DIGITAL PRINTABLE MEDIA Fresh after the Print Show 2016
Jemima Codrington finds out what trends in digital print materials the market can expect in 2017.
Fresh from exhibiting at this year’s Print Show, Antalis have a number of exciting new digital print media products that are of interest to sign makers.
“Easy-apply products are the biggest current trend in this sector,” says Antalis’ Head of Sign & Display Channel, Chris Green. “We showcased a number of these at the Print Show last month including Drytac printable films, Orafol self-adhesive and Coala wallcoverings, an innovative range of easy-apply wall coverings. Time is money in any business and these innovative, new easy-apply graphics are removing the requirement for time restrictive fitting, rendering this style of graphics much more accessible to all businesses.” According to Chris, another trend emerging at the moment is that for more textures on walls, windows, and a wide range of interior and exterior surfaces. “Driven by aesthetics, we’re seeing a lot more innovative uses of interior personalisation such as kitchen cabinet doors being wrapped with coloured vinyls, such as those we offer in our Oracal ranges, for a more creative look.” For those sign makers looking to enter the digital print media sec- tor, deciding on which applications they wish to offer and therefore deciding what supporting machinery is required can be challenging.
Chris’s tips for achieving the best possible finish
• The start of the process is always the design element. You should question whether you are using the right design for the application and, critically, whether you have the right skills on the job, i.e. the right person!
• From a machinery point of view, profiling and knowing the set- tings that are required for certain products is key. The right products for the right applications are vital for a quality finished product.
• Once printed, lamination is a must. People may think that with all the modern technology available, lamination isn’t required, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s imperative that your printing is protected from vandalism, UV weathering, and general wear and tear. One of my trade secrets is that laminating actually makes large format graphics easier to fit - I’m keeping the ‘why’ bit a secret!
Although the price of investment for a cer- tain piece of machinery or consumable may seem high, if a particular customer segment requires it, then the return on investment will be high. “There are of course economical machines and consumables available, but if they’re not going to deliver what your cus- tomer base wants, it’s a false economy,” adds Chris.
In addition to a lack of knowledge about machinery and digital print media that’s required to deliver what’s required, it can often be the case that market entrants from a background other than visual communications often purchase the machinery and consumables without a comprehensive understanding of
the
market, the necessary applications, and the whole service offering required to keep customers satisfied. “The digital print media sector is facing a skills shortage,
“Easy-apply products
are the biggest current trend in this sector” - Chris Green, Antalis
as a limited number of people are coming into the sector that understand product, application, colour management and how to run machines profitably and efficiently,” says Chris. This factor was a key driver in Antalis launching its Digital Academy, a centre of excellence for digital product, printing and technology. The Acad- emy also helps printers with diversification into new areas, which is growing in popu- larity as companies look to widen their service offering.
The changing face of digital print media
Chris reveals that as this sector of signage is one that is fast-changing, product offer- ings have to be updated regularly to keep pace with the demand from sign makers.
Antalis’ Head of Sign & Display Chan- nel Chris Green says the sector faces a skills shortage.
Digital print media is a changing space and, at Antalis, we’re excited to be a fast growing player in such a diverse and creative market sector,” he says. “We are always looking for the new and innovative and welcome ideas and challenges to ensure our product range is fit for purpose and helps to add value to our customers and ensure the market is constantly pushing existing barriers.” For sign makers wanting to achieve happy
26 Sign Update ISSUE 167 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
customers, Chris notes that there is typically a standard formula for success - achieve high quality, and get it right-first-time. In ad- dition to seeing more requests for textures, which in turn has lead to a renewed interest in textiles for a wide range of applications, there has also been a lot of interest in envi- ronmental products from customers. With these products, sign makers are able to dif- ferentiate themselves, improve their envi- ronmental performance, and also save money on costly landfill taxes through cre- ative selection of products.
www.antalis.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104
