Widthwise 2022
What the suppliers say
Q1
The majority (69.56%) of UK-based wide-format PSPs polled will spend under £20,000 on wideformat technology over the next two years. More than half (58.21%) said they will not buy a new digital wide-format printer in that period. How is that likely to impact your own development, sales and marketing strategies?
Q2
Almost half of the PSPs surveyed said they would be looking to improve workflow efficiencies over the next two years. What is your company doing to help them with this specifically, given investment levels?
Jane Rixon,
Duncan Jefferies,
Large-format production business development manager, HP UK/Ireland
Head of marketing and business development, Hybrid Services (UK/Irish Mimaki distributor)
We introduced new wide-format printing devices during the pandemic and continue to invest millions of dollars in R&D in this area. Post-pandemic, we are taking a hybrid approach to sales and marketing and investing in both face-to-face and virtual events. We recently had a booth at Fespa and sponsored the Wrap Master event as well as Printeriors, and have also hosted many at our Graphics Experience Centre in Barcelona. We also regularly host virtual events and demonstrations. Among those print companies looking to invest in a new technology, we have witnessed a huge spike in demand for environmentally friendly print technologies, and we pay a lot of attention to developing more planet-friendly print solutions to add to our current portfolio of large-format machines.
We continue to work on the HP PrintOS family of software products, designed to help users optimise their print operations, automate production and also open new opportunities. In particular, we have committed to the development of HP PrintOS Print Beat, a cloud-based print optimisation solution that delivers historical and near real-time data. It focuses on three key performance indicators - volume, utilisation and maintenance - and provides indepth visibility into production site operations, for one or multiple printers. PSPs can also use PrintOS Print Beat with their HP largeformat printer to gain access to status updates virtually anytime, anywhere, with a dedicated mobile application. Another solution is the cloud-based HP Application Center, designed to help PSPs and/or their customers create and print professional looking large-format prints with a suite of easy design tools. Thanks to this, PSPs can grow their business with online. This helped them during the pandemic, particularly when it came to design decoration and signage applications.
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Mimaki is a consistent innovator and wide-format printer launches in the last couple of years have included the 100 Series and the 330 Series. Each incorporates a common platform and comprises multiple machines featuring alternative ink technologies, which in turn has resulted in six new wide-format solutions being launched with prices ranging from £12,995 to around £25k. This brings most of the new products inside the £20k mark suggested in the survey, but it’s in part the job of the hardware manufacturer to communicate the advantages that investing in new products will bring the company - for example, lower running costs, better efficiency, reduced waste and an improved carbon footprint.
Mimaki continues to put a substantial focus on delivering products that help improve workflow efficiencies, with a perfect example being the JV330 and CJV330 - new 1.6m solvent wide-format printer and printer/ cutter respectively. Both feature core technologies designed to minimise operator intervention, reduce waste and downtime and increase output quality. To feature on a pair of production printers that currently retail at under £25k delivers a significant level of technology for the investment.
