This time of the year is always a busy one for Link Publishing as we also send out our annual Sign Directory. This guide gives you tailored access to every major service and supplier in our diverse and colourful industry. This most importantly allows your business to keep up-to-date with all the latest technologies and their providers.

With this in mind, if you look at our September issue of SignLink, we have focused on the opportunities associated with making the jump from wide-format sign and display printing to super wide-format, commonly classed as 3.2m print widths and above (see p 33). While the common view is that investing in such kit is a mountain to high to climb for many in our industry, this is not necessarily the case.

The most important factor of course is whether the demand for the products which can be manufactured on super-wide format kit justifies the investment. My simple answer to this is yes. With the right research, product portfolio and sales strategy, there is a gold mine of work out there to be discovered. This is essentially because today’s super wide-format printers and finishing equipment (see p39) have come a long way and allow for more rapid, better quality and much more economical production than even two years ago. The result is that services from vehicle fleet wrapping to industrial building wraps can be created with a far smaller degree of investment risk.

On another issue, it seems the battle lines between third party ink suppliers and original equipment manufacturers are hardening (see p5 and 8). This development is being driven by some unscrupulous companies that are damaging the perception of third party inks and hurting reputable suppliers. So, if you have been burnt by buying poor quality consumables, then please get in touch so we can start to stamp out the practice.