According to Dana Eitzen, corporate and marketing communications executive at Canon South Africa, the benefits of digital print offer greater creative freedom for designers, décor brands and interior design professionals, without the technical or economic constraints of traditional print processes.
From wallpaper and tiles to wood and glass, digital print is enabling creativity and innovation in the interior design sector, opening up new areas of opportunity for designers and print service providers (PSPs) alike.
Print on demand enables full customisation and eliminates the need to store inventory, allowing for more experimentation and lowering barriers to entry. Awareness, however, is key and the understanding of digital print’s capabilities is not yet high in the interior design community.
Despite this, the decorative printing market is already estimated to be worth R236.3 billion ($16.6 billion), with the impact of digital print’s growth in this area contributing to a projected annual growth rate of 4% (1).
While this currently constitutes less than a quarter of the fast-growing industrial print sector (2), the fact that the market has an estimated retail value of R1.7 trillion ($125 billion) (3) emphasises the high value of these applications.
Consider wallpaper as an example. Until recently, wallpaper had been in something of a decline (4), with a perception that it is ‘old fashioned’. Since early 2017, however, the interior décor media have been declaring wallpaper to be ‘back’ (5) and digital print is certainly playing a role in that trend, enabling reproduction of heritage designs, mass customisation and increasingly popular mural walls (6).
In fact, the digitally printed wallpaper market, currently valued at R32 billion (€2.19 billion), is expected to grow at 25% annually until 2023 (7). For PSPs, the potential profit margins on digitally printed wall coverings are considerably higher than those on many commoditised display graphics applications.
It is this combination of market growth and higher potential profit margins that is attracting growing numbers of PSPs to printed décor. Indeed, 74% of respondents in the 2018 FESPA Print Census identified wallpaper and interior décor as growth areas for their businesses (8).
Five success factors in digitally printed décor
Whether a PSP wants to introduce décor applications for the first time or grow their existing décor service offering, at Canon we identify five factors that are critical to success in this market segment: understanding the market and the client’s context; a consultative approach to working with clients; the technical capability to produce applications that are fit for purpose; good project management skills; and a network of strong partnerships that support delivery.
1. Developing project management skills
The network of people and businesses operating in the interior décor market is broad, multifaceted and ever-changing. The make-up of the team involved in any project will vary according not only to the project’s size, but also its market segment. In retail and hospitality, for example, PSPs may find themselves working with an in-house design studio or brand agency at one end of the spectrum, or with a boutique or restaurant owner at the other.
When it comes to décor for corporate environments, the client could be anyone from an architect or an interior decorator through to an office manager. In the case of printed décor for the home, end users will be consumers, but architects, interior designers and décor consultancies are likely buyers of bespoke applications, while décor retailers and manufacturers may commission products such as wallpaper, soft furnishings and even furniture.
2. Taking a consultative approach
Regardless of whether they’re working with existing clients or new ones, most PSPs will start out as suppliers of what interior designers refer to as FF+E – furniture, fixtures and equipment. However, designers often rely on FF+E suppliers for input during a project’s design phase, particularly when – as may often be the case with print – their expertise is far removed from the designer’s. For PSPs who work to develop an understanding of the interior design market landscape and its drivers, this presents an excellent opportunity to become an important part of the design team.
Our customers operating in the printed décor market understand that their role is to inspire customers, showing them the possible ways of realising their creative vision. That’s the role PSPs can play – valued consultants who understand the market, appreciate the drivers behind their clients’ requirements and then use their specialist knowledge to help clients make the right choices for each application in context of the setting and the required quality, as well as to highlight options they may not have considered.
3. Establishing technical capability
Each décor application demands a set of technical capabilities that extends beyond equipment features and capacity. Bearing in mind the drivers behind their client’s requirements, PSPs need to consider the steps necessary to ensure an application is fit for purpose. These run from priming the substrate and selecting the right production method through to finishing the application to protect it in its environment and, finally, ensuring that installation will not compromise any of these steps.
With all of these considerations to bear in mind for each application, it is clear that for most PSPs, establishing a viable décor offering will entail some level of investment. By focusing on developing the technical capabilities needed for just three or four applications to begin with, PSPs can concentrate their investment on developing proficiency at these and then build on this success.
4. Developing project management skills
As we’ve already seen, it is rare for the décor applications produced by PSPs to stand alone; the majority will form part of wider interior design projects. At a glance this may seem to make the PSP just one part of an extended workflow running from the design concept right through to installation, but it also presents an excellent opportunity to play a pivotal role in that workflow.
PSPs’ specialist knowledge places them in an excellent position to advise both clients and others in the supply chain on how to deliver the design vision practically and within the constraints of the project. By developing the project management capabilities to deliver this themselves, they stand to enhance their service offering. Additionally, focusing on the whole project instead of just one print application can present opportunities to expand their scope of work and build more valuable client relationships.
5. Building a network of partners
For PSPs new to the décor market, building a network of trusted partners has the potential to expand the knowledge and experience they can draw on, enabling them to offer applications that they may not yet have all the internal capabilities to deliver. Partnerships also have the potential to generate new business through referrals or further collaboration. Of course, the partnerships that PSPs find valuable will differ considerably from business to business, depending on their portfolio of services, their client base and their existing capabilities. However, by adopting an open, ‘we could do that’ mindset, PSPs have the potential to develop their network as they grow, meeting new partners through each project they work on.
PSPs should also consider how partnerships with technology solutions providers could help them to develop their printed décor business. At Canon, we draw on the expertise of an international network of product specialists and application experts in our work to develop digitally printed décor. As a result, our customers can access the guidance, technical expertise and mentoring that enables them to deliver new applications, improve their service offerings and develop their businesses.
There is no right or wrong way to be a successful décor service provider – each PSP needs to use their own strengths and set out a plan that best works for them. Those PSPs that make an effort to increase and show their knowledge of the décor sector, with support from Canon, are more likely to excel in this market.
(1) Smithers Pira. August 2018. The Future of Decorative Printing to 2023. (https://www.smitherspira.com/industry-market-reports/printing/decorative-printing-to-2023)
(2) Smithers Pira. August 2017. Smithers Pira forecasts functional and Industrial printing market to grow to $114.8 billion by 2022. (https://www.smitherspira.com/news/2017/august/functional-and-industrial-print-market-growth)
(3) Smithers Pira. August 2018. The Future of Decorative Printing to 2023. (https://www.smitherspira.com/industry-market-reports/printing/decorative-printing-to-2023)
(4) Milly Burroughs. 22 January 2018. Charting the Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of Wallpaper. AnOther. (http://www.anothermag.com/design-living/10507/charting-the-rise-and-fall-and-rise-again-of-wallpaper)
(5) Megan Buerger. 1 March 2017. Wallpaper is making a big comeback. Here’s how to choose, use and remove. The Washington Post. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/wallpaper-is-making-a-big-comeback-heres-how-to-choose-use-and-remove/2017/02/28/c9b2eb40-f88a-11e6-9845-576c69081518_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7dfe6aa510b1)
(6) Julia Evans. 16 March 2017. Top wallpaper trends for 2017. House Beautiful. (https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/decorate/walls/a1421/top-wallpaper-trends-for-2017/)
(7) Research and Markets. June 2018. Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market by Substrate (Nonwoven, Vinyl, Paper, Others), by Printing Technology (Inkjet, Electrophotography), by End-use Sector (Residential, Non-residential, Automotive & Transportation), & Region – Global Forecast to 2023. (https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/dsl8cn/digitally_printed?w=5)
(8) FESPA. May 2018. 2018 print census reveals strategic responses to escalating demand. (https://www.fespa.com/en/news-media/press-releases/2018-print-census-reveals-strategic-responses-to-escalating-demand)
CANON SOUTH AFRICA (+27) (0) 12 675 4900 James.DeWaal@Canon.co.za
http://www.canon.co.za
