Cutting edge technology and creative business streams are set to take centre stage at this year’s Sign & Digital UK, which returns in under two weeks with the theme, State of the Art. 

The industry’s leading trade exhibition for the sign making, display solutions and digital printing industry, Sign & Digital UK will take place at NEC Birmingham from 29 April to 1 May. The show will feature more than 170 of the industry’s biggest name exhibitors, with experts from across the sign, print and wide format sectors providing advice and copious networking opportunities. 

2014 offers an extensive free-to-attend seminar programme, featuring more than 30 daily sessions and demonstrations across the five theatres, all packed with practical advice and tips on getting ahead in the print and sign industry. 

Exhibition Trails

• The Textile Trail: This exciting new feature will highlight any exhibitors with products and services on display at the show for textile related printing and finishing or display systems. A wide range of products will be covered including textile printing equipment, embroidery equipment and promotional products. Businesses taking part in the Textile Trail include Hybrid Services, Colourgen, Corel, The Magic Touch, Doro Tape UK and GDL.
• The New Business Trail: Returning to Sign & Digital UK for its second year, the New Business Trail is dedicated to helping sign and print professionals grow and develop their business. The New Business Trail combines practical ideas for increasing revenue and information for identifying developing markets in the UK. Businesses taking part include Perspex Distribution, Eurobond Adhesives, Lion Picture Framing Supplies and Banner Ups Europe.

2014 seminar highlights

Learning is at the heart of the exhibition, with five education theatres and workshops featuring more than 30 daily seminars, foregrounding practical tips and new business ideas. 

Adobe Theatre

The Adobe Theatre will feature six workshops daily, focusing on practical tips and advice for mastering their software packages. This includes the Breaking the magician’s code session, designed to help people master the Creative Cloud, and the 10 reasons to use Adobe Bridge, offering expert advice and tips to help people achieve the most from this popular software package.

Managing colour quality, intelligent upsampling, InDesign typography and Photoshop skills, camera shake reduction and real-time image asset generation are some of the other practical skills and techniques the workshops will explore.

Corel Theatre 

Combining a range of practical workshops and product demonstration, the 2014 Corel Theatre is a must-attend for anyone in the sign making and garment personalisation sectors. 

The seminar sessions include an overview of new features in the CorelDRAW? Graphics Suite, a practical step-by-step guide to poster design and an insight into using DecoNetwork and Corel technology to allow shoppers to customise products and buy online. 

For those working with apparel and promotional items, garment printing, embroidery and appliqué, they will have dedicated sessions in the Wilcom DecoStudio? e2 workshop.

SignLab Theatre 

Wide-format design and production software specialists, CADlink Technology will present a series of seminars focusing on best practice print and cut, sign and display design and production workflows.

Session highlights include an introduction to dedicated sign-making software packages, with tips on mastering contour cut, serialisation and vectorisation.

The SignLab for Versaworks session will also explore the opportunities for leveraging innovation in Roland’s print and ink technology. Practical skills to be explored include contour cut-lines and working with Roland colour profiles and metallic and white ink sets. 

Signmakers’ Workshop

Expert signmaker Paul Hughes will be offering practical industry tips that are a must-see for anyone in the sign making industry. All of Paul’s sessions include a beginner’s introduction followed by an advanced class, with content ideal for all skill levels and experience. An introduction to applying vinyl, the basics of vehicle livery and overview of signboard making are some of the practical sessions available this year. 

Business Theatre 

The Business Theatre will offer practical skills and identify new revenue opportunities for business owners looking to expand and improve their services in 2014. 

The Hewlett-Packard workshops, presented by Jane Rixon and Phil Oakley, will explore the new digital solutions for wall decorations in the HP WallArt suite. They will cover its new design and mobility features, as well as the range of applications available for commercial, retail and residential spaces. For any print service providers and wall-covering manufacturers, this seminar is a must-attend to help identify new business areas and revenue adding opportunity. 

Vicki Hughes, PR consultant and founder of Fugu Public Relations, will explore how public relations can help small business owners get ahead in their industry. Her talk Mastering PR for SME success will help guide visitors through the process of establishing a PR strategy in order to build their profile, attract customers and generate more business success.

In the Direct to Garment Printing session, Colin Marsh from Resolute DTG will look at the direct to garment printing process and the opportunities for digital printing and sign companies to take it on as a new revenue stream. The session is ideal for anyone looking to get involved in the direct to garment sector, covering how the technology works, what profits can be generated and where to sell new products.

The British Sign and Graphics Association will also run two workshops to help small business owners get to grips with changing industry legislation. Covering contentious topics such as requirements under new European standards and the impact of changing planning laws on sign maintenance, the sessions will use practical case studies and Q&A sessions for maximum interaction. There will be two workshops each day of the show.

Big name exhibitors 

2014 will welcome a host of big name industry brands, including Fujifilm, Grafityp, Esko, Graphtec, Inktec/Jetrix, Hewlett-Packard, Ricoh, Epson, Canon, Roland DG, PrintMax, Signmaster Systems, Hybrid Services/Mimaki, Perfect Colours, SMGG, i-Sub, Quality Print Services (QPS), Colourgen and more.