SGI 2013 brings latest in digital printing technology

Dubai:

Sign and Graphic Imaging (SGI), the important event covering the sign industry in the Middle East, and the second largest of its kind in the world, wrapped up this week. Large digital printing machines dominated the exhibition halls, equipped with the technology to print on different materials, from paper and textiles to wood and metal. Some of the major exhibitors included Cannon, Fujifilm, HP, and Sign Trade.

The event highlighted the Middle East’s major shift from analogue printing- which requires users to control screens and plates manually- to digital printing that provides computerized control. “The Middle East is becoming digitized. I expect that analogue printing in the Middle East will disappear in the next five to six years,” said Enis Kraiem, regional sales manager of Fujifilm Middle East.

The market for digital printing in the Middle East is growing, according to industry experts at the event. It currently represents 60 per cent of the graphics markets of the region, Kraiem said. The other 30 per cent is for offset printing and 10 per cent for analogue printing.

While the digital printing industry in the region is expected to grow, experts are witnessing the shift toward communication using digital platforms, like digital billboards. “We don’t see many of these digital billboards here because they cannot stand the heat,” said Sharif Rahman, managing director of International Expo Consultants (IEC), the organizer of the event.

Yasin Merchant, managing director of Sign Trade, expects that in the next two years, “30 to 40 per cent” of business in the GCC will communicate using digital platforms.

Sarah Algethami is a trainee at Gulf News.