It's really all about the image. Any way you paint it, or print it, or display it, the purpose
of the graphics industry is the same: to present the desired image reliably, accurately,
legibly and affordably. So regardless of the process used to create the image, or the
method used to present it, the concept - the image - remains, like a precious, protected
seed. The image is king, truly more a concept than an object.

　　For a number of years, the topic of dynamic signage technology has been presented to our
industry as the next big thing. As an imaging technology, dynamic signage offers a great
deal of promise. To imaging companies, however, the technology brings a different
vocabulary and new issues to address. But the change in thinking needed to move from,
for instance, digital (inkjet) graphics to dynamic display is almost identical to the change
in thinking that allowed screen printers (or others using traditional printing technologies)
to fully accept digital imaging technologies. It is a next step, an extension.

　　The world of music has changed similarly. It started out only as analog music, and then
moved to amplified music. The next step was electronic music, where the computer is the
instrument; just as with dynamic signage, where the display is the graphic.

　　When digital imaging technology came to the fore more than ten years ago, it offered
some very unique differences from traditional imaging technologies. These differences
included the following: color, customization, cost, size, short runs, process simplification
and turnaround time. So, then, by considering these same attributes, one can see how
dynamic signage technology, as we know it, is really just imaging turned up to ten (or
eleven).

　　* Full Color - Like digital imaging, dynamic signage displays in full, vivid and
controllable color. It can even be adjusted to "match" printed output.

　　* Customization - Image customization is taken to a much higher lever. Free of the costs of
production printing, images can be customized at will.

　　* Cost - As a process not requiring consumables (if you exclude the need to periodically
replace hardware), dynamic display offers a lower cost per image presented.

　　* Size - While small displays are quite affordable, large displays can cost a fortune. Once
they are in place, however, they can present variable images, free of installation costs.

　　* Short Runs - Been thinking in thousands, hundreds, or tens? Try ones. The whole point
of dynamic signage is that the image can change. Image variability is the key. "Dwell
time" becomes the new "run length."

　　* Process Simplification - The workflow is quite easy: computers use software to
communicate with displays via network.

　　* Turnaround Time - Using a networked display system, changes to displays, be they
subtle or significant can be made in moments using simple keystrokes. Graphics can
change "in the moment."

　　The point of this discussion is that dynamic signage is really just another way of
presenting an image, sharing a message, or advertising a product. It really comes down to
how your company defines itself as a business. I've recently been surprised by the
number of industry people who, upon being asked what they do, bypass their process
(screen printing, digital printing) or their product (signs, POP) and instead call
themselves something like "graphic solutions provider."

　　It could be that these companies have successfully made the jump, away from traditional
imaging identities, and tentatively toward the future. The choice to bring dynamic
signage into your company should be a decision carefully made, and should be
incorporated into your company's long-term plan. This is the same, really, as any other
major business decision you make.

　　So far, there is little easy money in dynamic display, and a number of companies both
inside and outside our industry have tried to gracefully adopt the technology and found
themselves more than a few dollars short of what they had when they started. Eventually,
however, the forces of the marketplace will couple with the right technology and just the
right application. The result will be the arrival of the oft-warned next revolution in the
graphics industry.