Category Archives: News

Specialist article in Technical Textiles Magazine

Environmentally friendly resorcinol-formaldehyde-free adhesive systems for textile-rubber composites

Technical textiles deliver solutions for a wide range of applications such as reinforcements for mechanical rubber goods (MRG) and composite materials. The surface of reinforcing fibers and in particular the interphase between the fiber and rubber matrix is essential to meet these challenges and specific requirements. Resorcinol-Formaldehyde-Latex (RFL) chemistry is at the core of textile reinforcements for the application in mechanical rubber goods such as tires, timing belts, hoses and air springs.

Due to regulatory issues, formaldehyde has been recently classified as carcinogenicity category 1B substance and according to the EU commission regulation No. 605/2014 these new legal obligations apply to producers, importers and downstream users. As a result of this re-classification, mixtures containing free formaldehyde contents of 0.1% or more are required to be labelled as carcinogenic i.e. H350, as they may cause cancer. Since Resorcinol is also in focus, there is therefore an immediate need to look for alternative cross-linking systems for technical fiber reinforcements in the field of MRG.

This article comes from mehler-ep edit released

New markets for technical textiles

Technical textiles made of high-performance fibers are currently being rediscovered as reinforcing materials for structural elements subject to high stress. Here carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics will be particularly prominent in the materials of the future. Experts expect the automotive branch to be the largest driver and thus the principle future market for carbon fibers. However, current use is still dominated by prepregs (pre-impregnated fibers), so that the predicted “Automotive” growth scenario will only come to pass if the cost of carbon-fiber-reinforced components drops significantly and the potentials for cost savings are leveraged to the greatest extent possible.

Since these savings potentials are primarily found in use of materials and in the component manufacturing process, it will only be possible to realize these tangible ecological and economic effects as forecast in large-scale industrial series manufacturing of this type of component. This makes it absolutely necessary to develop new textile machines as a central unit in new manufacturing processes for semi-finished textile products and preforms, also with regard to intelligent hybrid components in multi-material design.

By consolidating the individual areas of expertise of the member institutes, they intend to represent the entire textile value creation chain, from the textile machine to fiber production, manufacture of preforms/semi-finished products, textile functionalization, Smart Technical Textiles, process and product simulation, all the way to fiber-reinforced composite components.

This article comes from fraunhofer edit released

Changes In the Print Media Industry

Technology continues to change our industry… and now it has changed forever! Microchips, the Internet, and new printing processes have accelerated changes to the print media industry and we have a decision to make.

The decision before us is “Am I going to ride out as long as I can the traditional print model” or “Am I going to look at the new opportunities in our industry and drive my business into the future?”

This is really a “how long do I want to be in the industry” question. For those of you interested in moving into new products and services generated by the microchip, the Internet and new printing processes , I suggest two areas for you to follow.

Digital Print Media Technologies. Our industry was born with Gutenberg, which evolved into letterpress, and later offset as the primary printing process. But now digital is going to become the dominant print process. We could debate this, but most certainly, more digital presses will be sold than offset in the future. Digital print allows a customer to print small quantities of highly targeted pieces on substrates we never dreamed we could print on in the past. Think about what that means to your customer: Short runs, highly targeted, many substrates.

Electronic Media. The Internet is powering new forms of digital communications that were not even thought about just a few years ago. From email marketing and PURLs to QR codes and PDF files, you have more tools at your disposal to bring new creative solutions to your customers. A recent study showed that print buyers are now buying 14 percent of their purchases on the Internet and print media service providers predict that will grow to 50 percent in the next few years. We can provide greater service than ever with these electronic media tools.

This article comes from printmediacentr edit released

Technical Textiles Are Driving Industry Growth | Apparel Magazine

All the pundits at major shows around the world share a common perception about the global textile industry: that its future growth will be driven by technical textiles. Indeed, technical textiles have become the most important driver of growth in the textile industry. This perception was shared by many experts at the shows.

Technology is the underlying force that is transforming the industry from its conventional to an increasingly digital character. New software solutions, processes and technologies used in garment and leather manufacturing are top of mind at textile trade shows worldwide.

But it is not just the conventional applications of textiles and apparel that are of interest to both the industry and the consumers. The applications are today proliferating, limited only by designers’ imaginations. For example, technical textiles used in the highly-specialized aerospace industry are now being contemplated for consumer applications.

This article comes from apparelmag edit released

What Are the Advantages of Print Media Over Electronic Media?

Many companies reject print media advertising, believing the digital age has given way to more efficient forms of marketing. But comparisons between print media and electronic media have shown that print media provides many incredible advantages. Magazines, newspapers, leaflets, and catalogues are more effective at targeting customers and making a lasting impression. Here are some of the advantages of printed media over electronic media.

Advantages of Print Media vs. Electronic Media

20180424Can electronic media replace print media? If you ask brands like Ikea or Williams-Sonoma, the answer would be “no.” These companies derive a huge part of their success from their catalogs and print media. Flashy magazines with vibrant photographs will always be popular among consumers and they’re very effective at grabbing readers’ attention. Additionally, print media is generally an easy and affordable medium to advertise with and effectively spreads awareness within a specific geographical area. You can target your demographic more easily with print media by doing research and delivering your catalogs right to your prospective customers’ mailboxes. Print media allows for easy budgeting and expense management as well.

As for electronic media, although it has a much wider reach and allows for greater flexibility, its results still do not compare to the quality customer relationships you can gain from using a print media strategy. Electronic media does allow businesses and retailers to use pictures, animations, and even 3D imaging to market their products or services, but it comes at a cost. It is actually much more affordable to set up a print marketing campaign. And the profit you gain through targeting the consumers most likely to buy your products outweighs the investment.

Important Types of Print Media

There are three main important types of print media: newspapers and articles, magazines and catalogs, and books. Newspapers and articles are delivered in a frequent and regular manner, and they can be presented attractively to create interest in the reader. This form also provides accurate and authentic information about current events locally and worldwide, related to various human-interest topics like health or entertainment.

Magazines and catalogs go deeper into a particular topic. They can feature stories, interviews, research, or analysis to provide the reader with more details about a specific topic. Unlike newspapers, which provide information on several topics and categories, magazines focus all their content on something specific and provide in-depth research and information about it. Some topic examples include fashion, technology, gaming, interior design, and fitness.

Thirdly, print media can come in the form of books. These can be considered a form of cultural heritage, encompassing scientific reports, history, and literature. Whether it comes in the form of textbooks, adult literature, or storybooks, this form of print media is a great way to target people who still enjoy taking their time and going through an entire book about a topic. Biographies, history, and self-help are some of the categories of this type of print media.

This article comes from macromark edit released

WHAT IS A TECHNICAL TEXTILE?

Technical textiles and other textiles, such as clothing and fashion, differ significantly. Clothing and fashion fabrics have aesthetic look and form as the key parameters whereas technical textiles are fabrics that have specific functional properties for demanding environments. Technical fabrics are carefully designed and engineered for the specific application to give confidence, that the properties required will be delivered consistently.

YARN TYPES

Technical textiles are usually manufactured from synthetic materials, such as glass fibre, polyester, nylon, polyamide, spun polyester, aramid, and mixed yarns. Other yarn types are used and many more are available, please ask us if you need a particular yarn type not specified here. The materials are usually continuous filaments with or without twist. The higher the weight, the more filaments there are to manage.

COMMON TERMS

There is a certain amount of jargon in weaving, not all of which is immediately obvious. When talking about textiles, you will hear warp, weft, ends, picks amongst many other terms. The terms below are worth focusing on because they are in widespread usage and can be confusing. When giving us details of your needs, if you use a different count system just let us know your needs in the count system you use and our technical team will do the rest.

This article comes from jamesdewhurst edit released

Five Predictions For The Future Of Print Media

In an increasingly digital world, the fate of print media is often called into question. Does the rise of mobile and internet mean the death of newspaper and magazine ads? The answer might be more complicated than you think.

Print media is naturally seeing a sharp decline due to the rise of digital. However, there are still channels where print not only makes sense, but can engage audiences more effectively due to its secure and intimate nature. And don’t underestimate the power of combining digital and print media.

Below, five communications executives from Forbes Communications Council offer their predictions for where print media will go from here.

1. The Law Of Diminishing Returns

I think Tim Wu really nailed it on NPR recently: It’s all about “the quest for clicks.” Digital and mobile mediums are steamrolling away the print world. As our society continues to grow its percentage of web-born youth, that print number only declines more and more. In the not too distant future, every billboard, every bus ad, every news source will be read/seen/watched digitally.

2. An Integrated Approach

Mixing print media with a fully integrated approach has been successful with our construction executive buyers, leading to larger enterprise partnerships. Combining social, native, digital and other lead-generation efforts to saturate the audience will help tell the complete story and reach the audience where they feel comfortable interacting with the brand.

3. The Answer To Security Fears

Digital content is beloved because it is easy to produce, syndicate, pivot, measure and demonstrate ROI. But in a world where businesses are limiting access to some digital content for fear of cyber attack and security vulnerabilities, the idea of evolving print media to include features like augmented reality or other digital enhancements might become an attractive option.

This article comes from forbes edit released

Advances in Technical Textile Technology

Advances in Technical Textile Technology provides comprehensive coverage of technical textile materials available for commercial use and how to explore the full potential of new technical textile technology. Includes the latest on state-of-the-art technology for technical textile applications direct from the companies and research institutes at the forefront of the latest research programs.

Each issue covers materials developments, new processes and equipment, safety and protection, testing and standards, environmental issues, together with new patents and international industry and market news.

This article comes from technical-textiles edit released

Popular Culture and Print Media

Print media is classified as anything that is in print and is also used to inform the public. The most prominent forms of print media are newspapers, books, magazines, direct mail, and yellow pages. Outdoor advertising like billboards and transit posters are different types of print media but are very effective in conveying the advertisement across. What one sees and reads has a big influence on what he or she says, how one says it, and his or her action. The influence print media has on people and communities have contributed to the change in popular American culture today. Print media is placed to catch everyone attention, it is everywhere one may look. People will find some form of print media strategically placed to catch onlooker’s attention.

More than a communicative feature, print media has influenced American culture and consumerism over the years. Print media sets the trend on what is fashionable and what is out of fashion. More important, it serves as a significant factor to inspire and impede consumerism. By influencing one’s consciousness and perception, print media has formed society into what has become “American Culture” of today. The influence print media has can make one desire the thing he or she use to dislike, believe in principles he or she used to have an aversion to, and continually consume items in excess.

Print media has been extending the knowledge of the news or chronicles across the nation by keeping the public up- to- date on information pertaining to one’s life, services, products, and the environment. Several trends that have propagated by the print media are food, fashion, and weigh loss programs. People are focused more on these trends today than ever before. Print media has made it more accessible for people to obtain whatever information he or she needs to keep up with these particular trends.

This article comes from studymode edit released

8 panels to help Centre set standards for technical textiles

To expedite the process of developing standards for the technical textiles sector, eight committees have been formed at the Centre of Excellences in India to help identify the areas in which standards needed to be formulated, said Textiles Secretary Anant Kumar Singh.

“The market of technical textiles is expanding rapidly with new products being added by the users in various industries. Thus it is imperative to formulate standards to accelerate the growth of the textiles sector,” Singh said inaugurating the third edition of ‘National conclave on standards on technical textiles’ organised jointly by the Ministry of Textiles, Bureau of India Standards (BIS) and FICCI on Thursday.

India has the capability, resource and market in the area of technical textiles and the need was to capitalise on these strengths, according to an official release.

It is imperative for the stakeholders, including industry, policy makers and research institutes to work in close collaboration and also suggest ways to make the process of developing standards for technical textiles faster, Singh added. The eight committees will also include industry representatives.

Expanding market

The Secretary pointed out that the market of technical textiles was expanding rapidly with new products being added by the users in various industries. However, the share of technical textiles in the domestic textile sector as well as at the global level was very low as compared to developed countries and this needed to be addressed.

The government will also launch the new mission for technical textiles soon as the earlier mission has completed its period, Singh added.

The conclave, since its inception, has been instrumental in bringing together institutional buyers in various segments along with industry to discuss the standards that needed to be formulated by BIS on priority, the release said.

This article comes from thehindubusinessline edit released