Blogs

‘3D printing’ is a misnomer; ‘additive manufacturing’ is much more direct in explaining the real role of the technology and as such pretty much everyone can see it has massive potential. But what’s its role within the print sector? I’ve spoken to people with very quirky ideas on how it can be used in its proper manufacturing guise to improve a print company’s reach and bottom line, though few are actually doing anything with it as yet. Are you? If so, get in touch and let me hear your story.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of the Ipex 360 Committee visitor focused steering group. I suppose it depends on the make-up of the committee and what types of visitor they represent as to whether it has any major impact on the 2014 show.  In what direction would you like to see it steered?

Given that packaging is such a growth area, I was wondering how many of you would be interested to hear about the worldwide launch of the real-time 3D packaging visualisation, ideation and design application from Creative Edge Software (CGS). Various other 3D visualisation packages targeted at the packing sector have ended up providing wide-format printers with what has, in essence, become a convincing sales aid. Your thoughts?

What are you doing to futureproof your business? I talked to a number of companies on that very topic earlier this year when I was researching content for the Widthwise Report 2013 – and found plenty of wide-format-based companies coming up with really clever plans for ongoing development, some of which, like Cestrian, were willing to go on record and outline their plans, proving that strategic thinking is not beyond the ken of PSPs! And a clap on the back for Cestrian as its plans become reality.

Want to entice more creative youngsters into our industry/your business? Then if you’re anywhere near Brighton during the week of 23- 27 September get along to Creative, Digital and IT Open Studios (www.wiredsussex.com/openstudios2013). At this melting pot Wired Sussex will be hosting an afternoon of recruitment advice for businesses on 23rd and 27th, on the 25th Brightwave and DV8 Sussex are teaming up to show how apprenticeships can help uncover the next generation of digital and creative superstars, and the rest of the time you’ll get a chance to see what companies like Pure360, Zero G Media, BTV Post, 5d Foto are up to in space that could just be yours!

Do you enter awards? I don’t mean just print specific industry awards, but more generic business competitions – Midlands Business Builder of the Year – that kind of thing. Just think what marketing leverage you can get from even making it onto a shortlist published within a local free sheet. If you’ve done it and it’s paid dividends, let me know.

What do you think about this newly announced Government consultation with employers on apprenticeships? We talk about the skills gaps in this sector, so what about taking the bull by the horns and designing your own apprenticeship scheme – would you do it if you had the financial backing to do so?

Do you put an onus on attending seminars and talks where you can take the temperature of the world in which you operate? Are you for instance attending the Two Sides/Print Power Autumn Seminar in London on 4 November. I don’t mean this to be a sales pitch for the event, I am merely wondering how owners/MDs/general managers of companies in this sector view such opportunities to listen and learn – it seems to me that it’s a tiny percentage who ever turn up. Why is that? Let me know your views.

It will be interesting to see if DuPont extends its LifeCycle Based Solutions programme to the UK. The scheme, which allows retailers to recycle Tyvek and Tyvek Vivia displays, plays directly into the hands of sustainability-minded big brands and their print suppliers, but is so far only fully available in the US where DuPont has partnered with Waste Management which recycles the banners and reprocesses them into resin, which is then repurposed. Waste Management also gathers data pertaining to the Tyvek recycling programme by scanning a barcode on the recycling package. The material owner can then receive a certificate that details how much Tyvek is recycled, great for all those wanting actual measurements.

It would be great to see some British companies entering the designmaker 2013 competition that will see winners awarded with cash and gifts at Viscom in Dusseldorf this November. Drop me a line if you intend to have a go and make me smile.

Well, I’m back from my hols in Japan, where I can only say the levels of customer service made my return to Britain all the more difficult! I wonder how some retail companies here ever make a sale given the lethargy and disinterested response of some employees. Anyway, the point is, how closely do you monitor how well your staff represent you and your company when they’re customer facing? Your products can be great, but if your people aren’t…I’d be interested in knowing how you establish and monitor service abilities and attitudes among your workforce.

Are you finding an increasing number of newbies - well, new to wide-format – encroaching on your territory? If so, what are you doing about it? Of course investment in print kit that can provide you with new applications is one route, and looking at the deals that have taken place around Fespa it’s one many are taking, but what other profit generating strategies have you put in place in what’s becoming an ever more competitive marketplace? I’m on hols for the next couple of weeks, but I look forward to coming back to an inbox full of your clever ideas! And enjoy the sun while we have it…

Going on holiday soon? Then get the camera at the ready because unless you’re lucky enough to be on some deserted island you’re likely to see wide-format graphics of some kind or another, and if you see anything really unusual I’d love you to take a snap and email it to me. The best will appear in the In-Situ gallery of work in upcoming issues of Image Reports. And if you’ve completed an unusual job yourself, send that over too!

Anyone looking at the list of Fespa Award winners could be forgiven for assuming that UK printers must be rubbish – because, with the odd notable exception, they don’t get a look in. We know that’s not true – but what is, is that not many are members of Fespa UK Association, and for UK companies to enter the Fespa Awards they must be. That alone is perhaps no reason for forking out on membership, but it might be worth taking these profile-building opportunities into consideration when thinking about the value of belonging to associations.

You’ll see an interview with Fespa UK Association president Mark Simpson in the next issue of Image Reports.