2018 State of the Visual Communications Industry Report

There has been an upbeat buzz around the visual communications/wide-format sign and graphics market for several years now. Many print providers are seeing double-digit growth year after year. Walk any of the shows dedicated to the market, and the enthusiasm and energy from exhibitors and attendees alike is almost palpable.

At the same time, we’ve watched other areas of the graphics arts industry struggle to maintain and grow year-over-year. Industry news sources continue to report on graphics arts businesses going under and/or getting sold to larger print entities with more stable profit sheets.

But what makes wide-format print providers so different from their commercial print brethren? And how does their enthusiasm continue to contribute to this dynamic industry?

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Earlier in 2018, Wide-Format Impressions and NAPCO Research surveyed our audience to find out how the visual communications market was faring overall. It was of little surprise to find that survey respondents were overwhelmingly optimistic about the current state of the wide-format industry and opportunity. Eighty-seven percent of respondents reported they were optimistic, with 45% of that number being highly optimistic.

A large part of this optimism is due to growth. Two-thirds of respondents reported increasing sales and volume growth in wide-format products and services in the past year, and more than 75% expect that trend to continue in the coming year.

Survey respondents reported many reasons for sales growth and overall optimism, from technology innovations enabling unique and more affordable applications to new media and inks enabling any surface to be used as a marketing conduit. Here is a sampling of respondents’ answers to an open-ended question on why they were optimistic about the visual communications market:

• “The combination of more media choices, better inks and various printing technologies (aqueous, latex, solvent) is allowing us to produce a greater number of applications.”
• “This is clearly a growing area. Consumers are realizing all that they can do with wide-format and adopting it as a great form of advertising.”
• “We continue to attract new customers once we show them the capabilities of both the roll-to-roll and flatbed printers.”
• “Visual media continues to be a valid part of marketing, and the wide variety of printable materials expands the client application opportunity.”
• “Everywhere you go you see
  wide-format graphics ... hospitals, airports, retail ... they surround us and there is still a lot of application growth possible for technology.”
• “It seems like the manufacturers are always coming up with devices that offer faster throughput and higher quality.”
• “Instead of printing books for meetings, companies are spending more money on making the event look better ... with posters, pop-ups, backdrops, wall wraps, etc. This opens up a wide array of opportunities and capabilities, intersecting with multiple industries.”
• “Advances in printing technology make it more affordable for customers to purchase and easier for us to produce.”
• “Technology keeps improving the market.”
• “It has been our fastest growing department over the past three years and it has been growing 30%+ year-over-year.”

Ample App Opportunities

Because wide-format devices can print on almost any surface, there is a breadth of application opportunities. Respondents reported the top growing sign and display applications (at least 60% of respondents indicated offering these services) including:

1. Window Graphics
2. Banners/Soft Signage/Flags
3. Retail Graphics/Point of Purchase Displays
4. Wall/Architectural/Building Graphics
5. Posters/Presentation Graphics
6. Label/Decal
7. Dimensional Signage
8. Vehicle Wraps/Vehicle Graphics
9. Fleet Graphics/Transit Graphics
10. Trade Show/Museum Display

Window graphics — especially when it comes to retail environments — continue to be a growing market as retail brands focus on new ways to entice and attract consumers into their stores. Because these short-term graphics are relatively easy to install, retailers can order new graphics quickly, changing out the images and sales as often as they need and have their employees install them.

Soft signage — including fabric displays, banners and flags — could almost be considered the “new darling” of the industry. Widely used in Europe, fabric graphics are starting to now see more adoption in U.S. markets and respondents feel this is the No. 2 growth opportunity in the next 12 months. Fifty-five percent of respondents are concerned about rising shipping costs — especially due to new regulations that are impacting truckers. So when you take into account the weight of fabric compared to vinyl, or other materials, when it comes to shipping, it’s no surprise to see more customers requesting it. In some cases, shops are even providing customers with display units, focal-point light boxes which can be outfitted with easy-to-install fabric graphics. This provides an even higher-end look at a reasonable price-point.

As discussed in this issue, retail graphics and point-of-purchase displays continue to be a hot market for print providers. There is intense competition for sales, however, so printers need to step up their game to ensure they are providing all of the services retail brands are looking for. These retail graphics are priming the impulse purchasing pump, so brands are looking for eye-catching, visually engaging images. Also, many shops have seen an increased call for corrugated displays because they are more efficient and cost effective.

But what about the growing opportunities in garment, industrial, commercial and packaging? And what about the bigger economic trends? Are they shaping the evolution of the industry? The full 2018 State of the Visual Communications Industry Report will be available later this year and will cover these adjacent market opportunities, as well as the larger macro-economic issues impacting businesses within this industry.