Business - Knowledge

drupa will publish two report series entitled “drupa Global Trends” and “drupa Global Insights,” that will study the trends and major changes in the international print and media sector at both global and regional levels. The results will be based on answers provided by a representative panel consisting of leading executives from printers, suppliers and print purchasers from around the world, recruited primarily from the drupa 2012 visitor and exhibitor database. Messe Düsseldorf, in its role as drupa organiser, has appointed two independent consulting and market research companies Printfuture (UK) and Wissler & Partner (Switzerland) to conduct these two report series. The first “drupa Global Trends” report has been published.

Despite reporting significant regional variations, the “drupa Global Trends” report does reveal a number of critical – and sometimes surprising – trends that are shared by all economic regions and across print segments (Publishing Packaging and Commercial). As was to be expected, the report confirmed that the global printing industry’s structural transformation is still ongoing, with increasing costs coupled with declining prices and shrinking margins. However, three other major findings of the study are more pivotal:

 

1. There are clear signs that economic conditions are improving. As a consequence the printing industry globally is planning increased investment over the next twelve months. Efficiency gains and the development of new services are driving investment in the industrialised countries. North America is leading the way by gearing up for major transformation with high levels of investment in printing technology, IT and new services. In the emerging countries growing demand is the main driver.
2. The printing industry is in the midst of a transition from a product-driven industry to a service-driven one. The demand for new solutions and business models that better reflect the customer needs is clear.
3. As expected, digital printing plays an increasing role in the technology mix deployed. Among print services providers, 65% produce using both conventional and digital methods and one-third of commercial printers already gain a quarter or more of their turnover from digital printing. But conventional printing (especially sheet-fed offset) continues to be an important pillar for the print sector. Planned investment reflects this point as 29% of all printers say they intend to invest in sheet-fed offset printing.

“Thanks to these two report series, drupa is able to offer first-rate, representative market data and information that will enable the market players – be they providers of print services, suppliers or print purchasers – to make better strategic decisions. In addition the reports will allow variations between the world’s major economic regions to be analysed. Finally the insights gained will serve to further improve drupa’s positioning,” says Werner M. Dornscheidt, the President and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf.

This first drupa “Global Trends” report provides an initial assessment of the state of the global print industry.  In order to monitor the trends going forward, the survey will be repeated in the fourth quarter of each year. In parallel drupa will publish a series of “Global Insight” reports that will offer detailed analysis into specific industry-relevant topics.

An “Insights” report on “The Impact of the Internet on Print” will kick off the series in June of 2014. The objective will be to show the effects of the Internet on e-commerce, digital marketing, mass customisation and IT on the world of print and illustrate how future strategies and business models need to adapt.

Some 2,500 decision-makers from across the globe (119 countries) participated in the survey in the fourth quarter of 2013 and answered the extensive questionnaire. The majority (58%) came from print services providers, followed by suppliers (21%) and print purchasers (21%).

An executive summary of the survey results (in German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian and Chinese) is available as a PDF download at:

• www.messe-duesseldorf.de/drupa2012_ca/pdf/exe_summary_en.pdf
• www.messe-duesseldorf.de/drupa2012_ca/pdf/exe_summary_fr.pdf
• www.messe-duesseldorf.de/drupa2012_ca/pdf/exe_summary_es.pdf
• www.messe-duesseldorf.de/drupa2012_ca/pdf/exe_summary_pt.pdf
• www.messe-duesseldorf.de/drupa2012_ca/pdf/exe_summary_ru.pdf
• www.messe-duesseldorf.de/drupa2012_ca/pdf/exe_summary_cn.pdf

The complete English-language report in PDF format is now available from Messe Düsseldorf (www.drupa.de/2131) for EUR 249.00.

Antalis UK has introduced a new Online Product Guide designed to offer its customers a range of interactive tools to personalise and simplify their product selection and purchasing experience. The new site covers the entire Antalis product portfolio including papers, envelopes, consumables, packaging solutions as well as visual communications offerings. All of its 13,000 plus products are categorised into specific sectors and applications to simplify searches and product selection.

Central to the new site is a series of interactive tools that have been introduced to give customers further direct engagement with the Antalis product range and to help add value to their everyday decision making. Customers can now customise and generate their own bespoke product catalogue, which can be stored digitally in PDF format, or downloaded and printed out as an invaluable and quick reference guide.

Customers can also sign up to receive regular product alerts which automatically notify them of any product enhancements, launches or new range extensions or additions as soon as they happen. In addition, every product featured in the Online Guide is linked directly to the antalis.co.uk website, enabling a more streamlined purchasing procedure for customers to buy products directly.

Commenting on the new interactive Online Product Guide, Rebecca Chandler, Digital Marketing Executive at Antalis UK says, “As our product portfolio continues to expand, we want to provide customers with a tool that gives them easy access to all our products and provides additional features to tailor searches, provide quick references and generally make the selection and purchasing process easier. By accessing our new Online Guide, customers can choose to browse our entire product portfolio by using our simple navigation tabs or focus their search into particular areas or applications.”

The new Online Antalis Product Guide can be accessed at www.antalisproductguide.co.uk/

Germany-based Trusted Shops has granted its seal of quality approval to Pixartprinting's e-commerce facilities in Europe.

With more than 17,000 on-line shops certified, the independent company Trusted Shops grants its seal of quality approval to e-commerce facilities in Europe that operate pursuant to consumer protection directives. Trusted Shops also provides support to on-line shop managers to ensure compliance with 60 quality criteria, developed on the basis of European and National Legislation, on credit-worthiness, data protection, safety and transparency. Further assurance is supplied by the guarantee of a refund or compensation in the event of failed deliveries. Pixartprinting has received the Trusted Shops quality seal for its Italian e-commerce shop and this will soon be extended on-line for all the other European countries. This new certification once again confirms the company's commitment to ensuring the utmost safety of services offered.

“We applied for the Trusted Shops seal of quality because it is an important assurance provided by an external and independent company, and because it is acknowledged internationally,” comments Davide Turatti, Web Marketing Supervisor at Pixartprinting.  “After the implementation of Reevoo, a totally transparent and reliable system to measure customer satisfaction, on our e-commerce portal, this certification is a further step forward in our strategy to continuously improve the user's experience, to assure total transparency and reliability”.

To achieve the Trusted Shops seal of quality, Pixartprinting underwent a very strict evaluation process. The evaluation of an e-shop takes into account the reliability verified by legal experts and the clients' comments on delivery, goods and customer support. Once it had passed all these checks, Pixartprinting received the unique Trusted Shops seal of quality, to be integrated online in the registration system for the protection of clients. The seal of approval and its rating profile appears directly in the homepage on the company's website and includes the details of the seal and the current evaluation of the e-shop.

Users can ask to register in the customer protection system in the order confirmation page, at the end of the purchasing process. Pixartprinting's Trusted Shops identification code is notified by e-mail to the applicants, to guarantee that the purchasing process is safe. In addition, after the order has been completed and the goods have been received, clients can review the quality of the online shop by leaving a comment in the Trusted Shops widget. This assessment will be evaluated and published in the constantly updated rating profile in the homepage.

When the Centre for Advanced Textiles (CAT) at the Glasgow School of Art needed a new source of technical support, word-of-mouth led the team to Quality Print Services Ltd (QPS). Four years later, CAT says its relationship with QPS has helped it to maintain the valuable textile printing service it provides to students, graduates and successful design houses.

Established in 2000, CATdigital is the commercial arm of CAT, creating customised and bespoke printed fabrics for the fashion and interior design markets. Using a pair of seven-year-old Stork Sapphire digital inkjet printers, CATdigital works with current Glasgow School of Art students, the college's graduates and established designers at global names like Topshop and ASOS.

Its services are recommended by design courses across the globe. Orders arrive from the Glasgow campus to Australia, from remote Scottish islands to the most northerly location reached by DHL: a Norwegian address within the Arctic Circle. "We're a resource for students and graduates, an incubator for advice and facilities," explains Alan Shaw, Industry Coordinator at CAT.

CATdigital prints on over 40 different types of natural fabric in lengths up to 100 metres and has recently invested in new steaming and washing equipment for its finishing department. "There's no point being able to print 100 metres of fabric if you can't finish it," notes Shaw. However, as a design-focused enterprise it also proudly offers design samples as short as half a metre. "Larger companies wouldn't take on such short-run work, it would waste their time. The industry has grown and technology has moved on but people still need half-metres printed."

The CAT stable also encompasses Classic Textiles, a digital printing house specialising in recreating the 20th century's most iconic textile designs, including the exclusive reproduction of the 'Calyx' design by Lucienne Day.

While the majority of the day-to-day machinery maintenance is handled in-house, CAT gains from the efficiency benefits of bringing in a dedicated engineer for less frequent issues such as replacing pumps or dealing with dropped heads. The business sought a new technical support supplier for this work around four years ago when its OEM service was withdrawn. After trying services offered by other companies and finding them unsatisfactory, word-of-mouth recommendations led it to QPS.

"There are certain things that only need doing every six months or so and since QPS does these on a daily basis it makes sense for them to handle it," Shaw comments. "We've been really happy with QPS since we first got in touch with them around four years ago. We have a great relationship with the team, especially our regular contact Paul King – he's an excellent engineer."

CAT's success lies in its high level of customer service born of the traditional design backgrounds of each of the print room staff. "We don't just receive a file and print it; we can tell you what's wrong if something does go wrong and can give help to those who need it," Shaw states. However, the organisation's academic roots and on-campus home do not mean CAT can rest on its business laurels. "We are a commercial enterprise and we need commercial back-up. QPS delivers great service we can rely on."

Chris Bailey, QPS Director, comments: "We travel all over the country to meet the service needs of our customers and are delighted to have been giving support to CAT up in Glasgow for the last four years. We're always happy to help customers out in an emergency situation, but it's great to maintain regular contact with businesses like CAT and make sure their equipment continues to run well after several years' use."

CAT's business ambitions continue into 2014, with plans to upgrade to a new textile printer to accompany its finishing kit investment. QPS says it is looking forward to keeping the new machines running well into the future.

QPS's technical support for the UK market accompanies its role as a leading supplier of Nazdar alternative wide-format inks, new and reconditioned wide-format printers from top brands, Neolt laminators and printers, RIP software and media from Ilford BioMedia, Phototex and Hydrosol. QPS has also been appointed an Authorised Roland Dealer for dye-sublimation applications.

For more information on QPS, please visit www.qualityprintservices.com

[Image caption: 'Rafmanpeckham fullroom'. Credit: American Medium as the producers. The Photo was taken Vartivar Jaklian.]

According to new research from Epson, 9.6 million work days are lost each year as a result of employees suffering from the ‘winter blues’ or Seasonal Affective Disorder.  When asked what measures would improve the mood of employees in the office, a third (33%) of respondents stated better lighting. However, 27% of workers wanted a more colourful workspace and one in five (20%) would like to see more creative visuals and colourful presentations.  So perhaps, colourful wide format print could be part of the solution?

The survey of over 1,000 UK office workers, carried out by Opinium, finds that 20% of Brits admit to calling in sick because of the winter blues and, on average, those that do call in sick, take off four days a year because of the condition.

The results highlighted the ways in which the winter months impact UK office workers, with 60% stating that it makes it harder to get out of bed. This was closely followed by decreased levels of motivation (59%), depression (58%) and greater susceptibility to illness (52%). These symptoms come in light of the finding that almost half (48%) of workers rarely or never see sunlight on the way to work during the winter months.

Creating a stimulating and pleasant environment in which to work can help lift workers' spirits and keep them motivated. “From a business perspective, the opportunity of 2014 is there for the taking,” says Neil Colquhoun, Director at Epson UK. “Companies have to remain competitive and start the year on a high – losing valuable manpower because of winter weather is not an option. Workers are calling out for simple steps, such as bringing more colour and light into the workplace. We understand the importance of colour quality and are developing our technology to deliver the most exciting visual content.”

Angela Wright, colour psychologist, comments, “Grey is always a favourite colour for office design – yet, the human instinct in a grey world is to hibernate – so the winter months are already a constant battle to fight the instinct to sleep. When the world turns grey, we know we could be in for a long winter and we naturally draw into ourselves – hoarding both resources and energy. Therefore, it’s no surprise that light and colour have come out on top as remedies for the winter blues; the quality of visual intake for busy, hardworking employees plays a crucial role in brightening up their days and keeping motivation levels high.”

The research reveals a good business opportunity for wide-format print firms to produce colourful wall and floor coverings for companies looking to brighten up their work environments. "Print service suppliers equipped with Epson’s SureColor SC-S range of wide format printers are already transforming office environments with colourful, high-quality wall graphics and this research shows the benefits that companies can experience as a result," says Neil.

Angela Wright’s top five tips to combat the winter blues comprise:

• Customise the workplace by installing colourful wall graphics and pieces of art for a more exciting corporate environment
• Introduce more plants and greenery into the office
• Build outdoor exercise into your weekly routine
• Liven up your meetings: include less text and more attention-grabbing, colourful imagery in presentation materials
• Ditch the email and focus on face-to-face communication and interaction with your colleagues

 

The usage of textiles in the graphics market is changing more rapidly than almost any other substrate, but what’s driving this? Talking with Andrew Simmons, sales manager at leading material supplier, Soyang Europe, it quickly becomes clear that it’s a number of factors that combine together to create an upsurge in demand...

“We’re very well placed on this one,” starts Simmons. “The range of products we carry stretches across fabrics, PVC, wallpaper and beyond – with new substrates coming on line all the time, so we get to witness the shifting sands of demand first hand.” The first thing Simmons alludes to is a change in customer requirements – and when he refers to ‘customers’ he’s talking about his printing clients’ customer base – the brands themselves.

“The high street retailers and blue chip organisations’ agendas are changing.  They’re required to demonstrate a green bias to every aspect of their operation, not least with display graphics – and these can be delivered perfectly by a printed textile product,” adds Simmons.

The use of water based inks, a recycled or recyclable substrate and a low carbon transport footprint all tick the necessary eco boxes, but Simmons is also keen to promote the additional benefits of a fabric graphic. “The knock-on effects of specifying a polyester fabric graphic are substantial,” he confirms. “The creative potential is enormous and the look and feel of retail PoS made from textile can really add value to a brand’s communication.”

Fabric’s inherent tactility is ideally suited for creating in store displays - be they lightboxes, hanging banners or even printed furnishings – and for promotional graphics that are frequently replaced, the ease of handling and transport play a big part in their allure. “For covering large areas, fabric’s light weight and simple installation mean you’re not sending a team of fitters every few weeks to change the graphics,” Simmons states. “It’s also nigh on impossible to damage in transit, with none of the risk that goes with shipping large rolls of PVC that can dent or pallets of printed boards that may be chipped or spoiled.”

With European manufactured fabrics printable with dye sublimation, UV and latex inks, Soyang is also seeing an increase in textiles used more widely outdoors, as the UK starts to catch up with its European cousins. “We’re definitely lagging behind the continent,” remarks Simmons. “Whether it’s the fact there’s more outdoor space, more time spent living and working outdoors or simply that they’ve been doing it for years, but the benefits for the UK in not being ahead of the game is that all the R&D has been done for us!”

The weather – and everything it throws at us – plays an important part in correctly specifying printed outdoor textiles.  Getting the fabric specification right is crucial. “The light fastness of the print, structural integrity of the fabric and mechanics of the installation are important to get right,” say Simmons. Factors that don’t come into play indoors can have a serious effect on the success – or failure – of an external installation, but he is keen to stress the positives too. “A flag on a car dealer’s forecourt or a series of mesh banners at an outdoor event have a look that’s impossible to recreate with any other substrate. Your brand as a graphic becomes part of the environment influenced by the wind and prevailing conditions and can really come to life. There’s just no substitute for it.”

With more and more brands realising the potential of printed textiles within their display graphics portfolio, it’s not surprising that more companies are specifying them – and so the circle turns.  As the face of display graphics evolves, so do the substrates that make it up and Simmons concludes that textiles are set to become even more influential. “Our European manufacturing partners are continually developing new textile products – lighter, brighter, longer-lasting, more sustainable and with an even greater variety of finishes – so we’re more than excited to see what our customers will create for their clients down the line.”

For more information on Soyang Europe, please visit www.soyang.co.uk

[Image caption: Soyang Europe’s textiles are used in many formats – shown here as event management barriers for the London Olympics]