Wide-format Blogs

Inflation and interest rates are still expected to fall this year, despite recent news that the inflation rate rose unexpectedly to 4% in December. Is that expectation impacting your strategic thinking?

Following on from my last newsletter comment about the use of white ink in the wide-format inkjet print space, those of you wanting more info might be interested in this - a free webinar from HP on the benefits of working with its Latex white ink. It takes place at 10am this coming Thursday, 18 January.

White ink - do you use much of it? Epson’s introduction of an entry-level direct-to-garment printer with white ink capability just got me pondering. How much white ink is now used in the large-format digital inkjet sector here in the UK? Not that long ago it was a niche offering, but now?

I was checking out print events to update my 2024 calendar when I came across a ‘Print and Prosecco Night: Lino Printmaking’, a workshop on 25 Jan at Lavender Leonardos art school in London apparently. Just in case you need more fizz….. and think you can get away with this as a ‘work event’. Welcome to a new year all!

Here’s hoping you all have a wonderful festive break and return re-energised as the show season will be upon us before we know it - fast-track entry to SDUK 2024 (25-27 February) is already open! Wishing you all you wish yourselves. Happy days.

As we draw towards the end of 2023 I’d love to hear from you on what you consider your most ‘creative’ job of the year - and why. What has pushed you to develop new techniques when it comes to the options you can now offer? Looking forward to getting your feedback - with pictures where possible!

Last Friday BPIF members joined German Sacristan, group director and principal analyst at Keypoint Intelligence, for the findings of research project ‘Print Buyers Purchasing Trends’. The findings were interesting, but not particularly relevant to the large-format print sector. Are there specific figures you’d like to get your eyes on?

So, the Pantone colour for 2024 is 13-1023 Peach Fuzz, ‘a velvety, gentle peach whose all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body, and heart, bringing a feeling of tenderness and communicating a message of caring and sharing, community and collaboration’. Let’s hope for plenty of that in the new year!

A reminder that the BPIF led annual ‘Carols for Printers’ service will take place at 6pm at St Bride’s Church in Fleet Street, London, next Wednesday (13 December) so get along it you want to make merry -  there’ll be mulled wine and nibbles afterwards.

I spilt some water on my keyboard. Not a lot, it popped up when I opened the bottle. I wiped it away immediately, even gave the entire laptop a (to be honest, well overdue) clean and tried to get back to work.

OK, so COP 28 is in full swing. With that in mind, how do you think we can better come together to discuss the environmental impacts of the print industry as a whole, and work out a cohesive strategy for the future?

BIG news alert - here at Image Reports we’re delighted to be looking forward to 2024 under new ownership. We’re now part of Datateam Business Media, which took over SDUK in the summer and which will run the next iteration of the event alongside its Printwear and Promotion Live! exhibition at the NEC in February. Datateam has also just bought Sign Update so as you can imagine, there are exciting plans - more later...