Technology

Part I – The Digital Vision

Digital textile printing technology is not new to our industry. In fact, digital inkjet systems for printing on textiles have been available for well over a decade. Despite the production flexibility offered by the digital method, the textile industry has been slow to adopt this strategy. Some of the barriers for adoption have included limitations in printable color space, variability in print quality, complexity of processing requirements and the two most significant factors – print speed and per yard print cost. For my next few blog posts I’ll be describing the current state of technology in the digital textile printing area. I’ll be approaching the topic from a systems perspective, touching on printer hardware, ink chemistry, fabrics, software and auxiliary equipment. As a preface to this information it’s useful to review some of the benefits the technology offers and consider these in terms of supply chain improvement and sustainability.

While the term digital can be used to refer to a spectrum of technologies within the field of printing, inkjet is the primary system type used for digital textile applications. In this context, the terms “digital” and “inkjet” are often used interchangeably. Within the inkjet environment, ink drops are formed from a master color set by a series of printheads. As the ink drops are ejected from the printheads, they fall to the surface of the substrate where they combine to create the color and image effect. This is sort of a “color on the fly” approach and early technology introductions were generally derived from wide format paper printers. Vendors modified these machines in minor ways to accommodate the ability to feed fabric through the printer during the printing process. Vendors also developed or partnered to introduce textile specific ink chemistries and software solutions to support color management and printing of textile repeats.

The first machines supported very modest print rates and a comparatively high per yard cost structure. At this stage of development print speeds were quoted in terms of only a few linear meters per hour with incremental improvements happening over time. The machines were predominantly used for sampling or very small quantity and customized print production. Within the production realm, technology adopters often printed for high end and niche markets and exploited the imaging capabilities offered by the digital method. Printing of highly tonal or photographic imagery or designs with many colors and/or engineered layouts has been common and when applied strategically, these features have offered additional value to the end consumer. As with production, adoption of a digital approach has been scattered in the sampling arena as well. In this context, product developers have attempted to use digital prints for early review of color, layout and print quality or to communicate the print concept to potential customers. The digital sampling strategy to date has taken place within a screen print production environment that offers broad printable color space, but that is more limited in terms of print features as compared to the digital method. This challenge has resulted in some level of resistance to adoption. However, those companies that have successfully implemented a digital sampling strategy have seen the benefits in terms of improved decision making at the design level and reduction of over-development and sampling costs.  

Will digital printing become a viable solution for larger scale production?

This has been an overriding question for apparel, textile and related soft goods sectors. Where we once saw digital printing as complimentary to the screen print method, as a result of technology advancement opportunities for adoption at the production level are increasing. My colleague, Jud Early wrote an article a few years ago entitled, “Build it and will they come?” I’ll repeat the question here in my own words. Will there be a digital transition? I see this transition finally beginning to happen as companies look to state-of-the-art systems to better serve customers in terms of short run printing and innovation in product, design and/or business model. While some of the early adopters at the production level have come from outside traditional textile circles, there is ever increasing pressure on traditional supply chains with respect to reducing cycle time, improving efficiency and adoption of sustainable production methods. In addition, advancement in technology is paving the way for digital sampling to drive digital production and in this setting correlation between sampling and production becomes a less significant issue. These factors, coupled with an emphasis on design as one means of differentiating a brand’s product, create conditions that are ripe for digital printing to gain traction within our industry.

In terms of technology adoption, digital printing was once looked upon as an advancement that would help to support competitiveness of textile manufacturing in the western hemisphere. However, some of the earliest adopters were found in Japan, Korea and Western Europe (Italy specifically). Today we are also seeing growth of digital textile printing in China, India and Brazil. To date, most adoption in the U.S. has been directed toward soft signage applications. It may be that broader adoption in this region will continue to be focused on niche markets and will grow from ventures initiated by individuals or companies from both within and outside the traditional textile community – essentially entrepreneurs looking for ways to bring unique products to the market and offer value to the consumer or the customer in terms of innovation, personalization and customization.

What are some potential impacts for the cotton product supply chain?

As a highly flexible system, the digital method offers tremendous opportunity to respond rapidly to shifting product demand. It also provides an opportunity for product developers and manufacturers to gain valuable insight into the potential success of a print design early in the development cycle. Once a digital sample has been produced, the fabric can be reviewed for color, style and integration within the overall product line. The printed sample can also be shared with sales teams and potential customers for approval or potential market acceptance. Most importantly, these benefits can be achieved with limited investment in time and resources and all supply chain stakeholders will benefit from a decision making process that is more informed.

Additionally, digital printing optimizes the use of chemistry, minimizes waste streams and enables a short-cycle, on-demand scenario in which fabric is printed as required by and in response to market demand. With innovation and advancement of inkjet chemistry, a waterless approach to coloration also becomes increasingly viable. These characteristics are of broad benefit and potentially point to greater flexibility in terms of location of future production print facilities.

With this background in mind, look to my next post for insight into the current state of printer hardware. This post will be followed by additional information regarding ink chemistry and specialized applications including DTG printing – an area of great relevance to the production of cotton t-shirts. As always, we encourage readers to post questions and comments on this post and others and to review the information in the technology reference area.    

In part one of “Fashion Goes Virtual” I addressed the topic of virtual dressing for product development. In part two, I’m shifting gears to highlight some of the emerging strategies for on-line and in-store shopping. In the apparel shopping environment, retailers are looking for ways to enhance the consumer in-store experience and e-tailers have been challenged to accurately communicate garment style and fit to the consumer over the web. Virtual dressing technologies are being developed as an approach to these needs. The current selection of virtual dressing systems can be placed into categories based on the strategy for rendering and interacting with the virtual garment sample.

The first approach involves providing dynamic product content that includes presentation of real life garments on a generic model. Using digital capture methods, the garment images are accurate and high quality representations of the product. In some instances, the model and garment images are captured through digital photography and solution providers offer opportunity for the consumer to interact with the 2D information. In the case of the Looklet system, the consumer can customize the model’s appearance and select garments and accessories from the on-line store for the model to wear. The user can swap out components to create an outfit and obtain a sense of style and coordination for the items selected. Some companies use video technology rather than still images so that consumers can view garments from a variety of angles and in more of a fashion modeling manner. Check out the ladies jeans area of the JC Penney website for an example of this approach.

By some standards, the renderings I’ve just described are not really virtual try-on systems. However, I include them in this discussion as examples of how companies are attempting to move away from the static garment photograph and offer a more dynamic and informative consumer interface. The primary benefit of such systems is the ability to provide attractive and photographic representation of the real-life product. On the down side, these solutions do not provide the consumer with a sense of what the garment will look like on his/her own body. However, where model customization is possible, the consumer may be able to create a model he/she looks like or wishes to look like.

The second category of technology for consumer based virtual dressing includes virtual or magic mirror systems. A number of solutions of this type have entered the market to date and retailers including Macy’s are using these technologies for apparel shopping. The magic mirror strategy involves the use of large digital displays within the retail environment. Consumers stand in front of the display and are able to see themselves life size as if looking into a mirror. They are able to interact with the display through touch or gesture recognition to select clothing items and place them over their bodies to get a sense of style and color. In some cases, retailers can use electronic product codes or RFID to link product in the store to the virtual mirror system.

Although the magic mirror garments are photographic, the approach is paper doll like in that the photographs remain flat and do not currently morph to the shape of the underlying body. From a consumer standpoint, the ability to interact with a life size display is appealing, particularly where gestures can be used as the means of garment selection. Related strategies have been developed for mobile settings. Check out the eBay Fashion application for the iPhone, iPad and iTouch devices. This application allows the user to work with his/her own photograph as the background and the user can select items from the closet to place in the photograph.

The third group of systems for virtual dressing can be classified as true 3D technologies. One of the challenges for development of 3D systems has been the ability to provide low cost, real-time solutions suitable for web use. The other challenge has been the ability to rapidly generate avatars that are life-like representations of individual consumers. Companies including OptiTex, Tukatech and [TC]² have been engaged in development of 3D technologies in this area. OptiTex and Tukatech are harnessing the capabilities of their 3D product development technologies for parallel web-based systems. These solutions enable presentation of draped, 3D garments on avatars that can be morphed to custom body dimensions and shapes. One of the benefits of this parallel strategy is the development of 3D garments from 2D patterns. This connection offers the potential to link the visualized style to garment size and fit specifications.

[TC]² offers a virtual fashion system that channels the value of a database of 3D body scanning for the real time generation of personal avatars. Within this virtual fashion system, the consumer obtains his/her avatar through the 3D body scanning procedure or by entering a handful of body measurement and shape characteristics into the on-line or in-store system. Personal avatars are created by rapidly morphing an existing avatar to the shape and dimension of the scan. When using the measurement input strategy, the software engine references the SizeUSA database to drive the morphing. In both cases, the results are generated in a few moments and the avatars are highly representative of the consumer’s individual body type. [TC]² is also developing a system for generating avatars through body scanning with the Microsoft Kinect device. This device is in a broad adoption phase among consumers for the home gaming environment and a logical solution for low cost and in-home scanning.

Once the personal avatar has been generated, the consumer can begin the virtual try-on process. 3D garment content can be imported into the system for this purpose. The virtual garments can be developed using product development solutions previously described. Once imported, the garments can be morphed to the shape of the avatar to support visualization of style on the consumer’s unique body. In this case, the 3D garment content is linked to 2D patterns as the original source and there is opportunity to offer a size prediction. Using garment creation technology from VDresser, it’s also possible to rapidly develop 3D fashion content from front and back photographs of the garment. The VDresser approach offers a quick solution and 3D garment content can now be created for under ten dollars per garment. This low cost method of generating photographic quality 3D renderings is crucial for high-volume consumer visualization. However, a link to garment sizing and fit must be established separately.

In summary, virtual fashion technologies are coming of age for both product development and consumer purposes. Watch the technology reference area for information regarding technology advancement as well as adoption. Shifting focus, look for posts in June and July to spotlight digital textile and garment printing. This is a rapidly emerging technology area of relevance to the cotton industry. So, check back for the latest information on this and don’t forget to send us your comments and questions!    

There has been significant development in the area of virtual dressing over recent years and technologies for fashion are now available for product development purposes and consumer use within the retail environment. Since this is quite a large topic, I’ve broken the information into parts for ease of digestion. 

Part I - Virtual Dressing for Product Development 

In the recent post “Technology Trends for Sewn Product Development” I described the use of virtual dressing within the CAD environment to support the visualization and assessment of garment style and fit. Vendors including Assyst, Gerber Technology (via a partnership with Browzwear), Lectra, OptiTex and Tukatech are providers of technology for this purpose. This software is generally sold as a stand alone module or as an enhancement to the pattern making component. While the specifics may vary, the general strategy for creating the virtual garments is relatively consistent among vendors.

The process starts with a two dimensional pattern that is virtually stitched and draped on an avatar (virtual human) within the 3D window. At the outset of the process, the user selects an avatar to dress. For most applications, software providers offer more than one avatar option (e.g. male vs. female, misses vs. junior) and the avatars can be customized (morphed) by the user in terms of body dimensions and shape characteristics. In some cases, it is possible to import custom avatars as well. In order to dress the avatar, the software user selects seam lines to designate how the garment assembles. Within the 3D interface, the user must also position the garment pieces in relation to the avatar and it may be necessary to enter information that specifies how each piece relates to the body (e.g. front or back, left or right, sleeve/cylinder, waistband, collar, etc.). Once the pattern pieces are positioned, the draping action can be initiated and the garment reviewed for style and fit considerations.

At some point prior to draping, the user will assign fabric draping properties by selecting a fabric type for the pattern pieces making up the style (e.g. cotton twill vs. cotton voile). In most instances, the user can reference a fabric library for this purpose and/or they can input their own fabric properties obtained as a result of fabric testing using the Kawabata or FAST systems. To support access to more fabrics rather than less, a few vendors also offer their own low cost tool for measurement of fabric draping properties. With respect to fabric surface appearance, it’s possible to assign imagery to each pattern piece for accurate representation of fabric textures. The textures can be derived from digital photographs and scans of fabric or from artwork developed in off-the-shelf graphics programs and industry specific textile design systems. In some cases, it’s possible to layer textures or add “tattoos” to create garment details. For a product like jeans, this feature can be used to create a creased, washed or worn appearance.

Once the garment has been successfully draped, the avatar can be rotated and viewed from a variety of angles to assess the position of garment details such as side seams, waistlines, necklines, yoke lines and pockets. Several software solutions also offer a color coded map as part of the fit assessment strategy. This type of map illustrates areas of garment compression and ease. In most instances the strategy does not offer a replacement for assessing a garment on a live fit model. However, it may support the ability to identify significant fit issues early in the development process, potentially reducing the number of iterations required at the physical garment sampling stage. Where the virtual assessment procedure results in the need for changes to the pattern, it is possible to annotate the 3D image or draw lines in the 3D window to illustrate the pattern change. For most solutions, the style lines sketched or digitized in the 3D window appear on the 2D pattern as a style line for revising. Some interaction is generally required by the user within the 2D window to establish a new pattern contour.

From a communications perspective, it should be noted that the 2D view of the 3D imagery can be captured and saved to support remote viewing and discussion with vendors and colleagues. These 2D captures are easily transmitted via email. Most vendors also offer free viewers for sharing the 3D version of the modeled garment. Some vendors are starting to support garment review on mobile devices as well. In a number of cases, vendors offer integration with PLM so that the 3D simulation can be included in the technical specification package for a product. This capability further supports centralization of data and a collaborative product development method.

It should also be mentioned that vendors including OptiTex and Lectra also offer true 3D to 2D applications for unwrapping of patterns. The OptiTex 3D Flattening tool is designed to provide a starting point in the creation of patterns for relatively form fitting apparel components. This tool allows the user to digitize pattern lines on the 3D form – a strategy that is particularly valuable for establishing the shape and position of curved lines such as necklines and armholes. The basic pattern shapes can then be unwrapped and further developed in the 2D window. The Lectra 3D unwrapping system is marketed for the development of patterns for hard good products such as upholstered furniture.

One final point to consider on the topic of virtual dressing for product development – the systems described thus far are reliant on the 2D pattern as the starting point in the process. For companies that do not hold their own pattern information, this presents a challenge in terms of adoption. In this instance there may be opportunity to harness strong manufacturing partnerships so that the manufacturer can be the resource for generating the 3D sample. Either way, better information earlier in the process has the potential to offer tremendous value in terms of cycle time reduction and reduced environmental footprint during the sampling stage.

In the next week, I will expand on developments in the 3D area and address the topic of Virtual Fashion for Consumers. In the meantime, don’t forget to post your comments and questions and check out the technology reference area!