Economic predictions for the year to come indicate that there will continue to be tough times ahead for most industries, and our sector of the printing arena isn't likely to be spared in being affected by the general financial climate. PSPs continue to invest, albeit with greater caution than before, but there is now a comfort factor that most present-day machines will easily outlive their TCO and become valuable work-horses.

Last year, for many, was one which was chopped into two halves: pre-drupa and post-drupa. With FESPA taking place so much earlier than usual, any new equipment being launched looked certain to be augmented by the time the Düsseldorf extravaganza came around. Yet, in wide-format terms, there was little that was completely new and more to see which hinged on maturity and revisions to existing solutions.

2012 will long be remembered for Benny Landa and his Nanography, and this was also the year when Memjet heads started to make their presence felt in a variety of different aqueous-based engines. But there were other additions. At FESPA Digital we saw Mimaki throw down the challenge to HP with the announcement of its latex printers, this time with piezo-electric print-heads and the inclusion of a white ink. HP was pretty laissez faire about it, realising sensibly that it wouldn't always have this technology to itself but getting a decent head-start over everyone else by being first to market with quite some margin.

Mimaki also brought in another formulation, its SUV series, this one representing a kind of combination of chemistries which contains both UV-curable and solvent-based elements in a single ink. This offers good keying with the media surface plus a curing option designed to give scratch resistance and durability. Later in the year, Colorific brought out its UV Lightbar conversion kits for Roland machines which convert solvent-based printers into hybrid UV versions with the intention of using less ink without compromising longevity.

But, in the main, 2012 saw improvements to existing platforms as manufacturers did their best to give end users what they really want in terms of speed, quality and output costs. Despite much trumpeting about the growth in textile production opportunities, there has been little change in market position during the past twelve months in the soft sign sector, with only a handful of canny PSPs in this country investing heavily in this direction.

UV-curable platforms continue to reign supreme, but solvent-based engines show no sign of turning up their toes and fading away, as seen with additions to the portfolios of Roland, Mutoh and Epson, and with options like the fluorescent inks in Seiko I Infotech's ColorPainter series. The price point for eco-solvent machines is now remarkably low, making them an affordable alternative for those pondering whether or not to take the latex route.

UV-curable printers have continued to dominate, even though new introductions have largely been refinements to existing options, and there have been additions across the range in most sizes and configurations. At the top end HP Scitex has upgraded its FB7600 to include improved inks plus a white option, and a multi-sheet loading device. Durst has taken the high quality route with its new Rho P10 200, 250 and 320R models, and Agfa has factored in modularity for future growth with its :Jeti 3020 Titan.

In curing terms, LED is continuing to creep inexorably into UV-curable printers; even Durst has acquiesced and included these lamps into its Omega 2 entry-level machine. EFI is getting good results with its GS3250LX, Mimaki and Roland have continued to be strong proponents of this technology, and new machines such as the Fujifilm Acuity LED 1600 sport this type of curing.

So who will buy which machine and why in 2013? Any PSP wanting a good bread-and-butter 3.2m flat-bed engine has little choice; among the mainstream suppliers, only EFI has hybrid machines in this area now with the existing GS platforms, the new VUTEk QS3 Pro and its top-end VUTEk HS100 Pro. While there are several roll-fed options available, it seems a strange omission that manufacturers have kept out of the 'standard' 3.2m market.

What lies ahead in the near future? 2013 is a year of fewer shows, and most will rely on a visit to FESPA in June to discover new technologies. But whether there will be a raft of innovations ready for public viewing, or whether the next twelve months will focus on more revisions and refinements, is a matter for conjecture.