• by September 18, 2004

One Billion Square Feet of Outdoor Graphics in 2008

According to InfoTrends/CAP Ventures, the wide format outdoor graphics market is one of the fastest-growing areas of the wide format digital printing market. The segment is expected to demonstrate a compound annual growth rate of 12% between 2003 and 2008. By 2008, the two primary wide format digital printing technologies are expected to produce more than 1 billion square feet of outdoor graphics in North America.

"The wide format outdoor graphics printing market... represents potential growth opportunities for a wide variety of businesses," commented Tim Greene, Associate Director at InfoTrends/CAP Ventures. "Not only is there a substantial opportunity in terms of retail value for the traditional sign market, but there is an excellent opportunity for other segments of the market to grow their revenues based on the availability of new outdoor graphics producing technologies."

Key findings from the study include:

30% of respondents that already own a wide format digital printer expect to purchase a new one within the next 12 months.

25% of the wide format output that respondents produce is intended for outdoor use.

On average, OEMs capture less than 50% of the supplies that are run through their equipment, meaning that more than half of the consumables purchased are from third-party vendors, including big vinyl brands like 3M and Avery.

Respondents place a higher premium on availability as opposed to brand, which presents an opportunity to third-party suppliers with refined fulfillment capabilities that may want to enter the market and grab their piece of the all-important supplies revenue stream.