Large Format Digital Printing or LED Screens in Advertising
In the wine industry, the glass plays a significant role, or more precisely, the shape of the glass. Wine connoisseurs know that every wine requires a specific type of glass to shine and express its full potential.
But does information require the same level of consideration when it comes to the medium through which it is consumed?
The advancement of technology and digitalization in the printing and advertising industries has brought its “likes” and “dislikes.” Technological progress in production is undoubtedly a “like,” in terms of enhancing quality, speed, and, most importantly, possibilities. However, digital advertising, on the other hand, has questionable popularity among advertisers. We are witnessing numerous examples of information being displayed through screens in retail and outdoor advertising. Positive user experiences are the goal of every innovation. Since this phenomenon is still young, it has not yet received a true public judgment in terms of evaluation. I believe the time has come for this evaluation to emerge, as one of the key questions: What is the future of large-format digital printing and the graphic industry?
Fast food chains are increasingly adopting digital price tags via screens. Betting shops, drugstores, supermarkets, and outdoor advertisers are increasingly placing LED screens on building facades. Chains are implementing this, and it seems that LED screens are the natural replacement for print media.
But is this really the case?
Since the early 2000s, advertisers have embraced LED screens enthusiastically, with screens programmed to perform all kinds of flashy and bizarre tricks to grab the attention of passersby. And in an increasingly digital world where consumer attention is often hard to capture, brands and retailers must pay more attention to this. It seems that buying and installing an LED screen is easy and the right move, expecting that it will simply replace the old, static billboard or poster, and sales will skyrocket for that reason alone.
As printers, we were initially concerned about the competition between print media and the animated, flashy LED screens. However, after the first wave of impact, the experience of the type of information that can be advertised via LED and its influence has led to a completely different line of thought. Under the light of LEDs, printed graphics have taken on a new role and quality. This traditional medium of trust still surpasses its digital counterpart in certain areas.
What is the attraction of LED screens ?
When it comes to digital advertising via LED screens, the key factor is that they can be easily changed, allowing one location to display multiple messages, thus maximizing its potential in terms of generating revenue. If the information is presented in video form, success is almost guaranteed.
But are LED screens too “noisy” and distracting?
LED screens require a “strong” current to operate 24/7, 365 days a year—especially in the midst of a global energy crisis that is teaching everyone the importance of energy conservation.
The user in retail has experience with these devices and the way of communication from excitement to health problems. How many times have you stood in line at the counter of a Fast Food chain with the desire to order something, but the price list on the screen keeps “running away” before you manage to look at what you would order. An LED screen is simply not made to be static. In our conditions, it is again brought to absurdity, and the price lists are presented like an action movie that flashes before your eyes and where you have to be extremely fast to see which hamburger you want to order and how much it costs.
What about all those who suffer from photosensitive epilepsy? Has leaving the house become a health threat for them?
In the printing industry, awareness of the impact of printing and printing ink on the world around us has existed for decades. A great effort was made to make the colors and materials green. Information about the influence of digital media ie. LED screens on the mental and physical health of people and the environment are almost non-existent. In spaces with a strong influence of these bodies, we feel bad. Headache, irritability are just some of the consequences. The movement, Led Free Shops, Street and HORECA are new but powerful protests against the screening of the space in which we live.
In our area, we are not yet consciously sensitive to garbage, but that will change here as well. Older LED displays are now being replaced by new, “greener” displays, but the limitations of what can be easily recycled in older displays are a concern. Where will that digital waste end up?
Although there is no regulation in our country, studies in the world have shown a significant increase in traffic accidents near LED screens with animated content or content with strong flashing light that distracts the driver. I think we are all aware of the problem of digital green crosses for pharmacies, which are usually located just behind the traffic lights at intersections and the driver approaching the intersection can hardly decide if the “red light” is “on” or if it is “just” a pharmacy nearby. Not to mention drug store windows, which are usually “turned to the maximum” in terms of light intensity and almost always illuminate the street better than public lighting. Here, I would not bypass the betting shops, which have all accepted the trend of “the bigger, the more colorful and the brighter the flash”! For these reasons, in many countries in the West, animated LED advertisements are regulated and prohibited on city streets and next to roads with traffic.
Cities, especially ours, are becoming a dumping ground for light pollution from these types of media. That can be a turn-off for brands that focus on the environment. In fact, some governments are planning to introduce new regulations restricting the use of digital media at night.
The graphic medium has clear and final information, it does not last for an average of 10-15 seconds, where the goal is to make it as attractive as possible with as much data as possible with all visual effects. Because right after it comes the next advertisement from another brand. Which densely packed information one after another is most like “babble”.
Do you manage to see the information in that short time?
If you paid for this medium, are you satisfied with how many people saw and understood the message?
The advertisement on the billboard is visible 24 hours a day. In the campaign, you can see the same information in a larger number of locations, which makes the model by which a person learns: I see, I recognize, I know applicable. Namely, if we know that a person needs to see the same content 3 times in order to learn, then it is clear why good campaigns on billboards are the ones we still remember today, while the new fashion makes us not even know what we saw.
As always alternative in our work, we see the value of the screen. Done right, Digital Signage can enhance advertising messaging capabilities by providing video demonstrations of product usage as well as additional information with touchscreens. For this reason, screens are considered the best choice in certain environments and situations where print could only offer limited information. Examples of this include hospitals and shopping malls, hotels and restaurants and places with high traffic such as airports – could you imagine going to the gate at the airport without checking your departure information on a digital screen?
Printed types of signs will survive in all cases where both the seller and the buyer need more time for certain content, while with digital screens, they tend to just throw information out and have limited time for the consumer to consume it all.
For a good example of printed signage in action, you only need to look at the floor graphics that helped us navigate safely during the pandemic. Although they only provided very simple messages such as “Line of movement” or “Keep a distance of 2m”, these highly influential signs were a vital weapon in the fight against Covid-19 and because of their location under our feet, inside and outside, meant that print was the only way to convey important information.
Certain markings, such as floor graphics, are only possible with print.
Advertising on vehicles, whether light delivery vehicles or large tow trucks, cannot yet be digital, even though in our country, with a tradition of more than 20 years, even printed advertising on vehicles has not yet used its full potential.
Printed tags can also be placed in a number of locations without having to consider access to electricity. If there was a power outage and the generators were not installed, the screen would be useless. On the other hand, with print, as long as there is some source of light – whether natural or artificial – the message will remain.
These examples send a comforting message to those concerned about the future role of print in signage and advertising. Simply put, there will always be some type of print element in the advertising and signage industry.
Yes, digital may be taking some parts of the market and print is marginalized in certain applications, but this should also be the point where all those in the graphics sector who want to use their technology come up with new and innovative ways to offer the client something interesting and attractive.
The story of the demise of large format digital printing has been greatly exaggerated … again.
In the spirit of the beginning of the text, the question of whether we are witnessing innovations in the approach to marketing information, their accidental or deliberate mistakes or something else, we tried to make a point with this text. Just as no carbonated drink will ever be able to replace wine, digital information will have its own speed and effect, but clear and definitive information will continue to belong to the material world of the graphic industry.
The young know phenomena that change, the elderly know what does not change.
Siniša Radnović
