Competition time

Competition time

As wide-format continues to attract more players we asked kit manufacturers/suppliers where they now see their largest target markets and how that’s impacting on the way they develop product and do business.

Digital wide-format inkjet is not the niche sector is was. Technological advances, a relatively low entry price point and applications potential, together with a shift in the media landscape and the need for print companies to diversify are seeing more and more players are entering the game. What you may see as burdensome competition, the kit manufacturers/resellers see as opportunity, so just what do your suppliers now see as their biggest target markets and how is that impacting their focus and the products they develop?

The conversion of screen printers to digital wide-format print providers has been a cornerstone of the sector’s development and continues to be so, added to which, the increasing number of litho printers now looking at getting involved is leading many kit manufacturers/suppliers to invest some considerable effort in getting their wares in front of potential users from these two sectors.

WP Digital and MTL British distributor Digital Print Innovations (DPI) is well aware of the need to target digital inkjet wide-format solutions at the screen and litho sectors. As managing director Stuart Bell says: “The sales channel now revolves around opportunities, not around printers.”

He adds: “Litho houses are looking to grab the simpler sign and display jobs and screen printers are incorporating high-productivity industrial machines, like MTL Print’s Meital series, to free up screen lines for quicker and more lucrative work.

Duncan Jefferies, marketing manager for Hybrid Services, the exclusive distributor for Mimaki in the UK and Ireland, says: “We continue to see the screen printer expanding into digital – most especially with our flatbed UV products. Also, encouraging is the litho print sector’s willingness to consider new technologies like wide-format. At Ipex, and indeed Fespa 2010, Mimaki saw a significant number of commercial printers considering wide-format solvent and UV printing and print and cut.”
 
As with other manufacturers/suppliers, the industrial market is also a target. “In recent years, Mimaki’s increased presence in the industrial printing market has been significant – with the printer forming part of a production line process, as opposed to simply generating print-for-pay and we expect this trend to continue,” adds Jefferies.

Mark Rowland, country manager, UK and Ireland, HP Scitex says the company has well-defined areas of focus, especially where the conversion of analogue to digital print has still to take place.

“At Ipex, we experienced strong interest from traditional commercial printers looking to invest in wide-format, particularly in the HP printers offering latex technology. These machines present the opportunity to PSPs, no matter their heritage, to offer an extended range of services. Now they can focus on profitable applications and revenue streams through increased productivity and ROI.”

According to Michael Lackner, head of marketing, Durst, “screen has to be our biggest target market, however, digital offers many new business opportunities in terms of different applications and this is having considerable impact on the industrial market. So Durst will continue to concentrate its efforts in two main directions, firstly to provide wide-format digital inkjet printers which offer the finest quality, highest workflow productivity and secondly, to continue to explore exciting and new industrial applications for digital equipment. Both areas are primarily targeted at existing analogue processes.

At Fujilfim Europe, group marketing manager (graphics wide-format) Tudor Morgan points to the litho market as ripe for conversion to wide-format and thus as a key target for the company. “One of our largest target markets, both in the UK and Europe, is definitely that of traditional, litho offset printers looking to open up new revenue streams by investing in wide format. For both traditional and wide-format printers, UV curing inkjet has becoming the most popular print process of choice when it comes to wide format digital printing and it’s where
Fujifilm is concentrating its R&D efforts. This includes investigating inks specifically suitable for more industrial applications and greater colour control independent of print process. A combination that Fujifilm believes will make UV inkjet technology more attractive still for new markets as people grasp the possibilities presented by printing onto an almost endless range of surfaces and materials.”