The global market for wide format graphics is over 3.8 billion square metres. Around 12% of that is captured by inkjet, and an increasing share of that 12% is solvent inkjet. This market is now less about innovation, and especially in the present economic climate is more concerned with consolidation of technology and operating costs. As an increasing number of very comparable machines become available, the twin competetive edges of output quality and price will be driven by good maintenance of existing equipment and reduction of running costs respectively. One of the most significant areas of potential cost reduction is ink. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of digital printers have always urged users to purchase only their own brands of ink. The reasoning for this was that other "third party" inks were not of the same quality, and would give poor results, and possibly damage the printer. In fact, most of these inks have always been manufactured by specialist original digital ink manufacturers (ODIMs) on behalf of the OEMs. Increasingly, we are seeing inks marketed under the ODIMs own brands, offering the same quality and reliability at much more realistic pricing.

The issue then becomes service. OEMs and their dealers are understandably reluctant to service machines where they are not enjoying high profit margins from inflated ink prices. Refusal to service printers becomes a powerful lever to force businesses to continue purchasing overpriced OEM branded ink. For this reason, companies offering ODIM inks must also be able to provide good value, comprehensive and responsive service contracts where required. Add to this the ability to effectively manage colour, and well maintained, existing printing equipment can continue to provide higher quality output at lower cost. Competetive edge is sharpened without the need for further capital investment. When the going gets tough, the survivors are the smart ones who make the most of what they've alredy got.