‘Digital Printing Provides A More Resource-Efficient Alternative’

In this exclusive interview, Aayush Rathi tells Henry Dsouza, Associate Editor of Textile Insights, how Orange O Tec is driving the change with Rocket for established process houses and with FabPro for traders, enabling high-quality, efficient and sustainable digital printing.

What industry gaps and global trends are driving the shift from traditional to digital textile printing and how do Rocket and FabPro address these opportunities in line with Orange O Tec’s growth strategy?
The global textile industry is undergoing a significant shift from traditional to digital printing, driven by efficiency, flexibility and the need for greater control over production and design. Major textile-producing countries like India, China, and Bangladesh account for approximately 65–70% of the current digital adoption.

In these markets, conventional process houses are exploring digital solutions to improve productivity, while traders seek in-house digital capabilities to manage quality, maintain design confidentiality, and reduce reliance on external process houses.

Orange O Tec has partnered with Homer to bring the Rocket printer from China and is also assembling in India under the brand name of Colorix, FabPro printers to meet the evolving needs of the market. The Rocket printer is designed for established process houses transitioning to digital printing. It combines rotary and digital printing in a compact and efficient setup, allowing process houses to adopt digital technology without the need for additional labour, excessive space, or disruption to their existing high-volume operations.

In contrast, FabPro is designed for entry-level users, traders, and job workers. With configurations ranging from 8 to 32 print heads, it offers a cost-effective and flexible solution that empowers smaller players to take control of their production, design, and quality-enabling them to meet market demand independently.

Together, Rocket and FabPro allow Orange O Tec to serve both large process houses and traders, supporting their digital journeys and strengthening the company’s position for sustainable growth in a rapidly digitizing global textile industry.

How do Rocket’s ink flexibility and FabPro’s scalable design enable growth across diverse textile segments such as apparel, home textiles and technical fabrics?
Multi-ink compatibility is a standard feature in digital printing, but Rocket adds value by enabling process houses to transition smoothly from conventional to digital, while adapting to regional market needs. For instance, Ahmedabad favours pigments, Surat leans toward polyester and reactives, while Dombivali remains strong in reactives, Rocket can cater to all these segments.

FabPro, with its scalable design from 8 to 32 heads, empowers traders to start modestly and expand as demand grows. Together, Rocket and FabPro open opportunities across apparel, home textiles and technical fabrics by offering flexibility in inks and scalability in production.

What measurable sustainability benefits such as reductions in water, energy or waste are being achieved through real-world production with your platform?
Sustainability has become a central priority across the textile industry, and digital printing delivers measurable benefits on this front. With pigments, digital technology eliminates the need for water entirely. In conventional methods, significant waste was generated not only from screen preparation but also from washing and storing screens, which consumed both water and energy. Digital printing removes these steps altogether.

In reactive printing, the sustainability gains are equally clear. While conventional processes are water-intensive and rely on pressing, digital uses a precise spray technology that significantly reduces consumption. Conventional printing often requires two to three times more dye because it lacks controlled application, leading to excess usage and waste. Digital printing, by contrast, applies dyes with accuracy through software control, resulting in lower water usage, reduced chemical consumption, and minimized waste.

Overall, digital printing provides a more resource-efficient alternative by conserving water, lowering energy demand and cutting material waste, delivering tangible sustainability benefits for textile manufacturers.

Which textile hubs or product categories are showing the strongest adoption of digital printing in India and in global markets such as China and Bangladesh?
In India, digital adoption is no longer limited to the major hubs, it is spreading rapidly across both established and emerging textile clusters. Traditional strongholds such as Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi/Faridabad and Surat, which alone accounts for 40-45% of India’s textile printing, have already embraced digital printing in a significant way. Export-focused hubs like Delhi are accelerating adoption, while Surat continues to lead in volume.

At the same time, new regions such as parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are beginning to explore digital printing, as the technology allows them to set up operations without the need for large, resource-intensive infrastructure. In southern India, where water scarcity is a major issue, adoption has been slower so far, but the market is expected to shift aggressively toward pigment-based digital printing over the next three years.

Globally, China and Bangladesh are already well advanced on this journey. China has installed more than 120 single-pass printers, while Bangladesh has over 15-18 running units. Both countries demonstrate how quickly large-scale adoption can transform production ecosystems. India is now poised to follow a similar trajectory, with aggressive growth expected in the coming years.

You mentioned that new hubs do not require large investments to adopt digital printing. What is the approximate investment and space requirement to get started?
The entry barriers for digital printing are significantly lower compared to setting up a conventional printing mill. For instance, a sublimation setup can be started with an investment of around Rs 40-50 lakh, while a standalone reactive setup typically requires Rs 60-80 lakh. A complete digital printing setup can be established with an investment of Rs 2-2.5 crore, and up to Rs 3 crore depending on the scale and production capacity.

By comparison, setting up a conventional printing mill requires a minimum investment of Rs 20–25 crore, along with substantial infrastructure, a land parcel of 5,000 square metres and a factory size of 30,000-40,000 square feet.

Digital printing, on the other hand, requires far less space. A basic setup can start in as little as 1,000–1,500 square feet, while 5,000 square feet is generally sufficient for a well-rounded operation. This flexibility allows businesses to even rent space, making digital printing far more accessible and attractive for emerging hubs.

How are global sustainability standards and evolving consumer trends such as fast fashion, customization and home décor driving demand for your solutions?
Sustainability and fast fashion are two of the strongest forces accelerating the adoption of digital printing. Fashion cycles are becoming shorter with design runs getting smaller and trends changing rapidly. Global brands like Zara and H&M have already embraced digital printing to meet these demands and leading Indian brands, including publicly listed players, are also shifting in the same direction.

Digital printing is uniquely suited to this transformation. It enables faster turnaround, shorter production runs, and greater flexibility in design, key requirements for fast fashion and customization. At the same time, it delivers significant sustainability benefits by reducing water, energy, and chemical consumption compared to conventional methods.

Together, these factors make digital printing not just an option, but a necessity for brands and manufacturers looking to stay competitive in apparel, home décor, and other evolving consumer categories.

With India’s digital printing market projected to grow in double digits, how is Orange O Tec positioning itself against global competitors and what is the current market outlook?
Orange O Tec continues to grow steadily, expecting 25–30% growth this year. A key differentiator is our ‘Make in India’ strategy, we have already started manufacturing both printers and inks domestically. This not only reduces dependence on imports, but also provides a strong cost and supply-chain advantage. Given India’s strength in dyes and inks, we are well-positioned to compete globally.

The broader market is facing short-term challenges, including weaker US export demand, floods in northern India and currency fluctuations raising equipment costs. Despite this, digital printing remains at an early stage, just 10–15% of the market if we include sublimation and below 6% if we don’t.

These very challenges are accelerating digital adoption. Unlike conventional mills that require large volumes and face high fixed costs, digital offers flexibility, brands can now produce 100–500 metres instead of 10,000, without incurring heavy overheads. In times of global uncertainty, this agility makes digital printing not just resilient, but the future of the industry.

Can you share a client success story where Rocket or FabPro has delivered measurable gains in productivity, ROI or sustainability?
Rocket and FabPro serve different customer segments, but both are already delivering strong results. Our very first Rocket customer is installing their machine this month and has already committed to a second unit, while their sister concern has also ordered another. What’s remarkable is their ability to produce at the same cost as conventional printing, something previously thought impossible in digital. Achieving conventional pricing with digital flexibility marks a real breakthrough in ROI and market competitiveness.

On the FabPro side, we see traders and brands achieving independence and control. One example is T, a customer that installed five FabPro printers. Earlier, they relied entirely on external process houses, but now they handle all production in-house. This not only improves turnaround time and quality consistency but also eliminates dependency on third parties, directly translating into better margins and stronger market positioning.

What support model training or service network or spare readiness ensures smooth adoption, reliability and uptime for customers?
From the outset, we’ve been very clear that service and spare availability are non-negotiable. In digital printing, downtime is not an option, unlike conventional set-ups where one idle machine can be absorbed, a digital line must run seamlessly. That’s why we’ve invested heavily in both spare readiness and service response.

We are also in the execution phase of deploying a comprehensive CRM-driven service platform. This system will allow customers to track engineer response times, anticipate maintenance needs, and benefit from AI-driven service alerts. By making the entire service process more transparent and predictive, we’re ensuring faster support, higher uptime, and smoother adoption of our solutions.

Looking ahead, what upgrades, hybrid features, or technology roadmap will Rocket and FabPro follow to stay ahead of industry trends?
Rocket gains a strategic advantage as a hybrid solution combining rotary and digital printing. Geelong, a leading rotary manufacturer, and Homeward, a digital specialist, have collaborated to create a system that outperforms single-pass alternatives. FabPro, manufactured in India, currently offers a 24-head machine producing 5,500 metres per day, approximately 20% more cost-effective than Chinese alternatives, while integrating superior international components. Local production ensures faster support, quicker spare-part turnaround, and reduced reliance on imports, giving customers both performance and peace of mind.

How does Rocket and FabPro ensure industry-leading technology, reliability and service, and what is their roadmap for future products?
Rocket and FabPro combine cutting-edge technology, local manufacturing and robust service to stay ahead in digital textile printing. Rocket is a hybrid system developed through the collaboration of Geelong, a leading rotary manufacturer, and Homeward, a digital printing specialist. It integrates the latest print heads, precise feeding systems and inline rotary technology, delivering the same precision, colour accuracy and durability as European alternatives, but at a significantly lower cost. Mechanical components are optimized and standardized print heads ensure a level playing field globally.

FabPro, manufactured in India, currently offers 24-head machines producing 5,500 metres per day, about 20% cheaper than comparable Chinese systems while using superior international components. Local production enables faster support, spare part availability, and reduced reliance on imports. Service and uptime are further enhanced by a tech-enabled CRM system with AI-assisted predictive maintenance, ensuring quick response times and reliability for digital operations, where downtime is not an option.

The product roadmap includes FabPro 3, a 32-head printer launching in Surat in January, followed by a 64-head model, completing a four-model range for the next year. Additionally, the Position Pro system will enable precise, camera-guided printing onto embroidery or specific fabric areas, offering a locally developed solution against imported alternatives. Together, these initiatives provide customers with high-performance, reliable and future-ready digital printing solutions.