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Soft Signage: The Market. The Opportunity.
The soft signage market — defined as printing display graphics direct or transfer to textile media — is experiencing unprecedented growth. In fact, according to IT Strategies, soft signage printer sales are expected to expand 8% annually until 2018. And the output of dye-sublimation digital soft signage printing is expected to enjoy an 8% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) between 2015 and 2020.
Demand for soft signage is growing rapidly.
The drivers: For print providers:
• Soft signage is a competitive differentiator – not everyone is doing it
• Soft signage provides and upscale look – commanding higher prices and great margins
• Soft signage is lighter weight – reducing the cost of shipping
• Soft signage is easier to install – versus vinyls, which wrinkle
For print buyers:
• Soft signage is provides an upscale look – makes brands look their best and get noticed
• Soft signage can be folded – without wrinkling, then washed, dried and reused
• Soft signage can be recycled – vinyl cannot
Projected Soft Signage Printer Sales Worldwide
Soft Signage: The Market. The Opportunity.
The value drivers for soft signage. • Light substrate – allows ease of handling and transport
• Brilliant coloring – from dye sublimation inks
• User- & eco-friendly process – safer for environment, printers and users
• High growth– one of the fastest growing segments of commercial printing
• Active ink market – many applications and specialties to choose from
AQ3%
ES/LX8%
AS1%UV
6%
DyeSub82%
WFsharesofTex@lePrin@ngbyTechnology2015=348MM2
Note: Dye Sub requires no pre-coat
Textile Printing for Signage by WF Technology
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Soft Signage: The Market. The Opportunity.
What’s feeding the soft signage market?
Incremental Dye Sub
~20%
Vinyl in decline
Vinyl in decline
Growing Total Market
Vinyl/Solvent/ES Legacy Market Feeder
Global Market Development of Soft Signage
0
100,000,000
200,000,000
300,000,000
400,000,000
500,000,000
600,000,000
700,000,000
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
LE
MR
HE
25% cagr50% cagr
15% cagr
Squ
are
Met
ers
750Systems Installed
120Systems Installed
12,500Systems Installed
1,520Systems Installed
520Systems Installed
35,500Systems Installed
= ~ 24% of IJ WFG
Mostly Transfer
Mostly Direct
In a word, buyers! They want the higher-end look and feel that soft signage provides. Print providers are also jumping into the market for soft signage’s high-margins and lower manufacturing costs – and the need for greener printing.
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Soft Signage: The Market. The Opportunity.
Dye Sublimation: for brilliant results. • Standard dyes bond with synthetic fibers
• Sublimation & disperse dyes transition under heat curing – from a solid to a gas – allowing them to ‘dissolve’ at a molecular level into the substance of synthetic fibers
• Sublimation dyes generate very high color brilliance
Printed DS Transfer Paper
Synthetic Textile Substrate
Roller
Heat Source
(Calendaring)
Vaporized Dye
Dye Sub printing only works with synthetic substrates – usually polyester – because dye molecules in gas bond direct to fibers.
Transfer process illustrated, but can be done direct to textile with subsequent heat-driven sublimation into fibers.
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Soft Signage: The Market. The Opportunity.
Direct or transfer: which is best?
HeatFix
Transfer
Dye Sublimation Transfer Press It all depends on what you want:
• Speed
• Quality
• Scale
• Environmental considerations
• Transfer printing allows better ink and image calibration than direct.
• Transfer generally does not require fabric pre-treatment.
• But transfer can have poorer registration at extended widths and be complex for longer runs.
Direct+
HeatFix
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EFI fuels success. We develop breakthrough technologies for the manufacturing of signage, packaging, textiles, ceramic tiles, and personalized documents, with a wide range of printers, inks, digital front ends, and a comprehensive business and production workflow suite that transforms and streamlines the entire production process, increasing your competitiveness and boosting productivity. Visit www.efi.com or call 650-357-3500 for more information.
Nothing herein should be construed as a warranty in addition to the express warranty statement provided with EFI products and services.
© 2017 ELECTRONICS FOR IMAGING, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. | WWW.EFI.COM
IT Strategies, Inc. Partner to print. IT Strategies, Inc. is a digital printing market research firm and consultancy, with a focus on non-consumer printer markets. Established in 1992, IT Strategies has been a partner of Inkjet production printing manufacturers in helping to identify, size, and qualify new market opportunities for Inkjet printing technologies.
For more information, contact: Mark Hanley. President, IT Strategies, Inc. [email protected]