It’s not often that the words ‘cool’ and ‘print’ are used in close proximity to one another but one print discipline is slowly but surely challenging that perception.

Thanks to popular TV makeover shows like Pimp My Ride, vehicle wraps have become incredibly hip, with car enthusiasts and celebrities alike queuing up to have their cars embellished with vinyl decals and/or full/partial wraps – long gone are the days when ‘pimping your ride’ meant carefully sticking some go-faster stripes down the side.

Today it’s possible to have anything and everything printed on vinyl and attached to a vehicle – a picture of a pet dog say, or an autograph from a famous footballer. And it’s not just motoring enthusiasts that have been bitten by the wrapping bug.

Businesses are also favouring the route over other advertising forms due to the perception that it’s an incredibly cost-effective way of delivering a marketing message. But how can companies who have yet to be convinced by the medium accurately measure the effectiveness of a vehicle wrap campaign?

Several studies have been published in the past highlighting the power of vehicle advertising. For instance, research compiled by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) claims that one vehicle (in the US) can generate anywhere between 30,000 to 70,000 impressions* per day (*sightings by potential customers – these figures will clearly fluctuate depending on the density of traffic in different countries across the globe and whether or not the wrapped vehicles are more commonly driving through cities or quiet villages). Furthermore the OAAA claims that fleet advertising boosts name recognition by as much as 15 times more than any other form of advertising. (more…)

There’s an old business maxim that highlights the opportunity to innovate out of recession. And there’s no doubt that in the right time and place, innovation can throw an all-important lifeline to a business. However, not everyone has that radical killer idea that will see a company hit the jackpot – nor in these frugal times, can everyone lay their hands on the finance that will help them to realise this innovative idea.

It’s true that all businesses must constantly adapt in order to grow and survive, but over the course of the last few years of economic hardship it has been more a case of ‘evolve or face extinction’. It’s a challenge that the printing industry appears to have risen to well with a number of companies that have made changes though the recession generating impressive results and in turn growth.

What’s been most refreshing about this ‘quiet evolution’ is the variety of different guises it has taken. A lot of businesses have evolved by launching new offerings to clients such as the launch of design facilities, web storefronts and inhouse finishing. Others have identified niche areas that have flown under the radar of most businesses. For example, I heard tell recently of a company making a killing through digitally printing false nails, although it doesn’t want to crow about this lucrative niche from the rooftops for fear of other businesses getting in on the act (demand for false nails in the UK has shot through the roof over the last few years apparently). (more…)

Anyone tuning into the friendly football match between Brazil v Scotland at the weekend couldn’t fail to be impressed by the silky skills of the samba boys. For decades the nation’s primary claim to fame was its inhabitants prowess with a football. But the perception of Brazil as a nation of football crazy, sun worshippers is slowly but surely changing. While it may not have reached the exalted status of ‘economic superpower’ just yet, recent economic growth has been impressive and over the next few years the rate of growth is expected to further accelerate thanks to two significant opportunities looming large on the horizon.

First, in 2014, Brazil will play host to the World Cup, with the home nation set to go into the tournament as red-hot favourites to lift the trophy for an unrivalled sixth time. Then two years later Rio will host the 2016 Olympic Games. As a result, over the next five or so years, the Latin American giant will be lifted onto a global platform with domestic and multi-national businesses offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to cash in on the additional economic stimulus that these two global events are expected to generate.

One business sector set to benefit greatest from this predicted growth is the printing industry and in particular wide-format printers. Events of this magnitude by their very nature require the production of mile upon mile of printed collateral ranging from lamppost banners, through billboard posters, bus shelter ads and pitchside hoardings. And it’s not just in the months building up to the tournaments – and the weeks that the competitions take place – that there are opportunities.

The nation is undergoing a construction boom at the moment to ensure that the infrastructure is in place for when the events begin, fostering demand for a wide range of different printed items. For example, the rapidly growing rate of road construction in Brazil means that at the moment there is a growing requirement for digitally printed traffic signs. (more…)

I had an interesting conversation the other day with a print student.

He’d chosen to write his final dissertation for his course about the ‘apportunity’ that smartphone applications offer the printing industry. The student had come directly from a major publishing show where iPads were omnipotent (the show took place shortly after details of Apple’s iPad 2 was announced). Stand after stand had their apps on display and companies were only too happy to talk up the tablet computer’s place in the printing industry of the future (something that I’ve touched on in a previous blog).

I hadn’t really given this subject a great deal of thought until the student put me on the spot and asked me how printers can best take advantage of this kind of technology. For example, he asked, what part of the production chain would it work best in and how would a printing app look? What would the app do? And crucially could apps replace print?

Which got me to thinking – it’s coming up to four years since the iPhone was made commercially available and a year since the iPad was unveiled, yet to date there has been no real game changer app that’s threatening to change the way that printers – or their customers – do business (and that’s not including the plethora of Google Android devices and associated applications). Yes, some of the MIS manufacturers have dabbled, enabling users of their software access via an iPad/iPhone, but nothing has come along and really made waves.

(In fact the most noteworthy iPad/iPhone app that I’ve seen of late is the LetterMpress for the iPad – a quirky piece of software that allows users to create authentic looking virtual letterpress designs and prints). (more…)

Innovation isn’t just about men in white coats stuck away in labs inventing and creating.

It’s about real people, generating real value and it isn’t just technical. It can be experiential.

At FESPA Americas we proved this through our innovative print shop live feature. We combined experiential innovation with technical innovation with the Wide Format Print Shop Live to create something truly new and unique.

The wide format print shop live was a world first. The first time a real print shop was showcased in an educational forum at a live event. Attendees got to learn about digital wide format printing in a format that wasn’t purely about selling technology. From pre-press, production to workflow, printing and finishing, attendees were given an expert tour of a print shop and the technical and creative potential that it has.

The vision of the concept was to create a forum for peer to peer interaction. By enabling production people to learn from production experts about wide format print production and workflow, we felt we could achieve a new result.

And the outcome was inspiring.

From FESPA’s perspective we couldn’t have done this without the expert work of Sophie Matthews-Paul whose expert knowledge is unquestionable. The ‘show’ was fronted by Mike Horsten, a Dutch showman with an abundance of technical know how and a natural flair for presenting.

And stuff was sold! People learned new things and this new feature established a new format for print events!

The benefits of the feature for all involved were simply that it created a unique and powerful connection. We discovered that by educating and showcasing the technology is a compelling way to sell product and build a new relationship from the perspective of the vendor, and a great way to learn in a more independent environment, for the attendee. (more…)

In the last blog we discussed the possibilities of garment printing using digital technology, a practice that was historically the domain of screen presses. As stated previously, digital garment printing has enjoyed significant growth in recent years and looks set to grow even further in the future. But buying the kit to undertake this kind of work is one thing – the key question for printers is whether or not there is latent demand for this kind of service now that will help keep the press ticking over if you decide to take the plunge?

The answer to this question appears to be a definitive yes. At the recent London Fashion Week there was a wide range of digitally printed textiles on show – the market has come a long way since 2004 when Basso & Brooke were the first fashion brand to create a collection that relied solely on digitally printed fabrics.

And the technology hasn’t just infiltrated haute couture – digital textiles have become increasingly common in high street fashion chains since Topshop introduced a range by top designer Christopher Kane a couple of years ago.

So customer demand and understanding of the benefits provided by digital garment printing and in particular the ability to produce short runs, cost effectively on demand, is already in place. (more…)

The wide-format market is evolving rapidly. As is the range of substrates that wide-format exponents can utilise. Nowadays printers can virtually print onto anything and everything, from paper, through to vinyl, through to glass. But one of the fastest growing areas is digital printing onto textiles. Although digital textile printing technology has been around since the 1990s, it’s only been over the course of the last few years that the sector has truly come of age, finding favour in a number of different markets.

In addition to being used more and more frequently in the signage sector, for soft signage, there has also been phenomenal growth of wide-format digital printing in the garment decoration market.

And it’s an area that’s anticipated to enjoy even further growth in the future. According to a study entitled ‘The Future of Digital Print for Textiles’ published by Pira International in association with Fespa last year, the market for digital print for textiles is forecast to grow from Euro 114.6m in 2009 to just under Euro 1bn by 2014. Over the same period the total installed base of digital printers for textiles is expected to grow to 52,800 units globally, a CAGR of 23.1%.

Interestingly this growth is anticipated to reverse the trend witnessed over the last few decades, which has seen Western fashion companies take advantage of cheap labour in places like China and India. The ability to produce textiles more cost-effectively could see many garment companies move their manufacturing bases closer to their domestic market, with the emerging economies in Eastern Europe expected to enjoy the fastest growth, alongside Asia. This move presents enormous potential opportunities for printers looking to generate new revenue streams. (more…)

Few print industry sectors have benefited from the recession. Dwindling print spend has led clients to demand more for less, resulting in many commercial printers agreeing to unsustainable – and in some instances – suicidal prices just to keep their presses ticking over. This sort of downward price pressure was a trend that could only be absorbed for a short period of time before something had to give and as a result many commercial printers disappeared off the map.

Those printers that managed to survive the downturn are more often than not the ones that diversified and sought out new revenue streams to bolster their profits. And one of the main beneficiaries of this diversification was the digital wide-format sector.

Industry research underlines the extent to which wide-format has profited. A survey conducted last year by digital press manufacturer Canon revealed that 86% of respondents who had moved into wide-format printing claimed that it had helped them to remain profitable during the economic downturn. Furthermore the same research revealed that 44% of western European respondents intended to invest in large-format solutions in 2010 in a bid to further boost their performance.

The attractions to commercial printers looking to move into wide-format are numerous but one of the oft-cited benefits is that it requires relatively low capital expenditure to get into, compared to a behemoth-sized litho wide-format press which comes with a behemoth price tag to match. So at a time when banks still don’t want to lend the affordability of digital wife-format presses only heightens the sector’s attraction. (more…)

Four years or so ago all the talk in the printing industry was about the serious levels of over capacity and how consolidation was necessary so that a leaner, meaner industry could emerge. Having endured one of the worst recessions on record the printing industry is certainly leaner as it comes out the other side with printers falling by the wayside in their dozens across Europe. Whether it’s meaner remains to be seen, but those that managed to weather the economic storm should be stronger for it. For them the immediate challenge is to generate steady yet modest growth in the months ahead with much of this growth expected to be achieved through mergers and acquisitions.

There should be plenty of crumbs for prospective buyers to pick over because for the last couple of years many print business owners had to sit tight in the knowledge that if they sold at the bottom of the market they would only achieve a rock bottom price. Now that a modest recovery is taking place there should be more suitors, which in turn means they should be able to achieve a better price for their business – in theory at least.

But what about in practice? What should owners looking to exit a business consider before selling up? According to financial experts all business owners should have an exit plan in place from day one. But don’t worry if you failed to do this: the experts also say that if you’re looking to sell you should give yourself around two years to successfully exit a business – this time buffer provides the opportunity to maximise the value of a business and manage the sale process more smoothly. During this period business owners should do their damndest to reduce debt and ensure the company’s finances are in tip top condition. (more…)

When it comes to the creation of innovative point of sale (POS) most printers are happy to leave the creative part to the ‘creatives’ – “let them dream up the idea and we’ll deliver it”, is usually the favoured plan of attack. It’s an approach that works fine when times are good – especially as the relationship between printer and designer has always been a frosty one – but in turbulent economic times printers have to be more savvy and customer-centric. And with POS being an area in which print buyers say that they’re likely to spend more money in the future, according to a recent survey by UK trade title PrintWeek, cosying up to your creative customers might not be such a bad idea.

But what sort of thing should you talk about to break the ice? Waxing lyrical about the capabilities of your new press is probably a bad idea – they want to see what it can do, not know all about its inner workings. Printed electronic POS might be an interesting starting point for discussions but for many companies this technology, which is still in its infancy, is far too cost prohibitive.

Believe it or not the next best thing is substrates. Some people may switch off when they hear the ‘s’ word but printers that do their research will find that there are a raft of innovative substrate options available to them from metallic boards (how about using it to design a branded POS mirror for your high street fashion customers) through to new papers that produce a lenticular effect (with the growing number of 3D films and TV shows lenticular POS looks set to enjoy terrific growth over the next 12 months). (more…)