Phil McMullin, Epson UK.
The OEM’s United Kingdom division is heading into the new year with excitement and optimism.
Epson UK’s sales manager Phil McMullin is forecasting a Happy New Year for the OEM, based on renewed faith in business, a resilient printing market, and a return to global stability.
I am optimistic for the coming year,” McMullin says. “I think some of the political uncertainty will evaporate and business confidence will build. Printing is holding strong, at least in the sectors we serve and with the future-minded technology that we offer.”
McMullin also spoke of the innovations Epson has pioneered through 2017, such as the introduction of the SurePress L-4533 label press series, and the SureColor SC F-9300 dye sublimation printer. Currently, the OEM globally is investing €1.4 million ($1.6 million) a day into Research & Development, around 5.2 percent of its annual revenue, so it seems likely that 2018 will be another forward-looking year.
“‘Expand the brand’ should be the print industry’s motto for the coming year. Printers can, and will, continue to diversify, expanding their product portfolio by using wide format technology in new markets. Increasingly the industry is expected to take on a more advisory or consultancy role and, as the keeper of a client’s brand, printers are in an exceptional position to help their customers add value to their name and reputation.”
2018 will also bring a variety of events, both one-off and regular, that McMullin believes will provide some interesting print opportunities: The FIFA World Cup in Russia, the annual London Fashion Week, and the recently-announced royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are just three examples of the coming year’s highlights which may well inspire a print rush.
Looking ahead in other areas, McMullin says: “We will see a resurgence of eco-solvent technology as the ink set of choice for discerning printers who want to produce vibrant outdoor displays and vehicle graphics. There will be further expansion of dye sublimation technology for short runs of bespoke graphics, promotional products and textiles. Digital printing technology can now deliver outstanding quality across a wide array of applications without compromising productivity and printers need to take advantage or lose competitiveness to others. The investment level in this sector is very competitive.”