Large and In Charge - Wide-Format Continues To Grow

Wide- or large-format printing is rapidly changing in many ways; from adding new equipment, embracing innovations in inks and substrates through to adjusting products and services to meet customer needs. As it is with the rest of the printing industry, the economy has certainly taken a toll on the cost of goods and therefore the prices printers must charge to keep their heads above water. Add in the fact that many companies that may have purchased printing in the past have drastically cut or eliminated their marketing budgets, leaving some shops to scramble to make up for the lost revenue.

Not all shops are struggling with client retention, however. Often, offering too many services can spread a small shop too thin, while offering only one or two services drastically diminishes potential opportunities. One company that seems to have found the perfect balance is Mega Format, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based large-format printer. David Herskovitz said that the company has chosen to offer many different products, but lately has been focusing on one or two, choosing to market those products differently. Herskovitz said the efforts are paying off.

Mega’s main product these days is a retractable banner stand. The banner, printed in six colors, 1/1 or 1/2, is attached to a pole and has the ability to be retracted into a roll, much like an old fashioned window blind. Herskovitz said people appreciate the easy portability. “People like them,” he said. “It makes it easy to take to trade shows.”

While one might think that a trade show offers limited business, Herskovitz claimed just the opposite is true. “Sometimes a client is going to a trade show and will call to say they need five, 10, 20 or more.” The banners often have different graphics on them and there is also an option to attach several banners together to offer maximum impact.

“We can put say, six banners together. There is a seam but it can only be seen close up. The impact of such a large banner is amazing,” he continued. Add in the six-color print and high quality graphics and suddenly the client stands head and shoulders above his competitors.

Is Less Really More?
One of the biggest problems facing printers today is the need to cut costs, sometimes drastically, in order to ensure customer retention. With some printers, however, decreasing the quality of the products to cut price simply is not an option. Printers that have been in business for many years take great pride in their company’s integrity and level of quality. In other cases, there simply isn’t a cheaper product, e.g. substrate or chemicals, to fall back on.

Jeff Genshaft of Big Picture said, “There is no option on generic materials.” Genshaft has made changes in other areas, however. The company has instituted more eco-friendly chemicals, getting rid of the hazardous traditional heavy duty solvents that have been around the industry since Gutenberg first stepped in front of a press. While there are products that are greener still, Genshaft is happy with the choices he has made. Unfortunately, he also reports that the company has been forced to introduce layoffs for some of its employees to help reduce costs further.

Herskovitz is on the same page as Genshaft. Over the past few years the company has made it a point to test various substrates for its banners. Once it found the best substrate for the job, it seemed inefficient and unwise to use lesser quality substrates, despite the costs.

“The first impression is the most important thing,” said Herskovitz. “If the material curls or the banner is crooked then people don’t pay attention. They look at the things that are wrong.”

When companies choose lesser materials there may also be an issue of runability. The amount saved may become negligible if the materials require more labor than before or cause unnecessary grief during the printing process.

Another company that has found a way to cut costs is New York-based Coloredge. In addition to testing various substrates, Coloredge’s John Sheehan reported that many people are choosing to switch from paper to fabric. As an added benefit, fabric is much easier to ship to its clients. “You can fold up the fabric and put it into a small box. You can’t do that with oversized paper.” Sheehan also said having plants around the country is a help to saving on shipping. In addition to the two main sites—one in New York and one in Edison, N.J., the company has locations in Burbank, Calif.; Atlanta; Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; and Portland, Ore. The additional locations also mean customers can call at the last minute and be assured their product will be there on time, every time.

New Inks, New Technology
One of the biggest things currently happening in the wide-format industry is the introduction to latex inks. While latex inks have been around for a while, they are becoming more common in many shops. “Latex inks are great,” said Sheehan. “The latex does have some limitations for the stability is fantastic.” Genshaft also talked about the benefits of using latex inks. In addition to their stability and performance, the product is less toxic than traditional inks.

In regards to new technology, many printers are finding it difficult, if not impossible to purchase new equipment given the economic downturn. Coloredge, however, recently decided that it made sense to increase their stable of printers.

“We made a major investment,” said Sheehan. “Over the past year and a half we installed new printers. Our latest one was last summer.” The current total on the number of large format printers is nine, with the last two being installed in the past 12-18 months. Although Coloredge utilizes various brands, such as HP for latex, the majority of the company’s printers are manufactured by EFI Vutek.

In addition to adding new equipment, Coloredge shifted its focus in regards to output. “We’re leaning more toward the creative side so we’re not strictly output,” Sheehan said, adding that the changes will be particularly noticeable in 2010.

“The biggest challenge is the tendency for the large-format business to become a commodity business which is driven by price alone,” said Ronald Sizemore of Manhattan’s Influence Graphics. “We are getting a lot more requests for installation services. We’ve had requests for installing storefront window displays; we’ve printed and installed hundreds of framed large-format posters in hotel rooms after they were renovated. We get a lot of requests for framing lately so we’ve established some good relationships with wholesale framers.”

“The high margin opportunity is in doing unique projects. They can be problematic but then that’s what the customer is paying for. The traditional signage poster is becoming a commodity and the margins are not what they use to be especially for large quantities,” added Sizemore.

For Herskovitz, there is opportunity in focusing on one products and finding new ways to sell it. One way in which the company’s retractable banners have expanded in sales is through the company’s client base. “We’ve been able to bump in a lot with distributors,” Herskovitz said. “We will print several different types of banners in larger quantity for the distributors to give out.”

When it comes to new trends in the market, it seems that the specialty items are becoming more prevalent and savvy printers are taking advantage of the scenario.

According to Sizemore, “We are seeing a lot of specialty requests. We’ve had requests for things like custom printed bed sheets or custom printed window blinds and custom printed wrapping paper. While the traditional poster used for signage is still the majority of our business it has less value to customers as time goes on. People are thinking of new ways to use large format.“

Pamela Mortimer, a freelance writer, is the general manager of a commercial print firm.