Crowds gather at last year’s event
The wide format print sector will gather at the NEC as it does every year for Sign & Digital UK, with the 2013 show (30 April to 2 May) promising a wealth of information to help build a successful wide format business.
Sign & Digital UK 2013 takes place at a moment when it has never been more attractive for the general commercial printer that is looking for business growth to start casting an interested eye towards what is happening in the wide format printing sector.
There are juicy margins to be made and a wealth of applications that can be offered, while the cost of a basic wide format printing system is often considerably less than that for a high speed commercial production printing press. Training and finishing of course also have to be considered to make wide format a success, but it’s clear that many are making these commitments as they seek to grow their businesses.
Sign & Digital could therefore be just the place to spend a day or two if this is a current or future priority. ‘We have seen a significant increase in commercial printing companies visiting the show in recent times to fully understand the big benefits of adding wide format digital printing to their businesses,’ confirmed event director Rudi Blackett.
‘Commercial printers are perfectly placed to take advantage of the opportunity that wide format offers, as they understand print and can easily add this service to their existing businesses to gain impressive returns. Entry into wide format print can be surprisingly cost effective and suppliers at the show are geared up to guide you through the process of adding wide format printing to your business, getting up and running, understanding the impressive array of applications, and selling the benefits. ‘All the main manufacturers, including Roland DG, Mimaki, Epson, Hewlett-Packard, Agfa Graphics, Mutoh and Canon will be showcasing their latest products at Sign & Digital UK 2013.’
Open for Business
As well as major exhibitors though, the show also promises to deliver a huge amount of business intelligence, to help sign and display printers to plot their paths to success. New this year is The New Business Tour, also incorporating a New Business Theatre and New Business Café. These three elements will focus on developing markets in the UK and are dedicated to helping sign makers and graphic display professionals make more money. The New Business Tour will guide visitors around the show, stopping at designated stands that can demonstrate new business opportunities, markets and ideas to help start a new sign making business, take an existing business into new areas, or show how to make a business run more efficiently.
Exhibitors already signed up as stops on this tour include HP, Hybrid Services, Roland DG, Tecnau, GDL, DPI, and Sihl. The New Business Theatre will host a number of ‘thought provoking’ sessions related to making money from niche industry areas. Exact times will be announced on the Sign and Digital UK website. The New Business Café, meanwhile, will be the starting place for visitors to pick up further information about the newly introduced Tour and Theatre.
Once they have taken the tour and soaked up the free advice on the theatre they can relax and network over a coffee and discuss new business opportunities in more detail. ‘This new business zone will be a really effective way for business owners to spend their time,’ said Alan Caddick, the event’s senior marketing manager. ‘The idea is for business professionals to come and learn about new business opportunities available in the UK with our industry specialists.’ No printing related exhibition is complete these days without having the environmental angle covered, and Sign & Digital is no different.
In 2012 the Green Trail was successfully launched, and it returns this year with exhibitors once again signing up to promote products and services with a green or ethical aspect to them. At the time of writing, companies such as Canon/Océ, Clarity Software, DPI and Dorotape have put themselves forward for this. ‘The Green Trail was very successful at Sign & Digital UK 2012,’ Mr Caddick continued, ‘with exhibitors noticing an increase in discussions around eco-friendly products, and visitors now actively enquiring about energy consumption and recycled materials.
It was only the first year last year and it went really well – so much so that we are running it again for 2013 and this year we will be making more of it. ‘There will be a good mix of products on the Green Trail list including ink and media manufacturers, printers, and recyclable display products, not to mention sustainable solutions from the digital signage sector.’ On the practical side, Sign & Digital has long been a host to tips and tricks workshops, from software to vehicle wrapping.
Océ’s ColorWave 650 poster printer
This year there is an Adobe Theatre with seminars on aspects of CS6 Photoshop, Bridge, InDesign and Illustrator; there are Corel workshops, including step by step tutorials on things such as creating vehicle signage and custom fonts using CorelDraw Graphics Suite X6; and there is a Signmakers workshop covering areas such as the basics of applying vinyls, vehicle livery, and making a signboard. These practical tutorials run on each of the three days of the show.
Show floor
So, what of the exhibition floor itself? At the time of writing, there were around 130 exhibitors listed for the event, encompassing everything from software and services, and consumables, to printing systems, finishing, and installation. New printing technologies will be launched or on show in the UK for the first time. On the Colourgen stand, visitors will be able to see Mutoh’s latest inkjet printer, the 2.6 metrewide ValueJet 2638, alongside the shortly to launch ValueJet 1628W, which is a water-based dye sublimation machine for textile and soft signage printing.
New Mutoh cutters will be on display. Colourgen also represents Seiko, and that manufacturer’s new ColorPainter W-Series will be launching at Sign & Digital, while the Epson SureColor SC-T7000 entry level machine for point of sale, GIS and CAD applications will also be new on the stand.
These, and other hard and software products from Kala, Seal, Caldera and EFI, as well as consumables from 15 suppliers, all comprise Colourgen’s ‘Building Blocks for Business’ product portfolio, described by managing director Jeff Biggs thus: ‘Our Building Blocks for Business campaign is focused on ensuring newcomers to wide format printing can develop a complete solution at great value. In addition, we have solutions available for more experienced print providers to meet increased productivity demands. Our core message is that no printing requirement is too large or too small.’
Another new printing system to take its bow at the NEC this year will be Roland DG’s new flagship printing system. Regrettably the manufacturer has declined to release any information about this, presumably to build up the suspense, as it says that ‘all eyes are sure to be on the Roland stand when the machine is unveiled for the first time in the UK’.
There will be games and prizes at the show to mark this launch. Those that do have their eyes trained on the Roland DG stand will certainly see the new-ish 64-inch SolJet Pro 4 XR-640 (late 2012 launched), which combines fast print speeds with the company’s integrated print/cut technology in both seven and eight colour configurations.
For those that want to see Mimaki’s latest offerings, a stopover at UK distributor Hybrid Services’ stand will be in order, where ‘exclusive UK and Ireland product launches’ are planned. Over on the GPT stand, a new print system based on Mimaki’s JV34 260 will be on display. This is the 1.9 metre wide ‘super-fast’ solvent printer, the GPT190s.
It can print high quality self-adhesive vinyl at 24 square metres per hour, and high quality banner at 38 square metres per hour. GPT said faster modes are in development. Further Mimaki printers, including the JV400 160LX 1.6 metre latex printer, and the new UJF6042 A2 LED UV flatbed, will also be on the stand, as will be information regarding the new Mimaki JFX500 2131 UV flatbed, and forthcoming JV400 SUV.
GPT’s ‘super-fast’ 1.9 metre device, based on a Mimaki JV34
Epson is to debut its SureColor SC-F7000 and F6000 dye sublimation printers, these being mid-high volume 64- inch and low-medium volume 44 inch machines respectively, suitable for soft signage, clothing and sportswear, accessories, and customised promotional items. These are Epson’s first dye sublimation models and point to the growing popularity of digital textile printing. They use the company’s UltraChrome DS ink, a specially developed new aqueous ink.
Also on view will be its more traditional wide format inkjets for signage and POS applications. Continuing the textile theme, TheMagicTouch will show its OKI-based LED desktop printers with white toner option for transfer printing, and Digital Print Innovations (DPI) is to launch a smaller brother to its 3.2 metre MTEX3200 – the 1.8 metre MTEX1800.
This will stand alongside UV systems from Novus Imaging, Jetrix and Winjet Colour (with Memjet) systems. Also with UV will be Océ/Canon with its latest Arizona flatbeds (the 460 and 480 GTs), and Kaye-Dee, withits BE330 and high speed BE-TS/HS-1 printers designed for industrial applications. Océ’s ColorWave 650 poster printer, which uses toner pearls (Océ CrystalPoint) will be something different again.
Finishing off
Much of the finishing information currently released centres around the theme of cutting, although Primera (through its UK distributor KTEC) is presenting a new ‘complete label production solution’ – the FX1200e Digital Finishing Solution.
This is able to laminate, die cut, slit, rewind and remove the waste matrix in a single process, working with output from narrow web printing systems, including Primera’s own CX1200e. The finisher has speeds of up to 6.1 metres per minute, and uses Primera’s QuadraCut four knife technology. The FX1200e also uses digitally controlled tungsten carbide steel knife blades for die-cutting, so users do not have to wait for a die to be made and delivered.
Art Systems and Belgian firm Summa share a stand, and upon it will be Summa’s new S Class 2nd generation cutters, getting their first UK showing. Driven by an Onyx RIP, it will demonstrate ‘the flexibility that a separate vinyl cutter gives a print business’. Esko meanwhile will show its popular Kongsberg i-XP 24 cutting table, but its software tools will be a real focus for driving efficiency and consistency in production. Friedheim International is to demonstrate the Lasercomb ProDigi Neo cutting table for the first time at a UK exhibition.
The Esko Kongsberg i-XP 24 cutting table
It operates at up to 100 metres per minute and comes in three different sizes of 0813, 1613, and 2113, providing working formats of 800 x 1300 mm, 1600 x 1300 mm and 2100 x 1300 mm respectively. The 1613 version will be at Sign & Digital UK. Further high quality cutting technology will be on hand from Grafityp, debuting GCC’s new RX series of vinyl cutters in four sizes with advanced contour cutting; ITC, including a new 2041 Series, particularly effective for pocketing operations on acrylics, aluminium and wood; Zund with a new ultrasonic cutting module for its G3 cutter;and from Coherent Inc, with its OmniBeam plastics laser cutting tools.
There is little news so far on the media front, but Sihl Direct will be returning to Sign & Digital after its launch last year, and will have its latest wares on display, including its Persomural range of media for wall coverings, described by operations director Ian Turnbull as ‘probably the fastest growing area of the large format market this year’. Clear films and backlit media will also be shown by Sihl. Grafityp will show its Grafitack and Graficast self-adhesive vinyls.
