At one time the printing industry was all about magazines, brochures and books – plus the occasional bill, cheque book and financial report. These requirements were fulfilled by printers, either on the high street, tucked away in a trading estate on the edge of town or frequently occupying a high profile site right in the centre of a city. But beyond this there was always printing that was not seen: printing for the car industry including dials and instrument panels; printing in clothing; wallpaper, corrugated boxes, furniture, floor tiles and so on. The value of the invisible part of printing outweighs many of the areas we consider to be the printing industry, which as commercial printing continues to decline means that more and more focus is going to be directed at what may be considered new applications for print, if only to support the infrastructure of suppliers and developers around the world.
In many respects these are whole industries that are catching up with what print technology, and digital print technology in particular, is capable of. Just as litho printing exploded with life more than three decades ago as colour printing became easier, less expensive and more accessible, so colour printing is creeping into these almost untouched by digital print areas. And the availability of digitally printed colour, almost all from inkjet, is having a galvanising effect. Who wants dull black marks on brown corrugated when bright lettering or even halftone printing is possible? How about one-off colour splashbacks as part of a kitchen design, or as one contestant on TV’s Big Design Challenge has shown week after week, using bespoke designed and printed wall paper to lift a mundane room into new realms?
These are rapidly developing applications for colour printing and will follow the same path that commercial printing has taken over the last quarter century with digital design, proofs, online approvals and more. These are all matters that commercial printers are comfortable with. They are all matters that these newcomers to digital printing will need to learn and of course that knowledge and experience gap leaves space for ambitious companies that have been on the journey and can apply what they have learned along the way to a different vehicle that is just starting out. These sectors need navigators to pilot their voyage. Could there be a opportunity for a been there done that printer?
A colourful future awaits the brave
At one time the printing industry was all about magazines, brochures and books – plus the occasional bill, cheque book and financial report. These requirements were fulfilled by printers, either on the high street, tucked away in a trading estate on the edge of town or frequently occupying a high profile site right in the centre of a city. But beyond this there was always printing that was not seen: printing for the car industry including dials and instrument panels; printing in clothing; wallpaper, corrugated boxes, furniture, floor tiles and so on. The value of the invisible part of printing outweighs many of the areas we consider to be the printing industry, which as commercial printing continues to decline means that more and more focus is going to be directed at what may be considered new applications for print, if only to support the infrastructure of suppliers and developers around the world.
In many respects these are whole industries that are catching up with what print technology, and digital print technology in particular, is capable of. Just as litho printing exploded with life more than three decades ago as colour printing became easier, less expensive and more accessible, so colour printing is creeping into these almost untouched by digital print areas. And the availability of digitally printed colour, almost all from inkjet, is having a galvanising effect. Who wants dull black marks on brown corrugated when bright lettering or even halftone printing is possible? How about one-off colour splashbacks as part of a kitchen design, or as one contestant on TV’s Big Design Challenge has shown week after week, using bespoke designed and printed wall paper to lift a mundane room into new realms?
These are rapidly developing applications for colour printing and will follow the same path that commercial printing has taken over the last quarter century with digital design, proofs, online approvals and more. These are all matters that commercial printers are comfortable with. They are all matters that these newcomers to digital printing will need to learn and of course that knowledge and experience gap leaves space for ambitious companies that have been on the journey and can apply what they have learned along the way to a different vehicle that is just starting out. These sectors need navigators to pilot their voyage. Could there be a opportunity for a been there done that printer?
Explore more...