Textile prints has evolved from natural dying to fabric painting to now digital printing. The use of digital textile printing has become more important in this advanced fashion era. It provides photographic-quality images and quick printing service from small sample quantities to minor production yardage which is a huge advantage in the fashion industry. "According to an analysis by the WTiN Intelligence: Digital Textiles, the worldwide output of digitally printed textiles is growing at an annual rate of approximately 20%."
One difficult criterion for effective industrial digital printing on textiles is the various number of different textile substrates ranging from natural such as cotton, wool or silk to synthetic materials like polyester and blended fabrics. All these fabric types require different types of inks and additional different needs for pre and post-treatment as well as processing. The ink types mainly used in industrial applications are reactive inks for natural fibers and sublimation/disperse inks for digital printing on polyester.