Are you at ITMA this week or next? Just wondering if textile printing is high on your list of must-add services? Whether the answer is yes or no it might be worth having a look at what your colleagues in the UK large-format digital print space are saying/doing about the rapidly developing textile sector. The Widthwise Report 2019 is now out and can be found at: https://www.imagereportsmag.co.uk/widthwise You might also find it worth your while have a read of the newly published Image Reports article on the subject at: https://www.imagereportsmag.co.uk/features/zeitgeist/10144-fashion-faux-pas
Well, isn’t it great to come back from holiday to good news - and you can’t argue that the new PVC Recycling Membership Scheme launched by Soyang and Blue Castle is exactly that. More of this kind of thing please…
Figures from The Printing Charity highlighting how many people it helped in 2018 serves as a good reminder to let your people know of its work - and to flag-up the support it can provide to those who may be in need.
So the Print Technician Standard Level 3 apprenticeship programme has finally been approved and we’re being told that now progress needs to be made on the application for a Level 2 Trailblazer. Understood. But can I ask, will these programmes deliver for the large-format sector?
You been to vote yet? Wondering if whichever way you do so will impact your business going forward? The latest BPIF Printing Outlook shows Brexit voiced as the top business concern among the printers it surveys - ahead of competitor pricing. Is it your main concern too?
So, Westcoast has acquired Colourgen. I wonder what other acquisitions are on the cards in this sector over the coming months. Do you expect to see more takeovers and a contracting supplier network, and do you see such a development impacting you?
Seems everyone has gone to Munich - or at least been there this week. You’ll see from the news item herein that there have been plenty of new offerings to look over and assess. I’d be interested to hear from you on which new products you consider most groundbreaking!
As this lands with you I’ll be winging my way to Munich in preparation for tomorrow’s Fespa Global show opening. With so many promises of what’s to come, it’s hardly surprising that this enewsletter is somewhat short - a packed schedule of press conferences starts first thing and I’ll be uploading news stories to our website and on social media throughout the event so worry not if you’re Blighty bound. Announcements already made can be found at: http://bit.ly/2E2aucS
You have to hand it to the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP). As a non-profit body set on advocating a more accountable sustainable supply chain, it’s doing the business. Its announcement that it will field someone to speak at the Green Sports Alliance (GSA) two-day summit in the US next month is a breath of fresh air. Great to see a print focussed organisation taking its message to the wider community. Fab. Something we should be trying harder to replicate in the UK?
The BAPC, in its latest newsletter, has flagged up that the Government has published further advice on Brexit for UK small businesses. The advisory covers a range of issues, from changes to UK-EU trade following Brexit, to alterations to how businesses send and receive personal data. It’s worth a look-see. Go to: https://www.gov.uk/business-uk-leaving-eu
Print Power is continuing its mission to get people to understand the true value of print - its latest marketing missal announcing that ‘advertising has an image problem’ in a digital age and that ‘print can help’ in what has become a cluttered, chaotic and sometimes misleading landscape. Like the sentiment, but wondering how many printers get the chance to have that kind of conversation with those holding the advertising purse strings. Do you?
According to the sixth Drupa Global Trends Report, the global print industry as a whole is in a stable condition - but there are plenty of caveats. It’s well worth reading beyond the headline to get a fuller idea of where the winners and losers are - not that you’ll be very surprised I daresay. The data just might help with your business planning though. And not long now until you’ll be able to get an in-depth look at how large-format print businesses in the UK specifically see things - Widthwise 2019 will be with you in early June!
Yay, nearly chocolate time! Hoping you all manage to at least see something of the sun over the Bank Holiday weekend. Our normal enewsletter service will resume on Thursday 25 April. Will be Fespa before we can blink!
When you read that the likes of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship is rolling out non-PVC branding and trackside signage at race events to slash its plastic usage, you’ve got to think that the tide is really turning and that eco-friendly print is climbing up the agenda again - don’t you?
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Supporting the wide-format digital print sector