TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Month’s SBI Trivia Question Stumper:
What was the value of the digital inks market worldwide for 2007?
For the answer, scroll to the bottom of the newsletter.
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Industry News
[[HOT TOPIC]] ISA International Sign Expo '08
The International Sign Association (ISA) returns to Orlando, Florida next week, March 26-29, as its record-breaking ISA International Sign Expo '08 takes place at the Orange County Convention Center. Not only is this one of the biggest sign shows of the year, but it's also one of the biggest tradeshows of the year, jumping 15 places to 106th in Tradeshow Week magazine's prestigious "Tradeshow Week 200" list. This is the fifth consecutive year the event has appeared on the list (climbing in position each year).
The event is a heady mix of education, exhibits, demonstrations, and networking opportunities. (Education opportunities will be held March 26-29, while the exhibit floor will open its doors March 27-29.) The Expo will offer CEUs (continuing education units), pre-conference workshops (New Business Owners: How to Navigate Through the Sign Industry; International Business Workshop; Pre-conference Workshop Luncheon; and Women of the Industry Leading the Way: Connect, Communicate, and Commit), and the Discovery Seminar Series (divided into tracts such as Technical, Legislate, Digital Imaging, Sales/Marketing, Hands On, Management, Graphic Arts/Design, and Digital Signage).
There's going to be a lot of information distributed and digested at this high-profile show, and it's important that if you're attending, you get the most return on your investment. But how does one do that?
Over the past year, we've printed (online and in the magazine) recommendations and advice from representatives of the leading sign shows in the country -- Lightfair, SGIA '07, and USSC Sign World USA. This month, we're pleased to present a question-and-answer session with ISA President Lori Anderson about what to expect when attending next week's show.
SBI Update: Please explain the education value of ISA Sign Expo '08.
Anderson: The hundreds of people who participate in ISA's Discovery Seminar Series will operate more professionally, productively, profitably, and responsibly as a result of the skills and knowledge gained by attending one or more of the many sessions available. The Sign Expo offers members a "one stop" shop/tradeshow, plus training. Some of the biggest issues addressed will be:
* Recycling lighting containing mercury;
* Energy conservation;
* The future of the industry -- understanding the trends and preparing your business for the future;
* Digital imaging and signage; and
* Model sign codes for communities and sign businesses
SBI Update: What are some of the hottest trends you expect on the floor of this year's ISA Sign Expo '08?
Anderson: While most exhibitors unveil their new products at the show, we expect to see refinements in digital printing equipment and inks. We've got close to 2,000 booths this year, so you've got to come and walk the floor to see what�s new! Also check www.signexpo.com for exhibitor press releases.
SBI Update: Do you have any advice as to how to best plan one's time to get the most from ISA Sign Expo '08?
Anderson: I suggest every attendee utilize MySignEXPO, to get the most from the experience. This Web tool will:
* Identify exhibitors and other attendees who best meet your business goals;
* Locate the products you want to see to stay current with the growing sign industry;
* Find educational sessions to increase your business knowledge;
* Build a personal show agenda of meetings, products and sessions that are important to you; and
* Create a personalized map showing the locations of the exhibitors, products and sessions you've chosen to visit
SBI Update: How do you suggest sign makers/graphics providers network at ISA Sign Expo '08?
Anderson: Once you register, make sure to maximize your use of MySignEXPO to plan your time.
SBI Update: What advice do you have for first-timers attending ISA Sign Expo '08?
Anderson: Come early and stay late! The show is big, so use MySignExpo to create your personalized map before you even step foot on the show floor.
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Whether this is the first ISA show you attend or if you've attended multiple times, we hope this advice will better help you navigate through the exhibits and opportunities that you'll find waiting for you. If you will be attending, we look forward to meeting you there! (For complete registration and attendance information, go to www.signexpo.org.)
Special thanks to Lori Anderson for taking the time to answer our questions and to Laurie Kusek for setting up the interview.
-- Lori Andreozzi
Digital Signage On the Rise
Needless to say, digital billboards (and digital signage in general) are hot. Advertisers are realizing the value of real-time content and easy updating, which means manufacturers and installers are seeing the orders come in. In two related news items this month, both the power and potential of digital signage are evident.
In an article by Julia Boorstin on SeekingAlpha.com, the ability of digital billboards to boost -- of all things -- newspaper revenues, shows how far this technology can reach:
"The newspaper business is struggling with declining ad revenues and circulation. The big challenge for all these companies is growing the business of newspapers' online sites, which currently generate just seven to eight percent of the industry's revenues.
"Now the LA Times, part of the Tribune Company, is taking a new tack: putting its headlines up all over town. The paper is putting ads with story headlines and photos on 10 Clear Channel digital billboards around the city. The ads, which flash onto the big board about once a minute for eight seconds at a time, are constantly updated -- reporting the news in real time.
"The paper's marketing and editorial teams meet to decide what headlines will best attract a casual reader of the paper to latimes.com as soon as they get to work, or to stop by a newsstand. Someone in the LA Times marketing office plugs in a headline and seconds later it pops up on the billboards all over town.
"The theory is these real-time, dynamic ads will show people that the LATimes isn't just a newspaper, it's a 24-7 multi-media company. So far it seems to be working. Since the ads first launched, traffic on latimes.com has been at a record high. We commuters may be seeing many more of these headlines on billboards pretty soon.
"After ten weeks the LATimes and Clear Channel will evaluate the success of the program to figure out if they should roll out more."
Likewise, advancements in digital signage technology continue to invigorate the market. A company called Tred Displays Corporation, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, recently unveiled its progress in creating what it calls a "hybrid sign," through which digital content can be added to conventional printed graphics.
Tred Displays, which refers to itself as a "developer of low-cost, reflective, 'green tech' displays designed for use in the signage industry," says that this hybrid sign "allows sign makers to add high-impact digital content to graphic signs while leveraging their existing sign fabrication systems." End-customers can have digital content added to their graphic sign at a small fraction of the cost of LED displays.
"With the exception of LED displays, there have been no new digital displays introduced to the signage industry," said Chuck Edwards, president and CEO of Tred Displays. "Tred plans to change this by offering very low-cost digital display products easily integrated into traditional printed signs for the fabrication of a new class of sign."
In addition, Tred offers a pricing alternative to printed and digital signs; printed signs cost approximately $50 per square meter, but digital LED displays cost $2000 per square meter. Tred plans to offer its products at a price point much closer to printed graphics than digital displays such as LED displays. Tred's first products will be aimed at large-format information applications and have a target price 25% that of conventional LED displays.
Even as digital signage reinvents itself through innovations like Tred Display's hybrid signs, not even this industry segment can escape one of the oldest adages in the book -- bigger is better. Case-in-point: Samsung Japan recently announced the forthcoming release of its 70-inch LCD monitor for digital signage.
According to an article at INTechon.com, Samsung Japan Corp will shortly release the "SyncMaster 700DXn" 70-inch LCD monitor, the largest model from its "DXn" monitor series. The monitor can display information without being connected to a PC, as its key target application is a digital signage display set in public spaces, Samsung said.
The LCD panel used for the 70-inch monitor has a full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution. It adopts an S-PVA structure, which makes it easier to achieve a high contrast and a wide viewing angle at the same time.
City Loses Millions When Billboards Are Rejected
It's hard not to notice the constant battle between pro-billboard and anti-billboard contingencies in America these days (not to mention the digital billboard issues as well). Browse through any local newspaper in any city or town in this country, and you will undoubtedly find a story about legislation against new billboard being constructed, restrictions on the sizes and locations, and studies on lighting issues and driver vision.
That said, Kerry Cavanaugh recently wrote an article in the LA Daily News that takes an interesting angle on this matter by citing the financial effects of reducing the number of billboards:
"Amid a budget crisis that means trimming emergency medical services and scrimping on library books, the city of Los Angeles will lose as much as $3.3 million this year by rejecting mini-billboards and other stand-alone advertisements.
"Under a controversial contract approved in 2001, the city agreed to let CBS/Decaux install 3,200 bus shelters, kiosks and mini-billboards throughout the city in exchange for $150 million over 20 years. But some communities have been inundated with requests and residents don't want to see their sidewalks cluttered with advertisements.
"Under the contract, the city was supposed to have permitted all of the promised street-furniture sites by early 2004. Had this been done, L.A. would have collected $6 million this year. Instead, the city has 489 outstanding permits and will only collect $2.7 million.
"In total, the city has lost $9.7 million over the past four years because the ad sites weren't permitted.
"City Council members have called for advertising on city vehicles and city buildings. And Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he wants to look at naming rights and advertising partnerships -- just like the street-furniture program.
"'In tough budget years when we are scraping together pennies to keep police in our neighborhoods, this is exactly the type of creative revenue idea we need to be considering,'" said Janelle Erickson, spokeswoman for the mayor.
"Some residents groups have fought the three-sided kiosk ads and mini-billboards because they seem more appropriate in areas such as downtown San Francisco than in neighborhood commercial areas of Los Angeles. They also complain that they take up precious sidewalk space.
"'We work very hard ... to protect the character of our neighborhood,'" said Yuval Kremer, with the Mid-City West Neighborhood Council.
"This is advertising blight and people are sick of billboards, electronic billboards, advertising on private property, wrapping buildings in advertising,'"said Yuval Kremer, with the Mid-City West Neighborhood Council. 'Enough is enough. People are just fed up.'"
Zoom Acquires Rights to Alloy's Bar and Restaurant Media Network
Zoom Media & Marketing announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Alloy's Insite Advertising business, which consists of media frames in restaurants, bars, and nightclubs throughout the United States. The deal positions Zoom as the overwhelming leader in the bar and nightlife advertising category. Financial terms were not disclosed.
As part of the agreement, Zoom will immediately assume responsibility for all sales, marketing, and operational functions associated with Alloy's Insite business, which consists of billboards in over 2,000 venues in over 50 markets across the country. With this transaction, Zoom now operates over 4,000 venues with over 20,000 billboards across the U.S. in its bar media business, which is part of the company's Social Network. While both companies pioneered the bar advertising category in the late 1990's, Zoom's deal for Insite creates a national platform that is unrivaled by any other media firm.
In addition to offering two types of static billboards and an extensive promotional business, Zoom has also been leading the industry by rapidly introducing digital billboards. The company currently has over 300 digital billboard venues in its Social Network, and recently announced plans to increase that number to 500 this spring.
"The 21-34 year old demographic is the most valuable but difficult to reach segment in the advertising industry," said Zoom Media & Marketing President Dennis Roche. "This transaction cements our ability to offer advertisers a comprehensive approach in terms of impacting these trend setters, and positions us as the market leader within the nightlife media category." Roche also emphasized Zoom's focus on introducing digital billboard offerings to the Insite venues, which will "create additional and more flexible mediums for marketers to communicate with this highly desirable segment," he said.
Interest and activity in the bar and restaurant space has surged in the last year as media consumption habits of younger consumers have accelerated the trend away from traditional formats. In fact, bar and restaurant patrons spend an average of over two hours in an establishment, creating a highly social environment where "buzz" marketing and customized branding messages have proven very effective.
New Appointments
Philips Lighting Company,
a division of Philips Electronics North America Corporation, announces that former Philips executive and industry icon Jack Briody succumbed to complications from cancer and passed away on March 8th at the age of 72. A respected visionary and expert strategist with a strong background in marketing and sales, Jack joined Philips Lighting in 1969, holding successive leadership positions in the sales and marketing functions until 1991. Following an Executive Marketing position within the ballast division of MagneTek, Jack returned to Philips as President and CEO of Advance in 1993, where he went on to lead the Advance team to record sales and profits until his retirement in 2001. A champion behind the lighting upgrade revolution throughout his career, Jack remained an active driver of lighting and energy-related initiatives upon his retirement. Jack is survived by his wife Andrea and children John and Danielle. Donations in Jack Briody's memory may be made to either the American Cancer Society's Brick "Relay For Life" or the Children's Cancer & Blood Foundation.
W2 Architectural Lighting,
a division of W.A.C. Lighting and a manufacturer of specification grade products for the commercial, retail and hospitality markets, has appointed Anna Schast to Regional Sales Manager. Schast will work closely with W2 sales agencies to create specification lighting solutions for architects, designers, engineers and specifiers in all states East of the Mississippi River in the U.S., as well as Eastern Canada.
Meetings and Events
MARCH
March 26 - 28: Thee International Sign Association's International Sign Expo 2008, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida. To learn more, call 703/836-4012 or visit www.signexpo.org.
MAY
May 28 - 30: LIGHTFAIR 19th Annual Tradeshow & Conference, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. Visit www.lightfair.com/lightfair/V40 for more information.
May 28 - 31: 2008 SEGD Conference & Expo, Austin, Texas. Visit www.segd.org for more information.
Sponsored Links
Radocy Inc --
For over 50 years, Radocy Inc has been a sign industry source for telescopic cranes that are user friendly, cost effective and dependable. See Us at ISA Booth # 101. www.radocy.com
DPSBanners.com --
DPSBanners.com offers large format digital printing on vinyl banners, mesh banners, magnetic car sign and flatbed printing on foam board, Gator Board, Coroplast and more! Wholesale to the trade, best prices! Order Online! 1-888-790-2665. www.dpsbanners.com
Quality Manufacturing Inc. --
A wholesale industry leader in formed faces. Specializing in LARGE 3-D plastic forming and special shape illuminated UL-approved signs. 800/243-5473. www.qualitymanufacturing.com
Nixalite of America Inc --
Birdcontrol@nixalite.com - Sign companies have relied on Nixalite's premier bird control for years and years and years. For your personal catalog call 800.624.1189. www.nixalite.com
Best Hotel Rates --
For sign professionals attending ISA Orlando 2008, SHDweb finds all available lodging discounts from luxury to budget friendly hotels and motels. www.shdweb.com
Magnum Magnetics --
Visit Magnum Magnetics in Booth #1990 at the International Sign Expo 2008 for direct printable magnetic sheeting options. Register to win $500 of free magnet! www.magnummagnetics.com
This Month's Trivia Answer:
The world market for digital inks was an estimated $48.9 billion in 2007.*
*(According to Global Industry Analysts, Inc.)
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For in-depth coverage of these topics and other
sign industry topics, check out
www.signshop.com
ATTENTION ADVERTISERS and SUBSCRIBERS:
Coming up in the April 2008 issue of
Sign Builder Illustrated,
feature articles on:
Architectural Letters
Printing Dimensional P-O-P
Dimensional CNC Routers
Inflatables
LED Video Displays
Vinyl Banners
ATTENTION ADVERTISERS and SUBSCRIBERS:
Coming up in the May Lightfair 2008 / SEGD 2008 issue of
Sign Builder Illustrated,
feature articles on:
Architectural Wayfinding/Identity
Dimensional ADA
Electric Codes
LED Architectural Lighting
Neon Transformers
Paints
PVC Sign Blanks
Vinyl Banners
Contact your ad sales representative to reserve your space today.
As the premier e-newsletter for the sign industry, SBI Update encourages readers to send feedback on what you like, what you'd like to see, and any other comments you might have. To do so, send an e-mail to Managing Editor Chris Ytuarte at cytuarte@sbpub.com.
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© 2008 Simmons-Boardman Publishing
345 Hudson St., 12th Floor • New York, NY 10014
212-620-7200
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Steel Art Company
"Exclusively to the Sign Trade"
Letters and Logos Waterjet cut or Channel Style. All metals. Standard and Custom Finishing. LEDs, Raster Braille in Metal, Etching.
Most solid cut ship in 8 - 10 days.
....at the start..consider the finish...STEEL ART COMPANY
www.steelartco.com
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Affordable LED Modules AgiLight Inc. introduces TuffRayz, its affordable, ultra-robust LED modules for channel letters and signs. Durable and extremely weather-resistant, TuffRayz offers fully potted circuit protection and delivers up to 30 percent greater brightness than other entry-level LED systems. See TuffRayz and the complete AgiLight line at ISA booth #2736. For more information, click: www.AgiLight.com
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Tetra MAX LED Lighting System GE Lumination introduces the new Tetra MAX LED System for channel letters. Working closely with sign OEMs and installers, we've simplified the design and installation of the standard LED system. One, low-voltage power supply operates any color LED to deliver up to 81% energy savings over neon and 52% energy savings over other LED systems. Come see us at ISA booth #1108. For more information, click here: GE Lumination
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SloanLED V Series SloanLED introdcues its V Series LED lighting system, the most versatile LED solution for channel letters and cans. V Series incorporates a lower-profile module with brighter LEDs and wider viewing angles. Letters as shallow as 2.25" will benefit as this is a great answer to lower-profile applications. For more info, click on:
SloanLED
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The new Mimaki JV5-320 Grand format is fast and functional. Advanced print heads make it capable of producing high quality, close-view graphics for many outdoor and indoor applications. The media range includes specialty substrates, textiles and vinyls to name a few. The UISS function supports constant printing without running out of ink. For information, click here: Mimaki USA
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Lower your costs and outsell the competition! ABC Sign Products' sign frame systems can be built with about half the labor, less training and higher quality than steel sign frames. With ABC's diverse line of frames systems, build every size, shape for any application and outsell your competition. See more at: www.abcsignproducts.com
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Rapid Tac Inc. is turning 21!! The original and still the best in the application fluids and adhesive removal products, we would like to show our appreciation by offering discount and promotional coupons this year. Look for our promo mailers and new product information in your mail box soon! For more information, click here: www.rapidtac.com
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If your customer is angry, it's a bad sign. You need MAK. Wind, hail, storms, blowing debris and vandals are just a few of the reasons why your customers demand nothing less than the superior strength of MAKROLON SL Polycarbonate Sheet. Your signs will last longer and look better. Sheffield Plastics, Inc., A Bayer MaterialScience Company.
www.sheffieldplastics.com
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Oce Arizona 250 GT Photo See the Oce Arizona 250 GT, 2007 DPI Product of the Year winner, at ISA booth #436. This UV-flatbed printer delivers astounding image quality, ink economy and tackles both rigid and roll based printing. Click here for more information, a free ISA pass and chance for a free gift card. For more information, click here: www.oceusa.com
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Freedom Saw See how clean your saw cuts can be. Best dust collection in the industry! Come see us at the ISA Expo, Booth #1302. Watch our online videos: www.sawtrax.com
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Universal Laser Systems, Inc. Test drive a Universal Laser System at the International Sign Expo! Universal manufactures the industry's easiest-to-use laser systems. Universal's laser systems can process multiple materials and diverse applications with amazing speed, detail and accuracy. Visit ISA booth #703 at the International Sign Expo to see a Universal Laser System in action! www.ulsinc.com
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Sign Builder Illustrated
Buyer's Guide 2007
Published twice per year in March and September, the Buyer's Guide lists manufacturers, distributors, and sign companies that comprise the industry in the U.S. and Canada. SBI Buyer's Guide
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Sign Builder Illustrated
Goes Digital With live hyperlinks to video clips, advertiser information, and other features, SBI Digital offers the newest online technology with the familiar layout of a hardcopy issue. To view an example, click on:
SBI Digital Magazine
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Sign Builder Illustrated:
The How-To Book Vol. 1 Learn secrets to fabricating neon, illuminating with LED, sandblasting signs, applying paints, cutting and printing vinyl, and more in this 288-page, full-color reprinting of Sign Builder Illustrated's trademark How-To articles. To visit the How-to Book Web site, click on: SBI How-To Book
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Sign Builder Illustrated presents:
Vehicle Graphics 101 Check out this special SBI supplement for all the information you need to get started, get good, and get profitable in the world of vehicle graphics. From wrap schools and required tools, to marketing your skills and paying the bills, this How-to supplement has it all. Check out the digital version here:
Vehicle Graphics 101
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Digital Signage On the Rise
