NEWS AND ARTICLES

One technology has kept commercial printers viable over the past five years: wide format inkjet. As offset litho volume has declined in many markets, printing services have expanded their portfolio into signage and related markets. Most companies who buy print usually need signage, and commercial printers have found the synergy in this relationship.

The commonly used term ‘signage” is overly broad. Products include point-of-purchase signage, exhibition or trade show signage, banners, flags and backdrops, decals and wraparound signs.

The following also fall under the display and signage category:

Decorative signage includes building wraps, scaffolding covers, mesh banners or wall murals and is usually printed digitally in large format with small runs. When a building is being constructed or decorated, it needs a wrap to cover the unfinished part to protect it from the elements, and to give people a better impression or expectation of the building.

This kind of sign not only serves as a wrap or cover, but also needs to have good image quality. Digital printing, which provides relatively high image quality and quick turnaround, is the best way of producing outdoor decorative wraps. Since there is always new construction or decoration occurring all over the world, the market for decorative signage will continue to increase.

Other signage includes publicly displayed information, directions or promotions presented as words, symbols and pictures. Signage may be printed on paper, plastic, metal, or other materials and may be freestanding or affixed to other objects. The category includes miscellaneous ground signs and indoor signs, flags, or pennants made of polyester, mobile billboards mounted on trailers with fluorescent lettering, and eraser signs that let you write what you want on them.

Car and bus wraps are also included and it is not uncommon to see colorful graphics on almost any moving object.

Wide format inkjet printers can print from three feet to 16 feet wide. They use water-based inks, so-called latex inks, solvent inks and UV inks.

Commercial printers can enter the market with any level of capability and we notice that within a year, they are already upgrading to larger and more capable devices.

In the US, the market for signs that just say ‘Exit’ os $20m per year.

The signage category is different from conventional printing products since signage is based at a physical location, and is often functional as well as advertorial. Signage production will gradually increase and last for a long time, because there is consistent demand with no reason to replace it with some non-printing product. The amount of signs will depend on the amount of construction of buildings, roads or events, or change within organisations.

The past decade of success with sign production via digital printing has set new standards for image quality, turnaround, and versatility, which guarantee gains in the digital production of all types of signage. Sign producers can expect systems which boast innovation and increase productivity at lower price points, making them more attractive and affordable. Digital printing is getting to the point where every sign shop has to put in a large format printer.

All this has brought commercial printers into competition with sign services. Some sign companies have installed digital colour printing to offer some level of document reproduction. But commercial printers have the edge because they offer a broader range of services, especially finishing.

We expect wide format printing to become faster and more productive. Most are roll-fed, but flatbed versions can print on thicker materials which opend up even more markets. Wide format inkjet has been an important factor in the success of commercial printers in the past few years.

This Feature appeared in the December 2014 issue of ProPrint Magazine