What is the Future for T-Shirts

I recently went to an Open House to a Company located near my Studio. They were showing off some of the new equipment they acquired. I was interested in the 3D printer. I had seen some early versions at Technology Exhibits I had work with in the past. I was curious as to how they have advanced in their capabilities since then. This one was printing little animal figures. It did get me to wonder what else could it do. Just a few weeks before that, there was news that a fashion show was showcasing clothing made with 3D printers. I decided to check out if t-shirts could be made with a 3D printer. It was a hard search to find information about it. Most of my research found sites that talked about printing designs that looked like they were 3D. Very cool, not what I was looking to find.

I did find some companies like Disney who are developing and using 3D printers to knit fabrics. The outcome is like knitting sweaters and hats etc. Also very cool. Still not what I was researching. Finally I did find a group of students trying to created a new fabric on molds to look like tank tops. Their idea was to eventually make t-shirts. They developed a liquid when charged with electricity and shot thru nozzles at a mold, form a covering that was like fabric and shape like a garment. In this case, they made tank tops and beanies. Unfortunately in the 2 years they experimented, they couldn’t get over the hump of making it marketable. They ran into the same problem most innovators run into. They ran out of money. At first, I was surprised a garment manufacturing company didn’t help fund them. Then the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was not really in their best interest.

Just think about how cool it would be to design a graphic for your t-shirt, pick out a color for your shirt and a shirt template, hit print on your computer and presto a t-shirt is born. I believe it could happen sooner than most people think. Some smart person(s) will find the money and continue the quest. I would be one of the first in line to buy my printer. Like all new stuff it will be expensive, not very cost effective, time consuming and probably buggy. However for an artist like me who likes the uniqueness, cutting edge technology, custom possibilities and old school cool, I’m looking forward to the future. With time, customer input and emerging technology, the printer will get more marketable. It will also let the artist go crazy with creativity and possibilities. That will help set you apart from your competition. Isn’t that what all artists want.

Until next month.

Cora Kromer
cora@qdigitizing.com