This article appeared in the March 2025 issue of Australian Printer, authored by Signageworld’s Lisa Michalanney
We are a relatively young business, but 2024 was the hardest year in business for us so far. In the first eight months of the year, it felt like we were working very hard but making little progress; however, we had a very positive sales and production period in the last quarter.
One of the main highlights for us last year was manufacturing and installing the signage for the new South Australia Police Road Safety Centre. We also continued our partnership with the Adelaide Thunderbirds – providing signage for all the Thunderbirds’ home games at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Our biggest challenges were human resources and slow payers – we hadn’t had that issue previously.
Looking ahead to this year, one of our main priorities is securing our workforce. We are currently restructuring our business with the aim to get our managing director Derek Michalanney ‘off the tools’. We have successfully recruited new staff and continue do so, with the aim to also hire an apprentice, ideally through the ASGA partnership with MGET.
Another priority for us is replacing one of our existing printers – we run HP printers and cycle them out every three years – and purchase a 3D printer. We are really fascinated by this technology and a 3D printer will help us with fabrication in the workshop – for example, fabricating custom brackets for signage we have created in-house. We intend to apply for a small business growth grant to help with this investment.
In terms of trends this year, I think corporate customers will be increasingly looking for architectural design and printing to stand out from the crowd as digital printing becomes more of an affordable solution to modernise workplace interiors rather than undergoing a complete renovation.
While not a new market trend, customers will also be after more environmentally friendly options – whether that’s recycled or sustainable materials – or just wanting to have a better understanding of a product’s lifecycle. If you are a printer and you aren’t offering options of sustainable products and recycling, you may be cutting out commercial customers who have their own internal sustainability targets to meet.
I also think there will be increased demand for digital printing of personalised items such as phone cases and drink bottles, where the customer is in control of designing their item.
AI is a fascinating area that businesses should also be looking to in 2025. You can’t fear it or ignore it, it’s already here and you need to understand and embrace it. Opportunities for automation within business is exciting – from automating workflows to predicting trends to improving machinery maintenance.
Regulatory compliance is another area businesses should be focusing on. With increased industry and government requirements for work health and safety, there are opportunities for increased printing for businesses to communicate safety messages and comply with legislative requirements.
One of the biggest challenges remains attracting and retaining new talent to the industry. However, attracting talent doesn’t necessarily mean recruiting young people to the industry. It’s about being open to people with transferable skills. I think this continues to be a difficult mindset in our industry to change.
Sustainability, while there are great opportunities for businesses to support the industry with the disposal and recycling of materials, it also presents challenges.
Smaller sign shops like us can’t rest on their laurels and think legislative change is only going to impact the big end of town. Change will be coming for all of us.
I’m looking forward to attending the FESPA Global Print Expo in Berlin this year – thanks to the FESPA Future Leaders program – as well as PacPrint 2025 in Sydney in May, where I am hoping to see some 3D printers! ASGA has partnered with signage consultancy Make It Happen to run bootcamps at PacPrint 2025.
These intensive, full-day programs cover everything from products and materials, latest innovations, through to practical advice and strategies to help build your business. This is a great opportunity to add a workshop onto your visit to PacPrint. It’s also the first time Make It Happen workshops have been offered in Australia. Overall, I feel very positive about the industry this year. We do great work and are a good group of people. However, my message to the industry for 2025 is this: we need to get better at promoting what we do and how big of an economic impact we have. Keep showcasing the beautiful that work that we do, promote our industry, and be proud of it.
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