
presented digitally to invoke a
sense of awareness and instil a
sort of rebellion against what is
not working for us as a society.
Bleached portraits of digital
photographs of icons, influencers,
an entity or a movement are
emblazoned across solid bases in
two-tone renders of the classic
colour palette.
Digital Printing Trends 2018

15. Iconography
Digital Printing Trends 2018

16. Delivering Transparent Apparel and Textile News for the Last 25 Years.
Apparel Resources brings the two worlds of Buyers and Sellers in the Apparel and Textile industry together on a single
platform through its vast pool of contemporary, insightful and compelling information. Though the portal tracks in
real-time the news that matters, its each and every article is an analysis of apparel, textile and fashion industry written
and vetted by industry experts who have rich experience and deep understanding of the local as well as the export
markets.
Our Publications:
Our print verticals are among the most read magazines in their respective domains. Our successful magazines include:
•Apparel Online India •Apparel Online Bangladesh •Apparel Online Vietnam •StitchWorld
Why Apparel Resources?
Need relevant, in-depth information on the latest happenings and developments in the apparel, textile and fashion
industry? You have landed at the right place!
• Highlighting the best companies to source from
• Delivering real-time industry news that matters
• Covering all the industry events for innovation in products
• Foretelling the trending apparel products
• Tracking emerging markets
• Tracking retailers & brands for their growth strategies
• Forecasting fashion through street fashion and fashion weeks
• Monitoring Trade data and projections
• Discovering technology to improve quality and productivity
• Interviewing companies for their best manufacturing practices

17. www.apparelresources.com