Wide-Format Printing Application Trends

What are Commercial Shops Printing?

The Industry Measure - September 8, 2006

Data provided elsewhere show that wide-format printing has yet to take the commercial printing industry by storm (for example, see the accompanying article "Wide-Format Investment Trends"). However, we believe it is instructive to have a look at what those who are offering wide-format printing are producing on their wide-format devices.

The data that follow are based on a special Wide-Format Benchmark study that TrendWatch Graphic Arts conducted in summer 2005. The study included manufacturer market share breakdowns, installed base projections and five-year forecasts, and directional trends and drivers of/barriers to adoption among commercial printing markets. The markets surveyed in the Benchmark study included:

• commercial and quick printers
• inplant printing departments
• newspaper printers
• packaging printers and converters
• prepress shops

Figure 1 below shows that posters are the top application for all commercial print establishments that print wide-format graphics-41% of all shops' wide-format work comprises posters. Trade show graphics comprise 12% of these shops' wide-format output and retail signage 10%. "Other" came in at 25% of all respondents; a look at the verbatims showed that these applications were predominantly banners, proofs, and general "displays."

When we look at some of the individual markets, we find:

• 32% of commercial printers' wide-format output is posters, 29% is retail signage, and other top applications are engineering drawings, and trade show graphics;
• 37% of prepress firms' wide-format work is posters, 17% is trade show graphics, and 14% is retail signage, while 24% is trade show graphics; other top applications for prepress firms are posters and engineering drawings;
• 55% of inplant printing departments' wide-format output is posters, while 9% is retail signage and 8% is engineering drawings.

In the commercial printing industry, wide-format output can be divided into two basic end uses: for sale as wide-format output (posters, signage, etc.) and for proofing. Figure 2 below shows that for all print and prepress establishments surveyed, 51% of wide-format jobs are produced for sale as wide-format output while 38% are produced for proofing purposes.

When we look at some of the individual markets, we find:

• 62% of commercial printers use wide-format output as proofs, while 38% use it as actual wide-format output;
• 22% of prepress firms use wide-format output as proofs, while 78% use it as wide-format output;
• 21% of inplant printing departments use wide-format output as proofs, while 47% use it as wide-format output.

We believe that knowing what specific shops use their wide-format printers for helps dealers and manufacturers better assist shops in making equipment, supplies, and consumables investments, as well as provide guidance in exploring new applications to better serve a wider variety of customer needs.

TrendWatch Graphic Arts provides the only ongoing regular market and industry trends based on original research with business owners and executives. TrendWatch Graphic Arts is a unit of Reed Business Information, a division with Reed Elsevier Inc. The twice-yearly Printing survey is based on a mail questionnaire sent to 1,500 U.S. print and prepress establishments, carefully segmented by employee size and primary equipment operated. Response rates are consistently at or around 20%.