Wide-format Blogs

You’re probably already sick of reading about cloud computing – in essence, the provision of IT as a service rather than as something which is part of a company’s infrastructure – but tough. You’ll read much more about in 2012, with companies like Apple, Fujifilm, IBM, Google, HP, Microsoft and Xerox investing heavily in it. Cloud frees businesses from the burden of maintaining their computers and digital networks. By using a network of remote servers, companies can outsource computing needs, avoid the cost and hassle of software and hardware upgrades and only pay for the data services they use. In this model, IT almost becomes a utility like electricity. That said, even early adopters have different ideas on how much of their IT resource they put into the cloud. Some believe cloud will complement traditional desktop software, not replace it. The potential impact on wide-format print is enormous and terribly unclear. New workflows could be created and relationships with customers radically redesigned. For example, Fujilfilm’s new XMF Print Centre enables printers to create and manage e-portals for different customers while Hiflex has launched a system for printers to use cloud to generate estimates and manage order books. The Carbon Disclosure Project predicts that the cloud could more than halve CO2 emissions from IT by 2020. Print suppliers are already developing products to tap into the fashion for ondemand Web or tablet-based print services.

Where will it all end? Who knows but it is worth remembering the words of Paul Saffo, the forecaster who runs The Long Now Foundation: “Change is never linear. New technologies come in S-curves so we routinely overestimate short-term change and underestimate long term change”.

The trouble with websites is that you must keep reinvesting in them. In 2012, as the world shifts from a web-centric model to one based on mobile-centric IT, companies in all sectors will increasingly discover they need three where one was once sufficient: the site you already have, a version optimised for access from smartphones and even one that works as an app. And research suggests that a few mobile websites attract most of the traffic so late adopters risk becoming marginalised.

AND FINALLY…A chilling thought from an industry conference last year: “You’re only as good as your worst employee”.

Cloud computing - what am I supposed to do about that then? Having spent a fair whack of time online over the Christmas holidays, trying to find out a bit more about how this ‘trend’ is likely to impact upon business in general, and trying and get some sort of insight into what I should be doing about it, I’m more bamboozled than I was before. And I’m no technophobe – we use some of the most leading edge printers and software applications around - but it’s a case of where to start when it comes to investigating how cloud computing should be used in my business.

Are developments in software packages currently grabbing your attention more than those in the hardware space? The launch of GMG’s new ProductionSuite for the wide-format market prompts the question, especially coming so soon after the announcement of Pixel Blaster from SAI. These reflect more than a natural evolution of product, but a changing approach to how wide-format businesses operate. If you’re interested in finding out more, see the feature in the upcoming March issue of Image Reports.

Image Reports is again taking the temperature of the UK and Ireland large-format print sector via its annual Widthwise Survey. The more data collected, the better and more accurate will be the subsequent Widthwise Report, which will be free to all Image Reports readers in May. Therefore, please take part in this year’s Widthise poll. Go to http://survey.infotrends.com/widthwise.htm

News of Spandex strengthening its Board to drive growth has me wondering how many large-format print companies have done something similar. When things started getting tough and print firms actively started to diversify and reposition their businesses there were rumblings of ‘business tsars’ being brought in to help existing management teams with their new strategies. Did you go this route – and was it successful?

I’ve received information from a few manufacturers and suppliers in the wide-format space that they will either not exhibit at Sign and Digital UK or at Fespa Digital this year because they are focussing on Drupa instead. As wide-format print specialists I’d be interested in whether you will attend that giant of a show as well as one of the other more specialised events or instead?

Come on, your country needs you! The UK is trailing behind Germany in the number of nominations for Fespa’s inaugural Hall of Fame. We have plenty of ‘leading lights’ to put forward so put your choice forward.

With Onlineprinters having seen revenues jump 30% in 2011, I must surely ask, are you leveraging the power of Web-to-print yet, and if so, for which type of products and market sectors is it proving most successful? Is it working for you beyond the usual template-based print offerings, such as posters and basic POP/POS? I’d love to talk to you about your experiences and future plans to harness the system more creatively to build revenue and margin.

Well done to Agfa Graphics for winning the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Manufacturing Excellence (MX) Award for Sustainable Manufacturing – and by doing so raising the profile of sustainable manufacturing not just within the graphic arts sector but beyond. In the soon-to-be-published Jan/Feb issue of Image Reports Magazine there’s an ‘Investment Q+A’ that asks print companies about what impacts upon buying their buying decisions – have a look to see what they say about sustainability…

What do you consider to have been the most ‘innovative’ piece of kit introduced into the wide-format space over the last year? With the EDP Awards just around the corner, and having only announced the Image Reports Angel Awards at the end of 2011, I’d be interested in seeing what you would choose to honour.

You can call me on 01932 707173 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Pay-as-you-go machine service and support to rival top end warranties – great idea, but the question has to be: will Tech8 manage to pull it off? Hopefully so given the amount of unrest in the market over the cost of some warranties and what they cover, let alone the never-ending stream of complaints regarding response times etc. What are your feelings on the subject of using pay-as-you-go servicing instead of taking out a warranty?