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As this drops into your in-box I’ll be pacing the halls of the 100% Design show at Earls Court to see if wide-format print is well represented. I hate sounding negative but my gut feel is that it won’t be. Printers haven’t got into the swing of exhibiting their creative capability at events that draw potential new customers. What about forming a band of wide-format print ambassadors to do just that?

...when print companies first started employing ‘businesses development tsars’ to help them scope out a whole new world of possibility for large-format print? The appointment of Nick Lake to the newly developed role of key project manager at PressOn has a similar, but less nebulous feel, tasked as he is to explore new business opportunities but to also take on the co-ordination of the most complex, multi-faceted projects. What, I wonder, are those early business tsars now being tasked with within your company?

Are you doing anything unusual to entice new talent into your business? If so, give me a shout as I’m coming to the last in the series of Turning on the Talent editorial features for Image Reports. Previous ones can be found at: http://www.imagereportsmag.co.uk/features/business/turning-on-the-talent

If you’re doing your start of the week task list, make a note to get pics and words about unusual wide-format print jobs over to Image Reports. We not only share them with the print community in the mag and on the associated website, but with all those creatives who just might put some work your way via our twinned Think Bigger website and Pinterest galleries. Go have a look: http://www.thinkbigger.co and http://www.pinterest.com/thinkbiggerhere/

How much of a marketer are you? Put simply, the more you are the better your chance of running a sustainable business. So I’m telling you nothing new, and print sector has – for the most part – now woken up to its ‘communications sector’ responsibility and become better at selling itself. Certainly, most of the large-format operations I see are doing a great job of marketing their own services. Many have also become adept at speaking the marketing lingo required of them to hold fruitful conversations with those that can put work their way. But…

The ‘but’ is whether large-format PSPs - and specifically those involved in producing print for marketing campaigns - are pushing the envelope far enough in terms of integrated print solutions?

If you like market studies like the soon to be published ‘Drupa Global Insights’ report on ‘The Impact of the Internet on Print – the digital flood’ you might want to slake your thirst for specific knowledge on the UK wide-format print sector with Image Reports’ Widthwise publications. There are seven years’ worth of data and analysis in these annual reports. Download them for free at: http://www.imagereportsmag.co.uk/research. We’ll soon be putting together the survey for the 2015 survey, so shout now if you have any specific questions you would like to see put to grass-roots players.

Do you think you will get into digital textile printing in the course of the next year or so? I ask because, despite all the noise surrounding the introduction of various new textile printers over the last 12 months or so - and the understanding that there’s huge potential in this sector of the market - many of the UK wide-format printers I speak to say there are still plenty of easier ways of making money. Let me know your thoughts…

Should you be helping to get more large-format print possibilities in front of the retail crowd? If so, why not think about speaking at the Retail Design Expo next March. It sounds a long way off, but the organisers are putting together the seminar programme and calling for those interested in being part of the ‘Elements of Design Conference’ to get in touch. Get details at: http://retaildesignexpo.com/why-participate/call-for-papers

Large-format printers have been slow in coming forward when it comes to the ‘Schools Into Industry’ programme PrintIt! I know that over the years I’ve often flagged up the need for companies in this sector to get more involved with this initiative. To be fair, the schools competition element hasn’t always had a particularly strong, if any, large-format focus, which I guess may have put you off getting involved. But as Proskills UK managing director Jonathan Ledger calls for industry support for the project perhaps it’s worth a rethink. Limited Limited for instance, can see the value (see ‘Turning on the Talent’ feature at http://www.imagereportsmag.co.uk/features/business/4833-dream-dream-dream) and maybe you can too if you take another look.

I just thought I’d flag up that at the next Two Sides and Print Power seminar – in November – futurologist Richard Watson will deliver his take on how print will look in 2020. Could this be the next best thing to a crystal ball?

If you are a printer with a ‘strong original creative aspect’ to your business and want to grow that part your offering you could, possibly, be in for a nice surprise. I say ‘possibly’ because print falls into a rather grey area when it comes to the definition of those organisations eligible for a soon to be launched Creative Industry Finance package. Though we see ourselves as part and parcel of the creative industry, it seems others don’t necessarily. So the onus is on large-format print providers to put their individual cases. My intel is that those wanting to grow the ‘design’ part of their business for instance could qualify for financial assistance, so it’s worth a try.

The ongoing message from manufacturers and suppliers in the wide-format sector is for printers not yet involved in the space to come on in. You can understand why they’re doing it – and the water must look lovely from various perspectives. But is there concern among those already in the swim that the pool may become polluted if too many others join them? Just a question – perhaps you think you have enough of a head start not to worry about latecomers?

To what extent do you integrate wide-format print output with other digital technologies – by which I mean, touchscreens, mobile scanning technologies etc? Would you be happy to get involved in a discussion about the potential for integrated print at a Round Table debate? If so, please let me know.

Would you travel abroad to attend a conference? There are some great events coming up, but my understanding is that those running UK print businesses tend to ignore most of the domestic seminar schedule, never mind foreign ones. Perhaps I’ve got that wrong! If you do intend to travel overseas specifically for some kind of forum – technical or otherwise – would you drop me a line. I’d love to hear what you think makes the trip worthwhile.