Okay, I realize that this is the February issue of S&DG, and that the place for me to forecast anything about the coming year in this column should have been the January issue. But the year is early yet, so I’m going to go ahead and proffer some prognostications anyway. This should be fun. 

 

First of all, let me state unequivocally that I firmly believe that 2011 will see a much stronger economy than many are expecting. I don’t think we’ll reach our pre-recession prosperity this year, but we will see some real job growth, increased business for signage and graphics professionals everywhere, and an easing of credit for small businesses. Our economy has reset itself and is finding firm footing on which to build real, solid growth. 

 

The most interesting thing to watch as we move forward will be developments within the electronic digital signage (EDS) sector, but I believe 2011 will be a very strong year within all segments of our industry—with some caveats of course. Here are my industry predictions for 2011:

 

• Outdoor electronic digital signage and EDS billboards will continue to not go away—despite the most fervent New Year’s Resolutions of various city planning professionals and sign regulation crusaders. 

 

• Cross-media platforms and technology integration will increase. The use of camera-phone-scanable QR codes in large-format printed matter will become more commonplace, and the amalgamation of media platforms on all levels will continue to spread. Personal mobile devices will increasingly control home television DVRs, and Facebook postings and iPhone texts will increasingly interact with publicly viewed EDS screens. 

 

• EDS industry consolidation will continue. In 2010 we saw nearly 20 acquisitions take place among technology firms and ad networks. This year we will see an increasing number of large corporate players grabbing up market share and/or buying their way into what they see as the next lucrative market. 

 

• Retailers will increasingly implement EDS programs that involve social networking sites, interactive mobile devices and online strategies. This will be coupled with conventional display ads, in-store graphic displays and interesting coupon programs. In other words, retail marketing will become even more convoluted. 

 

• Use of LED technology in conventional signage applications will continue to increase. 

 

• The explosive growth of wide-format digital printing technology over the last decade will taper off as markets become increasingly saturated with equipment.

 

• The new high-growth area for digital inkjet printing will be increasingly focused on high-volume high-speed small-format printing sectors such as label printing.

 

• Screen printers will continue to adopt digital presses as the speed, quality and versatility of digital further eclipses screen. 

 

• The growth in the number of vehicle wrap shops will slow, but existing shops will flourish because public acceptance of vehicle wraps is at an apex.

 

Well, I think I’ve stuck my neck out far enough for this year. I hope each and every one of you reading this publication has great success in the coming year. 

 

Okay, back to work.