Applications

The purpose of the Wrap Rally II is to show all the wider opportunities open to the modern print service provider. Innovation and diversification is a realistic option. During the Wrap Rally II we will be visiting the coolest, most innovative printers who use the print applications/areas of interest that you will see below.

Each print market will include an interview with an expert, so if you have any questions that you would like answered, or if you would like to ask for help with a challenge you may have experienced with any of the applications above, please feel free to send us your questions!

Interiors

The versatility of digital printing opens the doors to endless opportunities for interior design and its applications.  Interior printing can include many possibilities but the most popular are canvas prints, wallpaper printing, curtains/blinds and floor-graphics/carpet printing.

You can of course also print on mugs, plates, tablemats, cushions and other homeware items which are also covered by this broad area.

Web to Print

Web-to-print, also known as remote publishing, is a commercial prepress process that bridges the gap between digital content online and commercial print production. This process allows a print house, a client, and possibly a graphic designer to create, edit, and approve computer-based online templates during the prepress phase.
 
Web-to-print is becoming increasingly popular as it facilitates internationalisation and helps immediately connect the printer to the customer. Web-to-print solutions are even being deployed in the wide format sector.

Sustainable Printing

Printing is widely regarded as an industry that is high on waste and low on green credentials.  Leading printers worldwide are dispelling this stereotype by becoming more planet friendly – which reduces costs and differentiates them from their competitors.  With FESPA’s Planet Friendly Guide, there is a platform for printers to learn and find out how to become planet friendly in print, and this niche is becoming more popular and perhaps more intriguingly; more profitable.


Outdoor (Billboards) & LED

Although there are many types of outdoor advertising, the majority of outdoor advertising is using wide format print, and the most common outdoor medium is the billboard.

Out of home advertising, therefore, is focused on marketing to consumers when they are "on the go" in public places, in transit, waiting. Outdoor formats fall into four main categories: billboards, street furniture, transit, and alternative.

Signage

Signage is any kind of visual graphics created to display information to a particular audience. This is typically manifested in the form of way-finding information in places such as streets or inside/outside of buildings.

There are many different types of signage and therefore many different ways of manufacturing/printing signs.  However digitally printed signage is becoming more common with recent advancements in digital printing machinery, substrates, inks and software allowing for minimised lead times for the supply to customers.

Point of Sale/Point of Purchase (POS/POP)

A point-of-sale display (POS) is a specialized form of sales promotion that is found near, on, or next to a checkout counter (the "point of sale" – sometimes also known as Point of Purchase or POP, or in-store). They are intended to draw the customers' attention to products, which may be new products, or on special offer, and are also used to promote special events, e.g. seasonal or holiday-time sales.  POS displays can include shelf edging, dummy packs, display packs, display stands, mobiles, posters, and banners.

These displays are printed often using a digital printer, and is an important part in the retail marketing mix.  In recent years, shopper behaviour/consumer psychology is now being used in POP design and locations to get the best affect from printed point of sale displays

Packaging and Labelling

Packaging and labelling is any written, electronic, or graphic communications on the packaging or on a separate but associated label.

Typically a narrow format printing industry, more and more of the work in the printing of packaging and labelling of products are being undertaken using digital print.  This industry is closely related to the Point of Sale market with both having retail marketing in common.

Direct Mail

The term "direct mail" is used to refer to communications sent to potential customers via the postal service and other delivery services.  Direct mail can include advertising circulars, catalogues, and other unsolicited merchandising invitations delivered by mail to homes and businesses.

Often direct mail is used on a lithographic printer due to the number of exact copies of the same material.  However, the advancement in marketing and the variable data printing market has led to many direct mail jobs being produced on a digital printer to allow the marketer to tailor its message to each consumer.

Vehicle Wrapping

Wrap advertising is the marketing practice of completely or partially covering (wrapping) a vehicle in an advertisement or livery, thus turning it into a mobile billboard. This can be achieved by simply painting the vehicle surface, but it is now common practice to use large vinyl sheets with a printed design as decals. These can be removed with relative ease, making it much less expensive to change from one advertisement to another.

Vehicle wrapping is becoming ever more popular.  Recently, instead of using vehicle wrapping for advertising, it is more fashionable to be used for decorative purposes after a series of celebrities used car wraps on their supercars!

Building Wrapping

The construction and reconstruction of buildings is not regarded as a particularly beautiful scene. So in recent times construction companies have taken to wrapping the ‘customer facing’ side of the building to be covered in a printed wrapped vinyl to keep the visual setting less intrusive for passers-by.   There have been examples of construction companies using these wraps to show what the finished building will look like. 

Building Wrapping is different to vehicle wrapping and not just because of the medium.  The vinyl used is very different as it has to conform to strict building rules and regulations. Building wraps are also used for advertising.

3d Printing
3D printing, not to be confused with lenticular printing (appearing 3d) is a phrase used to describe the process of creating three dimensional objects from a digital file.  The term is most closely associated with additive manufacturing technology, where an object is created by laying down successive layers of material.  3D printing is now able to create items using an inkjet printing system. The printer creates the model one layer at a time by spreading a layer of powder (plaster, or resins) and inkjet printing a binder in the cross-section of the part. The process is repeated until every layer is printed. This technology is very new, very revolutionary and very exciting.