Big Picture - November/December 2019 - 11

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF:

BH This market vertical is set for strong growth in our organization. We have
seen 50 percent growth or better year over year since 2017.

Digital Print for Textiles
KK Digital textile printing is the core of what we do at Spoonflower. We
believe there will be continued focus on the development and adoption of
pigment technology with sustainability being one of the drivers. We also
see that digital is an enabling strategy for independent designers and
entrepreneurs and that digital printing methods will begin to have greater
importance within the brand and retail environment for soft goods.
GS We are seeing textile printing and dye sublimation grow every year. We
are currently manufacturing our own extrusion displays that complement
our dye sublimation products. This made us invest in a metal shop and
paint booth, which both have their own learning curves. Textile printing
is being asked of us by our exhibitory, event, and A&D clients.
BA I believe this market has matured and we will begin to see the
growth in this segment diminish. I think digital printing on textiles still
has a long runway, but the double-digit growth it has been experiencing is likely to taper off.
BH I see continued growth in the soft signage/fabric graphic markets
as well as customized interior textiles. Growth is beginning to flatten
with the amount of shops entering the market.
JS Huge - in all aspects.

Digital Print for Interior Décor
SL Very good. I expect this will continue for years, especially as the
retail sector adapts to a very new landscape within their physical
locations. Retail is very focused on a new "retail experience" these
days, including such things as buying online while picking up at the
physical store, inclusion of music, expert retail assistance, and so on.
The interiors of those physical locations are becoming a part of that
critical "retail experience."
BA Opportunities to capitalize on mass personalization - people and
companies want their own unique design, look, and feel, and I think this
market will continue to grow and evolve, thus presenting opportunities
for the print community.
KK We are seeing particular growth in the wallpaper area, and customers
are benefitting from the wealth of design possibilities. Interiors offer so
many surfaces for decoration. It's a very exciting time for our industry!
JS Major, but primarily for custom work in the US. The UK has already
begun the move to digital as they do not rely on vinyl.
GS This is currently our fastest moving segment. Understanding the
needs of these clients and becoming an expert in corporate décor has
been a goal of ours over the past few years.

NP Traditionally, our shop has always processed written

BH The market continues to develop, but production costs for much of
what could be printed 3D in the graphics display industry still exceeds
traditional method pricing for most items due to cost of supplies. The
challenge is also scalability for time to market. It's still good for one-off
production, but producing many large-scale pieces for retail applications
requires other methods of production. There are some applications
where 3D printing large format is the easiest and best way to produce,
and as demand for products increases, adoption will increase.
GS I love to see the progress in this technology year after year. I feel wide
format 3D is still in a stage of infancy, but I cannot seem to keep my eyes off
it. There are so many things that can be done with grand format 3D. This
technology will eventually change a lot of industries. I look forward to watching
the players that adopt this technology early on and see how they use it.
SL Very interesting developments the last couple of years. Faster and
larger machines are making this a more likely purchase with event and
retail clients ... maybe some corporate campus/lobby-type projects. It's
gaining some attention, but the challenge for wide-format shops is that
they are primarily printers and service 2D graphics. The aptitude and
nomenclature around 3D graphics, finishing, and coatings is a very
different arena for most wide-format shops. Some smarter ones will likely
adopt some of this, but I think the majority of wide-format printers will
leave it to event and sign making shops.
JS If developed properly and it becomes affordable and durable, the
market will be enormous.

Other Opportunities
GS Exhibits and fleets are two other industries that are part of ER2's
core business. Although both industries have been kind of static,
they're still steady.
BH Entertainment, events, activations, and tradeshows.
SL Not a market, but the conversation around "environmentally responsible" materials and processes must be elevated. I'm going to call it the
"Greta Thunberg paradigm." I think the next generation is going to place
increased emphasis on environmentally responsible manufacturing. It
should be the number-one topic in our conversations. Legislation is likely
coming that will govern some of our more toxic processes. The industry
(including universities and colleges) should begin their research now
toward more responsible and yet effective materials and processes. The
science is in, and the next generation has a lot of smart and energetic
members. They're beginning to loudly - and rightly - bang that drum. We'd
do well to pay attention and maybe even hand them a bigger drumstick.

doing so, I found a few that touted "full company integration," which I find extremely appealing, however, to some
degree, very daunting. I would love to tie all aspects of the
business together from web inquires, sales leads, estimates,
proofing, work orders, vendor purchasing, installations,
fulfillment, and complete and accurate accounting. I have
now signed up with ShopVox. We will work on the back end,
setting up the pricing aspect of the software soon and, with
the addition of a new website, hope to be fully up and
running by early 2020.

BIGPICTURE.NET

work orders, with each department working independently of
each other. However, as we add staff and become busier, I've
found the process in which we manage day-to-day business
is inefficient and not scalable. To test the waters, we've been
tinkering with a free version of Trello, which is a project-management software. Almost immediately, I saw the
benefit as it applies to processing orders by providing a
comprehensive organization and scheduling tool. So with
that, it was time to research different software products. In

Wide-Format 3D Printing

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Big Picture - November/December 2019

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