Business

As more PSPs move into the textile print, Northern Flags is looking to grow business by going the other way – by moving into the more ‘traditional’ large-format print spaces.

If print for interiors is an area of interest for your company you’ll want to hear what Alberto Masserdotti said at the Fespa Global Summit ahead of the upcoming Printeriors showcase and conference.

Should we make confidence our guide as we consider the economic landscape in which we’ll be working this year. Walter Hale provides an overview. 

Brace yourselves: 2016 will not be as smooth as predictions of a 2.4% growth in UK GDP might suggest. An EasyJet/YouGov survey of small businesses in December 2015 found that only 56% of respondents thought their company would grow this year. And very few expected to expand their business by 10% or more.

Matic Media Services knows how to make money from Web-to-print. Having established PhotoArtWarehouse.co.uk in 2010 and WooWooNails.com in 2012, the Lanarkshire-based large-format PSP has now formed NextDayPosters.co.uk. I asked MD Richard McCombe about the company’s online development capability and strategy.

This month we kick off a series of ‘Innovators’ features with a look at how Mal McGowan is putting his company’s motto into practice.

Hazel Jacques, director at asset finance specialist Academy Leasing, considers the different funding options available to PSPs kicking off 2016 in expansion mode.

Gavin Wall, a solicitor and licensed conveyancer, and director and the lead commercial property lawyer in Conveyancing Expert, helps you navigate business premises leasehold pitfalls when moving location.

In September upholstery specialist Anthony Devine came to daytime TV watchers’ attention via an appearance on BBC1 TV programme ‘Money for Nothing’, in which he was seen working on a reupholstery job using his own photography to create imagery for bespoke, digitally printed fabric used to revamp a sofa.

South African designer and photographer Robin Sprong has partnered with PressOn to market a bespoke wallpaper service. Walter Hale talked to him about the evolving marketplace and considers whether it’s worth you taking a punt?

The most famous soundbite about wallpaper is by Oscar Wilde who, while lingering on his deathbed, is reputed to have said: “This wallpaper is dreadful - one of us will have to go.” Until recently, wallpaper is something that Britons have largely taken for granted, it’s sheer ubiquity condemning it to be overlooked. Yet attitudes - a shift possibly inspired by the popularity of style bible magazine ‘Wallpaper’ - are changing and influential South African designer and photographer Robin Sprong, in alliance with large-format printer PressOn, hopes to capitalise on that opportunity.

Your people are one of your greatest resources. But do they work well together? Walter Hale looks into successful team building strategies and techniques.

Where you at the Fabric Printing Now conference last month, or planning to go to upcoming Itma or Heimtextil textile shows? If not, are you missing out?

On the first day of the recent Fabric Printing Now event, Digetex co-owner Debbie McKeegan gave the presentation ‘A Commercial Designer’s Journey Through Digital’.

… or high street dirge? Walter Hale looks at the recent retail sector figures and wonders what mood they will put you in.

You can’t have a silver lining without a cloud. As good as digital technology has been for British wide-format printers, it could impact the volume of work generated by one of the industry’s biggest markets – the retail sector – in the next five years. Britons are the most frequent online shoppers in Europe. This year, we will spend roughly £1,174 per head online, according to the Centre of Retail Research (CRR). It estimates that online accounts for 15.2% of all retail spend in this country. And, with online sales per shopper increasing by 9.6% this year, online’s share of the total spend will keep growing. This is worth note if you print in-store POP/POS.

As Head of PR for Contra Vision Jo Bentley understands the demands of the print and graphics business, and as a qualified mindfulness trainer she also knows techniques for combating workplace stress. Here’s her advice.