Features

Want to be able to transform customers’ 2D images into photorealistic 3D display products? Then maybe you should talk to StackaWraps

Have you gone as far as you’re going to go when it comes to forking out on new finishing kit - or will the latest technical developments, kit bundles and financial incentives make you think again? 

With software companies creating products that are cheaper to buy and easier to use, Simon Creasy takes a look at how they can help your business.

There’s plenty of talk about artificial intelligence and how it’s going to impact life as we know it. But to many it’s still a nebulous concept. So what’s the situation when it comes to its deployment in the large-format print sector?

Did you know that media substrates supplier Antalis has an in-house innovation and creative consultants team? And did you know that its head, Claire White, and others like her, can help you have more profitable conversations with customers and creatives to make the most of new and trending print opportunities?

PrintFactory’s Toby Burnett made a public promise pre-Fespa Global 2019 - that he’d use the event to talk to PSPs and check out his hunch that many are fearful of I4.0 because they don’t understand it. Here he delivers on that promise.

What’s having the greatest impact on your business at the moment?

Earlier this summer this sector saw a breakthrough - Soyang and waste partner Blue Castle announced a scheme for recycling PVC banner material. Gardners, a test site, has been impressed. So should you be getting in on the act?

New UV inkjet flatbed machines from Inca Digital and Fujifilm offer a speed increase of over 50%, ‘single cycle’ print mode, full automation and 30-second job set-up.

How much is your company worth? In the 1970s and 1980s, valuing a business was relatively straightforward. You estimated the worth of your key tangible assets, totted these figures up and, if the company was being sold as a going concern, added in a little something for goodwill. That traditional yardstick is still reflected in most PSP’s financial statements. It is still the way most accountants like to work. But there are there other considerations.

The print industry - and the large-format sector specifically - has bemoaned the lack of women running businesses for as long as I can remember. Signs Express is witnessing an increase in female franchisees - up 40% in the last 20 months. So I went to talk with the Sara Jeffery, the network’s head of brand and recruitment, to ask: “Is franchising the route to getting women into print management?”

By Lesley Simpson

 People want to know if their promotional print spend is delivering. So is digital technology - and its integration with print - fulfilling that requirement? We asked PSPs for their comment…