Image Reports has not always been dedicated to digital wide-format print. Here we provide a snapshot of the various stages of its metamorphosis.
May 1994
The very first issue of Image Reports appeared in May 1994, the first magazine from what is now SJP Business and still run by founder Wayne Darroch. Since then it has appeared in a number of guises as Darroch explains: “When it first launched Image Reports magazine was a monthly title addressing silver halide photography and the emerging digital imaging sector. After the first year of trading it was decided that it would concentrate solely on digital, focusing on products and services for image capture, manipulation, digital storage and output (print).
“Electrostatic was the beginning of large-format digital printing as we now know it, with pioneers like Xerox driving this technology forward. So in 1997 we made the decision to focus exclusively on large-format digital print as the technology was developing and growing at a phenomenal pace and Image Reports at this early stage was the only trade publication solely focused on the space.
“The past 20 years has seen the industry go through many changes and Image Reports is proud to have been at the forefront, reporting and communicated all this activity to our entrepreneurial, forward thinking, large-format digital print following.”
One of the articles in this first issue said: There have been instances of companies losing orders because the customer isn’t sure whether of not he can ‘trust’ digital output and has opted to place his order with a screen or offset litho print house which offer familiarity.
January 1996
The cover story here was on Colourgen and its strategy for selling the NovaJet into the graphics marketplace. At the time Mike Hardcastle was sales director. The piece said: “The point we make is that if you want to print from a less expensive device then you have to charge less for it. Our message is: would users prefer do one print an hour and charge £100 per print, or would they rather have to do three prints in an hour at £30 each?”
October 1999
Gee Ranasinha, who worked for Turning Point Technologies and was a regular columnist at the time, tolled the death knell for modems in this commentary: “When it comes to pulling something off the Web, the fact is it’s going to take an age. Pulling off a small software update in five or ten minutes is one thing but getting, for instance, Apple OS8.6 – all 35Mb of it – well, it’s just not worth thinking about.
February 2001
The opening paragraph of this dedicated ‘inkjet’ feature, stated that: A new print category is emerging – industrial print. For years specialist printers have been printing onto substrates other than paper, but it is the recent rapid developments in inkjet technology and associated inks that is now enabling print to reach far beyond its traditional limits… Coined ‘industrial print’ these new markets include the likes of customised signage, wallpaper, textiles, ceramics, glass etc.
October 2008
A landmark issue for Image Reports, which from this moment on became a title dedicated to wide-format inkjet print and helping those using the technology grow their business. Lesley Simpson joined as editor, saying: “I’m listening hard to what you want from Image Reports, so please contact me with thoughts or views”, an invitation which remains open!
January/February 2010
Can W2P be a bringing of business? As developments in technology began to make Web-to-print an option for wide-format printers, Image Reports delved into the heart of the debate about its ROI with one of its now well recognised grass-roots Q&A’s on the topic. Would you still have the same reaction to the comment now as you did then?
June 2011
Over the years Image Reports has published a number of special reports, be they on market sectors or specific areas of technological interest. This software special looked closely at JDF adoption in wide-format, Rip development, design and layout packages and at MIS, topics that were coming under the microscope as PSPs began to see the real potential behind better software integration.
August/September 2012
If you’ve been receiving Image Reports for long you’ll know that Round Tables are a key editorial component, being a brilliant platform for debate. The Widthwise Round Table at the end of each year brings together printers from across the UK and Ireland to debate the state of the sector, and these are supplemented by others on various ‘hot issues’ of the day.
Summer 2013
There could not be a review of Image Reports that did not mention its annual Widthwise Report. As you read this the 2014 Widthwise Survey of the UK and Ireland’s wide-format printers will be in full swing, the data from which will be analysed and used to form the basis of the new report due out in the spring. So if you’ve not yet taken part in the poll click here.
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