Recently, EFI recently received an interesting call from I.T. Strategies—one of the consulting firms we work with in our strategic market planning. They said they needed to make a revision to their prediction forecast related to industry growth rates for soft signage.
最近，EFI收到了来自I.T. Strategies的一个有趣的电话，这是我们在市场战略规划中合作的一家咨询公司。他们表示需要修改与软标识行业增长率相关的预测。
Usually a call like this is unwelcome news; it typically happens when researchers are too enthusiastic about a market opportunity and, after reviewing more data they have to revise their forecast downwards.
通常，这样的电话往往是不那么不受欢迎的。当研究人员过于热衷于市场机会时，在审查了更多数据后，他们不得不修正他们对之前指数的预测。
And while I.T. Strategies did admit that their initial forecast was off, they were taking the unusual step of revising their forecast upwards. Looking back at their data, the analyst group determined that the market was growing at least four points higher than they initially predicted, with the segment enjoying double-digit growth.
虽然I.T.策略承认他们最初的预测是错误的，他们采取了特别的方法来修改他们的预测。回顾他们的数据，分析师小组确定市场增长至少比他们最初预测的高出四个点，这样EFI就会实现两位数的增长。
Appeal of Soft Signage
软标识的吸引力
One might wonder why the segment would demonstrate that type of growth. Well our company’s own experiences using soft signage is a perfect example of why brands are increasingly interested in moving from conventional signage to soft signage. At EFI, we participate in more than 100 trade shows per year, or roughly two per week. Historically, we would create single-use vinyl banners for each show and dispose of them at the end of the event. Those conventional signs were expensive to ship and easily damaged.
人们可能想知道为什么市场会出现这种增长。我们公司使用软标识的经验很好地说明了为什么品牌对从传统标识转向软标识越来越感兴趣。在EFI，我们每年参加100多场展会，大约每周参加两场。从以往的经历来看，我们会为每场演出制作一次性横幅，活动结束之后就可以把它收起来。比起那些传统标识，软标识运输成本更加便宜，而且不容易损坏。
Now, however, having switched to soft signage, we have about 10 banners that we can reuse throughout the year. While the per-piece cost is higher, overall we experience tremendous savings, printing only one-tenth the number of banners. At the end of the event, you can fold that banner up and place it in a FedEx envelope and get it on its way to the next event. Have you ever tried to ship a 10-foot banner tube? It’s expensive, and you often can’t ship it overnight. These days, if we don’t have major branding changes, we can even use the same soft signage beyond the one-year mark!
现在，我们已经改用软标识，我们现有的10条横幅可以全年使用。虽然单件成本较高，但总体而言我们可以节省大量成本，我们只打印以往横幅数量的十分之一。在活动结束时，您可以把横幅直接快递到下一个活动场地。你有没有试过运送一个10英尺的横幅管？它价格昂贵，而且无法在一夜之间发货。现在，如果我们的品牌没有重大变化，我们甚至可以使用超过一年标识的相同软标识！
The other aspect is ease of installation. If you sew a silicon edge into the graphic, it fits neatly into a frame; and it’s really hard to mess up. It doesn’t take special skills or expertise to install it. Going beyond trade shows, think a about retail stores – they like to frequently change in-store signage to reflect new items, sales, or other messaging of the moment. With silicon-edged soft signage, anyone in the store can quickly, easily and accurately change out the signage. No need to bring in specialized labor to get it done.
另一方面是软标识易于安装。如果在标识周围缝制硅胶边，它可以整齐地嵌入框架中，非常容易操作，安装它不需要特殊技能或专业知识。除了贸易展之外，还有零售商店喜欢频繁更换店内标识，目的是反映当前的新商品，销售促销或其他信息。所以使用硅胶边软标识，商店中的任何人都可以快速、轻松、准确地更换标识，无需专业人员来完成此项工作。
These are a few of the reasons that well-known brands are increasingly turning to soft signage. But even more compelling, they like the way it looks. It offers a much higher-end look and feel and is still a measure of differentiation – it simply looks better than conventional signage.
以上是知名品牌越来越多地转向软标识的几个原因。但最重要的是，他们更喜欢软标识的外观。软标识较传统标识有着更高级的外观和感觉，不得不说外观也是一个衡量差异化的标准。
Shop Perspective on Textile Printing
从制作公司角度看软标识
From the producer’s perspective, soft signage has many benefits as well. First and foremost, not everyone is doing it. In fact, our data reflects that only one in nine signage establishments offer soft signage. That means there is still a significant opportunity for market differentiation—and better margins for signage producers. From a sales perspective, it also gives the sales person something new to talk about, and often gains them an entrée into accounts where someone else has been firmly established.
从生产者的角度来看，软标识也有很多好处。首先，现在来看这仍然是一个偏冷门的行业，竞争力较小。我们的数据显示：只有九分之一的标识机构提供软标识，这意味着这种市场差异化仍然存在重大机遇，而标识生产商的利润率也更高。从销售的角度来看，它还为销售人员提供了一些新的内容，也就是说销售人员会在为客户介绍产品时有一个全新的话题。
One EFI customer in Portland, Oregon, was quite interested in getting into soft signage. This was around the time EFI acquired Italian textile printer maker Reggiani Macchine, and the customer did not have the amount of business that would justify a high-volume EFI Reggiani textile printer investment at the time. Space was also a consideration for this customer as well.
俄勒冈州波特兰市的一位EFI客户对软标识非常感兴趣。当时，EFI收购了意大利纺织打印机制造商Reggiani Macchine，但是客户没有足够的业务量来证明当时可以投资大批量的EFI Reggiani纺织品印刷机。所以资金空间也是一个重要的考虑因素。
But developments—such as the EFI VUTEk FabriVU series, which offers the same high-end imaging technology as Reggiani printers, but is designed for more moderate production volumes—are making soft signage more attractive to this customer and others. On top of that, yet another new technology—fabric printers featuring in-line sublimation capabilities—changes the equation for businesses that also face investment and space constraints for installing a calender machine or heat press. For our very entrepreneurial customer in Portland, the EFI VUTEk FabriVU 340 model was the key that allowed him to jump into the market with both feet.
但是开发方面来讲，例如EFI VUTEk FabriVU系列，提供与Reggiani打印机相同的高端成像技术，但设计用于有限的生产量，使得软标识对这个客户和其他人更具吸引力。除此之外，另一项新技术具有在线升华能力的织物打印机——改变了企业在安装压光机或热压机时面临的投资空间限制。对于我们在波特兰的创业客户而言，EFI VUTEk FabriVU 340型号是让他进入市场的关键。
There’s another perk that this and other soft signage companies have experienced: Once they acquire a new customer for soft signage, that customer is also more likely to send other signage work to them as well. One particular customer told us, “If it weren’t for soft signage, our business definitely would be down. We are able to offer something new and unique. And we are growing, both due to the new revenue source—soft signage—and the fact that those soft signage customers are sending us conventional UV banner work as well.”
这个公司和其他软标识公司经历的另一个好处是：一旦他们获得软标识的新客户，该客户也更有可能向他们申请其他标识工作。一位客户告诉我们，“如果没有软标识，我们的生意肯定会下滑。”我们能够提供新兴而独特的东西。我们的业务不断增长，这不仅得益于新的收入来源——软标识<span style="
