New wide-format opportunities seem to develop on an annual, if not monthly, basis and in this year’s report we report on subjects from the growing demand for bespoke wall coverings and interior decor to the raft of largely untapped promotional products for dye-sub printers.

And just as importantly, now that purse strings are being relaxed as the investment climate starts to thaw, we also take a look at the successful strategies some commercial printers employed when they made their first moves into wide-format digital, and some of the lessons they learned.

That’s not to say that everything is necessarily rosy in the world of wide-format, even here non-print technologies pose a potential threat, although some forward-thinking firms are finding ways to turn the advent of digital screens into an opportunity.

There are lessons too that wide-format printers can learn from their commercial cousins in the take-up of web-to-print and workflows.

Of course, those inroads will no doubt broaden as commercial printers leverage their experience of both, and, as more enter the fray, then wide-format’s seemingly limitless growth looks set to continue for a long time yet. 

Darryl Danielli Editor, PrintWeek