SGIA Journal September/October 2013 - (Page 83)

feature In Many Specialty Graphics Shops, Old and New Technologies Sit Side By Side W hen considering the evolution of printing technology, it’s common to think in terms of one technology directly replacing another. In the general commercial printing industry, there has been much talk of technology shifts; digital presses are replacing offset. Production inkjet presses are replacing — or are poised to replace — toner-based presses. In the wide-format and specialty graphics printing markets, similar themes have emerged. Digital wide-format presses are replacing analog technologies, primarily screen. The reality, however, tends to be a bit more complex, and while many shops do replace an older technology with a newer one — often for the simple reason that there’s not always enough space for different types of presses — there are many that keep a variety of printing technologies on hand, and for a variety of different purposes. By the Numbers According to SGIA’s 2013 Equipment and Financial Outlook Benchmarking Report, 29.6 percent of sign and graphics companies identified themselves as “entirely digital,” while 42 percent identified themselves as “multi-technology, but mostly digital.” Meanwhile, 19.8 percent said they were “multi-technology, with no single process dominating,” and 7.4 percent were “multitechnology, but mostly analog.” A scant 1.2 percent were “entirely analog.” In previous SGIA reports, “analog” was phrased as “screen,” but the change in terminology better reflects the current state of the market, as more and more players entering the wide-format/sign and graphics space are not coming from traditional screen shops, and in fact “analog” could just as well refer to offset, flexo, and even gravure, as well as screen. On the manufacturer side, the phrase “imaging quality comparable to offset lithography” has been popping up more and more often to describe digital wideformat equipment. Speaking of offset shops, many of them have been multi-technology shops for a very long time. Research I conducted with TrendWatch Graphic Arts in the mid-2000s found that a large percentage of general commercial printing shops did, in fact, own wide-format equipment — but it was used almost entirely for proofing, with few capitalizing on the equipment’s ability to generate for-sale printed products. The reality, however, tends to be a bit more complex, and while many shops do replace an older technology with a newer one there are many that keep a variety of printing technologies on hand, and for a variety of different purposes. Richard Romano, Freelance Writer Visit SGIA at SGIA.org SGIA Journal ■ September/October 2013 | 83 http://www.SGIA.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SGIA Journal September/October 2013

How to Sell in a Tough Economy
How One Fine-Art Photographer Created a Four-Story-Tall Print
December 1, 2013 Training Deadline Approaches
Affordable Care Act — What is New and What is Happening
Reducing Inkjet Ink Usage
Want Your Graphics to Look Great and Last? Start with Surface Preparation and Cleaning
2013 Market Trends & Product Specialties Report
Digital Ceramic Printing Continues to Cast a New Business Model for Output Providers
How to Hire and Retain a Sales Champion
Going Grand: Does It Make Sense for Your Business?
Flames Made Easy with Knifeless Tape
The Edge is Near: Innovations in Fabric Finishing
SGIA Expo Sponsors Lead the Industry Charge to Orlando
The Innovation of an Art Form: A History of Screen Printing
In Many Specialty Graphics Shops, Old and New Technologies Sit Side by Side
SGIA Helps Making Shipping Easier with YRC
New Products
Specialty Imaging Shines at the 2013 SGIA Expo

SGIA Journal September/October 2013