Fastsigns UK managing director John Davies said that, alongside dye-sublimation printing, digital signage is one of the two key areas the business has outlined as having “huge growth potential” for its UK centres in 2018.

“In 2017, and continuing in to 2018, we have continued to call upon our dedicated digital signage training experts, bringing them over from our headquarters in Dallas, Texas to deliver training that ensures all of our centre teams understand the benefits and features of digital signage, and are able to create engaging content for our customers,” he said.

“We are already reaping the rewards of this activity having completed our largest single digital signage project, to date, at the close of 2017.”

Fastsigns Manchester, which recently achieved Idealliance G7 Master Qualification, offers digital signage as well as undertaking traditional sign printing on kit including a Canon Océ Arizona UV flatbed printer and a Roland VersaExpress RF-640 roll-to-roll printer.

Owner of the Manchester centre Richard Wedgwood said one of the biggest advantages of digital signage for customers is “the ability to regularly update content without incurring significant installation charges”.

“As [digital screen] technology has become less cost-prohibitive, interest levels from smaller businesses has been noticeable – it’s no longer the domain of major/large companies alone,” he said.

“If you are going to be a full service provider to a wide range of customers, being able to offer an end-to-end solution which includes elements of digital is essential.”

But Wedgwood added branching out into digital signage also presents some challenges.

“Product and supplier research is not always easy to do. Without appropriate research, supply chains can become unduly lengthy and therefore renders the print company uncompetitive in the digital arena.

“Initial and ongoing training on content management platforms is essential. The technology advances are very frequent and not staying current could render a proposed solution outdated before it’s even deployed to the customer.”

Fastsigns UK remains on course to deliver its three-year plan for new franchised outlet growth, with six new franchisees set to be signed during 2018.