Outdoor Graphics Provide a 'Substantial Opportunity'

The wide-format outdoor graphics market is one of the fastest-growing areas of the wide-format digital printing market, according to InfoTrends/CAP Ventures. The consulting group projects that the segment will demonstrate a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12 percent between 2003 and 2008. By 2008, aqueous inkjet and solvent-based inkjet printing are expected to produce more than 1 billion sq ft of outdoor graphics in North America alone.

“The wide-format outdoor graphics printing market is evolving into a unique arena that represents potential growth opportunities for a wide variety of businesses,” says Tim Greene, associate director at InfoTrends/CAP Ventures. “Not only is there a substantial opportunity in terms of retail value for the traditional signage market, but there is an excellent opportunity for other segments of the market–such as service bureaus, quick and commercial printers, photo labs, repro shops, etc.–to grow their revenues based on the availability of new outdoor-graphics-producing technologies, specifically UV-curable inkjet printing.”
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In a recent study, “Outdoor Graphics: Not Just for Sign Shops Anymore,” InfoTrends/CAP Ventures also found that:

–25 percent of the wide-format output that study respondents produce is intended for outdoor use;

–On average, more than half of the consumables purchased by respondents are from third-party vendors; and

–When it comes to supplies, respondents place a higher premium on availability than on brand. (InfoTrends/CAP Ventures: www.capv.com)