Much Ado About Color: The Canon Colorado Wallcovering Challenge
At PRINTING United, Canon showcased the results of a unique challenge that highlighted the color consistency and repeatability of its Colorado line of UVgel printers. Richard Romano looks at The Wallcovering Challange. Read More
TECHNOLOGY OUTLOOK: DISPLAY GRAPHICS—Display Graphics and Signage at ISA, drupa, PRINTING United, and Beyond
drupa has never been a big show for display graphics and signage, and while there were companies showing their wide-format printers, major announcements are usually reserved for the ISA Sign Expo, FESPA and/or PRINTING United. Richard Romano looks back at some solutions on display in Düsseldorf and what to look for in Las Vegas. Read More
The Evolution of Celebration Signage: Up With Higher Education!
If you have been out and about lately you may have seen the latest trend in celebration signage: lawn signs that announce what college or university a graduate is heading to in the fall. We look at some of the opportunities for display graphics providers in this area. Read More
Growth in Shopping and Dining Drive Opportunities in Wide Format
Heidi Tolliver-Walker looks at two of the biggest markets for wide-format graphics: retail and dining. Read More
Flyerline Schweiz AG Installs New HP Large Format 2700 Printer
At drupa 24, HP announced that Flyerline Schweiz signed a deal for a new HP Latex 2700 printer. Read More
Fujifilm Collaborates with ColorBase to Profile Premium Media for the Acuity Prime Hybrid
At drupa 24, Fujifilm announced its collaboration with ColorBase, a partnership that will see ColorBase profiling a selection of premium print material to support companies that have invested in the Acuity Prime Hybrid printer. Read More
Print on Walls with WallPen
Ralf Schlözer looks at a unique exhibitor at drupa 24: WallPen, which has developed a dervice for printing directly on walls. Read More
Arizona 2300 FLXflow—Streamlining Your Flatbed Printing Production
In this article, sponsored and written by Canon, learn about the advantages of Canon’s FLXflow technology that streamlines production on the Arizona flatbed printer. Read More
Global First: Fujifilm and Barberán Announce First Sale of New HS Series Single-Pass Inkjet Platform, with Deal Agreed on the Barberán Stand at drupa 2024
At drupa, Linney, a full-service UK-based marketing agency, became the first company in the world to invest in the new, ultra-high productivity, single-pass HS Series developed in partnership by Fujifilm and Barberán. Read More
Advanced New Robotics and Next Generation Digital Cutting Technology Revealed by Kongsberg PCS
In this article, sponsored and written by Kongsberg Precision Systems, the company describes the new technologies the company showed for the first time at drupa 24, including the new Kongsberg Ultimate. It also looks to the future of automation. Read More
Table Talk: New Options for Display Graphics Cutting and Finishing
A round up of some of the latest wide-format cutting table product introductions. Read More
Looking Beyond Commercial Print with Mimaki
Mimaki is looking beyond the traditional paper-based print applications. Ralf Schlözer reports from Mimaki's drupa 24 press conference. Read More
The Display Graphics Evolution: Roland DG
This is the second in a series of articles that looks at the evolution of display graphics equipment manufacturers and their portfolios. Up next: Roland DG. Read More
Highlights from FESPA 2024—Sign and Display Printers
European section editor Ralf Schlözer rounds up some wide-format product launches and announcements made at the FESPA Global Print Expo, held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, March 19–22. Read More
And the Awards Go To…The Winners of This Year’s FASTSIGNS Project of the Year
FASTSIGNS Hattiesburg (Miss.) took top honors as this year’s FASTSIGNS Project of the Year. FASTSIGNS Syracuse (N.Y.) and FASTSIGNS San Diego (Cal.) were this year’s runners-up. Read More
What’s Behind the Curtain: How to Break into Décor Printing
Décor printing is a growing part of the display graphics ecosystem and on Thursday, April 17, long-time industry consultant Debbie Nicholson offers commercial print businesses some tips on breaking into décor printing. Read More
Agfa: Reinventing and Reemerging
Since 1867, Agfa has been at the forefront of many technological developments in imaging. As one of the founding graphic imaging powerhouse companies, it struggled through the transition from an analog to a digital economy. However, they have redefined their core business products and structures to not just survive but to grow in this rapidly changing world. Read More
The Expanding Horizon of Display Graphics and Signage
Today, the display graphics and signage industry is highly dynamic, characterized by continuous innovation. Digital printing technology has advanced to include large format printing, enabling the production of large-scale graphics for billboards, banners and wraps. Joanne Gore and Kevin Abergel look at how companies can use embellishments to add new dimensions to display graphics, making them even higher-value print applications. Read More
Executive Q&A: swissQprint’s Erik Norman and Michael Voight
We spoke with swissQprint America President Erik Norman and Application Specialist Michael Voight about the company’s display graphics product portfolio, top and emerging applications, customer expansion into adjacent applications and what automation means for swissQprint and its customers. Read More
Welcome to the Display Graphics and Textiles Issue!
This week and next, we are publishing the content from our latest print edition, Issue Two: Display Graphics and Textiles. Here’s a preview. Read More
Don’t Call It “Wide Format”: The State of Display Graphics
The term “wide format” or “wide-format printing” is very much a jargon-esque term that doesn’t mean a lot outside industry trade publications or print businesses’ service rosters, and we have made the conscious decision to wean ourselves off the term “wide format” in favor of the more understandable “display graphics.” So, regardless of what we call it, what is the state of it? Read More
The Display Graphics Evolution: Epson
This is the first in a series of articles that looks at the evolution of equipment manufacturers and their portfolios in the display graphics space. First up: Epson. Read More
Colorchrome Atlanta Is 41—and Still Growing
WhatTheyThink Films recently completed its documentary on Atlanta’s Colorchrome. Read more about what can be considered the quintessential family printing business. Read More
Survey Says! Signage and Display Graphics in 2024
It’s that time again, time to sift through the data from our annual Business Outlook Survey for the forthcoming Printing Outlook report. As has become an annual tradition, we break out some display graphics-specific data to see what trends we can quantitatively gauge. Read More
Wide Format 2023: Looking Back to Look Forward
As the end of the year draws near, it’s time to look back and take stock of 2023 in the world of wide-format printing, display graphics, and signage—with an eye to what 2024 may bring. Read More
Sights for Sore Feet: Display Graphics and Textile & Apparel at PRINTING United
In this article, we round up some of the major press announcements made at last week’s PRINTING United Expo show, as well as some of the other wide-format technologies on display. Read More
2023 FESPA Print Census Highlights Global Wide-Format Trends
The FESPA print census is an industry barometer that helps vendors and print service providers (PSPs) understand market dynamics in key industry segments, including signage and display, graphics, textile, and industrial. With nearly 1,800 respondents from 120 countries, this year’s survey continues a research partnership between FESPA and Keypoint Intelligence that began back in 2007. This article provides a top-level overview of the findings from our most recent survey. Read More
New HP Latex Printer Line Targets Small and Mid-Size Print Businesses
This week, HP launched the “entry-level” Latex 630 series, aimed squarely at small and midsize print service providers. We take a look at some of the new features and capabilities. Read More
October 6 Is ISA’s Sign Manufacturing Day, Offering Sign Businesses a Great Employee Recruitment Opportunity
On October 6, sign companies will have an excellent opportunity to potentially attract new and young talent to their businesses. Every year, on the International Sign Association’s (ISA) Sign Manufacturing Day (SMD), participating sign shops host open houses, facility tours, and hands-on demonstrations for students to show them the opportunities that exist in the sign business—or even that the sign business exists. Read More
Poster Project Brings Art and Poetry to Downtown Syracuse
The Syracuse Poster Project is a civic arts initiative that launched in 2001, which merges poetry, art, and display graphics to help revitalize downtown Syracuse, N.Y. Richard Romano looks at the program’s inspiration and origin, and how it has evolved over the years. Read More
Off the Wall Cases: ISA Webinar Highlights New Issues in Sign Regulation
Last month, the International Sign Association hosted a webinar presented by the Sign Research Foundation that looked at the current legal lay of the land pertaining to sign codes. Some of the cases looked at were old favorites (Reed v. Town of Gilbert, et al.), but some new recent cases have raised entirely new issues—specifically concerning murals, and whether they are considered art or signage. Read More
Meeting Ever-Shorter Turnaround Demands in the Wide Format Market
The ever-increasing demand for immediate delivery is creating some unique challenges for today’s print service providers (PSPs). Wide-format print jobs have become especially challenging because they often require a great deal of customization, personalization, and design modifications. This article discusses some top strategies that can help PSPs to manage the turnaround expectations of today’s print buyers. Read More
ICYMI: Wrapper’s Delight: High School Senior Wins Bus Wrap Design Contest
For the last three years, Laketran in Lake County, Ohio, has held a student Design-a-Bus Wrap contest, sponsored by Avery Dennison. This year’s winner was Mentor High School senior Kaitlin Barninger. Richard Romano looks at how this year’s winning design came about. Read More
Here Come the Robots—News and Trends from FESPA 2023
The FESPA Global Print Expo was held in Münich, Germany, May 23 to 26. WhatTheyThink European section editor Ralf Schlözer attended and identifies some highlights from the show. Read More
Technology Outlook: Wide Format and Signage
Last week, as part of WhatTheyThink’s fourth annual Technology Outlook Week, our five-day series of webinars that look at the latest trends and technologies in a broad cross-section of the industry, Richard Romano and Cary Sherburne tag-teamed a look at wide-format and signage and textiles and apparel. This article recaps the wide-format portion of the webinar Read More
Print Services Helps CHRISTUS Health Fulfill Its Mission
CHRISTUS Health Print Services, the in-plant printing department for the CHRISTUS Health network of ministries and hospitals, took a tentative step into producing wayfinding signage—and has since proven itself essential to fulfilling CHRISTUS Health’s mission of serving its community. Read More
EFI Ignite: A Visit to EFI’s Londonderry N.H. Center of Excellence
As part of the media, Adam Dewitz, Richard Romano, and I were pleased to be invited to a recent EFI Ignite customer event. It gave us an opportunity to visit the (relatively) new EFI facility in Londonderry, which includes an expansive Customer Experience Center, manufacturing, and administrative/support services, and see the latest display graphics offerings from the company. Read More
HP’s Wide-Format Strategy Goes Beyond the Printer
WhatTheyThink managing editor Richard Romano talks to Daniel Martinez, General Manager, HP Large Format, about HP’s current wide-format strategy, market trends, and some recent product and new initiative announcements—in particular, a unique device for the architecture and construction industry. Read More
Looking Ahead to FESPA 2023
Cary Sherburne previews the upcoming FESPA Global Print Expo and European Sign Expo 2023 , scheduled for May 23 to 26 in Munich. Read More
Print Takes Shape for Wide-Format Applications
In today’s printing shops, making the cut begins with sharp blades and ends with precise routing. Mark Vruno looks at today’s cutting tables for wide-format finishing. Read More
Just Stick It: Materials for Applied Graphics Allow Solutions Anywhere
If you have been out in the world at all, you know that the number of surfaces to which graphics can be applied is only limited by the number of surfaces there are—which is to say that display graphics can be applied just about anywhere: walls, windows, doors, streets and sidewalks, 3D objects, vehicles—name it. Despite the overwhelming variety of graphics applications, some general trends are emerging, and some older trends are becoming more important. Read More
Stepping up Sales: How Floor Graphics are Transforming Retail Spaces
While much of the fanfare in wide-format graphics goes to signs, banners and floor displays, floor graphics have a powerful track record of sales lifts, too. Heidi Tolliver-Walker looks at some case studies on the effectiveness of floor graphic advertising. Read More
FASTSIGNS Eugene, Ore., Goes the Distance in This Year’s FASTSIGNS Project of the Year
The winner of this year’s FASTSIGNS/Wide Format & Signage Project of the Year is FASTSIGNS Eugene (Ore.), whose work for the World Track and Field Championships went the distance in the eyes of the judges. Read More
Executive Q&A: Canon’s Rich Reamer
The Senior Marketing Director of Canon USA’s Business Information Communications Group (BICG) talks to WhatTheyThink about the evolution of wide-format printing and the breadth of Canon’s offerings for display graphics providers. Read More
Overcome the Paper Problem: Three Opportunities for Wide-Format Business Growth in 2023—Plus Four Tips for Success
Over the pandemic, more and more printers expanded into the wide-format space, feeding a high demand for health and safety signage, amidst a growing inability to source paper. Today, you’d be tough-pressed to find a printing company that doesn’t offer some sort of wide-format solution, either in-house or outsourced. Read More
Canon Launches the New Colorado M-Series: Now with White!
Today, Canon is introducing the next-generation Colorado wide-format printer: the M-series. The “M” stands for modular, and among its many other features is that it now supports white ink. Managing editor Richard Romano attended a recent Canon event introducing and demonstrating the new printer line. Read More
Product Spotlight: Ultraflex EcoVantage Films
Ultraflex’s EcoVantage line of comprises 100% PVC-free and phthalate-free films for outdoor advertising, POS, wall coverings, and retail displays that are frontlit, backlit, blockout, mesh, indoor, outdoor, and wallcoverings. Read More
Diversification Beyond Signage—The New Challenge for Wide-Format Print in the US
According to the new Smithers report—"The Future of Printed Signage in a Digital World to 2028”— that global value for wide-format and signage applications in 2023 will reach $40.99 billion—down around $5 billion on pre-pandemic value (constant prices). Across the same period the volume of printed signage has fallen, as well. However, the demand for textile and interior design graphics are increasing, providing the main diversification options for wide-format presses. Read More
ISA International Sign Expo Returns to Mandalay Bay with Upcoming Las Vegas Show
For the first time since before the pandemic, the ISA International Sign Expo is heading to its West Coast home at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, April 12–14. The Sign Expo is ever-evolving, and this year’s event will boast some new features, as well as some recurring favorites. Read More
ChatGPT Tackles Floor Graphic Research and Case Studies
Continuing WhatTheyThink’s investigation into AI writing assistants, we took another look at ChatGPT’s ability to research industry-relevant topics. This week, we tested its ability to retrieve highly specific information such as research and case studies. Read More
Three Trends in Experiential Design for 2023
Design firm SOSO recently identified three major trends in “experiential design” for 2023. Experiential design is where signage and décor meet, and experiential graphics have been a hot application area for signage and display graphics producers. What are these top trends to keep an eye out for? Read More
Making the Connection: Software Connects the Dots for a Display Graphics Provider
What do we talk about when we talk about “software” in the context of display graphics production? When it comes to print production, and especially “workflow automation,” what we’re usually talking about is “RIP and print” software—and getting this software to talk to all the other software in the shop. Read More
Back In Black: Wide Format 2023—Six Things to Pay Attention to
Here we are in 2023, and one theme in our Fall 2022 Business Outlook Survey was that, for those print businesses that languished during COVID and its immediate aftermath, 2022 was the year they got back in the black. Still, 2022 was a challenging year in many ways. Not as challenging as 2020, thankfully, but still not an easy year to navigate, and there is no doubt that 2023 will present its own challenges—and opportunities. Here are some things to keep an eye on. Read More
Survey Says! Signage and Display Graphics in 2023
It’s that time again, time to sift through the data from our annual Business Outlook Survey for the forthcoming Printing Outlook report. As has become an annual tradition, we break out some wide-format specific data to see what trends we can quantitatively gauge. Read More
The Graying of Wide Format: Where We Stand in 2022/2023
A look back at the state of wide-format and signage in 2022—and a look ahead to 2023. Read More
Follow the Signs: Career Journeys in the Sign Industry
The visual communications industry, covering $37.5 billion in economic impact, employs over 200,000 people in America. An industry that’s attractive to creatives, it offers a long-term, rewarding career with growth potential. To mark this year’s Sign Manufacturing Day, FASTSIGNS celebrated the holiday by showcasing the longevity and excitement of a career in the industry. Read More
Appropriateness, Sustainability, and Availability: The Three Big Concerns in Choosing Signage Materials
Whether you are producing printed signage using the inkjet printing technologies we most commonly write about in WhatTheyThink, or constructing signage from traditional building materials, choosing the right material for the right job is perhaps the number-one consideration for any project. At the same time, there are two (at least) factors affecting the choice of materials for signage: availability and sustainability. Read More
It’s All About the Experience: This Year’s Digital Signage Experience Awards Finalists Transform Public Spaces
Tomorrow, the winners of the Digital Signage Experience Awards—or “DIZZIES”—will be announced, honoring the cutting edge in electronic signs and immersive multimedia experiences. Our friends at SNA Displays had their LED display technologies used by four nominees in the running. We take a look at these digital signage installations. Read More
Sign Connection—On the Horizon: Seven Tips for the Return of Events
If you attended PRINTING United last month, you know that virtually everyone is happy that live events are back. And as many of us have found out, they are not without their risks, COVID-wise. SpeedPro VP of Marketing Danielle Yuthas offers seven tips for hosting events safely and effectively. Read More
The View from the Afternoon: Wide-Format & Textiles and Labels & Packaging at PRINTING United 2022
Richard Romano and David Zwang tag-team a look at, respectively, wide-format & textiles and labels & packaging at the PRINTING United Expo 2022. Read More
A Life in Signage: FASTSIGNS Spring Hill Owner Comes Full Circle
Ross Cartwright collected signs as a kid, so it was only natural he would end up in the sign business. From local independent Cincinnati sign shop designer to FASTSIGNS corporate trainer, he has now come full circle with his acquisition of FASTSIGNS of Spring Hill, Fla. Read More
Cannabis and Signage Regulations: Another “Wild West”
With cannabis retail locations now popping up in several states, we’re starting to see more and more signage advertising these locations and their products. And just as it is in packaging, regulations pertaining to cannabis signage are still in a “Wild West” stage and, as you can imagine, vary from state to state. Read More
Interest in Wide-Format Automation Isn’t Always Where You Think It Is
Last month, WhatTheyThink’s Richard Romano and IDC’s Tim Greene presented a wide-format outlook webinar, and a big topic was automation—but not necessarily where you would think. Here are some highlights of that discussion. Read More
PRINTING United Preview: North American Debuts for Many Wide-Format Products
PRINTING United is slated for on October 19 to 21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. As you may recall from past events, the emphasis of PRINTING United is on the “united” part, as it has been designed to be the venue where all the disparate “silos” of the industry—commercial, wide format, packaging and labels, textiles, industrial—come together under one very large roof. The following round-up is a sampling of the wide-format introductions you’ll find on the show floor. Read More
Best Practices for Alzheimer’s-Friendly Signage
September is World Alzheimer’s Month—and September 21 was World Alzheimer’s Day—where people and organizations around the globe raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and other kinds of dementia. As part of this awareness, UK-based print and branding company Solopress circulated some best practices for designing and producing Alzheimer’s-friendly signage and display graphics. Read More
What Do We Talk About When We Talk about Interactive Signage?
“Interactive signage” is changing from simply providing information to creating immersive experiences. At the same time, the actual mechanism by which a user interacts with a display is changing from simple physical interaction to electronic interaction. Read More
ISA’s Upcoming Sign Manufacturing Day Offers Sign Businesses Employee Recruitment Opportunities
On October 7, sign companies will have an excellent opportunity to potentially attract new and young talent to their businesses. Every year, on the International Sign Association’s (ISA) Sign Manufacturing Day, participating sign shops host open houses, facility tours, and hands-on demonstrations for students to show them the opportunities that exist in the sign business. Read More
Looking Down: A Floor Graphics Application Gallery
In this photo gallery, we highlight some recent floor graphics projects that display graphics providers have produced. These application galleries are intended to serve as “food for thought” in developing creative applications for clients. Read More
Think Cast Vinyl Is a Must for That Project? Think Again
With myriad supply chain issues, some materials are harder to obtain than others. One such material is cast vinyl. However, for some applications, calendered vinyl—which is more readily available and more cost-effective—can be substituted for cast. This article, sponsored by FLEXcon and written by FLEXcon’s Jodi Sawyer, identifies where calendered vinyl is an acceptable substitute. Read More
Direct-to-Plane Printing?
The Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has developed a prototype robotic inkjet printing system that can print directly onto three-dimensional surfaces—specifically, airplanes. Richard Romano spoke to SwRI Senior Research Engineer Branson Brockschmidt about the project. Read More
Bucket List: Signarama Downtown Louisville (Ky.) Wins Best in Show at Signarama Sign Awards
Sign franchise Signarama’s Best in Show award this year went to Signarama Downtown Louisville (Ky.) for a project that involved designing, constructing, and wrapping a giant KFC bucket for Louisville-born rapper Jack Harlow. Read More
Bringing A Dream To Life: SpeedPro Helps Create Massive “Dream Chicago” Event for St. Jude
SpeedPro Chicago Loop won the franchise’s “Project of the Year” with the immersive “Dream Chicago” event, in partnership with St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Arena Partners. SpeedPro Chicago Loop President and Owner Eric Lazar writes about the design and installation of this project. Read More
New Product Launches at FESPA 2022—A Handful of Highlights
European section editor Ralf Schlözer reports on some of the major new product launches at the recent FESPA Global Print Expo 2022. Read More
The Different Dimensions of 3D Printing and Signage
“3D printing” is one of those terms that can mean different things to different people. In the signage industry, 3D printing is often referred to as “2+D”—using UV flatbeds to layer ink into three-dimensional textures—and braille lettering for ADA signage. And new units are facilitating the process. Read More
Sustainability and Wide-Format: It’s Not Just Materials
For many years, the sustainability discussion in wide-format printing has centered on ink technologies but, like elsewhere in the printing industry, other, more pressing issues have come to the fore, typically centered around overall product use and end of life concerns. Richard Romano takes a closer look. Read More
FESPA Global Print Expo 2022 Felt Like a True Post-Pandemic Trade Show
The FESPA Global Print Expo 2022 was held May 31 to June 3 in Berlin, Germany. European section editor Ralf Schlözer was there, and highlights some of the major announcements and offers his initial impressions of the event. Read More
Pane Points: A Window Graphics Photo Gallery
In this photo gallery, we highlight some recent window graphics projects that display graphics providers have produced. These application galleries are intended to serve as “food for thought” in developing creative applications for clients. Read More
Technology Outlook 2022—Wide Format & Signage and Textiles & Apparel Trends and Technologies
In this year’s third annual Technology Outlook, Richard Romano and Cary Sherburne look at new trends, technologies, and products in wide format and signage and textiles and apparel. Read More
Good Help Is Getting Harder to Find—and Keep, Part 2: ISA Wages & Benefits Report for the Sign Industry
Last month, the International Sign Association (ISA) hosted a webinar that summarized the results of their 2021 Wage & Benefits Report for the Sign, Graphics and Visual Communications Industry. We take a look at some of the top-line results. Read More
Transforming the Learning Environment with Signs
Signarama’s Chuck Gerardi highlights the opportunities educators have to enhance their students’ experience. Read More
Buffalo Canvas Produces Outdoor Display to Raise Awareness of PTSD
An installation at Buffalo, N.Y.’s Central Library features a series of photographs taken by Armed Services veterans. With a special focus on spreading awareness of the struggles veterans face with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), The Odyssey Project includes photographs from 42 veterans, printed and installed by Buffalo Canvas, a display graphics and signage provider. Read More
New Day, New Challenges: Three Factors Driving Growth in Wide Format and Signage
When the pandemic hit in 2020, to keep business flowing, many printers seized the opportunity to step into the wide-format space, producing pandemic-related signage, floor graphics, and face shields. Fast-forward to 2022 and these wide-format heroes find themselves facing a new set of issues—all threatening its continued growth. Contributor Joanne Gore looks at these new challenges. Read More
Annual Sign Franchise Review 2022
Like the print franchise networks, the sign franchises struggled, like many businesses, in 2020. They have bounced back almost to 2019 levels and are seeing good growth going into 2022. Managing editor Richard Romano provides our annual sign franchise review. Read More
FESPA Global Print Expo 2022 Comes to Berlin: A Conversation with Michael Ryan
The FESPA Global Print Expo 2022 will take place from May 31 to June 3, 2022, at the Messe Berlin in Germany. The event is Europe’s leading exhibition for screen, wide-format, and textile printing. WhatTheyThink spoke with Michael Ryan, Head of Global Development & FESPA GPE, FESPA, to preview the show and some prevailing trends and applications attendees can expect to see in Berlin. Read More
ISA Sign Expo 2022: Welcome Back, My Friends…
After a three-year pandemic-induced hiatus, the ISA Sign Expo returned live in Atlanta last week—much to everyone’s delight. WhatTheyThink was at the event, which seemed less like a trade show and more like a family reunion. Read More
FASTSIGNS/Wide Format & Signage Project of the Year: FASTSIGNS York (Pa.) Scores a Touchdown with Shippensburg University’s Football Facility
The winner of this year’s FASTSIGNS/Wide Format & Signage Project of the Year is FASTSIGNS York (Pa.), whose major rebranding of the Shippensburg University football team’s training facility caught the judges’ eyes. Read More
ISA Rocks! Sign Expo Returns in Person with Next Week’s Atlanta Show
It’s been a long three years since the International Sign Expo was last held in person. 2021’s virtual event was a success, but there’s nothing like in-person networking, demos, educational sessions, and parties. Here’s a preview of next week’s show. Read More
Tilia Labs Enables Maximum Optimization for Wide Format Printers
The three biggest profit killers in wide format printing are waste, time, and labor. Minimizing these issues is key to running a successful printing operation. This article explores how Tilia Labs applies artificial intelligence programming to maximize optimization for wide format printers. Read More
Up with Higher Education: Finding Signage Opportunities in Academic Applications
The higher-education market can be a lucrative one for sign and graphics providers, and there is no shortage of display graphics needs. Some are obvious, others less so, but finding them can provide many new opportunities. Here are some ideas. Read More
Sign Design UX Do’s and Don’ts: Employ a Functional Graphic Approach for Positive Wayfinding User Experiences, Top Designers Advise
WhatTheyThink contributor Mark Vruno talks with designers about best practices for wayfinding and other types of signage design. Read More
Image360 Plymouth Brings Art and Experience to Health Care Facilities
Image360 Plymouth unique niche—art-based experiential graphics for health care facilities—has opened the door to some unique projects, and the center is always looking to push the boundaries. Read More
The Show Goes On: Visit the ISA International Sign Expo 2022 in May
ISA President and CEO Lori Anderson looks forward to the International Sign Expo 2022, coming to Atlanta in May. It will be the first in-person Sign Expo in two years. Read More
Meet Vehicle-Wrap Competition Host Dirk Moebes
Contributor Mark Vruno talks to Dirk Moebes, the vehicle-wrap competition organizer from Germany who has been generating excitement at industry trade shows for more than two decades. Read More
The Sign Connection—It’s About Time: Expand Your Tool Kit with E-Commerce
The growing importance of e-commerce has been difficult to miss, especially during these turbulent times. The flexibility that e-commerce enables has been key to navigating the pandemic for print businesses and their clients. This guest article, by Carrie Wood of Alliance Franchise Brands, looks at the implementation of e-commerce in the Image360, Signs By Tomorrow, and Signs Now centers. Read More
Image360 Fairfax Takes Pride in Its Work
Image360 Fairfax (Va.) designed, printed, and installed Pride-themed graphics for Fairfax’s Mosaic District, a high-end mixed-use community—images that were deemed highly “Instagrammable,” an increasingly important consideration when designing display graphics. Read More
Arms of Love: New Automation Options for Wide Format
It took some time, but automation is gradually creeping into wide-format printing, especially on the flatbed side. A templated approach to projects, software, and even robotics are bringing new efficiencies to wide-format workflows. Read More
Apocalypse Soon? Sign Code Case Now Before the Supreme Court Could Forever Alter Sign Regulations—and the Sign Industry’s Business Model
In December, the International Sign Association (ISA) held a webinar that rounded up some of the recent sign code-related court cases. The one currently pending before the Supreme Court—City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising of Texas—could have cataclysmic implications for the sign industry. The webinar offered some potential outcome scenarios and what the decision would mean for sign producers. Read More
Opportunities for Signs and Display Graphics in a Changing World of Retail
Much has been written about the Great Resignation and how worker shortages are affecting many businesses, a situation exacerbated by the pandemic. The retail industry is one that has clearly been heavily affected, leading to an increase in cashier-less checkout to help these businesses stay viable. This is a dramatic trend that also offers interesting opportunities for sign and display graphics businesses. Read More
Survey Says! Wide-Format in 2022
Every year round about this time, as we are going through the data from our annual Business Outlook Survey for the forthcoming Printing Outlook report, Richard Romano breaks out some wide-format-specific data to see what trends we can quantitatively gauge—and, specifically, what new application areas look the most promising. Read More
Even Vacant Storefronts Sell: Redefining “Window Shopping”
Retailers across the world are transforming merchandise into artwork and creating eye-catching installations to drive traffic. Even though retailers may not occupy the specific storefront, there is still high foot traffic in the area and significant value in the brand real estate of a prime storefront regardless. SpeedPro explains how. Read More
Let’s Try This Again: Wide Format 2022—Seven Things to Pay Attention to
Almost against all odds, here we are in 2022, and it’s hard not to get the sense that this is our third attempt at starting 2020, building on the successes of 2019 before things went south. As we head into the new year, here are some of the topics Wide Format section editor Richard Romano has been following as they relate to wide-format printing—and, specifically, the market for wide-format printing. Read More
Color, Your Brand, and Display Graphics: How Your Clients Perceive You Through Color
In today’s world of digital and mixed analog technologies, it can be difficult to get consistent color from different platforms. Marty Davis, President of Alder Color Solutions, explains the importance of ensuring color consistency across small- and wide-format graphics. Read More
Wide Format and Signage: Demand- and Technology-Side Drivers for 2022
As we head into 2022, we look back at some demographic trends that could prove favorable for wide-format and signage providers, as well as offer some technology trends to keep an eye out for. Read More
Living Walls: Great Ideas for Transforming Spaces
Over the past three to four years, there’s been a surge in the use of living walls, also known as plant walls or green walls. These modern applications cultivate a feeling of well-being in any space. While popular, most versions of these walls need care and maintenance, requiring real soils, air, light and water. FASTSIGNS walks us through some of the types of these walls seen today. Read More
Moving Pictures: Automotive Wrap Applications Can Involve More than Cars
A photo gallery of recent vehicle wrap projects for private, commercial, and even aquatic vehicles. Read More
Driven to Distraction: Display Graphics and Signage in the Automotive Industry
When we think of display graphics in the automotive industry, the first thing that springs to mind is vehicle graphics. But display graphics are taking on new roles as a subset of experiential or environmental graphics for auto dealer showrooms. As the auto sales experience is changing post-COVID (as are so many things), and more auto sales move online to sites like Carvana, display graphics are also in a state of flux. Read More
Big “L” or Little “l”—Either Way, Companies Love Latex
Since 2008, latex printers have offered a highly flexible alternative to solvent printers, as they could print on a wide variety of materials, including textiles. In this feature, we look at some users of latex doing creative work for wallcoverings, display graohics, and...voting boxes? Read More
Sir Speedy Statesville Thinks Outside the Box to Help Local Community During Pandemic
Sir Speedy franchisee CJ Sudman shares insights on operating as an essential business during the pandemic and how he and his team were able to help local schools and businesses find unique solutions to acquire necessary PPE materials. Read More
Finishing Out 2021: Create Goals to Promote Fun, Positivity, and Success
Guest contributor A.J. Titus, President of Signarama, offers some tips and strategies for taking advantage of potential growth gains in the next 12 months—and how to have some fun doing it. It all starts with creating goals. Read More
Sign Code Crackdown: Post-Pandemic Life Returns Enforcement of Signage Regulations
Two recent court cases—one in Tennessee and one in Texas—have created new wrinkles in exterior sign code regulations. Meanwhile, communities are trying to apply EMC regulations to internally illuminated signs, and authorities are returning to stricter enforcement of regulations on temporary signage that had been relaxed during the pandemic. Read More
New Campaign Uses Signage to Promote Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety
Bikeatoga, a non-profit organization that promotes bicycling and bicycle safety in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., has launched a lawn signage campaign to help prevent vehicle-bicycle accidents. Read More
Missing the Signs—Post-Pandemic Signage Largely MIA as Everyone Returns to Normal
Navigating the post-pandemic world in the early days of the reopening could be confusing, as there was little signage that indicated a particular location’s policies regarding mask-wearing, etc. Still, some demand for post-pandemic signage remains, although the major opportunities for sign and display graphics producers were mostly fleeting. Read More
Beyond Braille: The ABCs of ADA Signage
Wayfinding and other kinds of interior graphics are good opportunities for signage and display graphics providers. However, it is essential to have an understanding of the requirements for signage to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)—and how some of those requirements have changed post-COVID. Read More
Pivot! How to Strategically Pivot Your Business Amid Uncontrollable Change in Four Steps
Pandemic and other forms of uncontrollable change can be detrimental for businesses. However, to offset initial disruptions and potentially larger, more long-term implications when hit with the unexpected, leadership at organizations must act swiftly and rally their team. Guest contributor Burke Cueny, VP of Marketing for Alliance Franchise Brands, explains how multiple departments and business units can work together to overcome the crisis. Read More
Preserving the Memory of John Wayne: SpeedPro Dallas Was Declared Winner of the 2020 Project of the Year Award
SpeedPro Dallas was recently announced as the 2020 winner of the prestigious SpeedPro Project of the Year award for its masterful work on behalf of “John Wayne: An American Experience.” Read More
Sharp/NEC and Avery Dennison Team Up for New Digital Window Graphics
ActiveScene is a projection system from Sharp/NEC combined with an “active” window film from Avery Dennison that can turn any window into dynamic digital signage. Read More
Vycom Expands its PVC and Acrylic Recycling Program
Vycom (and its parent, The AZEK Company) launched its Recycling Take Back Program in 2019, accepting hard-to-recycle materials like PVC and other materials used for signage and display graphics and reusing them in decking products, diverting millions of pounds of plastic from landfills. The company has expanded the number of recycling plants, has been adding customers, and is renewing its outreach efforts. Read More
And the Awards Go To…For this Year’s FASTSIGNS Project of the Year Award Winners, It’s All about Relationships
FASTSIGNS of Louisville (Ky.) took top honors at this year’s FASTSIGNS/Wide Format & Signage Project of the Year Awards. Second place was claimed by FASTSIGNS of Martinsburg (W.V.), and third by FASTSIGNS of Puerto Rico. Let’s take a close look at this year’s winners. Read More
Blowin’ in the Wind: Banner Finishing Is About More than Aesthetics
Even moderate winds can be destructive to outdoor graphics if they have been insufficiently reinforced. And while taping, sewing, or welding banner edges may not be the sexiest finishing techniques in the world, they are important considerations when producing outdoor graphics that are designed look good as well as last. Read More
Wide Format, Signage, and Apparel Sectors Adapt their Business Models
As part of our preview of next week’s Technology Outlook Week, Richard Romano and Cary Sherburne look at the latest trends and technologies in wide-format printing, signage, and textiles. Read More
This Dubs for You: A Flatbed Applications Photo Gallery
Cornhole boards, barn wood, hand sanitizer stations, 3D effects, and acrylic on glass. In this photo gallery, we highlight some recent projects that users have produced using flatbed UV printing equipment. Read More
Cracking the Code of 2021: Businesses with QR Codes and Near Field Technology Expand
As businesses start to open back up, the way businesses interact with their customers has changed. “Contactless” has become the key phrase, and merging print media with digital media is key to unlocking the way forward in today’s pandemic-recovery world. FASTSIGNS International’s Wayne Rasor provides an introduction to using QR codes and Near Field Communication to make print interactive. Read More
Sign Franchise Review 2021
In WhatTheyThink/Printing News’ Annual Sign Franchise Review, we take a look at how the major sign franchises fared in the past year, how they managed the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they plan to make up lost ground in 2021. Read More
ISA Sign Expo Virtual Aimed to Foster Real-Time Online Networking
Last week, ISA staged its Sign Expo 2021 Virtual, which succeded in replicating, perhaps as best as possible, the feel of being at a live event and networking with colleagues. Here is a quick rundown of the first day. Read More
Keep Strong While Moving Forward: Signarama’s Advice for the Future
2020 was a challenging year, but for the Signarama franchise, tough times allowed its franchisees to become stronger, smarter, and more prepared, allowing them to adapt. Signarama president A.J. Titus explains how. Read More
Make it Move: New Challenges for Dynamic Digital Signage
The challenges of the last year may have slowed some progress in the expansion of dynamic digital signage (DDS), but it has, at the same time, opened up some new opportunities for DDS technologies—especially as they become less expensive and higher quality. Read More
A Surprising Reason for More and Better In-Store Signage
There are lots of reasons to encourage your customers to beef up their in-store signage and displays. Great marketing. Safety and regulatory compliance during COVID-19. But did you know that really good signage can also make your customers less price-sensitive? Read More
Four Must-Attend Events at ISA Sign Expo 2021–Virtual…And Three Tips to Make the Most of It
ISA Sign Expo 2021–Virtual is coming up on April 7–9. This article, sponsored by the International Sign Association, previews four essential features to attend, and offers tips for navigating the virtual event. Read More
Finding Our Way: Printed Signage Helps us to Navigate Safely Through the COVID-19 World.
Wayfinding signage abruptly evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contributor Mark Vruno looks at how sign companies coped with the change—and surge—in demand. Read More
ISA Quarterly Economic Report Looks at the Top 10 Economic Trends for 2021 and Their Impact on the Sign Industry
A recent ISA webinar looked at how the sign and display markets fared in Q4 2020, and offered up some forecasts for 2021, which IHS Markit analysts see as a “transitional year” from COVID to post-COVID while 2022 will see the rebirth of the economy, employment, and the industry. Read More
Vax Populi: Now that COVID Vaccinations Are Underway, What Does That Mean for Display Graphics?
Signage has almost always been one of the most essential means of communicating important messages, which was why wide-format and sign shops early on in the pandemic were considered “essential services.” Health and safety messaging was the killer app for display graphics in 2020, and that is going to remain the case for the foreseeable future. Here’s what to look for. Read More
Get Ahead of the Tech Curve: Smart Signage Expands Experiential Marketing Opportunity
Connecting brands to consumers is incredibly important, and in the print and sign industry, it’s all about making consumers feel a part of something larger than themselves. In this article, guest contributor Larry Oberly, President & CEO of SpeedPro, explains the advantages of SpeedPro’s InfoLnkX NFC application for creating interactive, touchless, smart signage. Read More
Main Routs: Options for Adding Traditional Signmaking Capabilities
An introduction to one of the essential tools for traditional signmaking: the CNC router. Read More
Pre- and Post-COVID Trends Drive Changes in Wide-Format Print Software
The COVID pandemic has accelerated some older—and created other new—trends an demands for automation and other wide-format printing software. Read More
HP Introduces New Latex and PageWide XL Portfolios
HP updates its Latex roll-to-roll portfolio with four new units that bring white ink printing, new inks and printheads, and a renewed commitment to sustainability. Additionally, HP has launched a new Latex Print and Cut line and refreshed its PageWide XL units for the technical printing markets. Read More
A Night at the Opera with Vancouver’s Still Creek Press
Founded more than 30 years ago as a business forms printer, Vancouver’s Still Creek Press has adapted and evolved over the years, adding wide-format printing capabilities and other products and services. A recent project saw the company come to the rescue when the University of British Columbia Opera decided to stage a virtual production. Read More
Wide-Format ’21: Reasons to Be Over-Optimistic
As we enter 2021, we have reasons to be optimistic, maybe even over-optimistic. So let’s put the old year behind us (to the extent that we can), jump feet-first into the new one, and resolve never to use terms like “the new normal” or “pivot” ever again. Instead, let’s look at some of the substantial new opportunities for wide-format graphics and signage. What can we be over-optimistic about? Read More
K, Then: What’s In Store for Retail
“Retail” embodies vastly different kinds of businesses, all of which have fared differently during the pandemic. As a result, rather than V-shaped, perhaps we should think of it as a K-shaped recovery. But what does that mean for retail graphics? Read More
How It Started and How It’s Going: The Wide-Format Year in Review
A recap of the top wide-format and signage trends and new products that hit the market in 2020. Read More
ISA Quarterly Economic Report Finds Improvement in Q3, but Recovery Is Still a Long Ways Off
According to the Q3 2020 ISA Quarterly Economic Report, it’s going to be a long, hard slog to full recovery, and not just domestically. 2021 will be an improvement, but don’t expect the “new normal” (whatever that is) until 2022. Read More
Epson Launches Its First UV Flatbed Printer Series
Epson fills out its wide-format portfolio with the SureColor V7000 Series, the company’s first UV flatbed. The debut unit is the 4 x 8-foot, 10-color SureColor V7000. Read More
A Sign of the Times: Three Ways COVID-19 Made the Signs and Graphics Industry more Essential than Ever
The signs and graphics industry has become essential to the recovery of small business communities worldwide, and its value has only grown as the pandemic has gone on. Guest contributor Mike Cline, Vice President of Franchise Development at Alliance Franchise Brands, looks at three ways meaningful graphic displays have shown to be a crucial tool for businesses in both the fight against, and recovery from, the coronavirus. Read More
A Matter of Degrees: Temperature Detection Systems and Signage
As we enter “the new normal,” temperature detection systems and signage may become important elements of compliance and liability for businesses. This article looks at Altoros, a veteran professional IT services and software provider that has entered the temperature signage market. Read More
Moving Messages: Vehicle Graphics Are an Effective Advertising Platform
A lot of shops have been doing vehicle graphics for many years, but even more have mot net explored the opportunities to be had. And as with virtually everything else, the COVID pandemic has the potential to alter the market for vehicle graphics. Read More
Why Late Fall Is the Best Time to Order Canvas Prints
Canvas prints aren’t exactly seasonal products—thanks to the online printing industry you can order excellent canvas prints all year round. But placing an order in late fall can have particular benefits, especially if you’re ordering from BestCanvas.ca. Want to know why? In this article, sponsored by BestCanvas, you’ll find out! Read More
Fan Club: Ricoh Helps Brings Virtual Spectators to UT Game Day
In the face of prohibitions on live fan attendance at sporting events, both college and pro sports teams are filling empty stadiums with printed spectators. Read how Ricoh helped two sports programs take advantage of wide-format printing to connect with fans while also helping raise money for health initiatives. Read More
The Show Must Go On(line): The PRINTING United Digital Experience Kicks Off with Wide Format
Yesterday, the PRINTING United Digital Experience kicked off with a day’s worth of sessions and product demos surrounding the world of Graphics and Wide Format: Hardware & Consumables. Richard Romano “attended” Day 1 and reports on the four sessions. Read More
Epson Launches New SureColor R-Series Printers for Signage; Resin-Based Inks Take on Latex
Epson is expanding its footprint in the signage market with the new SureColor R-Series—two 64-inch roll-to-roll printers that utilize a resin-based ink technology that is intended as an alternative to latex. Read More
Carpe Signum: Signs Come Home
The COVID pandemic has wrought many changes in the printing industry in general and the sign industry in particular, but one interesting development has been an increase in residential signage. The market for this kind of signage may not disappear once the pandemic does (if the pandemic ever does)—and it can prove to be a lucrative opportunity worth seizing. Read More
Build a More Connected Community During a Pandemic
Sign companies have had to quickly adapt to provide more relevant signs for the ever-changing situation. Signs continue to assist us in our everyday lives as we try our best to slowly get back to business. Read More
A Changing Environment: Environmental Graphics Evolve with the Pandemic
Once describing the intersection of signage and décor, the application area of environmental graphics now, in the age COVID, has come to embody new kinds of signage and display graphics—and are even moving into the home. Read More
ISA Quarterly Economic Report Forecasts Long Road to Recovery
According to the Q2 2020 ISA Quarterly Economic Report, the COVID crisis accelerated some trends both for print and digital signage that had started to emerge pre-crisis. The sign industry isn’t expected to recover to 2018 or 2019 levels until 2022. Read More
Marketing for Today and Tomorrow: Signarama Helps Customers Navigate Their Changing Needs
Signarama’s Kristin Gallucci looks at the evolution of signage over the course of the pandemic, and how Signarama franchise owners have had to re-imagine their production, re-envision their offerings, and re-invent their marketing to create new and unique products to answer the needs of communities. Read More
Canon Solutions America Launches Fifth-Generation Arizona Series UV Flatbed Printer
Yesterday, Canon Solutions America announced the new Arizona 2300 Series wide-format flatbed printer. The new series is built on a novel approach to media handling that eliminates zones, masking, and taping, helping speed job changeover and reduce operator intervention. Read More
All Projects Great and Small: Phil Fox Takes Signs By Tomorrow Fort Worth to New Heights of Signage
Offering a diverse array of applications, from banners and feather flags, to vehicle wraps, to ADA signage, to channel letters 30 stories above the ground, Signs By Tomorrow Fort Worth has grown dramatically since Phil Fox bought the franchise in early 2018. An emphasis on marketing and versatility have been the keys to growth—even in the midst of a global pandemic. Read More
Benson Integrated Marketing Solutions Creates W2P Store for COVID Signage and Safety Materials
Benson Integrated Marketing Solutions offers a wide variety of small- and wide-format printing, signage, apparel, and promotional materials to the multi-family home real estate market. Early adopters of web-to-print, Benson provides individual B2B sites for customers through which they can order customized materials, and has recently launched a B2C site for COVID-related products. Read More
SpeedPro East Bay Declared Winner of the Coveted 2019 Project of the Year Award
The winner of SpeedPro’s 2019 Project of the Year Award, Alameda, Calif.’s SpeedPro East Bay, turned an emergency hospital corridor into a pathway showcasing the rich history of Oakland’s Highland Hospital. Read More
Wide-Format, Signage, and Apparel Technology Update
This feature rounds up some of the highlights of our Technology Outlook article and webinar series specific to wide-format, signage, and textiles and apparel, offering up some product releases and trends from the first half of 2020. Read More
The Factory NYC Takes Experiential Graphics to the Next Dimension
Brooklyn-based fabrication shop The Factory NYC is taking experiential graphics and retail displays to the next level with its new Massivit 3D printer, helping make big brands even bigger. Read More
SpeedPro Launches InfoLnkX for Contactless Restaurant Menus—and More
In development even before COVID-19 hit, InfoLnkX by SpeedPro is an NFC-based chip that can be programmed to deliver digital, contactless menus to patrons’ phones right from restaurant signage or table decals. But the uses for InfoLnkX go far beyond restaurant applications. Read More
TempDefend—Dynamic Digital Signage with Thermal Detection Enables “Protection as a Service”
Last week, 22Miles—a developer of digital signage and wayfinding systems—launched TempDefend, a highly customizable “protection as a service” solution that integrates dynamic digital signage with thermal cameras to scan visitors to a business or other establishment, generating an alert if the visitor’s temperature exceeds 99.5°. Read More
The Sign Connection: Tips for Sign and Graphics Companies During COVID-19
Image360’s Burke Cueny discusses some of the ways that Image360 centers have helped their sign and display graphics customers during the pandemic, and offers tips and strategies as we move forward. Read More
Fine Dining: How Print Businesses Can Help Restaurants Reopen
As businesses start to reopen, they will have post-COVID print needs beyond safety and distancing signage. To follow up last week’s look at the current signage environment, Richard Romano identifies some of the unique print needs reopening restaurants are likely to have to complement their signage. Read More
The Coming Signs of Summer: The Need for Post-COVID Signage
Sign shops were essential businesses when the crisis first hit and they will continue to be essential businesses as the country starts to reopen. Post-COVID signage will be important in both the short term and the long term, and there is no reason why it can’t be creatively designed, professionally printed, and seamlessly integrated into a business’s pre-existing signage and branding. Let’s have a look at what some local businesses have been doing signage-wise. Read More
Cutting Remarks: Finishing Systems Offer New Tools, Greater Productivity, and More Application Options
A rundown of some of the new tools and features that have come to cutting tables for wide-format finishing. Laser finishing systems also offer unique options for cutting and etching. Read More
Inkjet Makes a Grand Entry: axpanel Revolutionizes Garage Doors
Axpanel, a custom developer of inkjet printing and industrial automation for XY, rotary, and single-pass solutions, offers solutions for customized inkjet printing on sectional garage door panels. Read More
The New Superwide Roll-to-Roll Printing Standard Has Been Set
The Acuity Ultra is a major step up in output, in both quality and productivity. Larger businesses and major luxury brands will be impressed by the machine’s extra width up to 5 meters, the option to print multiple rolls simultaneously, and its ability to print outstanding quality with no compromise on speed. Read More
Come Sail Away: PhotoSails Takes Billboard Advertising Out to Sea
The thought of hopping on a sailboat and heading out to sea is an appealing one at the moment and thanks to a company called PhotoSails, sailing enthusiasts who buy their own boats can defray the cost of their investment. Read More
Finding Hard Profit in Soft Signage
What was once a specialty niche for wide-format print service providers now is a “must-have technology” for producing more mainstream applications. WhatTheyThink contributor Mark Vruno looks at the current state of, and best practices for, soft signage. Read More
FASTSIGNS of Saratoga Springs Flies High with New Maggie McFly’s Location
FASTSIGNS of Saratoga Springs won the Grand Prize at the Wide Format & Signage/FASTSIGNS Awards, held during the annual FASTSIGNS International Convention in Phoenix, Ariz., back in January. The six-year-old franchise won for interior and exterior signage for Maggie McFly’s ninth location at Albany’s Crossgates Mall. Read More
2019 Annual Sign Franchise Review
Our annual review of the sign franchises finds that employee challenges and competition from commercial print businesses top the list of challenges, while expanding the range of applications tops the list of opportunities. In all, these four organizations generated $926 million in revenues in 2019. Read More
Rockin’ the Boat: Applied Graphics Bring Dazzle to the High Seas
Have you ever tried installing high-end graphics on the hull of a boat while floating on a raft? Meet LuxWrap, a British company that has carved out a decidedly unique niche: high-end yacht graphics. They recently gold-foil-wrapped a yacht for hair extension brand Bellami—a project that was beset with all kinds of challenges. Read More
Finding the Way(s): Signage Still Has a Place—Even Amid GPS Technologies
As output and substrate technologies continue to improve, wayfinding signage opportunities remain rife for commercial and wide-format printers in 2020 and beyond. However, to land these types of jobs, you first need to know with whom to engage. Read More
Signs Get Smart: Dynamic Digital Signage Moves in Unusual Directions
The buzz around dynamic digital signage (DDS) may have died down, but DDS has continued to evolve and move in unique directions—even to the user’s own mobile phone. Read More
Wide Format and Signage: Essential Services in the Time of Crisis
How are wide-format and signage providers coping with the COVID-19 crisis? Some are playing important roles in providing safety signage, while others still serve businesses that are classified as “essential.” In the first of a series of “check in” articles, we look at how the crisis has impacted the wide-format and signage market. Read More
Covering All Bases: Applied Graphics Keep Evolving
As the options for applied graphics proliferate, it can be a challenge for print service providers to keep up, and yet it has never been more important to understand how a material will perform both on press and on its intended surface. As a result, consumables manufactures are playing a greater consultative role. Read More
Upcoming Sign Expo Offers Hands-On Educational Opportunities
As of this morning, the ISA Sign Expo 2020 is still a go. This year, the show heads to Orlando April 1–4, with four days of educational sessions and its continuously expanding exhibition floor. We spoke with Brandon Hensley, ISA’s Chief Operating Officer, and Iain Mackenzie, ISA’s VP of Meetings & Events, for a preview of this year’s show. Read More
New Owner Greg Ellison Gets Up to Speed at SpeedPro Denver
Last November, Greg Ellison took over as the new owner of the well-established SpeedPro Denver. Coming from outside the printing industry, he found the learning curve has been steep but enjoyable. Read More
Ghent Workgroup Launches New Specification for Sign and Display
Wide-format printing often involves a phenomenon called “apparent resolution,” which can be quite different than a print’s actual resolution. An image designed to be viewed up close, like a photograph in a magazine or direct mail piece, will have a different apparent resolution—and thus resolution requirement—than one designed to be viewed from a long ways away. Taking apparent resolution into account was the raison d’êtreof a new specification for sign and display graphics just released by the Ghent Workgroup. Read More
For Phoenix’s Custom Graphix, It’s a Banner Day
Since its founding in 2002, Phoenix, Ariz.’s Custom Graphix Signworks has cornered the market on that most commoditized of wide-format applications: banners. We spoke with Mladen Mike Mirkovic, founder and principal of Custom Graphix. Read More
Direct Objects: Thinking—and Printing—Outside the Box
One of the most exciting growth areas in print today is direct-to-object (DtO) printing, but challenges of ink adhesion, transport, and feeding abound. I spoke with Peter Baldwin, Director of Marketing for East Dorset, Vt.’s Engineered Printing Solutions (EPS), about some of the issues—and opportunities—involved in direct-to-object printing. Read More
Good Chemistry: Wide-Format Inks Continue to Evolve—Part 1 of 2
Whether it be for production inkjet, packaging, wide format, or industrial printing, inks are evolving at a rapid pace to enable the fast-growing range of print applications. This article will offer a look at some of the recent developments specific to wide-format inks—and even more specific to solvent/eco-solvent and UV inks. Read More
Replicate the Real Thing
One of the fastest-growing applications in wide-format and industrial printing is textures. While a lot has been written about how these kinds of materials are printed, not much has been said about how these textures are created. This article looks at multi configuration scanners from METIS, used to capture high-quality, photorealistic reproductions of existing surfaces. Read More
Executive Q&A: Massivit 3D’s Erez Zimerman
Lod, Israel’s Massivit 3D was founded in 2013, and in the past six years has made a substantial impact with its 3D printing technology. Erez Zimerman joined Massivit 3D four years ago as VP of Global Sales, and was appointed CEO in May 2019. We caught up with Zimerman at the recent PRINTING United show in Dallas. Read More
Wide-Format 2019: Where Are We Now?
As 2019 winds down, we take a look at the current state of wide-format printing. Where have we come, where are we now, and where are we going? Read More
Know the Signs: A Non-Print Signage Primer
Print businesses have been expanding into signage by leaps and bounds—but print signage is only the tip of the iceberg. “Signs” comprise a lot of different manufacturing products and materials. Read More
The RMX Network: United They Grow
The RMX Network is an alliance of more than 100 independent North American wide-format print service providers. It’s not a franchise, but rather an affiliation of like-minded companies that band together to support each other and help solve problems. We spoke with President Rick Bosworth to learn more about their unique business model. Read More
The Moving Canvas: Wrapping “Kings” Turn Vehicle Graphics Into Art
Last Fall, Avery Dennison held its Wrap Like a King (WLAK) competition, which honored some of the best and most creative vehicle graphics projects. We spoke with one of the judges and some of the regional winners to get some insight into the vehicle graphics design process. Read More
Five Alive: 5G Technology Will Transform Sign & Display
What is 5G and what is its impact on sign and display graphics likely to be? Richard Romano spoke with Dexter Johnson, author of a recent ISA white paper called “5G in Signage Technology” about the technology and the advantages of 5G and its potential applications in sign and display. Read More
The Continued Evolution of Wide Format at PRINTING United
What was new at PRINTING United on the wide-format front? In this feature, Richard Romano runs down a handful of announcements and other items that caught his interest. Read More
Promotional Products May Offer More Luxury Than You Think
When you think of promotional products, what comes to mind? Branded hats and pens? Tote bags? Many printers may not see these items going with their clients’ high-end image, so they may not give these complementary offerings a fair shot. But promotional items can also include high-end luxury items used for C-level executives, influencers, and corporate events. Some, like this company’s products, even offer the trendy element of sustainability. Read More
Wide Receivers: A Flatbed Applications Photo Gallery
In this pictorial feature, we round up some unique and creative products and applications created on UV flatbed wide-format printers. Read More
Latest Sign Code Court Decision May Have Serious Implications for Billboard and Sign Industry
Two weeks ago, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision in the case of Thomas v. Bright that the government cannot distinguish between on-premise and off-premise signage because it is an unconstitutional content-based distinction. We spoke to David Hickey, VP Advocacy, for the International Sign Association (ISA) about the decision and some of the potential ramifications. Read More
Don’t Call It Wallpaper: “Wallcoverings” Are Just One Aspect of Décor
Digital wide-format printing and new substrates are changing the face of wall décor, both in commercial and residential spaces. In this feature, we look at some unique applications and detail some prevailing trends. Read More
Summer Stroll: The Signs Around Us
What kinds of signage and display graphics are in fashion? You don’t need elaborate market research surveys to find out—sometimes all you need to do is get out of the office and have a look around. Just doing a little recon can often generate ideas for new product areas to expand into. Read More
Surface Tension: Specialty Substrates Are Proliferating, but Printing on Them Has Its Challenges
"Inkjet devices can print on any surface" is a common industry talking point, but the practical reality is a bit more complicated, involving the chemical and physical interplay of inks and substrates. This article offers an inkjet printing reality check. Read More
SAi Launches Augmented Reality App for Signmakers
SAi’s new VirtualSign is an augmented reality (AR) app that lets signmakers show clients how a sign will look in situ before it is printed and installed. We spoke wth SAi’s Gudrun Bonte, Vice President of Product Management, who oversaw the development of the app. Read More
Beware of Dog: Automation and Wide-Format Printing
Automation for wide-format printing can encompass a lot of different processes, from automatic file processing, to robotics, even to database management. Where once wide format was deemed too “artisanal” or “craft-like” to be automated, the times are changing. After all, as competition in the wide-format segment continues to heat up, automation becomes a key element in controlling costs. We’ll take a look at the current state of automation for wide-format printing. Read More
Let There Be More Light: LED Signage Hits the Big—and Small—Time
Advances in LED technology—and of course lower costs—have enabled LED signage to move indoors, and are even replacing LCD-based dynamic digital signage (DDS) for many applications. Read More
Avery Dennison Launches New Car Wrap Visualizer
To help vehicle wrap installers better help customers with color change vehicle wraps, Avery Dennison has launched an online Car Wrap Visualizer that shows how a particular vinyl film color looks on a representative sample of vehicle types. We spoke with Avery Dennison’s Abby Monnot, who helped develop the tool. Read More
Do Customers Know What “Wide Format” Printing Is?
What’s in a name? Does the term “wide format” mean anything to today’s print buyers? Avoiding industry jargon in sales and marketing efforts—and especially in one’s online presence—can help attract potential customers who may not be hip to our jive. Read More
FESPA 2019: Beer, Brats, and Dots
FESPA 2019 attracted attendees on a global scale under the theme of an “Explosion of Possibilities.” In partnership with Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends, the event’s organizers collected feedback from the 2018 Print Census research to determine key areas of focus for the 2019 event. Read More
2019 Sign and Display Graphics Franchise Review
In WhatTheyThink/Printing News’ Annual Sign and Display Franchise Review, Cary Sherburne takes a look at the major franchises—Alliance Franchise Brands, FASTSIGNS, Signarama, and SpeedPro—as well as the non-franchise Sign Biz network. She analyzes how they fared in the past year, as well as where they see growth opportunities in the future. Franchise center growth across all the networks has been strong, and will likely remain so. What is driving it? Read More
ISA Sign Expo 2019 Wraps Up in Vegas
Some “quick hits” from the Sign Expo show floor, including the winners of the ISA Innovation Awards, some new product announcements, and more. Read More
Sign Expo 2019 Opens in Las Vegas
Old and new sign production technologies were on display this week in Las Vegas at the 75th Annual ISA Sign Expo and, as an additional indication of how the disparate pars of the printing industry are concverging, ISA announced that as of next year the Sign Expo will colocate with Impressions Expo, formerly the Imprinted Sportswear Show. Read More
Signs.com and Ferrari Color: The Inside Story
The acquisition of Ferrari Color by Signs.com caught our attention. Senior Editor Cary Sherburne spoke with Signs.com cofounder and chief operating officer Nelson James to get the inside story. Read More
Technology Evolution Supports New Priorities in Print Signage
The latest research from Smithers Pira identifies five key trends underpinning the shifting dynamics of demand and profitability in the market for printed signage: increasing automation, soft signage, the changing retail landscape, the evolution of Asian retail, and competition from digital signage. Read More
Windigo Signs Takes Soft Signage to the Next Level
Printed textiles are rapidly replacing vinyl and rigid materials for signage, and Tempe, Ariz.’s Next Level Signs has leapt into so-called “soft signage.” Founder Mark Baldwin has launched a sister company Windigo Signs to offer a robust, custom-made, and weather-resistant alternative for outdoor soft signage mounting. Read More
ISA Sign Expo Heads Back to Vegas
ISA Sign Expo 2019 heads to Las Vegas later this month, with four days of educational sessions and its continuously expanding exhibition floor. We spoke with Brandon Hensley, ISA’s Chief Operating Officer, and Iain Mackenzie, ISA’s VP of Meetings & Events, about what’s new this year. Read More
World on the Windows: The Changing Face of Window Graphics
Window graphics are a growing subset of wide-format printing, and are popping up in more and more locations, both public and private, and new films and materials are making window graphics more versatile and eye-catching than ever. Printing is the easy part; it’s installation that can cause problems, and eat into your profitability. Here are some dos and don’t for working with window graphics. Read More
Wide-Format Printing: Still a Compelling Business Opportunity and Investment Category
As we put the final touches on our Printing Outlook 2019 report, based on our Winter 2018–2019 Business Outlook survey, this article highlights a few of the findings specific to wide-format and specialty printing. Is it still a compelling business opportunity? And what are print businesses’ wide-format investment plans? Read More
EFI Connect at 20: Perpetual Change
EFI is turning 30 this year, and the EFI Connect user conference turns 20. It’s been a rollercoaster of changes in technology, in printing, and in the culture at large. Cary Sherburne and Richard Romano recap this year’s event. Read More
Reed Between the Lines: Evolving Sign Codes Impact Exterior Signage—and Potentially More
One of the most important issues concerning the production and installation of exterior signage is the ever-evolving sign codes and regulations. The landmark 2015 SCOTUS decision in Reed v. the Town of Gilbert is still impacting city planners, and, in turn, signmakers and their clients. What should PSPs know about sign codes? What are the latest issues regarding sign regulations? And why might vehicle graphics be the next frontier for sign codes? Read More
Flatland: What’s New(s) and What’s Next for Flatbed Wide-Format Printers?
It’s been nearly 20 years since the advent of the flatbed wide-format printer. They’ve come a long way, baby; what’s new with the technology and where do they go from here? Read More
Wide-Format 2019: What’s Next?
As we head into 2019 and toward 2020, what are the emerging and accelerating trends in wide-format and specialty printing? The buzzword is “convergence,” which will only accelerate, but what other forces are changing the nature of applied graphics? Read More
Wide Format 2018: What Kind of Day Has It Been?
What were the big trends in wide-format and specialty printing in 2018? It’s been a year of convergence and while shops that were likely to transition to wide-format have largely done so, the applications that can be produced are constantly changing, as new materials and new inks hit the market. Let’s have a look at what’s been happening. Read More
Data: Wide-Format Still Front and Center
Wide-format is here with a vengeance. One webinar provided a great summary of data on the growth and opportunities in wide-format graphics. Read More
As Industry Convergence Continues, Xplor International and ISA Colocate Events
The convergence continues: the International Sign Association and Xplor International have announced that in April 2019, the Sign Expo 2019 and XPLOR19 will colocate. Read More
Grant Graphics’ Print & Cut Conference Offered Wide-Format 101—and 102—for Northeast Printers
Earlier this month, print shop owners and managers from around the Northeast journeyed to Grant Graphics in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., for a day-long program of wide-format educational sessions and equipment demonstrations. Read More
Wide-Format Graphics Make the Magnificent Mile More Magnificent
After a decade in the ad agency world, Shira Kollins took her graphic design and production background and launched SpeedPro Chicago. By taking an active role in local business associations—and being “pleasantly persistent” when it comes to sales and marketing—she has built a business creating cutting-edge display graphics for some of Chicago’s biggest retailers and restaurants. Read More
Apocalypse Postponed: The State of Retail
Rumors of retail’s death have been greatly exaggerated (to coin a phrase). But there is no doubt that it is changing. We look at how it is changing, and what that means for POP/retail graphics providers. Read More
Edifice Rex: Vomela Conquers the Building Wrap
The Vomela Companies, headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., started in 1947 doing promotional product printing. Now, 71 years later, the company has expanded through both organic growth and acquisition to produce retail, POS, décor, event, and fleet graphics for a wide variety of local and national brands and venues. Their most recent project: wrapping 3M’s 14-story corporate headquarters. Read More
Leaving Las Vegas: Recapping the SGIA Expo
The final SGIA Expo was a culmination of all the specialty graphics innovations of the past decade or two—with a few signposts (digitally printed, of course) pointing to the future. Read More
SGIA Expo 2018 Marks the End of an Era—But the Start of an Exciting New One
The SGIA Expo 2018 opened yesterday to large crowds and a completely full exhibition hall. Our recap of Day 1 looks at where SGIA President and CEO Ford Bowers sees the organization and the industry going, and highlights a handful of new product announcements. Read More
For Rocken Graphics, Business Is On the Move
Gibsonton, Fla.’s Rocken Graphics has carved out a unique niche among print service providers: signage and tent graphics for traveling carnivals. We spoke with Kenny Smith, founder of Rocken Graphics, about how he got into this market, as well as how his product offerings extend beyond simple printed graphics. Read More
Wide-Format and Specialty Graphics at PRINT 18
PRINT has not traditionally been a top venue for wide-format or specialty printing equipment announcements, but does showcase the latest technologies and the applications that can be produced on them, giving commercial printers concrete ideas for exploring new business opportunities. Read More
Chicago’s Graphic Alliance Makes a Meal Out of Restaurant Signage
Graphic Alliance, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, started as a commercial print shop but quickly adopted wide-format printing and has carved out a substantial niche in restaurant graphics and signage. The company has also expanded into vehicle wrapping and is currently developing residential interior décor services. Richard Romano spoke with founder and CEO Eric Grossman. Read More
Success with Specialty Printing: Changing the Mindset
As we all know by now, there are very few surfaces, substances, and objects that can't be printed, and thus there is no end to the print products that a shop can offer. From posters and banners, to signage, to garments and other textile products, to garage doors, to...name it. But when approaching the vast new market for specialty graphics printing, two questions usually come to mind: Where do I start, and How do I sell it? Here is some advice. Read More
Full STEAM Ahead: Blue Ridge Fab Lab and 4-H Partner to Offer 21st-Century Learning—and Wide-Format Printing
The Blue Ridge/UA 4-H Fab Lab, based in Pinetop-Lakeside, Ariz., offers student-directed, project-centric STEM training for K-12 students. Thanks to a partnership with 4-H, the facility is available to students across the state. Part of student projects involves designing and printing informational flyers, posters, and other materials on wide-format printers provided by Roland DGA, a sponsor of the Fab Lab. We spoke with Kevin Woolridge, Co-Director of the Fab Lab. Read More
Technical Printing on the Desktop
Epson announced two new entry-level models in its SureColor T Series, designed for technical and AES (architecture, engineering, and construction) printing. These devices are targeted more to end users—architecture and design firms, SOHOs, etc.—than print service providers, which indicates the direction technical printing as market segment is going. Read More
Launched During the Great Recession, SpeedPro Marin Realized There Was “No Place to Go But Up”
When Steve Moran-Cassese decided to launch a print business in the midst of the Great Recession, he knew it could only grow—and he was right. A mix of the right equipment and picking up on hot new application trends early on has helped SpeedPro Marin thrive. And, somewhat ironically, the Bay Area’s booming economy has created its own challenges. Read More
Experiential Graphics Are a Growing Subset of Wide Format, But Can Require a Different Approach in Terms of Sales and Production
“Experiential graphics” are a form of interior décor that are becoming a fast-growing part of wide-format and signage. Pursuing that particular application requires a somewhat different strategy than traditional commercial printing—or even traditional wide-format printing. Read More
Textiles and Corrugated Take the Spotlight at FESPA Berlin
Textiles and corrugated were the two major themes of this year’s FESPA Global Print Expo. Here are some quick hits from the show. Read More
FESPA Day 2: Whetting the Palate...
WhatTheyThink is live at FESPA Berlin 2018 on Day 2 of the show. Welcome to the concept of the microfactory. Read More
FESPA 2018 Opens in Berlin
The FESPA Global Print Expo 2018 kicked off in Berlin this morning. Here is a quick teaser of some early show highlights. Read More
Wide Format: Now and Venn
What do we talk about when we talk about “wide format”? How is the term definitionally changing—and what does it even mean anymore? And more importantly, how does whatever we define as “wide format” play nice with other kinds of printing such as industrial, packaging, and commercial? And how can we navigate the “convergence” of these different print silos? Read on for more. Read More
Moving Pictures: Carbon Wraps Brings Art Alive
For about 15 years, Carbon Wraps Orlando has specialized in highly creative vehicle graphics. They took car wrapping to the next level when they worked with local artist Kurt Meister and Avery Dennison to wrap one of his paintings on a vehicle live at the ISA Sign Expo last March. Read on for more about the company and this unique project. Read More
A Wrap to Remember: Kennickell Group Turns Harbour Town Lighthouse Plaid
If you watch the RBC Heritage Golf Classic this week, pay attention to the iconic Harbour Town Lighthouse. In a first-of-its-kind wrap project undertaken by Savannah, Ga.’s Kennickell Group, the 90-foot structure had its red stripes converted to plaid to commemorate the event’s 50th anniversary. Read on to find out more about the company’s dramatic growth in the wide-format market and how the unique project came about. Read More
Post-Reed, Communities Reevaluate their Sign Codes
The landmark 2015 Supreme Court case Reed v. Town of Gilbert turned a sign code issue into a First Amendment battle. Three years later, its effects are still being felt throughout the signage industry—for good or ill. Read on for some of the latest developments in signage regulations. Read More
The Traditional Meets the Technological at Sign Expo 2018
The International Sign Association (ISA) Sign Expo 2018 was held in Orlando, Fla., last week. Channel letters, magnetic signage, neon lighting, LED displays, digital displays, 3D printing, and wide-format and display graphics in all their various incarnations were being showcased. Read on for some highlights from the show. Read More
HP Announces New Product Family Featuring Latex Rigid Technology
At an ISA preview event last night, HP presented a new technology for Latex printing on rigid substrates up to two inches thick. Although pricing and availability are not yet available, the company showed sample prints and plans to demonstrate the machine in operation at FESPA in Berlin in May. Learn more. Read More
For SpeedPro Imaging Apex, Networking Is One of the Keys to Success
Less than two years ago, Mark Simmons left the retail world and launched a SpeedPro Imaging franchise in Apex, N.C. A knack for networking, a talented in-house designer, and a vibrant local business environment have helped drive Simmons’ success. Read More
Expand Beyond Signage at the Upcoming ISA Sign Expo
ISA Sign Expo 2018 heads to Orlando next month, with four days of educational sessions and a packed exhibition floor. Richard Romano spoke with Brandon Hensley, ISA’s Chief Operating Officer, and Iain Mackenzie, ISA’s VP of Meetings & Events, about new show features and some returning favorites. Read More
Graphic Communications and Specialty Printing Mean BIG Opportunities!
When print service providers seek to expand their offerings, wide-format printing applications like sign, display, and specialty graphics are often considered an attractive opportunity. This article cites recent research from Keypoint Intelligence–InfoTrends to explore the benefits that wide format can deliver to print service providers that are hoping to enter new markets and achieve higher margins. Read More
The [Office] Space Age: Signs By Tomorrow Transforms the American Diabetes Association’s New Headquarters
Environmental or experiential graphics are a growing trend in signage, with sign shops using the latest display graphics technologies and substrates to transform office spaces. As a result, sign and display graphics providers are working more closely with interior designers and architecture firms. Case in point: Signs By Tomorrow’s interior graphics for the American Diabetes Association’s new headquarters. Read More
Open Wide: The State of Wide-Format Printing
We have a new report out, the Printing Forecast 2018, based in large part on the results of our Fall 2017 Business Conditions Outlook survey. There is quite a lot in the 172-page report, but here are some highlights specific to wide-format printing. Read More
This Point Forward: A Look Ahead at 2018
Personal voice assistants and the Internet of Things, wide-format graphics and specialty printing—what are some of the new (and old!) technologies to which we should pay attention and how will they affect us in 2018? Read More
2017: A Look In the Rear-View Mirror
More industry consolidation in response to decreased demand. Yet, encouraging business conditions, and challenges with managing productivity. Meanwhile, inkjet continues to conquer the world and new print product and business opportunities emerge in strange new places. Let’s take a look back at the year that was. Read More
Apocalypse Soon? Retail’s Troubles and What They Mean for POP Printers
Brick and mortar retailer has been struggling with foot traffic. According to early estimates all signs are pointing to more ecommerce, less in-person commerce this holiday season. What does this mean for retail graphics? Read More
Printing Ladies of the Night at Roland’s “Image Imaginarium”
One of the pioneers of digital art walks through the steps involved in printing images for a recent book project and complementary dye-sublimation aluminum prints. Read More
Differentiating Your Business with Wide Format
Wide format printing is a profitable and complementary product offering for print service providers that are seeking new markets and higher-margin businesses. This article discusses the three key practices for success in this market. Read More
“Industrial Printing” Takes Center Stage at SGIA Expo 2017
What turned out to be the penultimate SGIA Expo featured an emphasis on “industrial printing”—a nebulous but increasingly common term for what mainstream printing may be morphing into. Read More
Driving Business Growth: How Techniprint Re-Invented Its Business
Phoenix-based Techniprint needed to adjust its business to account for a growing trend to digitally distribute document sets for architectural and construction projects rather than printing a large number of copies of these sets. Adding two HP PageWide XL 8000 wide format printers to its business resulted in a 25% increase in revenues in the first six months. Read More
Winds of Change: SGIA Expo to Become PRINT United; New “Mega-Show” to Launch in 2019
New Orleans may have dodged a bullet when Tropical Storm Nate veered to the east, but strong winds of change were nonetheless buffeting the Ernest Morial Convention Center, as 2017’s SGIA Expo opened on Tuesday with the surprising—some even thought shocking—news that the long-beloved Expo was undergoing a major change. Read More
The Surprisingly Large Promotional and Personalized Goods Printing Market
Digital inkjet is driving promotional products—aka ad specialties—from mass-market to short-run personalized production. These items ared used to promote a product, service or company program, including advertising specialties, premiums, incentives, business gifts, awards, prizes, commemoratives, and other imprinted or decorated items—is a market highly dependent upon print. Read More
SGIA Expo 2017 Heads to The Big Easy
Next month, the annual SGIA Expo heads to Bayou Country, with more than 50 educational sessions and one of the biggest show floors in the U.S. Here is a preview of what this year’s show offers. Read More
That Can-Do Spirit: New Trends in Beer Consumption Open Up a Can of Opportunities—Part 2 of 2
Canned beer isn’t your daddy’s tinny-tasting brew. As microbreweries move small-batch production from bottles to cans, it opens up opportunities for short-run can decoration. Read More
That Can-Do Spirit: New Trends in Beer Consumption Open Up a Can of Opportunities—Part 1 of 2
Canned beer isn’t your daddy’s tinny-tasting brew. As microbreweries move small-batch production from bottles to cans, it opens up opportunities for short-run can decoration. Read More
Know Your Codes: As Signage Becomes a Hotter Commodity, Printers Can Offer Regulatory Guidance
Helping customers navigate complex and constantly changing postal regulations has historically been a vital value-added service for commercial printers. The various rules and regulations regarding signage today provide an opportunity for sign printers. Read More
Making Tracks: Signage, QR Codes, and Customer Journey Analytics
QR codes are great for “making print interactive,” but in today’s high-data marketing environment, they also have a more important purpose: making print measurable. Read More
Six Big Mistakes That Aspiring Wide-Format Printers Can Make
Wide-format and specialty and specialty printing are where a lot of the action is today. But expanding into these new areas is not without its pitfalls. Here are some worth avoiding. Read More
Specialty Printing and Events: Made for Each Other
Commercial printing is evolving into specialty printing, and opportunities abound—if you know where and how to look for them. Read More
The Changing Specialty Printing Market: New Opportunities Big and Small
The same technologies that have enabled the proliferation of wide-format graphics are also profoundly changing the traditional specialty printing market. Here’s how print service providers can take advantage of the “nichification” of commercial print. Read More
FESPA 2017 Showcases European Wide-Format Introductions
Last week, FESPA 2017 drew attendees from across Europe and beyond to see the latest in wide-format and specialty printing technology and applications. Read More
Wide-Format: Shelter From the Coming “Third Wave”?
We are about to be hit by a “Third Wave” of technology disruption that will negatively impact the demand for print. Or will it? Not all print is created equal these days. Here are some suggestions for how to weather the storm. Read More
Print Is the “New Media” at ISA Sign Expo
Neon. LED. Channel letters. Wooden signs. Magnetic letters. Aside from dynamic digital signage, the “new media” in the sign industry is, strange as it may sound, print. The International Sign Association’s Sign Expo 2017 wrapped up last weekend. Here are some highlights from the show floor and beyond. Read More
Changes Coming to EPA’s Hazardous Waste Regulations
The Environmental Protection Agency made some changes to its “generator standard” regarding the safe disposal of hazardous waste. Here is what the printing industry needs to know. Read More
Print To Play an Expanded Role at Upcoming ISA Sign Expo
ISA Sign Expo 2017 is back in Vegas, with four days of educational sessions, a packed exhibition hall, and some brand-new partnerships and colocations, including the Collaboration in Packaging Production (CPP) Expo. Read More
Fashion Fabrics Present Boom Opportunity For Digital Printers
Leveraging inkjet technology into the textile industry is presenting an increasingly compelling opportunity for mainstream print equipment and consumable suppliers, according to the latest research from Smithers Pira. Read More
Rocky Mountain High: Canon Debuts the UVgel-Based Colorado
At yesterday’s Canon One event in Boca Raton, Canon Solutions America officially launched the Colorado 1640, the first model in the company’s new line of roll-to-roll wide-format printers based on the revolutionary new UVgel ink technology. Read More
Idealliance’s XCMYK Specification Improves Expanded Gamut Printing
For many people, color management is like the weather. Everyone talks about it, but no one ever does anything about it. But new machines with new ink sets are turning what was always a tricky issue into an even trickier one. Read More
SGIA Becomes an Association Partner with InPrint; Interview with SGIA President Ford Bowers
As interest in industrial printing gains momentum, the inaugural InPrint USA Industrial Print Show will take place in Orlando in April. We spoke with SGIA President and CEO Ford Bowers about industrial printing in general and the upcoming show in particular. Read More
Top 10 Best New Business Opportunities
The next big communication disruption is upon us. There are many ways print businesses should respond, but focusing on specialty items is one way. This article cites IPMA and WhatTheyThink research to explore opportunities in-plants and commercial printing establishments are seeing in 2017. Read More
EFI Reinforces Its Commitment to Inkjet at Connect 2017
Last week’s EFI Connect in Las Vegas saw some new product rollouts, status reports on recent product introductions, and an alternately lighthearted and frightening look at artificial intelligence. Read More
Board Meetings: 2017’s Flatbed Printer Roundup
Our annual rundown of the current flatbed wide-format printer landscape. Read More
Rolling Out the New Year - Rundown of Rollfed Wide-Format Systems
As we plunge headlong into 2017, let’s kick off the year, as we traditionally do, with a look at the current roll-to-roll printer landscape. Next week, we’ll look at flatbed printers. Read More
Wide-Format and Specialty Graphics - What's Next in 2017?
Last week, we took a wide-format look back at 2016. What lies ahead for wide-format and specialty graphics printing in 2017? Read More
That Was the Year That Was: A Wide-Format Look Back at 2016
2016 is almost over! Whew! So, what were the top growth areas for wide-format? What applications are ascendant? What technologies have emerged and evolved? Read More
Live and In Person: Offline Marketing Strategies for Specialty Graphics Printers
Advice abounds for using social and other electronic media for marketing, but don’t ignore some “old school” offline marketing strategies. Read More
A Trio of Hot Wide Format Application Areas for 2017
What wide-format and specialty printing products will be in demand in 2017? Sure, one could say “all of them,” but here are three particular areas to pay special attention to in the new year. Read More
Agfa 3D Lens Technology Adds a New Dimension to Printed Signage
There was a time when I could describe lenticular imaging thusly: “You know those prizes that used to come in boxes of Cracker Jack, little cards that if you held it one way it displayed one image and if you held it another it would flip to another image?” It was a low-tech 3D effect or animation, kind of the analog equivalent of an animated GIF. Read More
Wide-Format and Specialty Printing: New Opportunities for In-Plants
A recent state of the in-plant industry report finds that in-plant printing departments are well-poised to expand their wide-format and specialty printing options—not just for their parent organizations, but for outside customers, as well. Read More
All Projects Great and Small: Benicia, Calif.’s ColorZone Helps Small Businesses Grow
When Joshua Feller bought a failing trade show graphics company in 2005, he had little idea that it was the start of a journey that would take him into the world of wide-format printing—and the burgeoning world of digital label printing. Read More
SGIA 2016 Wrapup: This—and Next—Year’s Models
A collection of new products and product previews that were seen on the show floor at last month’s SGIA Expo. Read More
SGIA Expo 2016 Kicks Off in Las Vegas
What happened at this year’s SGIA Expo may have happened in Vegas, but it’s not staying in Vegas. Our report from Day One of the show. Read More
Automation and Wide-Format: Where Are We?
Whether it’s only a select few tasks or an entire production workflow, automation is slowly but surely coming to wide-format printing. How is that possible? Read More
SGIA Expo 2016 Heads Back to Las Vegas
Next month, the annual SGIA Expo heads to its West Coast home at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Two of this year’s big topics are garment decoration and 3D printing—and it turns out they are not mutually exclusive. Here’s a preview of this year’s show. Read More
Printing Industries Alliance Hosts Wide-Format Printing Panel
The Printing Industries Alliance hosted an all-day drupa recap at Manhattan’s Club 101. Among the day’s presentations and panel discussions was an extensive conversation about the current state of wide-format graphics and opportunities in the market for commercial printers. Read More
The Cube-Shaped Canvas
In the latest installment of our occasional Wide-Format 101 series, we offer a general overview of wall, floor, and window graphics. Read More
Mid-Year Progress Report: The 2016 Story So Far
The first half of 2016 is in the books. How is the industry faring thus far compared o last year? Our new Economics and Research Center report looks at the latest economic, technological, and cultural trends affecting the industry. Read More
Arizona-based bluemedia Takes Unique Approach to Large Format Workflow
Arizona-based large format printer bluemedia has taken a unique approach to workflow that is serving them well, making it possible to efficiently produce large and small projects – including all of the Super Bowl graphics. Read More
The New OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Rule Is Final
OSHA’s latest injury and illness recordkeeping rule is now on the books. Now is the time to review your records and safety policies and make sure they are accurate and compliant with. SGIA’s Rick Hartwig walks us through the new rule and requirements and what they mean for print businesses. Read More
For This Wrap Cup Master, Competition is Education
This year’s FESPA Wrap Cup Master Jim Miller started in vehicle graphics at the age of 15, applying screen printed decals to his father’s Little Debbie truck. Today, Miller Decals installs vehicle graphics and other types of displays for more than 600 customers around the country. Read More
Wide-Format 101: One for the Cutters
In the latest installment of our occasional Wide-Format 101 series, we offer a primer on basic finishing processes, specifically rollfed cutters and flatbed cutting tables. Read More
Wide-Format at Drupa—Wrapping It Up
Week two of drupa brought few major announcements, but wide-format offerings were hardly inconspicuous. Read More
Drupa 2016 from a Wide-Format Perspective
drupa opens at the end of this month and while drupa has not traditionally been one of the go-to shows for wide-format printing, as wide-format has become a hot topic in the general commercial printing market, it is taking a bigger role at this year’s show. Read More
Lack of Speed Kills: Lessons from Durst’s Retail 2020
The biggest issue facing print buyers for retail brands is turn time and speed to market. How can print service providers best help retailers solve this problem? Read More
The Latest Latex Wideformat Printers
Last week, HP announced two new series of Latex printers, so this seems as good a time as any to offer a little “Latex 101” primer for those who may be new to the topic and technology. Read More
Software for Wide-Format: Beyond the Creative Cloud
Two weeks ago, at Roland’s second annual ImagiNATION user conference, Giveme Help’s Mark Rugen ran down a list of some lesser-known image editing programs and other utilities for professionals doing design and production for wide-format graphics. Here are some highlights. Read More
ISA Sign Expo: Beyond Signage
If the ISA Sign Expo 2016 demonstrated one thing—and it demonstrated far more than one thing—it was that “signage” is part of a much larger graphic ecosystem than can include products and applications seemingly far-removed from signs. Read More
New Avenues of Success: Landaal Packaging Systems Thrives On Adversity
When the auto industry crashed and burned in 2007–2008, and their biggest client pulled most of their business, Michigan’s Landaal Packaging Systems saw an opportunity to reinvent itself with digital wide-format printing. Read More
Sustainability and Wide-Format—It’s Not Just About Substrates
SGIA’s Marci Kinter offers a comprehensive set of environmental sustainability tips and strategies that go beyond merely choosing the right substrate. Read More
The Signs Are Good for Next Month’s ISA Sign Expo
Sign Expo 2016 comes to Orlando, with four days of educational sessions, keynotes, and a packed exhibition hall. As an added bonus, both Roland’s ImagiNATION 2016 and Durst’s Retail 2020 are colocated with this year’s Sign Expo. Read More
A Closer Look at Digital Dye-Sublimation Printing
There are a number of different printing technologies used to print fabrics and textiles. One of the most common—and the one that is getting the most attention these days—is dye sublimation. What is dye sublimation printing, and what do you need to take advantage of the technology? Read More
Textile Printing 101
Digital textile printing is seemingly everywhere, and many sources tout it as a high growth area. New product announcements are also coming thick and fast. But what are the basics of digital textile printing? This week, we offer a basic primer on the topic. Read More
Beyond-the-Box Thinking at Canon Solutions America Anniversary Event
Canon Solutions America hosted its third anniversary event last week in Boca Raton, Fla., highlighting the state of the market, new product developments, and customer case studies. In this feature, we focus on the company’s wide-format offerings. Read More
Meet SGIA President and CEO Ford Bowers—Part 2
On February 1, Ford Bowers took the reins as president and CEO of SGIA, succeeding Michael Robertson after nearly 33 years of service. In Part 2 of this two-part interview, we talk with Ford about the SGIA Expo, as well as the overall challenges facing the wide-format and specialty graphics printing industry. Read More
Meet SGIA President and CEO Ford Bowers—Part 1
On February 1, Ford Bowers took the reins as president and CEO of SGIA, succeeding Michael Robertson after nearly 33 years of service. In Part 1 of this two-part interview, we talk with Ford Bowers about his history with Miller Zell, his plans for SGIA, the role of the trade association in today’s landscape. Read More
The Road to Wideformat Commoditization
Commoditization has come creeping into wide-format and specialty graphics, but does it mean the end of profitability? Read More
Wideformat Regulatory Outlooks for 2016
New OSHA workplace safety regulations and changes in reporting requirements and on-site inspections are on the horizon. Here’s what companies in the specialty graphics industry need to know to ensure they are compliant. Read More
Inkjet Ecosystems: Notes From EFI Connect 2016
EFI is integrating hardware and software for specialty printing applications, as well as making the most of its many recent acquisitions. Here are some wide-format-related highlights. Read More
Wide-Format Quick Hits for January
Herewith a handful of recent new announcements that caught your Section Editor’s eye. Read More
What’s New(s) In Flatbed Wide-Format Printers?
Our annual rundown of the current flatbed wide-format printer landscape. Read More
What’s New(s) in Roll-to-Roll Printers?
Our annual rundown of the current rollfed wide-format printer landscape. Read More
Wideformat 2016: The Road Ahead
Last week, we took a wide-format look back at 2015. Now let’s switch directions. What can we expect in 2016? Before we answer that, though, what is 2016 likely to hold for the printing industry in general? Read More
That Was the Year That Was: A Wide-Format Look Back at 2015
What were the top growth areas for wide-format in 2015? What applications are ascendant? What technologies are emerging and evolving? Read More
Wide Format: Evolving Applications and the Supply Chain
Digital wide-format printing is one of the most significant growth areas in the entire print industry. InfoTrends offers some of its data on the top-growing wide-format printing applications, and takes a look at how the supply chain for equipment, supplies, and consumables is changing. Read More
Show Your Work: A Plethora of On- and Offline Channels Lets Specialty Printers Strut Their Stuff
From your own physical location—and website—to social media, to local business media, there is no shortage of options for showing off and promoting cool, creative projects you have completed. Read More
Off the Wall at Comic-Con
If you been to Comic-Con in the last five years, you have seen Las Vegas based Off the Wall Signs & Graphics’ work. Its updated fleet of grand format printers have enabled bigger projects with shorter cycle times and are the basis for the company’s growth. Learn more in this story sponsored by HP. Read More
For SpeedPro of Central New York, Display Graphics Are Not Purely Academic
Four-and-a-half years ago, Bob Kelleher of East Syracuse’s SpeedPro Imaging of Central New York made the transition from software sales to wide-format printing and has never looked back. Read More
SGIA 2015: The New Fall Collection
We wrap up our coverage of last week’s SGIA Expo 2015 with a look at a handful of the major new product announcements that were made at the show. Read More
SGIA Expo 2015 Opens to Large Crowds—and the Future of Retail Graphics
The Atlanta skyline may have been shrouded in fog, but inside the Georgia World Congress Center, all was clear on Wednesday as the SGIA Expo 2015 officially opened. Read More
SGIA 2015 Kicks off in Atlanta with Educational Sessions Galore
It’s not so much Hotlanta as Humidlanta, and although the SGIA Expo officially opens on Wednesday, Tuesday saw a full slate of programs that ran the gamut from the highly technical (the Printed Electronics Symposium), to the specialized (the vehicle wrapping hands-on workshop), to the very basic (Wide-Format 101). Read More
Dye-Sublimation Printing Helps the USA Synchronized Swim Team Swim In Ink
St. Louis’ Triflare specializes in racewear for triathlon participants, swimmers, and other athletes—all produced digitally using dye-sublimation printing. Read More
The Cassavetes Project Opens at Canon Hollywood
In 1981, L.A. photographer Steve Reisch captured legendary director John Cassavetes and his stock company backstage as they rehearsed and performed an experimental series of plays. Unseen for 34 years, the images have been brought back to life thanks to a partnership between Reisch and Canon USA. Read More
Wide-Format’s Expanded Presence at Graph Expo 2015
If it jets ink, it’s a hot technology, and while production inkjet got the bulk of the buzz at last week’s Graph Expo, wide-format and specialty printing continue to play a much larger role. Read More
Five Steps to Wide Format Growth
InfoTrends enumerates the keys to success in wide-format printing, from developing a strategy, to choosing equipment, to picking partnerships, to effectively training the sales staff. Read More
Wide-Format: A Growing Presence at Graph Expo
As wide-format and specialty graphics play a larger role in the industry, they are also playing a larger role at general commercial printing shows like Graph Expo. Here is a preview of some things to look for at this year’s show. Read More
Pivotal Moments: A History Lesson
Dan Marx, VP–Markets & Technologies at the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association looks back at pivotal moment in the history of the SGIA Expo. Read More
“Experience Epson” Event Showcases a Wide Variety of Tech
“Our aim is to become a company that is truly indispensable to our customers,” said Minoru Usui, Global President of Seiko Epson, kicking off “Experience Epson,” a day of interactive demos of a cross-section of Epson technologies, from wide-format printing, to interactive whiteboards, to golf swing analyzers, to Augmented Reality-based headsets, to…well, you name it. The event was held last week in New York City. Read More
Wooden It Be Nice? Sacramento’s ARB Digital Specializes in Printing On Unique Substrates
From wood, to glass, to textiles, to animal pelts—and even to paper—ARB Digital takes on challenging projects, thanks to founder Alvaro Rodriguez’s background in tech support, color management, and software development. Read More
Sustainability Reality Check: It’s a Journey, Not a Destination
What is the difference between a “green” business and a “sustainable” one? What are some unique approaches to the concept of sustainability that printing companies—large- and small-format—are taking? In the end, it’s not just about making the company sustainable, but rather the entire supply chain. Read More
2015: The Current State of the Industrial Printing Community
SGIA’s Dan Marx shares some of his organization’s most recent research on industrial printing. What technologies are companies in the industrial printing space using? What products and technologies have they been investing in? Where do they see the most (and least) growth opportunities? What is their business outlook? Read More
The Great, Outdoors: Attention to Detail Goes a Long Way Toward Creating Effective Outdoor Graphics
New applications for outdoor graphics are appearing all the time, and new printing technologies are revitalizing some older applications. Some considerations if you are looking at outdoor graphics, and a look at one South Florida shop that has carved out a niche in the great outdoors. Read More
The Big Wide Word: Marketing Tips for Wide-Format Shops
OK, so you’ve invested in wide-format printing capabilities, the equipment is up and running, the staff is trained, and you’re ready to RIP. How do you get work to run on that equipment? Read More
Signs and Wonders: Digital Begins to Transform Indoor and Outdoor Displays
Smart screens that look back at their onlookers are only the beginning of the changes that digital technology will bring to signage and display markets that used to belong to—but now must be shared by—conventional print. Read More
Sew What? The New Skill Sets for Wide-Format
Printing is easy; it’s all the other stuff that can pose challenges. Producing wide-format output can require a different approach to traditional processes, from selling, to finishing, to transporting. What do you need to know before you take the plunge? Read More
The Current State of the Graphics & Sign Industry
SGIA’s Dan Marx shares highlights from the 2015 SGIA Specialty Imaging Industry Survey. What equipment is hot? What products are on the rise, and which are on the decline? In what verticals are the hot prospects? And what is the overall market outlook for the wide-format and specialty graphics industry? Read More
Today’s the Day: OSHA HCS Compliance Update
If you work with hazardous chemicals or other substances commonly used in printing operations, June 1, 2015, is the deadline for meeting new requirements to OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), in particular, new warning labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDS). Here’s what you need to know. Read More
Challenges In Sizing the Sign and Display Market
By all accounts, the sign and display industry is growing by leaps and bounds. But getting accurate sizing data is fraught with difficulties—difficulties that have largely been caused by the very factors that are driving growth. Read More
ISA 2015: Trends and Opportunities
InfoTrends’ Steve Urmano recaps the recent ISA Sign Expo with a rundown of some of the major product announcements, as well as a diverse array of other printing and finishing equipment on display. Read More
Point/Counterpoint: The Business Case For (and Against) Digital Signage
Dynamic digital signage is becoming a hotter and hotter topic, and while there are ample opportunities for companies to get in on, if not the ground floor, than at least the mezzanine, it’s not to everyone’s taste. Here are some arguments for—and against. Read More
Growth Opportunities: A Conversation with SpeedPro Imaging President Boris Katsnelson
Founded 10 years ago, SpeedPro Imaging is a network of 120 franchises—or “studios”—located in 30 states that specialize in wide-format printing, from trade show and event graphics, to vehicle graphics, to wall murals, and beyond. Read More
Temporary Signage and “EMCs” Continue to Rile City Planners; What Aspiring Sign Shops Need to Know
There are growing opportunities for print service providers in signage—both printed and electronic—but it pays to do your homework when it comes to signage regulations. Read More
ISA’s Sign Expo Goes Beyond "Sign and Display"
The International Sign Association’s Sign Expo took place last week in Las Vegas, NV. Richard Romano files his observations from the show. Read More
HP’s New Single-Pass Printer Portfolio
Yesterday, on the eve of the opening of the ISA Sign Expo, HP took the opportunity to launch five new products in its high-end Latex and Scitex families. These are the HP Latex 370, the HP Scitex FB550 and FB750, HP Scitex 11000 Industrial Press, and HP Scitex 15500 Corrugated Press. Read More
Know Your Wide Format Inks!
Herein a basic primer on today’s ink options for wide-format printing, from solvent and eco-solvent to UV, from latex to dye-sublimation. Read More
Sustainable and Green: Do I Still Need to Worry About Compliance?
Standards for “green” or eco-friendly printed products and processes are still in flux, and don’t always gibe with environmental compliance reporting requirements. It pays to know what the differences are. Read More
Lla Llama
Not living anywhere near Arizona, I was unaware of the recent “Phoenix Llama Drama,” which is apparently not some new reality TV show. Rather, last month, a brace of the beasts escaped while—and I have to quote ABC News here—“making a therapy visit to residents at an assisted living facility.” Read More
ISA Gears Up for Biggest Sign Expo Ever
New features, sessions, programs, and speakers at the upcoming International Sign Expo aim to educate present and prospective signmakers about the latest business and technology trends in this growing industry. Read More
There Goes the Neighborhood: How To Cope with Commoditization in Wide-Format Printing
Improving technology is causing some wide-format applications to experience that dreaded word “commoditization.” How can print providers fight against it? Can they? Or—most importantly—should they? Read More
A Good Problem to Have? Managing Capacity When Volume Peaks
Capacity management has proven to be a challenge for many wide-format print businesses, especially as many jobs are specialized or customized in some way. What are the ways that shops are coping with this “pain point”? Read More
Technical Printing Sends Print-for-Pay Providers Back to the Drawing Board
Technical printing—graphics that serve the architectural, engineering, and construction markets—has been changing in both positive and negative ways, and “reprographics” shops are changing with the times. And it’s not always just about the equipment. Read More
Relevant Regulatory Revisions for 2015
Throughout the years, our printing industry has always faced challenges with meeting regulatory compliance of existing OSHA rules. Now, in 2015, there are new changes that will bring new impacts. Two of the changes discussed below have come about because of revisions to OSHA’s record keeping and reporting rules and the third is attached to the recent revision of the Hazard Communication Standard. Read More
Your Niche Or Mine?
How do you decide what kinds of wide-format or specialty printing products and services to add to your current mix? You can jump into a new niche application as a newbie, or organically expand into new directions. As it turns out, there is no right answer—but plenty of wrong ones. Read More
Retail Trends in Wide Format
I was talking with the owner of a sign shop recently, and we got to talking about new technologies that sign and display companies were starting to utilize—I was thinking specifically of EFI’s SmartSign Analytics—but he happened to mention other new technologies such as “smart fitting rooms” whereby sensors in a clothing retailer’s fitting room mirror track RFID tags on the clothing you brought in to try on and suggests accessories or complementary items. Sound creepy? It does a bit, doesn’t it? Read More
EFI Connect and the Imaging of Things
About 15 years ago—give or take—in a monthly humor column I wrote at the time for the late, lamented Micro Publishing News, I proposed the idea of a drive-through wide-format printer for vehicle graphics. Read More
What to Strive For in 2015 (And a Plea for Help)
Build your business in 2015 by exploring new opportunities, developing a clear vision for success, and stretching the boundaries of what your shop and your shop’s equipment can produce. Read More
What Is Wide-Format?
As I was planning the 2015 editorial calendar for our Wide-Format section, I began by drawing up a list of topics that I had covered, topics that were heavily featured at trade shows like SGIA and ISA, and topics tend to get covered elsewhere in the industry press. And aside from the basic technological topics like “Roll-to-Roll Printers,” “Flatbeds,” “Finishing,” and so forth, the majority of the subject matter was on specific applications—and applications that were all over the map (and some even included maps!). Read More
SGIA Webinar Considers Web-to-Print for Wide-Format
Web-to-print is not a new technology, but despite its many advantages, when evaluating solutions, be sure to ask some specific wide-format questions. Read More
This Is the New Year and I Have No Resolutions
New year’s resolutions are ephemeral things. January 2, for example, is a kind of Black Friday for gyms and fitness centers, but by the end of the month, the crowds have returned to normal. Read More
Wide-Format Roll-to-Roll Printer Roundup
In today’s wide-format market, flatbed printers are all the rage and, for certain applications, deservedly so. But the earliest wide-format printers were all rollfed (or roll-to-roll) devices, and it wasn’t until the early 2000s that flatbeds existed as a product category. Flatbeds emerged to take time and materials out of the “print-then-mount” process; after all, why not just print directly on the surface you want the graphic? Read More
What Kind of Day Has it Been?
2014 has been a year of incremental—but substantial—improvements in wide-format systems. These improvements are creating ever more opportunities in a variety of applications. Here’s what to keep an eye on in 2015. Read More
Business Goes Swimmingly for Digital Dye-Sublimation Printer
Epson’s beachwear “fashion show” highlights the possibilities of digital dye-sublimation fabric printing, and how it could change fashion design. Read More
Rapid Digital Press Maps Out Wide-Format Success
With a little research, a clearly defined strategy, and fast, high-quality wide-format printing equipment, Phoenix, Ariz.’s Rapid Digital Press has carved out a successful niche in map and GIS printing applications, and is now poised for growth. Read More
2014 SGIA Expo: Finding new Business Opportunities and Areas for Growth
October’s SGIA Expo was about more than just new technology, it was about finding new business opportunities and areas for growth. Here are some examples of printing companies who gleaned practical information from the show to take their businesses in new directions. Read More
Mimaki Mini-Expo Hits the Spa City
Mimaki’s 25-city road show includes hands-on product demonstrations and educational presentations that highlight new features of, and top applications enabled by, today’s wide-format printing equipment. Here is a report from one stop on the tour. Read More
A Wide-Format Digital Print Perspective from Graph Expo
InfoTrends revisits September’s Graph Expo and recaps some of the highlights from a wide-format perspective. At the same time, the show itself is evolving into entirely new directions, reflective of how the industry itself is evolving. Read More
SGIA Recap II: Chalk it Up to Experience
The SGIA Expo was about more than just new hardware—new substrates were also on display, as well as what keeps the hardware productive: color management, production, and RIPing software. Read More
High-Wire Acts: Adventures at the 2014 SGIA Expo (Part 1)
SGIA Expo exceeded virtually everyone’s expectations. In Part 1 of our show coverage we look at some of the major hardware introductions. Read More
7 Reasons to Look Forward to Next Week’s SGIA Expo
For those of us who cover wide-format and specialty graphics printing, the biggest show of the year is the SGIA Expo, coming up next week in Las Vegas. It can be tough, travel being what it is, to muster enthusiasm for far-flung trade events, but there is a great deal of value in getting out of the office and attending these kinds of shows. So in this “listicle,” here are the top seven reasons I am looking forward to next week’s show. Read More
Roland to Kick Off First Ever User Conference
One day prior to the SGIA Expo, Roland DGA is launching their inaugural ImagiNATION 2014 user group conference, designed as an information exchange for owners and operators of Roland’s wide-format printing equipment. Read More
An Opinionated Preview of the 2014 SGIA Expo
This year’s upcoming SGIA Expo in Las Vegas will showcase the latest technologies, applications, and opportunities in today’s wide-format and display graphics markets. Read More
Digital Should Drive Service Transformation
Versioning, the use and integration of digital displays, eye-tracking, point-of-purchase displays, mobile technologies, and payment software, “virtualization”—where a company offers a particular printing service but outsources the actual production, and printing as a service are quickly becoming the status quo in the wide-format printing business. Read More
The ABCs of DDS: A Digital Signage Primer
Dynamic digital signage (DDS) is being touted as a hot opportunity for sign shops and other wide-format service providers. But where does one start? And how can digital complement print signage? Read More
Re-Examining the Inherent Benefits of Wide-Format Digital (Part II)
In Part II of this feature, we examine some of the trends engendered by digital printing, and how they apply to wide-format printing—and how they are changing. Read More
Memjet Looks Back At Its First Generation Printheads—and Ahead to Generation Next
The first-generation Memjet-based devices have hit the market, and have helped wide-format inkjet conquer the speed challenge. What will second-gen Memjet look like? Read More
Big Points: A “This Point Forward” Approach to Wide-Format Printing
Creating a printing business that can cope with a changing market for print and that is “future-focused”—is imperative as we hurtle toward 2020. If you’re a wide-format printer, you may be halfway there—but that’s no excuse for complacency. Read More
Re-Examining the Inherent Benefits of Wide-Format Digital (Part I)
In this two part series, Dan Marx of SGIA talks about the basic truths of digital printing in general and wide format in particular. While the basic truths have remained unchanged, the details surrounding them have. Read More
Liquid Meddle: Digital Inkjet Makes Inroads in Industrial Printing
If you look around your home or office (or home office), you’ll notice numerous examples of what I’ve referred to in the past as “stealth printing,” printed materials that don’t fall into what we consider commercial printing, but is a huge market nonetheless. Read More
The Search for a Wide-Format Silver Bullet?
As wide-format graphics buyers increasingly demand faster turnaround, higher quality, and lower price—as well as an ever-growing range of specialty print applications—print service providers are looking for the fastest and most versatile equipment possible. Manufacturers are helping…but is there really a “silver bullet”? Read More
HP Scales Up Its PageWide Technology
At an event in San Diego, Calif., held June 9 and 10, HP announced that they are scaling up their PageWide technology for use in wide-format printers. PageWide made its debut in 2013 in the Officejet Pro X Series of desktop multifunction devices. Read More
Chasing Bottlenecks in Wide-Format Digital
I recently had the chance to talk with Scott Crosby of Holland & Crosby, Ltd., about issues relating to bottlenecks in the wide-format production process. In the article, it’s interesting to see how changes (and improvements) in technology can strongly affect a company’s complete process. The comments included here may sound familiar to many using wide-format equipment. Read More
Inkjet’s Irresistible Rise Is Showcased at FESPA Digital 2014
Last month, being in touch with the latest developments in wide-format inkjet printing for graphic arts and industrial applications meant being at FESPA Digital, a European trade expo billing itself as the “largest focused digital print exhibition worldwide this year.” Read More
Notes from a Safari: Nine Big Mistakes That Would-Be Wide-Format Printers Can Make
Unless you have been lost, you are all too aware that the market for print has been changing, changing dramatically, and not changing for the best. We’ve had this discussion for a long time, so we need not dwell on it here. As a result, many companies have looked to wide-format and other types of specialty printing as a compelling replacement. Read More
Wide-Format Graphics Community Charts another Strong Year
The results are in from SGIA’s annual Specialty Graphics Industry Survey (the full report will be released in June), and the data we’ve received shows the wide-format graphics community going strong. The information included here covers some of the “high-points” of our findings, and provides a bit of analysis, from my viewpoint. Read More
ISA Sign Expo Showcases Dynamic Evolution of Sign Solutions
At the International Sign Association’s Sign Expo, the current state of dynamic digital signage (DDS) was reminiscent of a kind of “Cambrian explosion,” with a proliferation of solutions emerging. Read More
Industrial Printing Moving to Digital
Industrial printing is a massive industry, serving vertical markets from aerospace to electronics, and from medical to interior design. What makes industrial printing (for the most part) unique (and mostly hidden from view) is that most industrial printing companies are not “print for pay” enterprises. Read More
Signs of the Times—and Times of the Signs: Countdown to the International Sign Expo 2014
The ISA International Sign Expo 2014 is coming to Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center this April 23–26, with educational and networking sessions starting on the 23rd and the trade show itself starting on the 24th. (Each year, the Sign Expo alternates between Las Vegas and Orlando.) Some new features of the show debuted in Vegas last year, and will thus be new to an Orlando—and thus a largely Southeast U.S.— crowd. Read More
Wide-Format: Pain Points & Opportunities
Dan shares some of the most pertinent pain points discussed at SGIA's annual Congress of Committees, as they provide a unique view into today’s wide-format industry. Read More
...But Is It Art?
It was a sunny morning Southern California. An ocean breeze was blowing in from nearby Redondo Beach, and as the freight train next door—the bane of our existence—clattered endlessly and rattled the building, we gathered in the first floor conference room of the Torrance offices of Micro Publishing News magazine to evaluate the hundred or so submissions to what, back in 1999, was our Seventh Annual Digital Art contest. Read More
E Pluribus Unum: “Butterflies & Buffalo” Project Uses Wide-Format Graphics to Document and Celebrate American Cultures
In this age of poor-quality cameraphone images and unflattering “selfies,” it’s easy to forget how powerful high-quality, professional photography can be. Read More
Phoenix’s AZ Pro Uses Vehicle and Fleet Graphics to Keep on Truckin’
From so simple a beginning. Avondale, Ariz.’s AZ Pro Signs and Graphics, based just outside Phoenix, started nine years ago with a 21-inch plotter—and has seen no less than double-digit growth every year, even during the recession years. Read More
Wide-Format: Understanding the Hourglass
Since the highly-successful SGIA Expo, which took place a little more than a month ago, I’ve been putting some new thought into wide-format digital printing, trying to come up with a new way to describe the industry to those who are new to it, or have simply put a toe in our wide-format pool. Read More
Getting Into Wide-Format – A Commercial Printer’s Blueprint for Success
While the commercial printing industry has seen an overall decline in demand for print over the last 15 years, the demand for wide-format printed graphics is actually increasing. As a result, more and more commercial printers are looking at adding wide-format to their offerings. Read More
Interstate Graphics Feels the Heat with New Thermoforming System
At the SGIA Expo in Orlando several weeks ago, EFI garnered a Product of the Year award for its GS Pro-TF thermoforming system. Interstate Graphics Inc. (IGI), based in Machesney Park, Ill.—just outside Rockford—was the first company to install the GS Pro-TF. Read More
John Roberts Looks to HP Indigo 10000 to bolster digital print offerings
Minneapolis-based John Roberts has installed the first 7-color HP Indigo 10000 digital press in North America. Senior Editor Cary Sherburne spoke with CEO Michael Keene to delve into why the company made this decision and what they expect to achieve going forward. Read More
SGIA Expo 2013 Review: Continuing Strong Display Graphics Demand, with a Focus on Production
The SGIA show held in Orlando this year gave evidence of continuing strong demand for inkjet printed display graphics, and increasingly also for production inkjet textile print and decorative output. Read More
SGIA Wraps Up Successful Orlando Expo
At the beginning of day one of the SGIA Expo, SGIA President Michael Robertson had announced a pre-registered attendee count of around 21,000. By Friday morning, the third and final day of the Expo, the count had topped 22,400. Read More
SGIA Highlights the "Shining Star" of the Printing Industry—Day 1: The Quickening
Day 1 of SGIA and WhatTheyThink is on the ground in Orlando and Richard Romano has you covered with the latest from the show as we kick off what is said to be near record crowds. Read More
Digital Textile Inkjet Printing: On a Roll
Digital inkjet printing technology offers many advantages for soft signage and other types of textile printing—but the old supply chain is making further adoption difficult. Read More
As Interior Décor Experiences Record Growth, Smart PSPs Seize Opportunity
In recent years, we have seen explosive growth in the interior décor market with digital décor increasing at a rate of more than 20 percent year-over-year . Read More
68 Great Wide-Format Opportunities (and One Donut)
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend a major printing trade show in Chicago—you may have been there as well. A quick take on the show is that it was well-executed and well-attended, but smaller than we’ve come to think the quadrennial Print event should be. Read More
Wide-Format Goes Mainstream at Print 13
Wide-format printing has always been an endeavor for the highly creative, and it would be hard to find someone more creative than Armstrong. Read More
Investigating Wide-Format Markets & Products
The information included in this article is a short summary of the data presented in SGIA’s soon-to-be-released 2013 Market Trends & Product Specialties Benchmarking Report. The data presented is culled from the responses of 136 U.S. sign and graphics producers, and provides an excellent snapshot of the graphics and sign segment today. A full report will be available on SGIA.org later this year. Read More
Digital Growth Ignites Innovation
Stakeholders in the sign and display market can look back on the past 18 months and note solid growth attributed to the steady and measured ascent of digital printing. Globally, we witnessed the continued adoption and embrace of digital as innovative new technologies helped print providers convert analog pages to generate new business and increase opportunities with existing clients. Read More
Getting Started in Wide Format Inkjet
The wide format inkjet market is growing rapidly with expanding new products and applications. The equipment cost is relatively modest when compared to offset presses and bindery equipment. What do I need to consider before I jump on board? Read More
FESPA 2013 Show Review: Moving Beyond Wide-Format Inkjet
FESPA is the Federation of European Screen Print Associations. It started as an annual exhibition by Display Graphics, Textile, and Specialist Screen Print suppliers of products for their customers and over time came to include inkjet wide-format print offerings by their various vendors. Read More
Wide-Format Gets Bigger (Will You?)
I’m currently in my 22nd year serving the specialty graphics industry. During my time with SGIA, I’ve been witness to the complete changeover in imaging equipment technology. Read More
Large Format Plays at PIP Printing in Peoria
Signage and wide format graphics have become an integral part of the marketing mix. This article highlights recent InfoTrends research and also explores how PIP Printing (Peoria, IL) is leveraging wide format to expand its own business opportunities. Read More
HP Continues on Journey to Capture Valuable Wide-Format Application Output
HP may have its share of problems in its overall business, but its maniacal focus on expanding its footprint among existing analog wide-format graphics print applications is not affected. At FESPA, it introduced two new high-volume wide-format printers, its most productive latex and UV-curable ink jet printers to date aimed at expanding HP’s footprint among wide-format analog graphics print applications. Read More
xpedx Goes Wide with Series of Summits
WhatTheyThink's Eric Vessels made a short trip from his home in Ohio down to the xpedx headquarters in Cincinnati for one of fourteen Wide Format Summits being put on by the company in 2013. This piece gives his impressions as well as thoughts from those who attended the event. Read More
Wide Format Graphics: A Critical Part of the Communications Mix
Signage is becoming an increasingly important marketing component for attracting on-the-go consumers. Wide format graphics represent a major opportunity for print service providers. This article explores how retailers can use wide format graphics to increase their marketing presence in today’s cross-media world. Read More
Road Trip: A Visit to EFI’s Inkjet Solutions Facility
This is Part I of what will be an occasional series of manufacturer “Experience Center” visits. Read More
Electronic Billboards in the U.S.: Profit Is the Main Motivator of Growth
Greater revenue utilization and lower labor costs will drive the slow but steady growth of electronic billboards—despite public and government opposition—but print billboards will still account for more than 96% of all billboards by 2015. Read More
xpedx Road Show Offers Data and Demos for Prospective Wide-Format Print Providers
WhatTheyThink's Richard Romano attends an xpedx wide format printer summit and comes away with the impression that a cutter stole the show! Read More
Precious Fluids II: Wide-Format Inks Are Opening Up New Applications for Graphics Providers—And Vice Versa
In part I of this feature, we took a broad look at the different categories of inks available for wide-format inks. This week, we’ll take a closer look at how inks handle different applications (or perhaps vice versa) and, more importantly, how to think about ink in the context of choosing wide-format equipment, and how to measure and evaluate estimates of things like “cost per square foot.” Read More
Wide-Format: Equipment & Financial Takeaways
Dan provides a summary and his take on some of the results from a recently conducted SGIA Survey. The full survey results will be published in the SGIA report " Equipment & Financial Outlook Benchmarking Report". Read More
Precious Fluids: Wide-Format Inks Are Opening Up New Applications for Graphics Providers
There is, in some ways, a fundamental paradox when it comes to wide-format inks. There are more ink choices than ever, and yet for any given piece of equipment, you are generally stuck in a “one-cartridge-fits-all” situation. Read More
New Product Announcements at ISA 2013
Last month’s ISA show at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center was a good opportunity to review the wide-format graphics market and some of the spinoff products in adjacent markets. Read More
The Shows Must Go On! Next Stop: FESPA London
Perched on the northern quay of the Royal Victoria Dock in the Docklands of London is the ExCel Centre, an exhibit space constructed in 2000 but retooled and overhauled for the 2012 Olympic Games, where weightlifters, fencers, boxers, and wrestlers grappled for the gold. Next month, the Centre will host competitors of a different sort. Read More
Efficiency & Innovation in Wide-Format
I recently had the chance to attend PIA’s annual Continuous Improvement Conference, and among the many kernels of information I left Indianapolis with was the concept that innovation and efficiency go hand-in-hand. Read More
Inkjet International Days
On March 19th Océ (part of the Canon Group) hosted an International Inkjet Days event at its site in Poing Germany (just east of Munich). Océ invited a group of industry analysts to see the latest enhancements to its impressive inkjet product portfolio and it offered educational sessions on inkjet technology, document security and color perception. Read More
With DDS, Graphics Professionals Sink Their Teeth Into Electronic Signage
The Las Vegas Strip is home to many things that you’d be hard-pressed find anywhere else—and, generally, that’s a good thing. Read More
Wide-Format Inkjet Printing: A Transition to Higher Utilization and Productivity
IT Strategies has just completed its 19th wide-format graphics inkjet forecast, wrapping up nearly two decades’ worth of experience into a single large Excel spreadsheet. The trends year-over-year aren’t surprising. Growth continues. Read More
The Countdown to the International Sign Expo Continues
We have been previewing ISA’s International Sign Expo 2013. A fortnight ago, we looked at the educational opportunities to be had, and this week we will look at but the merest handful of the offerings on the show floor. Read More
Wide-format Inkjet: Many Communities, One Process
Wide-format inkjet technology has become the “go to” technology for a number of traditional and non-traditional printing segments The purpose of this article is to define the differences between these segments, in general terms. Read More
Countdown to the International Sign Expo
The International Sign Expo, coming up April 3–6 will feature more than 500 exhibitors, more than 40 educational sessions, and ample networking opportunities, all related to the “on-premise” signage industry. Read More
Latex-Ink Wide-Format Graphics Printers Drive Market Growth
HP introduced its first latex-ink wide-format printer in 2008, targeting replacement of aggressive solvent printers. Since that time, HP has introduced multiple versions and the market has taken off a growth rates reflecting the beginnings of the aqueous WF industry back in 1992. Read More
The Grandest Printers of All
Today’s superwides, which are proliferating in terms of number of models on the market, boast much better image quality, resolution, speed, and versatility than their forebears. Read More
Digital Wallcoverings Transform Interior Décor
The idea of printing materials that go on walls is not exactly new. Wallpaper, posters, murals, and other items have been printed by traditional technologies for decades, if not centuries. Read More
Lessons from a Wide-Format Veteran
Having navigated the wide-format digital printing world for more than 20 years, Lynn Krinsky, president of Stella Color (Seattle, WA), knows a thing or two about growing and prospering in this innovative and competitive area. Read More
Wide Format Graphics Printing: The Numbers Speak Loud and Clear for those with the First Mover Advantage
Wide format graphics ink jet printing is entering its second decade of commercialization and is belatedly being discovered by commercial print-service-providers. The ubiquitous availability of wide format output at the consumer level is opening the door to promote wide format graphics print as an alternative to traditional advertising for small businesses. Read More
Moving Pictures: Vehicle Wraps Take the Wide-Format Show On the Road
A walk down the street, a drive on the highway, or a trip on mass transit today provides ample opportunities to experience one of the hottest specialty graphics growth areas: vehicle graphics. From personal vehicles with custom graphics, to commercial vans and tractor-trailers, to buses, rail cars, and even planes, fleets of all kinds are becoming more picture-esque than ever. Read More
If You Were a Specialty Imager
Using information from a number of surveys conducted by SGIA during 2012, I’ve put together a snapshot of a “typical” specialty imaging company. While the specialty imaging industry is highly diverse, with lots of companies doing lots of things, it is both interesting and thought-provoking to create a typical company using trends and high points from the data we’ve received. Read More
January Hymn: Looking Backward and Forward
Richard looks at the printing shipment trends that happened over the previous year, and provides a bit of analysis. Read More
Is Print the True Green Technology?
In the spirit of New Year’s resolutions, becoming more “green” is one resolution that few can find fault with. Unfortunately, green printing is difficult, if not impossible, to clearly define. Read More
Wide Format Inkjet Graphics-Determining US Retail Pricing
I.T. Strategies surveyed Wide Format Print Converters and buyers in the US to gauge output-selling price for wide format printed output. They interviewed sellers and buyers of output produced on low-end, high-end, flat-bed and roll to roll printers, and all ink chemistries-UV, solvent, eco solvent, and latex to get a sense of current retail output prices. Read More
Specialty Graphics: Both Alive and Kicking
SGIA just released its Industry Pulse Benchmarking Report for the third quarter of 2012. The purpose of the report is to provide specialty imaging companies with information they can use to compare their business with the broader community. Read More
Applications that Stick: Magnetic Media
New developments, and at least one new system, are opening up magnetic media to entire new applications for small- and wide-format printers and installers. Vehicle graphics is one burgeoning field, as is magnetic signage, and even entire wall coverings. Read More
Look Into the Light: Miracle Cures On The Horizon
Richard Romano talks about UV printing from a technology standpoint, identifies where LED technology fits into the overall scheme of things, and looks to see what the future may hold for it. Read More
SGIA Recap: EFI Leverages New Technologies to Boost Productivity, Image Quality
Although predominantly known as a workflow company-"Fiery" is essentially synonymous with RIPing-EFI was demonstrating at SGIA a couple of weeks ago its prowess in developing wide-format hardware, with models on display that showcased two of the company's new technological developments. Read More
The Strength of Specialty Graphics
Behind the many accolades SGIA has received is the undeniable fact that the specialty graphics industry in general, and the wide-format digital graphics industry in particular, is the current epicenter of today’s printing industry. The purpose of this article is to define why. Read More
That Was the Expo That Was: SGIA Recap
Richard Romano gives a walk through of SGIA Expo-held October 18-20 in Las Vegas- where every conceivable surface and object was printed on for his enjoyment. Read More
Viva Las Vegas: Getting the Most Out of the SGIA Expo
This week, today, to be precise, the annual SGIA Expo kicks off at the Las Vegas Convention Center and runs October 18–20. There is a tendency in pre- and post-trade show coverage to recite a litany of vendors, products, and specifications, but one of the important things to understand about the wide-format market is that it is all about applications. Read More
Following the Money in Wide-Format Digital
Scanning through industry publications that cover wide-format digital markets can be a daunting task for any company just approaching this area. The purpose of this article is to focus in on the center of the wide-format digital bulls-eye, and find out the markets and products that make up a majority of the money made using this technology. Read More
Display Graphics on Display at Upcoming Graph Expo
The month of October brings a brace of major trade shows for the printing industry; October 7–10 brings Graph Expo, as it always does, to McCormick Place in Chicago, while October 18–20 brings the annual SGIA Expo to the Las Vegas Convention Center. WhatTheyThink will be on the prowl at both shows with video, actual written reports, and more. Read More
A Portrait of the Artist as a Wide-Format Printer: Learn to Think Creatively
In last week's feature, guest writer Dan Marx outlined five "essential truths" about wide-format printing, and in his introduction he mentioned that he's witnessed "a full-blown revolution: a complete movement away from old-school analog technology." Over the past several months, as I have spoken to equipment manufacturers and suppliers for these weekly features, as well as other analysts, one thing that always comes up is the fact that more and more traditional printing companies are expanding into wide-format printing Read More
Five Essential Truths About Wide-Format Inkjet
Dan Marx, Vice President Markets & Technologies, SGIA, draws out some "essential truths"-real kernels of wisdom-that can benefit any company looking to enter wide-format or grow their existing efforts in this area. Read More
Beyond Paper: New Wide-Format Substrate Options
In last week’s feature, we spoke about flatbed wide-format printers, and remarked that one of their big selling points was that they could print on a bewildering variety of materials—increasing the number of applications that creative shops could develop, the more niches shops could carve out for themselves, and the better they could serve their clients. Read More
Wide-Format Flatbed Printers Are On a Roll
Since the advent of the wide-format printing market in the late 1980s/early 1990s, the vast majority of the output devices on the market have been rollfed devices, printing on flexible substrates like paper or canvas that unfurled into the device, rather like a web press. The finished graphic was then often mounted onto a rigid material for display, installation, or other end use. Read More
Dark Clouds and Silver Linings: The Latest Economic Data May Be Gloomy...But Data are Not Destiny
This week, we’re going to take a step back from our look at the nuts and bolts of wide-format printing technology and look at the industry and the economy from “20,000 feet”—and hopefully not have a William Shatner-esque experience. Read More
Navigating the RIP Tide: Print Workflow Software Comes in All Shapes, Sizes, and Capabilities
Richard provides some features and issues to keep a special eye out for when looking at RIP's for wide-format printing. Read More
End Game: In Wide-Format Printing, Finishing is Where the Real Work Begins
Those new to wide-format printing—and even some veterans—often give short shrift to what happens to a print once it comes off press. In wide-format printing, however, the real added value is often in the finishing. Read More
Beyond the Pale: White Inks Offer Unique Wide-Format Challenges and Applications
Those of us used to traditional offset and digital printing rarely give the concept of white ink a second thought. After all, “white” is typically synonymous with the color of paper, so when we want something to be white, we design it with the absence of any color. (Tellingly, in Adobe InDesign, we select the color swatch labeled “Paper.”) There are situations, however, when—oxymoronic as it may seem—we need to specify the color white. Read More
Wide-Format Printing Presents Unique Sustainability Challenges, Opportunities
The past five years have seen an increased discussion of, and emphasis on, the idea of “sustainability.” Sustainability can refer to many things, but one of the oft-discussed components of it is environmental sustainability. That is, what is the impact of a product or process on the environment, and what are the ways of reducing that impact? Read More
Promoting Your Large Format Business in a Digital World
In today’s economy, getting the most out of your marketing dollars requires a smarter and more creative approach. With a little bit of creativity, wide format providers can leverage public relations, innovative Websites, networking, customer education, and social media to reach customers and grow their businesses. This analysis provides five key strategies for promoting your business. Read More
Looking for a Big Opportunity? Think Large Format!
Commercial printers and in-plants are adding large format capabilities, and many report that this move has enabled them to capture additional marketing dollars from new and existing customers. Large format is increasing in importance because it has become a key customer touchpoint for marketers of all sizes. This article takes a closer look at the wide format market opportunity. Read More
FedEx Office Expands Grand Format Business
FedEx Office recently announced that it would be accelerating investment in grand format printing services in selected centralized production centers to supplement its service offerings. The same release also reported that Boeing had selected FedEx Office as its print service provider of choice. WhatTheyThink Senior Editor Cary Sherburne talked to the company to learn more. Read More
Epson Launches NextGen Wide Format Printer, New Branding
Today, Epson launched its next generation, newly-branded 64” solvent printer – the SureColor S30670 is a four-color solvent printer (CMYK) using Epson UltraChrome GS2 ink. Read more. Read More
Latex Ink Jet Technology Goes Mainstream
Latex ink jet ink technology was introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 2008 for wide format graphics printing applications, and after an extended period of beta-testing and an economic recession it went mainstream in 2010. During the last 18 months in particular unit placements have continued to gain strength, now totaling over 10,000 placements wordwide at the end of 2011. Read More
SGIA: More Than Ink on Paper
SGIA was flooded with small ink, roller, blade, and other screen consumable suppliers: How do so many analog screen suppliers hang on? The simple reason: screen output remains cheap-and turnaround is fast enough. Read More
Making a Big Impression Trends in Large Format Printing
As we approach drupa 2012, what are the technologies we can expect to see that will drive change in the printing and publishing markets? Once again, we can expect to see a significant position for inkjet in the array of new technologies exhibitors have on display. This time, however, while there will still be a large presence in the production sector. Read More
Environmental Aspects of Printing Inks
As printing companies move towards environmentally friendly processes and products they must sort through the misinformation in the marketplace. This article helps to educate the printer on what to look for in printing ink. Read More
Print: Driving Excitement at the Point of Purchase
In June 2011, InfoTrends completed its Who Buys Wide Format? study, which was designed to collect more information about the buyers of large format products. It fostered an understanding of wide format graphics buyer requirements while also tracking changes in buying patterns since the previous study from 2009. This article discusses key findings from that study and also provides real-world examples of retailers that are interacting with consumers at the point of purchase. Read More
Mobile Meets Outdoor Advertising and Signage
Thanks to the internet and smart phones, as well as tools like QR codes and text messaging, one of the oldest ad media is becoming interactive. In her current article, Barb Pellow explores the interactive features that many companies are using to enhance their billboards and outdoor signage. She provides many real world examples that range from educational to purely promotional. Read More
IPEX – A Digital Printing Show
Based on our experiences at IPEX 2010, it’s finally looking like the mood of the industry has changed and we might be entering a period of economic growth. The event showcased developments in a variety of areas, but the greatest interest seemed to be in the rise on inkjet printing. Andy Tribute offers his thoughts. Read More
How to kill inkjet
IPEX 2010 affirmed that inkjet is here to stay. The show is over but the memory lingers on. There are almost 300 roll-fed production inkjet printers sold or installed in the world. And Xerox validated inkjet by showing an inkjet technology. But we could see inkjet die very quickly if suppliers and users do not re-invent the way they do business. Here's how they might fail. Read More
Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Printing Industry
IPEX is many things – a celebration of print, a Euro-centric gathering of major and minor vendors, a walkable show that makes it easy to enjoy the variety of offerings that compose our industry – but it’s certainly no drupa. Read More
A Buyer’s Guide for Inkjet Presses
This year is being seen as the real start for sales of high-speed inkjet presses. This article looks at some of the key items that need to be considered by potential buyers of these presses. This includes substrates that can used, the types of ink and the life of the print heads. Read More
Behind the Agfa Acquisition of Gandinnovations
We may call this “the week that was” when looking back at the stories for 2009 in our year-end review! The Monday news opened a few eyes over morning coffee. While the Canon acquisition of Océ grabbed the day’s headlines; the second story – Agfa’s acquisiton of Gandinnovations – was just as interesting. Read More
Moving Inkjet Technology into the Future
I have just attended the IMI European Ink Jet Printing conference in Barcelona. One tends to think that inkjet printing is something new but this was the 17th annual conference on this subject. One tends to forget just how long the inkjet technology has been around and also just how long it has been used in the graphic arts markets. Read More
Progress in Prepress Was a Keynote of Print 09
"Unscientific" has to be the word for our selection of exhibitors to write about in the aftermath of Print 09. Some are on the follow-up list because of pre-booked editorial appointments; others because of what we heard at media briefings during the show; and, in a couple of cases, because we were buttonholed by pouncing p.r. people as we moved past the booths, never intending to stop. But, at a show like Print 09, any reason for spending time with a vendor usually turns out to be a good one in terms of knowledge gained. Read More
