Several years ago, I ran down a list of “nine big mistakes” that print service providers could potentially make when expanding into the wide-format printing market. Naturally, a lot of things have changed in three years, a few things have stayed the same, and entirely new concerns have emerged. So this week, I offer an updated list of six Big Mistakes that would-be wide-format and specialty printers should try to steer clear of.

This is an oldie but a goodie, the classic “if you build it, they will come” or “I think it would be fun to run a newspaper” concept (hmm...Field of Dreams and Citizen Kane would make for an interesting mashup, assuming mashups are still a thing). Anyway, the average commercial print shop would be taking a big gamble to just buy a piece of equipment almost on a whim and expect a market to magically sprout up, like those fighting skeletons in Jason & the Argonauts (I think I need to turn TCM off). Companies that have successfully transitioned to specialty printing have begun by exploring the needs and demands of their own current customer base and expanding from there. I’ve written about this often enough; expand to serve the market that you know already exists rather than trying to coalesce one out of thin air.

OK, contradiction time! Sure, the buy first, ask questions later approach is a bit of a gamble, but perhaps you are passionate about a new type of printing. Maybe you were at the SGIA Expo and something caught your eye and just blew you away. Obviously, caution and due diligence are good assets for a businessperson to have, but, let’s face it, very often nothing can beat pure, ardent passion, especially if you can envision a market opportunity for a new kind of technology. “I think it would be fun to do vehicle graphics!” (for example) may sound frivolous, especially if all you have been doing is transactional printing (along the lines of the Monty Python sketch about the accountant who wants to become a lion tamer), but if you’re a real “car guy,” vehicle graphics get your blood pumping, and you can envision taking the idea to market in a unique way, then you should go for it. (We often need more fun in our lives.) Not only is that one of the definitions of an entrepreneur—someone who sees an opportunity where no one else does—but having a passion for something often translates into finding a way to make it work, by hook or by crook. Not that that always happens, but enthusiasm and excitement can be half the battle. And, hey, it beats doing something you hate.