Weaving Innovation: Technical Textile Applications in Healthcare

20160927

Technical Textiles is a term that is growing in popularity both within the textile industry and the research community. With several other alternatives (like smart textile, intelligent textile, and performance textile), this term remains the most encompassing and most descriptive of a field of applications where textiles are associated with specific performance-based attributes in addition to their basic function.

The field is driven by applications in many areas, including military, sports, and, of course, medical and healthcare applications. These applications provide a wide range of research and product opportunities, from wound management technical textiles to fabrics with integrated electronics to tissue engineering applications.

This article comes from ieeepulse edit released

Print Media is Dead? Not so Fast.

Is print media dead? This is a question that has been buzzing around the marketing world since the rapid surge of the Internet and social media. While many businesses have completely migrated their advertising efforts to the web because of its cost effectiveness, exposure potential and convenience, print media still maintains its stance as a powerful and necessary component of an ad campaign. Let’s take a closer look at print media and some advantages it has over its digital counterparts.

Tangibility – A print media piece is a physical thing. Magazines and newspapers can stay in houses or offices for months or years, while Internet ads can disappear into cyber space instantaneously.

Credibility – There is something about print media that gives a sense of legitimacy. The saturation of popups and banner ads on the web can be overwhelming and the fear of spam and viruses is enough make people weary of clicking. There is no imminent danger in a print media ad.

Branding – Print media ads are excellent for solidifying your brand identity. Your ads should have a consistent aesthetic in terms of fonts, colors and types of images to establish brand recognition.

Target Marketing – Placing ads in publications such as specialty magazines can effectively reach niche audiences that may be more difficult to target online.

More Engaging – Consumers are more engaged when reading printed material, unlike websites, which are often skimmed in as little as a 15 second visit. A study shows that people read digital screen text 20% – 30% slower than printed paper. (Alshaali & Varshney, 2005)

Less Print media Ads – With more and more businesses relying solely on the Internet for their advertising needs, the decline of print media publication can actually be used as a marketing advantage. The publications are less crowded, allowing more room for your ad to shine, and possibly even cheaper prices for that ad space.

QR Codes – Placing QR codes on printed pieces is an excellent way to bridge the gap between print media and web. When scanned with a smartphone, the QR code will take you to a homepage or a special offer page that lives on the web.

The best way to market your business is to utilize as many channels as possible to reach every corner of your target demographic; this should not exclude print media. Although it is likely that most emphasis, in terms of advertising, will be executed online, there still exist those who revel in the glory of the printed page and it’s important to reach them. Finding the right balance between various media will ensure a steady revenue flow, an increase in sales and new customers.

This article comes from forbes edit released

Applications of Technical Textiles

The textile industry is challenged today to make a radical shift towards the increased use of renewable and recyclable materials. The European Commission declared bio-based products as a lead market in 2007. By 2020, 10 million tons of fibres should be coming from renewable resources. A substantial increase in cultivation and application of bast fibres, such as flax and nettle, as well as a breakthrough in the use of biopolymers is required.

Hence, a number of research projects have been carried out at ITA in the past few years to develop production and processing technologies for natural fibres (NF) and biopolymers. The studies deal with establishing processing methodologies through the entire textile processing chain for NF and biopolymers for developing products for applications in technical textiles.

The projects entail co-operation with institutes and industry partners from Germany and other European countries. The partners range from NF suppliers, biopolymer and filament manufacturers, chemists and additive suppliers, nonwoven producers, staple fibre processing and spinning companies, woven and knitted fabric manufacturers, composite manufacturers to end-users, such as OEMs, automotive and furniture industry, FRCPs and manufacturers of toys, suitcases and sports articles.

As a result, a range of technologies for processing biopolymers have been developed. These include nonwoven, staple spinning, weaving, knitting and compression molding technologies for biopolymer fibres and bio-composites of NF and biopolymers. Furthermore, products with at least similar performance compared to their market competitor have been developed.

Take for example, PLA woven fabrics exhibited 30% higher tensile modulus and 20% higher tearing strength as compared to polyester fabrics used for car seat covers. NF-PLA exhibited 70% higher tensile modulus and thrice the bending modulus as NF-PP composites used in car door panels. Some examples of the products are PLA fabrics for car seat covers, NF-PLA composites for car seat and door panels, bio-composite cell phone covers, self-reinforced PLA composite for applications in suitcases and other FRCPs.

This article comes from intnews edit released

Print Media- Your Brand Creation

Print Media are lightweight, portable, disposable publications printed on paper and circulated as physical copies which hold informative and entertaining content that is of general or special interest.

Today, many books, newspapers, magazines and newsletters are published on digital electronic editions on the Internet. The print media is an effective way to communicate with people locally or on international level. Attracting media attention can help expand your influence and name recognition in target communities.

Print Media gives a stand to your brand recognition. The colour, text, design, etc helps in recalling of your brand to your end users. Print Media plays a vital role in any business, small or big all has got its value added.

This article comes from innothoughts edit released