Ink jet printing onto fabric has many advantages when compared to traditional printing methods. The ability for fine line detail and near infinite number of colors enables a near photographic image on the textile substrate. The greatest benefit however is the freedom from the requirement of a print repeat and the ability to engineer a print design. To engineer a print, a product developer brings the garment marker into a textile design software program and creates the textile design within the marker. This design engineering process requires the collaborative efforts of both a product and textile designer, allowing a better marriage of shape and pattern design. For instance, a panoramic scene could continue across a product, or around a three dimensional form. The textile design once created on a two-dimensional surface, now is manipulated across the shape of the body so that it becomes a three dimensional design.
Lisa Parrillo Chapman, Cynthia L. Istook, "Virtual Designing in 3D for Textile Printing" in Proc. IS&T Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies (NIP18), 2002, pp 249 - 253, https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2002.18.1.art00062_1