Epson launches first ever Textile Academy at company's new innovation centre in Lutterworth, Leicestershire

Epson has opened a new innovation centre in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, including the launch of its first ever Textile Academy, a platform to inspire young people to contribute to a better, more eco-friendly textile industry.

The inaugural Textile Academy comprised of a one-day workshop day for textile design students at nearby Nottingham Trent University (NTU). During this event, they were given the opportunity to print their individual designs onto a range of substrates using Epson's range of digital textile printing solutions spanning direct-to-garment (DTG), direct-to-film (DTFilm), and dye sublimation printers.

An award for the design with the greatest creativity, colour, and impact, as determined by attending media, was given to Katy Harvey in the form of a SureColor F100 dye-sublimation printer.  

She says: “I learned about the different options for starting my own business or building my career through a company. It was also really great to see how my designs could work across such a wide range of items. Winning the competition for best design was really flattering, and I look forward to trying out my new (dye-sub) printer at home.” 

Students also underwent a business workshop, where they were given insight into commercialising textile printing, with Phil McMullin (Head of Sales for large format print at Epson), Oliver Mustoe-Playfair (Co-founder at Prinfab), Taran Rai (Sustainability Manager at Epson), and Polly Chapman (Marketing Manager at Epson). In a series of presentations, students heard from experts in the world of textiles about the challenges, opportunities, and environmental implications of printing in fashion.

This included Rai, who talked about the environmental implications of printing in fashion and Epson’s role in co-creating sustainability with its digital technologies. 

Rai comments: “The fashion sector receives a large spotlight in terms of its environmental footprint and today was a great chance to educate students on what this looks like. Epson has recently conducted research quantifying the water waste attributed to UK and European wardrobes through imported, analogue printed garments, and it’s great to highlight the reduced impact of on-demand, digital textile printing.” 

Duncan Ferguson, MD and European VP for large format print, Epson UK, comments: “Educating and inspiring students about the opportunities offered by digital textile printing is not only key to future-proofing our industry, but also to reducing the water waste and CO2e of the fashion industry. Marrying their creativity with our technology is an exciting prospect and it’s an absolute pleasure to see students take such an interest in textile printing as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.” 

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Sustainability will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards. which will open for entries in March, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.