Even as digital printing picks up as a major trend in the international market, finding reflection in the domestic arena too, more and more textile and apparel manufacturers are looking for reliable outsourcing options in digital printing. One of the first and largest digital printing set-ups in India, Mumbai-based Krishna Alkali, has been in the business for more than six years. “We are amongst the first few that brought digital textile printing to India and are proud to be one of the largest Indian companies at that. Our set-up is based on a vertical integration model where all the steps from pre-treatment of the fabric to post-treatment are completed within our premises. This consolidated infrastructure helps us maintain complete design secrecy, deliver consistent quality coupled with fast turnaround times,” says an upbeat Anish Maheshwari, MD & CEO, Krishna Alkali (Bombay) Pvt. Ltd.
With an existing production capacity of 60,000 metres per month (2,000+ metres per day) the company is in the midst of expansion which will take capacity to about 1,25,000 metres per month. Feeding a broad based customer profile including garment and fabric exporters as well as international and domestic fashion houses, Krishna Alkali also has a division, which looks into direct exports and domestic sales for in-house range of digitally printed fabrics. “Our focus is equally distributed between exports and domestic sales. Today it is the export market that can offer larger volumes, however in the long run as and when the prices of digital printing reduce, I can see the volumes in the domestic markets also being huge,” avers Anish. The company only prints on fabric, which is then converted into products. “About 90% of our printed fabrics are consumed by the fashion industry and the rest 10% is used for home furnishings,” he adds.
[bleft]“The upfront approach to business has been responsible for our growth and we are doing volumes per design which are at par with conventional printing.” – Anish Maheshwari MD & CEO, Krishna Alkali[/bleft]
Tuned into the fast changing needs of fashion, the company has invested in R&D and design development, providing latest inputs from trends around the world. The design studio manned by more than 25 graphic and fashion designers, enables the company to work on designs with speed and absolute precision. “Our strategic tie ups with studios across Europe in Italy, France and UK allows us to offer our clients concepts and designs conforming to the latest trends from the stores and the ramp,” says Anish. He points out that while an Indian customer still wants figures and jewellery designs, the international market is at present steered towards animal, baroque and abstract prints.
To remain fashion forward, the design team regularly attends leading textile and design exhibits around the world, scouting for latest trends and forecasts. Also onboard is a team of textile and fashion design consultants who guide the design team on the current needs and trends of the international and domestic markets. “These initiatives undertaken by our design division help us offer our customers exclusive as well as customized designs based on individual requirements and since the design studio and production floor are monitored by CCTV cameras and entry is restricted by biometric finger printing, we are also able to maintain complete secrecy of design,” reasons Anish.
Committed to partner its clients on all norms, the factories of Krishna Alkali are socially compliant and conform to ETI norms. “The upfront approach to business has been responsible for our growth and we are doing volumes per design which are at par with conventional printing. So for us, digital printing is already a mass volume printing technique and we can see it grow manifold,” says a confident Anish. However, he strongly feels that standalone performances is not going to carry the trend forward and the industry collectively needs to focus on the effectiveness of infrastructure for pre- and post-processing to successfully and consistently mass produce using digital printing.
Anish admits that as off today digital printing is far expensive than conventional printing. Currently the cost for fabric digital printing is about Rs. 150 per metre, if the volumes are large, whereas, the price for conventional printing starts at about Rs. 8 and moves on to about Rs. 30 depending on how and where the fabric is printed. However, Anish feels that the edge from digital printing cannot be overlooked. “It is important to note that many complex prints can only be produced in digital printing and cannot be replicated in screen. In addition to this, quality consistency and turnaround times are far more effective in digital printing,” he says.
Reacting to the claim of many that digital printing is only a passing fad, Anish concludes, “Digital printing is here to stay and increasingly contribute towards a big segment of the textile printing industry. It has its advantages which cannot be replaced by any other printing technique and as prices reduce this market will continue to grow.” In the meanwhile, Anish is busy consolidating his entire digital textile printing business under the PixelPRINT brand.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
