Graphic Arts Magazine December 2017 / January 2018 | Page 18

Feature
Future of print: services for the WIFI age
In their newly released book, The Third Wave,
industry veterans Dr. Joe Webb and Richard
Romano argue that we are facing a new wave of
communications technology, one that is premised
on WIFI and on the idea that we can pick up any
device and get whatever information we want,
whenever we want. They call this the third wave.
The first wave was the personal computer; the
second wave was the proliferation of broadband
and introduction of the smart phone.
JOSEPH W. WEBB, PH.D.
RICHARD M. ROMANO
THE
THIRD
In this excerpt, the authors look ahead at what
services printers ought to consider offering in order
to embrace and thrive during this Third Wave.
One of the major themes of this book is that the mix of prod-
ucts and services that a print business offers needs to change
regularly as demand in the marketplace changes. In this chap-
ter, we round up a handful of new product and service areas
that we think it’s worth a print business today investigating.
Some are print-based, some go beyond print, and some
involve a combination of media and technologies.
Showing the Way: Signage
Technically, signage could fall under the category of specialty
printing but there are several nuances involved with signage
that put print services providers in a unique position to help
customers with signage needs.
Printing different forms of signage is obviously the most basic
sign-related service you can offer to clients, but an additional,
related service can involve helping customers navigate the
byzantine maze of sign codes, or the regulations that control
where signs can be installed, how big they can be, and how
long they can remain up. Interior signage poses few problems,
naturally, but once you move outside, it can be remarkably
easy to fall afoul of ever-changing rules surrounding sign size
and placement, which can be mandated by government
authorities.
Ultimately, sign codes exist – usually – for the purpose of
18 | December 2017 / January 2018 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE
WAVE
attempting to eliminate clutter. These codes usually apply to
temporary wayfinding signage, such as those Coroplast signs
that turn up promoting an upcoming 5K, blood drive, art show,
or some other local event. These are obviously legal (in most
cases), but need to be removed within a very short time after
the event they are promoting.
Even exterior signage on public facing buildings can be sub-
ject to regulation. If a retail location erects signage, particularly
temporary exterior sign-
age (“Mattress Sale!!!”) it
can inadvertently violate
a local ordinance. And
many ex terior signs
require permits. Which
ones? Well, it varies.
At the end of the day, the
company printing or other-
wise making a sign for a
client isn’t legally required
to be an expert in sign
regulations; compliance is
the responsibility of the
sign owner – your cus-
tomer. However, being an
authority on local sign
Dynamic Digital Signage
may seem a million
miles removed from
what print service
providers normally
offer, but it isn’t really
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