The past year has seen a variety of new innovations and solutions from manufacturers that are responding to customers more than ever before. Now that manufacturers have been able to take their fingers off the pause button following the pandemic, the consensus amongst producers of wide-format machines is that customer feedback is of paramount importance. Exhibitions like The Print Show and FESPA Global Print Expo have meant businesses have been able to interact with providers of wide-format print as well as the many marketing agencies and endusers who rely on wide-format graphics for a range of solutions. As wide-format and superwide-format applications become more and more popular for use in retail, live events, entertainment, exhibitions, and local authorities, the machinery printers require becomes more and more demanding. Wide-format machines now have to prove not only the speed and accuracy of their prints, but also their sustainable credentials, and of course, print quality. So, what are some of the brands and releases that have been discussed throughout events and installations over the past year? New Perspectives A theme in wide-format print this year has been “new perspectives”. Used as the official theme of FESPA 2023 in Munich, the title has continued to be relevant as more and more developments have been made in the industry. Two exhibitors of FESPA also went big at The Print Show 2023 in September. Liyu UK had a major presence at the UK event with the largest stand ever at the exhibition, filled with the company’s range of printers, flatbeds, and cutters. Fujifilm UK held the record for the largest ever single booking at the show and used its 240sq m stand to showcase a range of printers including its Acuity Prime Hybrid and Acuity Prime 30 models. Andy Kent, division manager for Fujifilm UK, comments: “It’s an exciting time for Fujifilm. Following multiple exciting announcements over the past year across the commercial print, wide-format, and packaging sectors, there was no better place than The Print Show for us to showcase how we can help our customers transform their businesses with our leading digital solutions.” A WIDE RANGE OF POSSIBILITIES After looking earlier in the year at some of the wide-format print kit on the market, in this second part we look at some of the other machines and brands making waves in the industry for those producing large-scale work MARKET TRENDS / WIDE-FORMAT PRINT KIT PT.2 55 November / December 2023 - Issue 345 www.printmonthly.co.uk ▲ SwissQprint hosted open days in September at its UK HQ in Bracknell
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