Creativity, Colour, and Cutting Edge Kit

It is with a real sense of anticipation, excitement, and a little fear that I contemplate Sign and Digital UK, which takes place at Birmingham’s NEC from March 24th to 26th. Being one of the biggest media companies at the show, we are kept very busy running around shooting video, covering the latest technology launches, meeting with potential partners, and also spending time just investigating all the weird and wonderful technology and materials on display.

There have been lots of fond memories over the last five years, and I am a mere rookie with this attendance. And what always strikes me is the convivial atmosphere as old colleagues and friends meet up, sometimes for the first time since the last show, and each manufacturer and supplier proudly shouts about what makes them best in a feast of creativity, colour, and cutting edge kit.




So, where to start on 2015. Well, it cannot have escaped your attention that Sign and Digital UK has been across all the trade media headlines with news that it has hit one of its biggest ever exhibitor attendances as it breaks the 200 barrier. The reasons for this are clear. Last year was a bumper buying show by anyone’s estimation, especially for the wide-format print technology exhibitors. HP was one of the headline figures as it sold more than 90 of its new Latex 300 series directly from the show. Hybrid Services was also putting in the punches as the crowds thronged its stand looking at its brand new LED UV JFX200 flat-bed, which is now one of the best-selling entry-level flat-bed printers in the world. But across the spectrum, exhibitors felt they had a good year, mostly because Sign and Digital UK attracted 6,115 visitors across the three days—giving a very good saturation of footfall per stand.

O Factoid: The floor space of Sign and Digital UK spans more than 10,000sq m, which will house more than 200 exhibitors and counting at the time of going to press. O

This year looks to be no different and has attracted all the very biggest names in the sector once again. So, without further ado let’s have a look at a cross-section of what you can expect to see and why it is worth checking it out.

A key headline from the show is that it will see a world first in the form of HP’s newly developed PageWide technology. The manufacturer says it can help lower the overall cost of colour printing, while at the same time reaching speeds substantially faster than current solutions available on the market. Although HP is keeping its cards very close to its chest over the new technology, it has confirmed that visitors can collect their VIP pass to the HP PageWide area from its stand at the show.


“We are absolutely delighted that HP have announced that they will be showing HP PageWide Technology at Sign and Digital UK 2015,” says Sign and Digital UK event director, Rudi Blackett.

He adds: “This is a fantastic opportunity for digital and commercial printing companies to see first-hand how this technology works. Along with the many other launches and learning opportunities, this makes a visit to the show even more essential to keep your business well- informed and competitive.”

Super-wide ambition

While HP may be hiding its light under a bushel, one of the biggest historic names on the floor plan that certainly isn’t, is Agfa Graphics (stand E12), which will use the show to launch its brand new and much anticipated Anapurna M3200i roll-to-roll printer. The new i-series sees the company continue to do battle into the upper echelons of wide-format as its productivity (123sq m/h) and quality  (1440dpi) will fight it out with the very biggest guns in the industry.



Incorporating the latest generation of six colour (CMYKLcLm), high resolution print heads, the sturdy 3.2m wide roll-to-roll UV-curable Anapurna M3200i RTR printer has been designed for extremely low ink consumption. It also features a dual roll option, which makes it possible to simultaneously print jobs on two rolls of the same media type, each up to a maximum of 1.52m wide. The mesh option also makes it possible to print on mesh without liner, thanks to a special gutter underneath the printing area containing an ink-absorbing medium. Agfa will also be showcasing its Asanti workflow developed specifically for the sign and display market, which adds colour management and automatic preflighting to its roster. This system is complemented by the Asanti StoreFront cloud based web-to-print system, which comes as an optional low-investment SaaS solution.

The show will also see InkTec (stand G20 and H20) launch its new 3.2m UV printer, the Jetrix RX3200 in the same super-wide class, which tops out at 169sq m/h. This is a major strategic move for a company which until now has made its name in the entry-level flatbed market.

Suppliers’ playground

While Sign and Digital UK attracts large numbers of original equipment manufacturers, it is also a who’s who of the industry’s biggest suppliers. Indeed, bar Spandex, almost every major player will be there. Among these names will be Paperlinx Visual Technology Solutions (formerly Robert Horne Group) on stand F12, and William Smith, which returns to the show after a short hiatus, taking stands B16 and B20.




“Our stand will showcase products from all aspects of PaperlinX Visual Technology Solutions including our Plastics for Industry range. We will not only be showcasing our products through the innovative stand design but also inspiring visitors to show how many applications and materials can be used as well as showing the opportunities that PaperlinX offers in the wide-format market,” explains Kavita Lal, marketing manager of Paperlinx UK.

She continues: “Systems on display will include the Mimaki CJV160 integrated inkjet printer and cutter, HP Latex digital printer and, following our partnership with Art Systems to sell the Stratasys Ideas 3D printer range in the UK and Ireland, we will be showcasing the Stratasys uPrint SE Plus. We will also be demonstrating KYDEX material forming on the stand.

“We are also creating a platform to show a range of digital medias to support all forms of wide-format print technology. Medias suitable for all types of applications, from easy to apply medias to solid substrates for direct to substrate printing, we have the solutions. Our aim is to help our customers understand the technicalities of our materials and for them to establish new business opportunities.”

She emphasises that the company’s mission is to showcase its products through its innovative stand design, which she says, ‘will inspire visitors’ by showing how its applications and materials can be used.

Lal continues: “Investing in digital is always on trend and customers want to understand how to maximise their offering and differentiate themselves from the competition. This year we want to help our customers to understand how each digital product can enhance their application, be it easy fit medias for ease of application, or cost-effective options for those short term promotions. The choice of medias and substrates we are displaying will enable the customers to make informal choices dependant on the design of their application needs.”

She adds: “Sign and Digital UK is a fantastic platform to showcase our exciting and extensive range of products to new and existing customers. A high level of focus is always based around hardware, and our stand this year compliments both hardware, media, and substrates.”

This positive view of the opportunities that Sign and Digital UK provides is also shared by another supply giant, William Smith. Its marketing manager Chris Bradley believes that, although websites and social media are great for providing a constant and instant ‘shop window’, that nothing beats face-to-face conversation and getting up-close and hands-on with products.


He explains: “We see Sign and Digital UK as a great showcase to provide customers with the opportunity to see new products and cement relationships with our team. There is no other single event in the industry that provides the means of meeting so many current and potential customers in one place.

“Materials that will be seen for the first time at Sign and Digital UK include the new VION brand, as well as new vehicle wrap colours from 3M’s 1080 Series and Arlon’s Ultimate PremiumPlus range.”



The new VION comes with a choice of clear or grey adhesive. It also features a high quality clean white face film that gives excellent and reliable printability, whilst the grey adhesive option gives excellent hiding power.

Bradley continues: “In today’s markets there is increasing pressure on sign-makers for fast turnaround to meet tight deadlines, which means they need a digital print film that can be relied on to print well time after time.



“The etch window film, with a permanent pressure-sensitive adhesive and a clean face film gives exceptional results for internal or external window graphics and internally illuminated displays. The solvent based transparent adhesive allows both wet and dry applications.

“VION paper and transparent application tapes come in a choice of medium and high tack; and both feature an excellent layflat liner that resists curling, and the transparent tapes are embossed to allow tearing in both directions.”

In addition, new colour change wrap colours from 3M and Arlon are designed to give vehicle wrappers an even wider range of options to create distinctive, imaginative and highly individual effects. The 18 colours/finishes in the 3M 1080 Series, described by the firm as ‘fiery, fierce and fizzy’, include Fiery Orange, Fierce Fuchsia, Sheer Luck Green and Satin Canyon Copper. Meanwhile twelve new colours/effects have been added to the Arlon Ultimate PremiumPlus 2600LX range, which features a repositionable air release adhesive that makes this colour change easier to apply.




Indeed, the company has recently been showcasing just how cutting edge its material solutions are by supporting Arlon’s first 2015 #WrapWars com-petition, with a sensational wrap to a modified Audi TT.

Funkeefish was named as the winner for using Arlon’s Ultimate Premium Plus Series 2600LX in Blue Aluminum, with detailing and accents in Sunkiss Aluminum (one of the newest colours in the range) with Matt Black and Matt White graphics all supplied by William Smith. The choice of colours, together with creative design by Funkeefish’s managing director, Mark Chamberlain, gave the resulting wrap a real punch (see picture).

“The strength of our company is that we are very good at design,” explains Chamberlain, who adds: “This final wrap for the Audi was chosen by our staff from ten original designs and colour-ways. We were all delighted with the finish and especially the way the light reflects off the colours.”

With its core business founded on vehicle and fleet graphics, Funkeefish also carries out colour change and graphic wraps for both privately owned and commercial vehicles of all sizes, from cars to HGVs, and regularly uses Arlon products.

Chamberlain continues: “We use a large quantity of Ultimate Premium Plus Series 2600LX and almost always recommend it for colour changes. It handles and applies really well, it has great capabilities and just moulds to the vehicle. It’s an excellent product and gives us a lot of confidence when fitting it. And, of course, the colour selection is fantastic.”

New guns

What amazes me is that in amongst this huge swathe of mechanical and material technology that goes on show every year there are always new gems to find and stories to uncover. One of these is certain to be the CMYUK stand (H10), which will see the well-established firm look towards the sign market with a direct focus for the first time after cracking the commercial print sector.

The company will debut its latest UV-curable systems from EFI and Mimaki, which show the marked increase in popularity for LED capabilities and these will be complemented by an example of the latter manufacturer’s high-speed fast drying solvent-based printers, a Vortex single-pass aqueous-based device that uses Memjet Waterfall technology and a high-end flatbed digital cutting table from Zünd.

Strong emphasis from CMYUK at Sign and Digital UK lies on the latest cost-effective additions to wide-format LED curing technologies with the first UK showing of the EFI H1625 printer, which offers true hybrid capabilities in a 1.6m platform and includes the renowned Fiery XF end-to-end productivity soft-ware and RIP. This is juxtaposed by Mimaki’s JFX-200 LED UV-curable 2.5 x 1.3m dedicated flatbed printer that also offers a reliable high quality solution to sign-makers and display producers.




In keeping with Mimaki’s continued growth in the solvent-based segment, CMYUK is bringing the JV300-160 1.6m printer to Sign and Digital UK, which complete with the Rasterlink RIP, produces high quality graphics at fast throughput speeds. For aqueous-based production, the Vortex 4200 1.06m features single-pass Memjet Waterfall ink-jet technology and is the ideal system for high volume graphics and displays. Finally, the 1.8 x2.4m, Zünd S3 L-1200 CVE12 will go on show, described by the firm as, ‘a robust flatbed solution for all cutting requirements needed in today’s busy sign and display production situations’.

“Our attendance at Sign and Digital UK is certain to encourage visitors to follow through by coming to our new Shrewsbury showroom. With its easy and fast on-line dedicated booking system, companies now have a simple method for reserving a time to road-test the equipment that interests them,” says Robin East, director of CMYUK.

Long-time supporters

Another key factor that characterises the show is the number of exhibitors that come back year-on-year without break. These include the likes of Roland DG, Grafityp, and Hybrid Services/Mimaki to name but a few. This year though sees Hybrid bring one of its biggest arsenal of new kit ever, with no less than ten new launches.

I caught up with a very busy John de la Roche, the company’s national sales manager—sign and graphics, as he prepared for the show. He explained how the event forms part of its overall market strategy: “It is is a key component for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it’s the perfect opportunity to launch new products to the UK and Irish market and with Mimaki’s longstanding reputation for innovation, it’s going to be another very busy year this year. We’ll also be supporting our specialist reseller network at the show and of course, it’s a great opportunity to meet our customers, old and new.

He also revealed some of the bells and whistles to look out for on its stand (D10): “Mimaki’s new sign and graphics ma-chines are real highlights—we have not one but two new ranges of integrated solvent printer/cutters as well as two new lines of solvent and dye-sublimation printers, so we’re rolling out the red carpet for visitors to the stand.

“The CJV150 printer/cutter comes in four sizes—from 800mm up to 1.6m and throughout the range, sports very impressive features including a new silver ink, additional colours to make the spectacular SS21 ink gamut even broader and some great productivity enhancing features.”




De la Roche continues: “With the range starting at a very competitive price point, the opportunity to benefit from such cutting edge technology has never been greater. Another big highlight is Mimaki’s new small format flatbed cutter—the CFL-605RT, which makes its UK and Irish debut at the show. Partnered with the multi award-winning A2 size UJF-6042 flat-bed LED-UV printer, we’ll be showing how it can really transform the process of proofing or producing short runs of packaging and other bespoke output.”

With all this new kit on show, however, the question remains how it will actually help sign-makers and print service providers improve their competitiveness and profitability: “A real strength of Mimaki technology is enabling our customers to add value to their work—such as by die-cutting stickers, using metallic ink and offering their clients print onto a broader range of more creative (and therefore revenue-generating) materials.”


De la Roche concludes: “Obviously the increased speed of the new machines comes from using the latest head and ink technology—which help our customers to react to short deadlines and turn around long runs of print, so for customers upgrading their current technology they’ll be able to produce the same amount of work in shorter time, or more work in the same time.”

Business expansion

Just as Hybrid uses the show as a business expansion platform, so too do much smaller manufacturers/suppliers. Again, another company that has long been a supporter of the show and is now pursuing business expansion off its back is Sagetech, run by the original gentleman inventor Keith Bunker. Set to display its range of innovative and much celebrated vertical panel saws, which now in-corporate both the Zapkut brand for those with lighter cutting duties, with particular appeal to sign-makers, and the Koolkut brand for those with heavier demands such as larger sign-makers and those in the woodworking industry.

The company will also use the show as a launch platform to diversify into new regions on the continent, a process it has already started. Indeed, it has recently partnered with a new continental distribution partner in the form of France-based Braumat.

As co-managing director, Raphael Brault, explains, the particular benefit that the Sagetech machines offer is their ability to cut quickly, easily cleanly and accurately, some of the harder sign-making materials such as aluminium composites, acrylics, and polycarbonates. The Zapkut ZM range and both the Koolkut ranges now come available with an optional router head for v-grooving of aluminium composite, useful for those seeking to manufacture ‘light boxes’, for example, representing a much faster method than the rail system where every cut has to be accurately aligned.

Feel the funk

Small yet incredibly innovative technology providers such as Sagetech are one of the key attractions for me at Sign and Digital UK, and as such one of my best memories comes from 2014, when the Creative Cruiser was driven into the hall (see picture). Owned and run by Ireland-based Sign + Digital, which is the country’s largest supplier to the sign industry, it acts as a one-van sign-makers superstore and training centre.




Speaking to the firm’s effervescent managing director, Leo Maher, he says that 2015 will not only see the return of the Creative Cruiser (stand L10), but also the commissioning of a second one for the UK market and the start of a recruitment drive to find an enthusiastic and passionate manager for it.




“The whole concept behind the cruiser is about educating the customer and engaging with them to find out what tools, materials, and technology they need to make their business run really efficiently and profitably while inspiring them to try new things at the same time,” says Maher, who adds: “The show will see us launch our brand new 350 page Creative Guide catalogue, but we will also be showcasing the huge range of tools and accessories we stock and their applications.”

The company will also be working to educate its UK customer base about its unique approach to customer service. Backed up by a range of both Roland DG inkjet printer hardware at its base and laminators from Vivid, Maher’s stated ambition at the event is, “to show each and every visitor something they will not have seen anywhere else and that will help give their staff and business a ‘keen edge’.”

Softer ambitions

Now, while the show is home to the full spectrum of technology for the sign industry from digital signage through to garment marking and banner welding solutions, it has seen increasing numbers of vendors from the textile print and garment marking world as demand for soft signage and personalised apparel graphics continues to climb from UK consumers.

Perhaps two of the biggest players in this field to offer dedicated solutions are Epson and MTEX. The former will see its 44? Epson SureColor SC-F6000 dye sublimation printer go on show at Perfect Colours (stand C10). It will also have a presence in the form of Xpres (stand C20), which will demonstrate the Epson SureColor SC-F2000 direct-to-garment (DTG) table-top printer. Technology from the firm will also go on show at Service Offset Supplies (stand H34) and Graphic Printing Technologies (GPT) (stand D20).

Looking to MTEX (stand B10), it will also be using the show to debut technology for the very first time, showing the newly launched Vision printer with direct disperse inks and the PAD coating machine together as a ‘snapshot’ of its total turnkey solutions.

“We’re very excited about the up-coming exhibition, and the chance to showcase two of the key elements in our direct-to-textile print solutions,” says Stewart Bell, managing director of MTEX Technologies.

He continues: “A recent Infotrends report showed that the worldwide value of digital textile print was $5.8bn (£3.9bn) in 2013 with a forecast annual growth of 39 percent to 2018, making it a fast-growing and profitable market.

“Our turnkey solutions allow innovative and entrepreneurial businesses to enter this exciting market from a standing start, whichever element they want to focus on from fashion, apparel, industrial or decor.

“We are the only company worldwide that delivers every element of the equipment required for textile production including the site survey, site plans, and installation.”

Well dear readers, I hope the previous 3,493 words have helped guide you through a cross section of what you can see at Sign and Digital UK. What is clear is that our industry has come a very long way in the last two decades that the show has been running, and that there has never been a better time to come along, get your thinking cap on, and find out just what our immensely rich sector has to offer you.

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