Tim Greene

Tim Greene

Tim Greene is a Research Director within IDC’s Hardcopy Solutions group. Greene is responsible for coverage of the large format printing, 3D printing, and digital signage markets. 

Wide-format Trends: A Wide-open Opportunity

Recently, InfoTrends and NAPCO (publisher of Printing Impressions) surveyed 167 print service providers (PSPs)—72 of which were print-for-pay—and we were able to ask about their attitudes and expectations around wide-format digital printing. InfoTrends found that while initial investment price was not a major consideration, return on investment (ROI) is a critical part of the wide-format digital printing business for these shops.

Measuring Performance

InfoTrends’ recent “Emerging Trends” survey was designed to create performance and value innovation benchmarks for the production printing market. There were a total of 10 data points developed from this survey that a company can use to evaluate its performance.

The Survey Says — State of Wide-Format

Printing Impressions and InfoTrends have recently conducted a survey of Printing Impressions’ readers that focused on their use of wide-format digital printing equipment. The respondents to the survey fell into two main groups: in-plant operations and print-for-pay establishments. Participants were asked various questions regarding their current wide-format equipment and services, as well as future plans for their wide-format business. (See Chart 1.) The results show that while aqueous ink-jet is still the dominant technology, there is a growing presence in the production and commercial printing market of newer printing technologies. More than 67 percent of respondents indicated that they currently own an aqueous ink-jet