2015 may not go down in the annals of history as a year in which momentous events or revolutionary developments took place, at least not as far as wide-format and specialty graphics were concerned. There were no major technology introductions, no truly revolutionary products, but this is not to say that equipment manufacturers were idle. Rather, the more evolutionary year saw vendors filling out their equipment portfolios, such that in virtually every printer category—rollfed, flatbed, UV, latex, dye-sub—there are models that will fit nearly any budget or productivity requirement.

One area in particular that started to hit critical mass in 2015 was textile printing. Not a new application, of course, but be it dye-sublimation, latex, or even direct-to-garment, fabric and textile printing emerged in 2015 as the hot area to get into, and a panoply of printers has hit the market. Epson, Roland, Mimaki, Durst, and others have carved out niches in the dye-sublimation space, and direct-to-fabric dye-sublimation printers are proving to have certain advantages over transfer-based dye-sub. Soft signage has also become a much-desired alternative to various types of rigid materials, not just for environmental reasons, but for logistical reasons as well (transporting/shipping fabric signage is cheaper, easier, and less prone to damage than, say, foamcore). HP and Mimaki also offer latex ink as an alternative to dye-sub, which has proven popular and exceedingly versatile, as it can print on other materials in addition to textiles. (Dye-sub can also be used in lieu of UV on three-dimensional objects.)

Not that printing on rigid materials is going away anytime soon. EFI, Fujifilm, Inca Digital, HP, and Canon Solutions America have all broadened their flatbed UV lines, boosting speed and productivity. Mutoh, Mimaki, and Roland have also entered the flatbed market, and who can forget the sight at the ISA Sign Expo last April of footballs being run through a Roland flatbed printer? Indeed, printing on three-dimensional objects has opened up entirely new application areas—award and achievement printing, to name one: anything can now be a personalized trophy or plaque.