Think big, act smart
Why Image Reports is calling on you to get involved in a new initiative designed to push the boundaries of wide-format print.
Got big ideas about how to optimise your large-format print kit? Bet they include the production of higher-margin niche products, after all you have the kit and the know-how to produce myriad new applications. But how to ramp up demand, that’s the crux of course – you can spend as much R&D time as you like in coming up with fantastic offerings but to create a demand you have to be able to explain to potential customers what it is you’re offering and excite them about the possibilities.
OK, some of your existing customers might buy into new services, but the real money will come when the wider creative community wakes up to the huge potential of large-format in all its possible product guises. Unfortunately, there are plenty of stories about wasted sales and marketing strategies to know that it’s not always that easy to get a foot in the right doors, never mind access the right people. The problem is ‘print’ has a stigma attached to it, automatically labelled a ‘production’ process rather than ‘creative’ one by many of those in the design space that are so crucial to the development and continued growth of the sector. Educating those involved in all forms of design and decoration about the creative possibilities is what will ultimately push the boundaries of wide-format print and generate new business – which is why Image Reports is launching Think Big.
This new initiative has a number of objectives:
- The transfer of knowledge on wide-format print capabilities to the wider creative community to stimulate new opportunities
- To promote a symbiotic relationship between the design and print sectors for the development of new business
- To act as an educational repository of wide-format print information for use by creatives and printers alike
- To create an online community
Image Reports has been working closely with Jon Baker, director of NES Solutions, and Belinda Holden, an independent built environment art consultant, to devise a forum that will, over time, grow to meet the Think Big objectives and include input from across the print and creative communities.
One of the first Think Big initiatives involves artist Sarah Sabin who will be using NES Solutions’ UV direct-to-media large-format inkjet printing processes, in conjunction with materials perhaps not normally associated with printing, to investigate new possibilities. The intention is to expand this ‘Test Lab’ scenario to other printers and creatives. The investigations will be covered in Image Reports which has introduced a Think Big section to its website.
Speaking about his reasons for getting involved in Think Big, Baker explained: “For NES it’s all about diversification within the confines of traditional market sectors and from that diversification we then develop a niche, which we hope then becomes a market sector in its own right. This is pretty much how it worked for us with the development of graphical building cladding.
“Educating the wider market about possibilities of large-format is now fundamental to my role and to NES. For example, we have been working on three-dimensional print projects for over four years and have an excellent understanding of the technical aspects and the recourses required to undertake this type of work. However, we have developed this niche almost single handed and are keen to work further and closer with material manufactures, suppliers and creatives to further its development. It is therefore of great interest to me to be at the forefront of anything that furthers diversity and creativity in wide-format printing and we are excited about Think Big, a forum that is proposing to involve architects, designers and artists as well as printers, manufacturers and fabricators. It should have a very real impact upon the printing landscape and, if used correctly, can only increase the awareness and understating of all the techniques available. That can only be a good thing for the whole industry and should result in some fantastic projects being undertaken.”
The Think Big forum was introduced at Fespa Digital where Image Reports hosted the Digital Debate with the theme: ‘What are the challenges facing us today and what do we need to do to move forward?’ the overriding message from which was a need to work more closely with creatives to stimulate a wider marketplace for the print we can produce. Think Big intends to be a conduit to that.
