Kornit Digital and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), State University of New York, announced that the three winning designs of the 2014 Sustainable Digital Textile Printing Challenge will be exhibited to the general public for the first time at the prestigious Premier Vision show in New York in July. The designs will be on display at the Kornit Digital booth, A2, July 22-23.
For the challenge, senior students of the FIT Bachelor of Fine Arts in Textile / Surface Design program created original textile designs related to the theme of sustainability, which were then printed using the Kornit Allegro roll-to-roll digital textile printer and NeoPigment sustainable 100% biodegradable pigment inks. This groundbreaking single-step digital textile printing solution eliminates the need for external processes and energy and water consuming steps – making it the most eco-friendly roll-to-roll printing solution available for the textile industry.
"Kornit Digital is always looking for opportunities to cooperate with the future generation of textile designers, and offer a solution to the challenges faced by the industry today," says Omer Kulka, Director of Kornit's Wide Format division. "At Kornit, we are committed to developing technology for sustainable textile printing. We believe that young designers will play a key role in sustaining the textile industry and the environment as they have the ability to challenge the status quo and the way we print on textiles. With the Kornit Allegro printer, designers and companies can achieve the best results in the shortest cycle time, control their production line vertically and produce their own designs in-house."
The top three design challenge finalists − Elena Lavache, Travis Wood and Ashley Molesso – were selected by a panel of expert industry judges, including Nancy Fire, Creative Director and Founder of Design Works, Manuela Fassbender, Creative Director of MBF Trend Consulting, Lorraine Tanya, Senior Woven Stylist of Lee Jofa Inc, as well as Erin Doty, Art Director at Kornit, and Omer Kulka. The judges looked at both the printed designs and their written concepts, which gave insight into the students' interpretations of sustainability.
Ellen Oster, FIT adjunct assistant professor, Textile /Surface Design, adds: "We are thrilled that Kornit Digital gave our students this opportunity to focus on environmental aspects of design. Sustainability is already a key trend in textile design, and something that all designers now need to be equipped to deal with. By participating in the challenge, our students were able to enhance their portfolio, and expand their knowledge of environmentally conscious printing solutions, which is a real advantage as they head out into the job market."
