Industrial Print at SGIA: A Show Floor Strategy

Industrial printing can be defined as printing that is performed as part of a manufacturing process, depositing ink or some other substance onto a surface or finished product for functional and/or decorative purposes, and differs in many ways from commercial, wide-format, specialty or even packaging printing.

Industrial printing is a high growth area, and new digital technologies are opening up opportunities for other kinds of printers, those who may be new to the very idea of industrial printing. The SGIA Expo show floor is a great place to seek out those opportunities — or perhaps even just get the background necessary to determine exactly what the opportunities may be.

But it can all seem so overwhelming. Where should you start?

Steve Hatkevich, Director of Research and Development at American Trim and head of SGIA’s (Booth 2245) Industrial Printing Committee, takes us on a virtual tour of the show floor. Whether you’re completely new to industrial printing or are already doing some kind of industrial printing, follow in his footsteps to get the basics, find new opportunities or uncover new ways to expand your business.

“I start with inks and coatings,” he says. “I also use this as an opportunity to ask experts about issues and opportunities my business is having as it relates to inks and coatings.” Good places to start include Fujifilm (Booth 1529), INX International (Booth 1919) and Nazdar (Booth 1545).

“The next area is analog print equipment,” says Hatkevich. At this show, that typically means screen printers and screen printing equipment, since screen has been one of the traditional technologies for industrial printing. Vendors to visit include ATMA (Booth 4149) and Thieme (Booth 2913).

After hardware comes supplies, and visits to suppliers of substrates, application supplies, clean-up materials and safety equipment. “This is a broad group with many opportunities,” says Hatkevich. “I just walk the floor looking for opportunities to challenge what I already know or try to learn something new.”

Last comes the digital world. “I review this area with the idea of finding digital solutions to augment what I already do, or look for digital solutions to replace existing analog processes,” says Hatkevich. Two great places to start are Durst (Booth 1945) and Mimaki (Booths 1231 and 1345).

This is a rough road map, and the show floor offers infinite surprises, so just prowling with open eyes will inevitably turn up something unexpected. “I always try to just walk the floor and engage with the vendors,” says Hatkevich. “I often start with the following opening line,‘Hello, my name is X, and my company manufactures Y, how do you think your company can assist me in becoming world-class?’ I then step back and just listen.”