by Melissa Donovan
It’s time to check on the status of the wide format graphic arts. According to most, it’s been a positive last 12 months and it looks as though we will continue out the calendar year on that note. Media, hardware, and software vendors all agree that 2024 presented challenges, but nothing that couldn’t be overcome.
Above: Vsualmente, Guaynabo, PR, won second place in Digital Output’s 2024 Application of the Year contest for creating two floating fascias 35 feet long by 16.5 feet wide by three feet high out of General Formulations’ 285 RoughMark for Zone 3 restaurant in San Juan, PR.
Satisfy Objectives
Setting and acting on goals are a blueprint for most companies. Within goals are expectations for success. At the start of any fiscal or calendar year, companies of all shapes and sizes create expectations for what is to come and hope they are met.
At Colex Finishing, Inc., Keith Verkem, national sales manager and senior product manager, believes “this year has been very good with continued growth in all segments of our business.”
“The start of 2024 was very positive for the digital business at INX, with revenue and earnings meeting expectations. There is significant interest in digital printing and we are identifying and addressing several exciting new opportunities in our core packaging markets,” shares Paul Edwards, VP of the digital division, INX International Ink Co.
Positive trends are a theme at Jessup Manufacturing Company. “We not only maintained but also increased our market presence and customer engagement. We are seeing significant traction across various market segments,” admits Mike Richardson, business development manager, Jessup.
Jodi Sawyer, senior business development manager – retail, Flexcon Company, Inc., has observed lowered inventory levels and buying patterns returning close to pre-pandemic levels. Based on her research, according to OAAA, out of home advertising revenue increased 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous year with transit advertising growing by 18.8 percent and placed-based ads by 12.7 percent.
Another major media player in the industry, FDC Graphic Films, Inc., is also experiencing a successful 2024. “It met our expectations and, in some cases, exceeded them. While digital signage continues to be in demand, so does the versatility of wide format printing across a diverse range of industries and applications. From outdoor signage and banners to vehicle wraps, murals, and interior décor, wide format printing is still used to create eye-catching and impactful visual experiences in various settings,” notes Laura Reid, VP of marketing, FDC.
Despite success, there are challenges like price pressures due to continued inflation and just-in-time demand. “With interest rates continuing to be high, we see most clients price shopping on every order without concern for application or lifespan requirements as well as only stocking what they need versus inventory for future demands as we experienced during the height of raw material shortages,” admits Dennis Leblanc, senior business development manager NA, Drytac.
“The industry remained resilient and strong amid a lot of economic uncertainty. We expect the back half of 2024 to remain strong. Our demand continues to grow despite softening print equipment sales and we continue to watch how this will impact the sales of media,” shares Cassandra Yu, market segment development manager, Avery Dennison Graphics Solutions.
It was a busy first half of the year for Significans Automation. “As news of the benefits of print and packaging automation spreads, commercial printers and packaging converters are more open to adopting tailored software solutions for their businesses. Some deploy it in smaller phases, realize the benefits and fast return on investment, then move on to full, customized, in-shop automation. Others require an overhaul of their legacy workflow software including other profit-eroding processes,” explains Marc Raad, president, Significans Automation.
Sebastien Hanssens, VP marketing, Caldera, points out it was a Drupa year, which meant many companies part of that show seemingly revolved their marketing initiatives around the trade event that occurs every four years.
Zund America, Inc. focused on its Q-Line at Drupa and hopes to ride the wave of excitement generated from the premiere into the second half of 2024, according to Martin Thornton, business segment manager, Zund America.
Kornit Digital set strategic initiatives around its Apollo printer. In the first quarter, the response for the Apollo was highly positive and received multiple preorders, according to Sharon Donovich, director, Kornit.
At press time, Mimaki USA, Inc. was a month into its fiscal year, but Josh Hope, director, marketing, Mimaki USA, says it received great feedback from its newly introduced high-production products; the JFX600-2531 UV LED flatbed printer and the CFX Series digital flatbed cutter.
It is also an election year in the U.S. and while Bobby Cagle, NA sales director, SAi, says 2024 was a positive year for his company, “the latter half of the year may present challenges due to the uncertainties associated with it being an election year. We remain vigilant and prepared to adapt to any changes that may arise.”
“Election spending on advertising media will increase in the second half of the year along with seasonal promotions, leisure travel, and sports and entertainment events. Samples and quotes increased and those are leading indicators of growth. We expect good second half growth with 2024 finishing with moderate overall growth,” notes Sawyer.
Erik Norman, president, swissQprint America, foresees the back half of swissQprint unit sales to exceed the first half—unless the economy takes an unexpected turn. “Most printers we speak to are seeing growth in their business, but at a slower pace than in 2023. We still see many printers taking a somewhat cautious outlook given our macro-economic and political landscape.”
Ecological Outlook
Sustainability continues to be a focus, whether the conversation is on recyclability, circular economics, or reusability. There are positive indicators that the industry is heading in the right direction in terms of sustainability.
New products amplify the commitment. Lintec of America, Inc., for example, produces a recycled content PET film at almost an identical cost as a virgin film. “Four years ago we switched our economy print treated optically clear film made from virgin polyester to one that was made with 80 percent recycled content PET. It has performed exceptionally well,” shares Jim Halloran, VP sales and marketing, Lintec.
“Market acceptance of products with recycled, compostable, and bio-based content increase as consistent quality and performance improve,” notes Sawyer.
Amanda Smith, marketing communications manager, Mactac, says that the wide format industry is now prioritizing sustainability—especially as customer demand increases. “More end users promise to invest in sustainable practices, but we also must continue to develop and implement sustainable strategies that reduce waste, conserve resources, and promote sound environmental practices.”
“As consumers and end users continue to drive growing demand for sustainable solutions the rate of innovation to decrease costs is not moving at the same pace,” admits Yu. To overcome this challenge, Yu believes “it will require the entire value chain to commit together to take on a portion of the increased cost in order to accelerate the industry forward.”
According to Edwards, “in regards to the cost of sustainable products, technology advancements will help reduce these costs. But the substantial adoption of these products by end users will ultimately have the most impact on cost reductions over time.”
There is still progress to be made, however “the wide format printing industry is undoubtedly moving in the right direction regarding sustainability. The decreasing costs of sustainable products and the increasing emphasis on recyclability and circular economics are positive indicators that the industry is committed to achieving long-term environmental sustainability,” shares Richardson.
Cagle agrees, stating that overall the industry is moving in the correct direction. “Manufacturers are making strides in developing sustainable inks and materials. In addition, recycling rates of substrates are at their highest. However, the industry’s need for longevity and durability in products sometimes conflicts with sustainability goals.”
“We are seeing more economic options for sustainable materials and more printers are becoming intentional about how to bring sustainability into their operations—via energy use, material handling, and other practices. Our role as an OEM is to keep doing our part by making swissQprint’s sustainability initiatives visible as well as economically viable, and by offering products that are ecologically friendly,” expresses Norman.
Sustainability is a top priority for Kornit and this is reflected in its Apollo printer. “It opens new possibilities for sustainability with no minimum order quantity, just-in-time production, and usage of water-based pigment inks that are compliant with the highest standards and low carbon footprint,” explains Donovich.
TRAPIS, Mimaki’s digital textile process, generates almost no wastewater, just the amount in the waste ink from the printer’s automatic maintenance function. “Including wastewater generated in the transfer paper manufacturing process, wastewater is cut by approximately 90 percent compared to conventional digital dyeing systems,” shares Hope.
Zund America conveys a commitment to sustainability in its manufacturing process. “As a Swiss machine manufacturer, Zünd has always put emphasis on building high-precision, high-quality, long-lasting equipment with most components originating from regional suppliers, creating a short and reliable supply chain. The well-known modularity and upgradability of Zünd cutters further extends their lifespan, contributing even more to sustainability,” attests Thornton.
Sustainable practices on the back end of production are also of note, like recycling and reusing, points out Reid. FDC runs a program that provides a no-cost supply of scrap vinyl film for local schools, community art classes, and public library media labs to create art while reducing the amount of vinyl film remnants that enter landfills.
Streamlined Automation
It was discussed a lot last year and continues to be a hot topic into 2024—automation.
“Automation reduces human touch points and errors, speeds up production, and drastically reduces the overall cost of production. When you take it to the next level and deploy customized workflow automation, the numbers are game changing,” attests Raad.
For example, when implementing workflow automation Significans Automation’s clients have seen job processing times reduced from eight hours to five minutes, labor costs cut by up to 75 percent, lead times cut from up to three weeks to one or two days, and yearly capacity up by 30 percent.
“One important consideration is the continued battle to find skilled talent. Automation solves this lingering problem, allowing print businesses to do so much more with the equipment and staff they already have,” adds Raad.
Steve Lynn, director of labels and packaging – sales, Durst North America, says the biggest trend in the industry is requests for automation to control more operator functions reducing the need for skilled labor and allowing shorter runs to be produced more efficiently with less human touches. “From prepress, all through production to shipping, equipment and software must handle as much of the entire production process with minimal human intervention.”
At the end of the day, Donovich admits it is all about being “profitable, agile, and flexible” and automation in a digital print production house achieves all three.
While printing used to be “heavily manual,” according to Hanssens, “now that it is a mature market and processes higher production volumes, print service providers (PSPs) want to print and cut smarter.” This is why automated systems are critical from hardware to software solutions.
“Automation helps customers achieve production deadlines more efficiently. It helps minimize or eliminate operator errors, which in turn limits waste. This of course helps customers be more profitable,” agrees Verkem.
There is a strong drive to maximize productivity while minimizing human labor and design hours, according to Cagle. “Automation plays a crucial role in this by enabling faster, more efficient production processes. For instance, allowing customers to upload designs and specify quantities for stickers that can be automatically setup streamlines production, increases profitability, and reduces labor costs.”
“In today’s environment it’s all about eliminating—or at the very least accelerating—processes through automation. This, of course, will only work if the automation put in place is actually reliable. That is why it is so important for customers to thoroughly investigate and test equipment before investing in automation,” recommends Thornton.
Norman believes that PSPs embracing automation and other technologies that impact productivity both operationally and in business development will sell better, market better, and produce more efficiently, resulting in them becoming industry leaders.
Continued Challenges
Some areas of concern in 2023 included market maturity, consolidation, and creating higher productivity equipment to satisfy demand. These continued into 2024 and new ones have emerged.
“2023’s concerns were not annual, but rather, about a market that is maturing. In addition, wide format printing has become increasingly integrated with digital technologies, such as augmented reality and variable data printing. These integrations allow for interactive and personalized experiences, enhancing the effectiveness of printed communication and marketing campaigns. As this market evolves, we must continue to be focused on delivering cost-effective, value-added products and services with quality and consistency in parallel to these advanced technologies,” notes Reid.
Between market maturity, consolidation, and creating higher productivity equipment to satisfy demand, Norman believes all of them are normal variables that will continue for some time.
“Much of these concerns are the same. It is not only about being more productive but also hitting the production requirements with less people,” agrees Verkem.
Raad expects the worldwide printing market to continue to mature holistically—depending on the region, with some countries maturing faster than others. “This will in turn depend on several factors such as the types of consumer demand, availability of raw materials, supply chain bottlenecks, and economic and political stability.”
“Market maturity continues to be an area of concern in 2024 as growth has slowed or is slimmer than prior years. There continues to be downward price pressure from tightening budgets and cost controls and a higher percentage of the advertising spend often goes toward digital advertisements where the production costs are lower and implementation is faster,” explains Sawyer.
On the topic of consolidation, “more profitable PSPs are looking to absorb competitors or owners are looking to retire after being in the industry for 30 years and looking to sell,” suggests Hanssens.
“While there has been some market consolidation, growth in the demand for automation across all sectors continues to offer many opportunities. This is especially true for suppliers who meet this demand with wide ranging, customizable workflow solutions. Incidentally, consolidation, too, can bring about growth, with a need for updating or adding equipment with more advanced levels of automation,” shares Thornton.
Not only is there consolidation among PSPs, but distributors and manufacturers as well. “In the wide format market we continue to see mergers and acquisition activity at all levels of the supply chain from retailers and brands to printers to regional and national distributors to materials manufacturers and OEMs,” cites Sawyer.
“Jessup is committed to addressing this dynamic market environment by delivering exceptional value to resellers. The strategy involves expanding our product portfolio and enhancing our technical expertise. We aim to empower our resellers and PSPs to thrive amidst industry changes,” shares Richardson.
Higher productivity continues to be a request and is now met much easier thanks to technological advancements. “It’s a given that customers will always want higher productivity as their businesses grow,” explains Hope.
“Higher productivity is an advantage that most should see as an opportunity to review current production flow and look to areas of improvement that directly impact the bottom line,” says Leblanc.
In 2024, the team at SAi observed a shift in customer preferences away from large, high-productivity equipment. “Feedback from printer resellers indicates a growing demand for smaller format equipment—64 inches and under—aligning with our company’s strategic focus,” says Cagle.
Emerging concerns include “alternative technologies to traditional print technologies and media, which will be something to watch as they evolve. We see digital screens replacing physical signage in retail environments. LCD and LED panels rapidly replacing outdoor signage,” notes Yu.
Norman believes there is a greater need for versatility and differentiation. “More printers are sharing that buyers are seeking to print on a wider variety of substrate options and looking for more embellishment capability.”
“Given the continued uncertainty around inflation and interest rates, there is a risk of some level of economic slowdown, which could affect both capital and ink demand. This is a concern, although it is not apparent at this time. There are some signs of raw materials supply issues becoming more prevalent again, which would be a concern if instances continue to grow,” notes Edwards.
Coming Up Next
With risk there is reward, and many PSPs—as well as the vendors that service them—are positioned to flourish in the last part of 2024. Annually, Digital Output holds the Application of the Year awards and invites members of the industry to nominate themselves, peers, or customers. The winners are some of the best examples of innovation in the sign and graphics industry.
Congratulations are in order for FASTSIGNS – San Diego on Miramar Rd. of San Diego, CA, it won the 2024 Application of the Year awards for its work at the HITS Del Mar Horsepark in Del Mar, CA.
Aug2024, Digital Output
