Interior design industry to boost printing

Mona Al Marri, director-general, Government of Dubai Media Office, during the opening of Sign and Graphic Imaging Middle East (SGI)

The UAE's burgeoning interior design and decor segment will increasingly impact the demand for innovative printing solutions, experts at the Sign & Graphic Imaging Middle East (SGI) 2017 trade event said on Sunday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the show, Michael Smetana, head of marketing for graphics solutions at HP Europe, Middle East & Africa, said that consumers are increasingly opting for innovative cost-effective solutions when it comes to decorating their homes and offices. Another trend that was proving to be popular in the region, he noted, was green printing and eco-friendly solutions.
"The interior and design industries are growing at considerable rates, with companies in the UAE spending up to Dh300 million, taking the top spot in the GCC on interior design expenditure. This proves there is great potential for manufacturers to introduce new and innovative technologies to meet this growing demand," he said.
"The Middle East printing industry has always proven to be a very strong segment, because of the popularity of signage and advertising solutions for both indoors and outdoors. In addition to most of the demand coming from this segment, we have a lot of young designers looking for ways to bring about some innovation in their work. This translates into them printing their designs on different materials which are then used to create items such as furniture," Smetana said. "Soon we will be seeing these printed solutions being used in a number of different places such as hotel interiors, in hospitals, and even schools."
HP's latex printing technology, which was being showcased at the exhibition, allows for businesses to transform the walls of residential, commercial, and consumer spaces, offering a new innovation to interior designers and decorators. Customers can choose from a wide range of flexible coated and uncoated materials, offering unlimited opportunity to the interior world. HP Latex Inks offer the versatility to print on both coated and uncoated media, while enabling high-speed, high-productivity printing. The water-based formulations of HP Latex Inks reduce the impact of printing on the environment.
Jacky's Business Solutions, which was also participating at the event, was showcasing a comprehensive range of its digital solutions and UV large format printing technologies for major regional enterprises and corporations seeking efficient visual marketing solutions.
"The printing and signage industry has grown significantly over the years," said Ashish Panjabi, COO of Jacky's Business Solutions. "With manpower costs rising across the region, automated, more efficient printing, fabrication and finishing solutions have become the order of the day which is why we have shifted focus sourcing such solutions this year."
Like Smetana, Panjabi revealed that the majority of the demand for printing solutions came from the advertising segment in the UAE. "Before, we could see that a lot of the demand came from retailers in shopping malls and from companies that organised outdoor and indoor events. Today, a fair amount of the demand is for digital solutions, and the UAE has been very quick on the uptake."
As a supporting sponsor, Jacky's Business Solutions will introduce the HP Latex 570 and HP Latex 1500 printers for the first time at the event. The 1.63 meters large format HP Latex 570 printer for the sign and display industry is designed for mid-size to large print service providers (PSPs) with increasing print volumes, enabling customers to manage a variety of print jobs at a lower upfront investment and helping to meet peak production demands.
With a width of 3.2 meters, the HP Latex 1500 printer is more suitable for mid-volume print services and provides fast, affordable, super-wide printing solutions ideal for indoor and outdoor applications - including PVC banners, self-adhesive vinyl, textiles and double-sided prints.
Canon, another exhibitor at the event, was also showcasing its premium portfolio of technological heritage in the signage industry spanning from indoor to outdoor printing. In particular, the brand was highlighting its UVgel printing technology that offers large format print providers an unprecedented combination of productivity, image quality, application range, automation and low-cost operation. The ink instantly gels when it comes into contact with the media it is printed on. The result is a precise dot placement, and area control for consistent high-quality images at high speed.
"We have been in the indoor market for several years now," said Shadi G. Bakhour, regional director for B2B at Canon ME. "However, this is the first year that we are displaying our new products which cater to the outdoors segment. From printing signage we moved on towards digital signage, and now we are introducing interactive signage. We are also promoting augmented reality which is bringing printed signage to life."
According to a report by Smithers Pira, the global printed PoS/signage market amounted to 12.8 billion square metres of material in 2014 and was worth over $49.4 billion. Indoor signage is a much larger market, accounting for 72 per cent of the volume output while outdoor signage accounted for 28 per cent. Overall PoS/signage demand is forecast to grow by 0.8 per cent annually to 2020 with indoor signage growing on average by 1.2 per cent. Another report by Grand View Research states that the UAE digital signage market is pegged to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 23 per cent over the next four years. - rohma@khaleejtimes.com