Otis Robinson speaks with Remo Gorlei, owner of Imaterial, about the South African digital textile printing market and its experience during lockdown.
Lockdown level 5 in South Africa was considered one of the world’s strictest. Outdoor activity was limited to essential work, grocery shopping and healthcare, which meant all factories were abruptly forced to close by law. Unsurprisingly, this decision led to a shockwave of income decline in all industries across the country, with manufacturing environments losing around 2-4 months of production, says Remo Gorlei, owner of Imaterial, a textile printing company based in Cape Town.
Like many companies in the textile & apparel industry, the company was initially made to shut down production of its textile printing operations. But Imaterial, like many of its peers in the textile sector, was able to transform itself into a producer of protective masks to stay afloat; coupled with a special clearance certificate, Imaterial was able to pick up production ‘with a skeleton staff’ at a percentage of typical capacity.
This rapid acclimatisation to safety guidelines seems to have proven effective for the company. With the country now in lockdown level 1, Imaterial has been able to return, somewhat, to normalcy, albeit with a new consumer demand to cater for.
Domestic demand
“Our customers seek smaller runs, more variety, exclusivity, high quality with emphasis on uniqueness,” says Gorlei.
The Imaterial founder explains the local South African industry suffered during the initial outbreak because most high-value import orders had been cancelled or put on hold. As such, Gorlei says the industry is now frantically pursuing local manufacture and production of printed material that boasts “fast turnaround, easy access and the ability to re-order” on-demand, and many buyers have utilised the downtime to reassess the effects of their purchasing decisions on the environment.
“People are becoming more aware of saving the planet and are educating themselves regarding eco-friendly products,” he adds.
This push for a new normal within domestic trade is part of the South African recovery plan, Gorlei explains. To cushion the economic fall of local factory production and job losses, “the plan is for South Africa to unite and support local fashion industries” – a great opportunity for Imaterial to support the country, since it is ‘99% domestic’ in terms of the market it serves.
New green markets
Serendipitously, Gorlei’s company is well-set to cater to the new demands in the South African textile and fashion industries, he suggests, and even teases that expansion is on the horizon.
The company specialises in seamless roll-to-roll pattern printing for the fashion and home décor industries, ranging from small to medium to large orders – anything “from one metre (m) to 10,000m onwards”, Gorlei says. This has put Imaterial in the unique position of being suited to all potential textile printing requirements.
The company also offers a freedom of design that is popularising as customisation grips fashion industries worldwide: “Our customers can bring their own custom designs, which we then convert onto their choice of fabric,” Gorlei explains. “Customers can source and bring their own fabric base or choose from our in-house selection that we stock.” Imaterial also offers in-house processing for fabric finishing treatments.
This comprehensive and customisable offering is accredited to its printing process. The company uses water-based pigment printing, which not only offers great printing quality and light fastness but has a range of environmental benefits to support and encourage eco-efficiency in the South African industry.
“To date, pigment printing is the most eco-efficient process for natural fabrics,” says Gorlei. “It has major benefits such as low carbon footprint, a lowered water consumption, eco-efficiency, waste reduction and a fume-free process. No harmful chemicals are used in our process, so no washing of the finished fabric is required before consumer use.”
It seems the South African industry has adapted to new demands for fast turnarounds and small runs by turning to this eco-efficient method of printing.
“Most new customers are utilising this eco-friendly, low carbon, water-wise pigment technology,” says Gorlei. Within the industry, pigment printing has fast become a popular option for textile printers, so it’s no surprise the technology is popularising as South Africa seeks to pick up its industry out from economic turmoil and push itself towards sustainable operations.
Plans to invest
Presently, the company prints with digital printers manufactured by Dover Corporation, Italy – “their MS Printing Solutions technology ranks as the best in the world,” Gorlei says – whose machines allow industrial, high-speed printing and small-run prints. This is a versatility now required in most textile industries worldwide, who must now print on-demand to avoid overproduction in the face of another potential economic slip.
Most of the global fashion industry had reached an impasse during the initial stages of quarantine: through experience, the printing industry became aware that future crises could lead to massive monetary losses due to cancelled orders and overproduction, thus investment into digital printing technologies could allow a smooth transition towards on-demand manufacturing.
And Gorlei proves the South African textile printing market is aware of these benefits: he says its plans for the future are also tied to ‘new ways of improving’ its workforce of digital printing technology. By investing in new machinery, it seems the company will not only be able to stay afloat during crises but expand its capacity to support the domestic fashion and home décor industries.
“We are busy researching new machinery at the moment, which we would love to add to our existing plant. Ultimately, this will depend on us finding a financial partner.”
For more information, or to reach out to Imaterial, visit www.imaterial.co.za.
