It’s November so you’re thinking Christmas shopping right? Well plenty are, and I’m not just talking present buying, but getting the house ready for the festivities with a new sofa here, seasonal throw there. What we can expect in both instances is that customisation/personalisation will play a significant role – just look at the upsurge of such gift and homewares offerings online. Accepting that ‘bespoke’ product demand is one of the most notable consumer trends, the question has got to be, how/when will the large-format digital inkjet sector really profit from it?
Yes, we’ve done the personalised poster/canvas thing until the market is awash with cheap offerings that must actually cost the providers to produce. But I’m thinking bigger. With the right systems and strategies in place there is huge potential to make money from this massive consumer trend that is rippling through all sorts of markets.
In this issue we talk to Debbie McKeegan, co-founder of Digetex, the specialist bespoke printer of textiles and wallpaper which has just been shortlisted for the Northern Design Awards 2015 (Best Wallpaper / Fabric collection). Its new white-labeled division, Surface Pattern Print, has been nominated for the Digital Entrepreneur Awards, and as a group Digetex predicts a 39% growth in turnover for the next 12 months. Read what she has to say about running a business with customisation at its heart in Talking Point (px).
What McKeegan confirms, is that people will pay for novel and unique. It’s an understanding that PSPs have been building upon for some time now, and the reasoning behind partnership working practices. But, for the most part, those partnerships still tend to be in established marketplaces for large-format print, like retail, events etc. What about developing partnerships beyond that?
In this month’s Trending feature (px), we asked South African designer and photographer Robin Sprong to explain the thinking behind his tie-in with PressOn to deliver printed interiors products - including custom photographic wall murals and installation at huge scales – to the UK’s interior designers and architects as well as retail designers.
Excited? I am.