Duncan Smith, wide-format printing group director, Canon UK, explains what is being done to engage with creatives and other potential users of wide-format print.
You only have to visit events such as Clerkenwell Design Week to see that the creative and design communities have an innovative and progressive approach to their work. Designers, architects and specifiers are willing to explore all avenues that will enable them to bring their - or their clients’ - designs to life in new and engaging ways. They are also very tactile by nature, keen to see and touch products to help them visualise their concepts and stretch the boundaries of their imagination.
Owing to Canon’s rich imaging heritage, the company has a strong insight into how technology can provide the graphic arts market with new processes, techniques and ideas to help bring their projects to completion like never before. However, the company also recognises that it’s not enough to just develop and supply the technology to create the solutions. It is vital to highlight and promote what this technology can do for its customers’ customers so that they’re aware and excited about the possibilities of wide-format digital print.
To address this, Canon is involved with various designfocused events across Europe. In September 2014, it exhibited at 100% Design in London for the very first time. Equipped with live technology demonstrations, application samples and expert advice, the aim was to demonstrate the breadth of Canon’s wide-format portfolio directly to end-users across the creative industries, with the aim of getting the conversation started.
The discussions had with visitors were as inspiring as they were valuable. It was interesting to discover what designers look for when specifying products for different purposes and their constant pursuit to identify techniques that can create certain visual effects. Whether aesthetic or functionary, the subject of wide-format print raised new opportunities for Canon as a vendor and for them as a designer, the latter realising that print is so much more than just ink on paper.
It’s important to note that while wide-format printing can create applications that designers never knew were possible via the printing process, designers at the event also put forward ideas using printing that Canon had not considered. This marriage of creativity is ultimately helping to drive growth in the wide-format market.
Furthermore, cost was not always the key issue. It was all about what could be printed, the quality of the application and the speeds with which it could be produced. Drawing in visitors with an hourly demonstration of A1 poster printer, producing a super-speed, instantly dry, high quality 360 degree print of the London skyline, visitors were amazed at how fast applications could be produced and how it could support their projects such as pop-up exhibition work or reactive point-of-sale projects.
There was also huge interest in Canon’s eight-colour largeformat printing technology that enables high quality printing in-house, ideal for high-end photography and fine art. Following a simple calculation at the stand, many visitors were staggered at how an investment in their own wideformat device could be so affordable.
Canon is also keen to promote what is possible through UV flatbed technology, and through its ‘Applications Showcase’ look-book, highlights the benefits of varnish and white ink printing – as well as the latest cutting techniques – on thick substrates such as wood, glass and metal.
At 100% Design this piece of collateral stimulated some very compelling discussions around what else could be printed on, and for what purposes. From interior decoration, outdoor signage and speciality applications to retail, photography, fine art and product decoration, the reaction to the look-book received at events such this reiterated how seeing really is believing for the design and creative community. To make that information even more accessible, Canon has recently made the look-book available online via its website: http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Work/getinspired/Arizona-applications/index.aspx#ID
Canon realises that this is only the beginning and that it needs to lay even more foundations to drive future growth. As such, the company has been engaging with the education sector to promote the capabilities of wide-format digital print technology through college and university design courses. This helps budding creatives and designers discover the power of wide-format print during their early training and as a result, increases the chances of them adding the process to their artistic toolkit as their careers progress.
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