2023 Wide-Format Innovators: How Image Options Drives Wide-Format Innovation

It’s not just the printing that defines Image Options. It’s also planning, coordination, and execution. | Credit: Image Options

Image Options’ quest for innovation — to find new markets and opportunities, and to find more effective ways to serve them — is one of the things that sets the company apart. From building bespoke software to add greater customer connectivity on large retail accounts, to the implementation of dye-sublimation on a high-production scale, to building valuable and largely-uncharted paths in surface decoration for architectural and construction clients, the company has stayed in the lead — and not by accident. There is a mindset among the company’s leadership, including chief strategy officer, principal, and co-founder Brian Hite, that involves seeking what’s next. Here’s a deeper dive into their approach.

WFI: What does innovation look like in today’s wide-format segment?

Brian Hite: It is difficult to describe what is truly innovative in the large-format space today. Innovation should always continue to drive the large-format space, but with the industry reaching a mature state, innovation has slowed. I’ve personally not experienced or seen any significant moves of the needle.
That being said, there are companies which have developed unique attributes and efficiencies: from adapting equipment designed for another industry and applying it to large-format, to introducing new processes, and adapting automation where appropriate. The industry has always been full of creative and forward-thinking solutions.