Sign Builder Illustrated November 2015

Vinyl vs. fabrics

Sharpen or Soften Graphics?

a buffet of lighting

Lights Enhance Restaurant Signage

www.signshop.com

Num ber 245 | No v em ber 2 0 1 5

How-To

Custom Drive to Wide Format

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Experience the new ColorPainter H3-104s at SGIA 2015 November 4-6, Booth #2427

ColorPainter Printers from OKI: The new print revolution A leader in the print technology industry, OKI is dedicated to furthering the innovative line of ColorPainter wide-format printers.

The new ColorPainter H3-104s offers 104-inch, wide-format

OKI delivers leading-edge print solutions with unmatched

printing with brilliant, saturated colors and impressive speed—

performance that helps drive efficiency, productivity—and profits.

up to 609 square feet per hour. Designed for mid- to high-

Customers can expect exceptional product quality and reliable support they’ve come to know from ColorPainter, but now as part of OKI, have access to an expanded portfolio of commercial print solutions.

Bigger Format. Bolder Graphics.

Blazing-fast Speed.

volume printing environments where image quality and speed are top priorities, the ColorPainter H3-104s shatters expectations, delivering stunning graphics at a rate that redefines print shop productivity.

Learn more about ColorPainter printers: www.okidata.com/wide-format ColorPainterInfo@okidata.com 800-264-1272

The wide-format printing group of Seiko Instruments (SII) joined OKI on October 1, 2015. © 2015 OKI Data Americas, Inc. OKI, Reg. T.M. Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd., Reg. T.M. Oki Data Corporation. ColorPainter is a trademark of OKI Data Infotech Corporation.

November 2015

52 48

42 30

Absolute Perfection: Wrapped Up

BY JEFF WOOTEN

A gallery of recent standout wrap projects.

36 42

The Trends in Wide Format

BY GREGORY SHARPLESS

Five factors to keep in mind when plotting your wide format purchase.

Vinyl vs. Fabric

BY LORI SHRIDHARE

Sharpen or soften the look of your banners.

48

Signs From Above

BY MIKE ANTONIAK

Crop specialists transform landscapes into gargantuan art and advertising displays.

Sign Builder Illustrated (Print ISSN 895-0555, Digital ISSN 2161-4709) (USPS#0015-805) (Canada Post Cust. #7204564) (Bluechip Int’l, Po Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2, Agreement # 41094515) is published monthly

by Simmons-Boardman Publ. Corp, 55 Broad Street, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10004. Printed in the U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and Additional mailing offices.

Pricing, Qualified individual working in the sign industry may request a free subscription. 12 issues per year. Non-qualified subscriptions Print version, Digital version, Both Print & Digital version: 1 year US/ Mexico/Canada $50.00; foreign $99.00. Agency subscriptions: 1 year US/Mexico/Canada $45.00; foreign $89.10. Single copies are $15.00 ea. Subscriptions must be paid in full in U.S. funds only. Prices are subject to change.

Copyright © Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 2015. All rights reserved. Contents may not be

2

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

52

Serving Up Neon

BY ASHLEY BRAY

A restaurant expansion leads to new signage with a nostalgic twist

57 61

Weathering the Storm

BY MIKE ANTONIAK

A storm gives a sign shop the opportunity to prove its “special forces” approach to grand format.

A Race-Ready Wall Wrap

BY ASHLEY BRAY

A shop’s work on a large wall is worthy of a photo finish.

65

Welcome to the Jungle

BY JEFF WOOTEN

Sign makers embrace their “eye of the tiger” to upgrade a zoo’s entrance sign.

Plus, selecting panel saw blades.

reproduced without permission. For reprint information contact: Arthur Sutley, Publisher (212) 620-7247 or asutley@sbpub.com.

For Subscriptions & Address Changes, please call (800) 895-4389, (847) 763-9686, Fax (847) 763-9544, e-mail signbuilder@halldata.com, or write to: Sign Builder Illustrated, Simmons-Boardman Publ. Corp, PO Box 1172, Skokie, IL 60076-8172.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sign Builder Illustrated, PO Box 1172, Skokie, IL 60076-8172.

Instructional information provided in this magazine should only be performed by skilled crafts people with the proper equipment. The pub­lisher and authors of information provided herein advise all readers to exercise care when engaging in any of the how-to activities pub­lished in the magazine. Further, the publisher and authors assume no liability for damages or injuries resulting from projects contained herein.

signshop.com

Shaped by our history.

Defined by our future.

Bayer MaterialScience is now Covestro.

Even visionaries have hindsight. And with it, we see the pioneering spirit of our first 150 years driving the bold vision and organizational agility of our next 150. To develop the industry’s most innovative materials solutions. With past achievements powering future ones. And tomorrow’s successes defining today’s. Covestro is here.

covestro.com

Agenda

How-To Columns

DECEMBER 2015

18 22

The Windows to Frosted Vinyl

BY LORI SHRIDHARE

Advances in software and hardware lead to improved vehicle graphics.

The Windows to Frosted Vinyl

BY MARK K. ROBERTS

The evidence is in for the case on frosted vinyl.

26

Reaching Out and Responding

BY DAVID HICKEY

The quest for better sign codes continues.

6

UpFront

8

Dispatches

10

Sign Show

69

SBI Marketplace

Editor Jeff Wooten looks at how wide format opportunities are widening even more than ever now.

A heart-filled affection for moms was recently reflected in a floating display at Notre Dame University.

The newest products and services from sign manufacturers.

Advertisements and announcements from the sign trade.

Vinyl Vs. fabrics

Sharpen or Soften Graphics?

a buffet of lighting

72 Shop Talk

Lights Enhance Restaurant Signage

www.signshop.com

N u mbe r 24 5 | Nov e mbe r 2015

How-To

John Fulena presents what you need to know in order to produce great signage and displays that stand out from the competition.

Custom Drive to Wide Format

On the Cover 3

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December 4-5: The final Mutoh America open house of 2015 focusing on SAi Flexi RIP software will be held at Mutoh’s Torrance, California showroom. (www.mutoh. com/company/events)

FEBRUARY 2016

Departments

18  Revved Up Graphics 22

Revved Up Graphics

December 3-5: USSC Sign World International tradeshow and educational conference takes place at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (www.ussc.org/sign-world.php)

This wide format wrap was inspired by hand- and wood-painted caravans. Photo: Absolute Perfection.

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

February 18-20: Graphics of the Americas Expo & Conference (GOA), attracting key industry professionals in graphic communications from throughout North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, will be held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Florida. (www.goaexpo.com) February 25-26: The Midwest Sign Association will conduct its winter meeting at the Grand Plaza Hotel in Toledo, Ohio. (www.msassn.org)

APRIL 2016 April 20-23: The ISA International Sign Expo returns to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. (www.signs.org) signshop.com

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November 4-6

VISIT US AT BOOTH 2627!

Innovative Liquid Coatings • Water-Based • UV-Curable • Solvent-Based

Up FRONT

by jeff wooten

November 2015, Vol. 29, No. 245 Sign Builder Illustrated (ISSN 0895-0555) print, (ISSN 2161-0709) digital is published by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation executive offices

President and Chairman Arthur J. McGinnis, Jr. Publisher arthur j. sutley 55 Broad Street, 26th Floor New York, NY 10004 212/620-7247; fax: 212/633-1863 editorial editor

Jeff Wooten

323 Clifton Street, Suite #7 Greenville, NC 27858 212/620-7244; fax: 212/633-1863 jwooten@sbpub.com

Wider Options to Pursue

6

produced by the International Sign Association and compiled by InfoTrends (www.signs. org/research), 75 percent of companies that produce signs consider wide format digital printing a growing application. And the leading market, according to 70 percent of respondents? Wall coverings/wall murals. This means you might now ask customers, “Which do you want to use, vinyl or fabric?” (Note: Some tips here can be found on page 42.)

In this month’s “Shop Talk” (page 72), John Fulena, vice president, Production Printing Business Group at Ricoh, discusses some of the key areas to consider in order to produce standout graphics. “While every shop is different and needs are shaped by current customers, desired business growth areas, and market geographies,” he says, “having the right mix of strategies, solutions, tools, and services in place will help you serve your customers better, open up new revenue opportunities, and foster successful, high-quality and innovative signage that stand out from the pack.”

And be sure to read more from John about this subject matter by either scanning the QR Code embedded in this story or visiting http://bit.ly/1OOnmT1.

Finally I want to take this moment to acknowledge the announcement made this past summer that Michael Robertson plans to retire from his post as president and CEO of the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association next year.

This association has really broadened its scope and embraced new definitions of what constitutes “graphics” under his watch, and I want to congratulate him on the work he has done to really strengthen this organization and its constituency over the past sixteen years.

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

55 Broad Street, 26th Floor New York, NY 10004 212/620-7220; fax: 212/633-1863 abray@sbpub.com contributing writers

Butch “Superfrog” Anton, Mike Antoniak, David Hickey, Mark Roberts, Gregory Sharpless, Lori Shridhare, Randy Wright art

Corporate Art Director Wendy Williams Designer Nicole Cassano production

Corporate Production Director Mary Conyers circulation

Circulation Director Maureen Cooney advertising sales national sales director

Jeff Sutley 212/620-7233; fax: 212/633-1863 jeffsutley@sbpub.com west & midwest regional sales manager

Ian Littauer

212/620-7225; fax: 212/633-1863 ilittauer@sbpub.com

photo: Steve McCurry.

I

f you’re a graphics provider (or someone interested in getting more involved in the world of print), then this month will serve up a bonus Thanksgiving to you, what with the opportunities to learn more about the latest trends and technologies in this field.

For starters, two big tradeshows of note take place this month. Imaging professionals of all backgrounds will no doubt be enticed by the SGIA Expo to be held in Atlanta, while for those of you more inclined toward vehicle graphics and restyling, there’s also the annual SEMA show happening in Las Vegas.

Then there’s this month’s issue of Sign Builder Illustrated, which is geared toward helping show you how the graphics industry is no longer just about pressing “start” and outputting graphics/text onto vinyl (although there’s still some of that to go around).

Over the following pages, you’ll find an article looking at what goes into effective wrap designs (page 30) then another on the latest trends associated with wide format printing (page 36).

The appeal of wide format is expanding even wider. Look around these days and you’ll arrive at the conclusion that it’s probably easier—and quicker—to list what products and environments can’t host graphics. The answer: Not really that much.

As dye sublimation and UV LED cure continue to make impressions, you’re hearing/ learning more these days of in-shop possibilities like prototype production, packaging, interior décor, decals, soft signage, etc. These opportunities are joining “workflow,” “calibration,” and “color management” in every-day sign and graphics shop conversations.

In fact, according to a recent white paper

managing editor

Ashley Bray

Sign Builder Illustrated is published monthly. All rights reserved. Nothing herein may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher. To purchase PDF files of cover and layouts or hard copy reprints, please call Arthur Sutley at 212/620-7247 or e-mail asutley@sbpub.com.

Circulation Dept. 800/895-4389

signshop.com

Dispatches

Heart-filled Affection for Moms Reflected in Floating Display Statesville, North Carolina—In recognition of both mothers and the school’s historical link to the creation of Mother’s Day, Notre Dame University’s alumni association decided to go big with graphics this year at a special campus event held April 29 in honor of moms.

As a large format custom print solutionsprovider, Agio Imaging (www.agioimaging. com) of Portage, Michigan has been meet8

ing the graphics needs of both local and national clients since 2002, and the company was contacted about creating a massive “ND” interlocking-letter university logo within a giant heart that would appear to be free floating in the university’s 72-by136-foot Hesburgh Reflecting Pool.

Students and other event attendees would be invited to float 3,000 Gerber daisies in honor of their moms within the heart-

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

shaped display.

Agio Imaging had never before been asked to create a large-scale display that could float. The company chose 3A Composites’ Gatorplast® graphic display board supplied by distributor Laird Plastics for direct-printing display graphics with a super-wide format UV printer.

“We often use Gatorplast on point-of purchase displays and event signage,” said signshop.com

Rob Lihosit, president of Agio Imaging.

“We just needed to validate that it would stay afloat in a pool of water for an extended amount of time.”

To test Gatorplast’s reflecting poolreadiness, Agio Imaging employees floattested a Gatorplast panel in a tub of water for five days. The excellent results from this assured the company that Gatorplast’s closed-cell polystyrene foam could stand up to the approximately twenty-four inches of water in the university’s reflecting pool during the afternoon event. signshop.com

(Note: The polystyrene foam density and cell structure in combination with moisture-resistant styrene facers allows Gatorplast to float for extended durations.)

Agio Imaging’s creative team utilized Adobe Creative Suite to engineer the heart display with exterior dimensions of 41-by50 feet. The company digitally directprinted a Gerber daisy flower pattern onto one-inch-thick 48-by-96-inch white Gatorplast panels and then CNC routed them to shape and to a width of four inches.

The twenty-four Gatorplast heart display pieces were attached to each other with custom-milled Dibond® plates and screws. (Note: Agio Imaging’s production team specially engineered these Dibond plates.)

To create the appearance of a freefloating display, Agio Imaging used black sandbags and clear nylon line to anchor the floating shapes in place without being

visible in the pool. The custom-milled Dibond plates were attached to the underside of the heart and screwed through Gatorplast’s styrene facer and foam center onsite.

Agio Imaging also created the university’s 29-by-21-foot interlocking “ND” logo by digitally direct-printing it onto one-inchthick 48-by-96-inch white Gatorplast and then CNC routing it to shape. They attached the logo’s twenty-eight pieces with custom-milled Dibond plates and screws installed onsite early the morning of the event and applied black sandbags to the underside of the “ND” logo in a similar fashion to the heart graphic display.

“The special event designer at the University of Notre Dame was very pleased with the outcome of the customfabricated display— so much so that their design team already is thinking about next year’s event,” said Davina Logan, director of sales and marketing at Agio.

November 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

9

SignSHOW A DA / WAY F I N D I N G Duets by Gemini: New Partner Network Duets™ by Gemini has launched a new distribution Partner Network for Duets engraving, ADA, and architectural sign substrates. The Duets Partner Network includes BF Plastics, Inc., Delvie’s Plastics, Inc., Diversified Sign Suppliers Inc., Hansen Supply, JDS Industries, Inc., and Nash Industries, Inc. With over twenty stocking locations coast-to-coast, Duets sheet stock will now be available within one day for most of the country. While many partners are fully stocked for immediate sale, other partner members are in the process of building inventory to support the Duets full line over the course of the next several weeks. Duets by Gemini is a line of premium engraving, ADA, and architectural sign substrates that are manufactured by Gemini. Duets extensive product line includes: DuetsTactiles™ for ADA and appliqué, Laser, Laser XT, Laser XT Reverse, Rotary Indoor, and DuetsContours™ flexible engraving substrate. www.GeminiSignProducts.com

CUTTERS/PLOTTERS A True Breakthrough in Rotary Die-cutting and Finishing Technology Equipped with flexible dies, the Insignia Series from Rollem International will die-cut, kiss-cut, and cut/score an unlimited number of products—from labels, shaped direct mailers, custom greeting cards, and event passes to folding cartons, presentation folders, magnets, P-O-P displays, boxes, and so much more. It is the perfect finishing solution for both commercial offset and digital printers. There are two model sizes—the Insignia5 with a maximum 20-by-15-inch sheet size and the Insignia7 that handles up to a B2 30-by-24-inch sheet size. The Insignia7 offers the largest sheet size available in the rotary die-cutting class and can produce up to 5,000 sheets per hour. Fast changeovers utilize flexo dies.

Their heavy-duty construction is built in the USA. Inline options include a folder/gluer and waste-stripping unit for a complete production line. The guide and gripper registration system ensures 100 percent cutting accuracy—sheet after sheet. 800/272-4381; www.rollemusa.com/diecut

D I G I TA L P R I N T I N G E Q U I PM E N T/ S U P P L I E S Go Forward. Move Ahead. It’s Not Too Late to FlipIt…FlipIt Max Graphics One is pleased to announce the release of FlipIt Max, an amazing new transfer paper for the OKI C831-TS LED transfer printer. This new paper is targeted at the sublimation market. FlipIt Max was developed for the OKI C831-TS printer and is compatible with most dye sublimation blanks available today. FlipIt Max transfer paper enhances the versatility of the OKI C831-TS by enabling users to print images for transferring to dye sublimation blanks. With thousands of blanks in the market, a user can immediately offer far more saleable products to their customers, and even more impressive, the process is much easier than traditional dye sublimation. All a user has to do is print the image to the GO FlipIt Max paper using their OKI C831-TS printer and then use a heat transfer press in the same manner as a dye sublimation transfer. www.graphicsone.com

Mimaki USA Introduces ArtiosCAD Designer Solution Software Mimaki USA’s ArtiosCAD DS Software will be brought to the North American market as part of Mimaki’s Original Goods Package System (OGPS) that also includes a UJF-6042 UV-LED tabletop printer and a CFL-605RT compact cutting plotter— a combination that provides the ability to easily and economically create short-run customized goods or produce packaging prototypes. ArtiosCAD DS software features 402 packaging templates and easy editing functions suitable for any level of user (even those without CAD experience). Users simply choose a template, select the material thickness, and set the inside dimensions. Useful tools for common tasks such as rounding corners or adjusting the interior trim are included. By using a downloadable plug-in, users can import ArtiosCAD DS files into Illustrator® to add images and design elements. 888/530-4021; www.mimakiusa.com

Ricoh Expands its Offerings for Those Growing/Creating a Wide Format Printing Business Ricoh Americas Corporation has signed an agreement with Mimaki USA to distribute Mimaki JFX200-2513 and Mimaki JFX500-2131 high-performance flatbed inkjet printers. These models are now available for purchase through Ricoh sales channels. Mimaki JFX200-2513 and JFX500-2131 printers are designed to address a variety of high-quality wide format needs including applications such as interior décor, indoor display panels and outdoor signs and are able to print on glass, metal, and much more. As the demand for wide format printers has increased, Ricoh has worked to offer its customers printers appropriate for their changing needs and the evolving application trends. Both the JFX200-2513 and JFX500-2131 models use abrasion-resistant UV inks that are durable in both indoor and outdoor conditions. They are capable of handling substrates up to 1.97 inches thick, and 4.2-by-8.2 feet in size for the JFX200-2513 model and 6.9-by-10 feet for the JFX500-2131 model. The devices easily operate from a one-stop control point located on the front of the device. www.mimakiusa.com; www.ricoh.com

10

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

signshop.com

SignSHOW New Printer Addresses the Growing Demand for High Productivity from Sign and Graphics Market At 104 inches wide, the new ColorPainter H3-104s from Seiko Instruments USA is the widest inkjet printer among the company's ColorPainter product line. It includes the low-odor eco-solvent SX inks, which have gained recognition for highdensity printing of backlit applications, providing consistent light blocking, and fine details in shadow areas. It delivers unmatched productivity and quality while reducing the impact on the environment, thanks to the integration of advanced technology to maximize the performance of SX inks. The eight-color (Y, M, C, K, Lc, Lm, Gray, and Light Gray) ink set model provides real monochrome printing with no color shift and offers smoother gradations in color prints. Meanwhile the Safe Scanning System Technology (SSS) is designed to minimize waste by providing a warning message when the sensor detects media wrinkles, allowing the operator to quickly pause the job, correct the media, and then resume the print job without print job cancelation. A new dot control algorithm has upgraded the performance of the Smart Nozzle Mapping function found in the H3-104s, hiding missing nozzles better when clogs occur. www.seiko-i.com

FAB R ICS Fisher Textiles’ Feather Flag Fabric is Now Stocked at 125 Inches Wide Fisher Textiles now offers DD 7375 Feather Flag material at 125 inches wide. DD 7375 Feather Flag has a treatment for direct dye sublimation printing and is 3.4 ounces/yard. It boasts an excellent bleed-through to the backside, and it is ideal for feather flag and outdoor street pole applications. This fabric is flame-retardant and passes NFPA-701.

Meanwhile DD 7375 Feather Flag will also continue to be stocked in 75-inch width sizes. Free sample rolls are available for testing. 800/554-8886; www.fishertextiles.com

Top Value Fabrics Adds Eight New Textiles for Brilliant Printing Top Value Fabrics’ new textiles are Samba Fabric Elite (part of the Premium Print Textiles line) and the following seven media selections that are new to the Direct Print Textiles line: Flag Elite, Soft Knit Fabric, Triple White, Lightbox Fabric Elite, Power Stretch Fabric Elite, Ultra White Blockout, and Soft Heavy Knit Fabric. These eight new textiles provide an advanced platform for printing banners, flags, exhibit graphics, retail displays, and more. Available in widths up to 126 inches, these fabrics are designed to provide outstanding color consistency, a wide color range, and excellent image sharpness. The newly launched textiles meet NFPA 701 FR specifications and provide options in ink compatibility (including dye sub direct, dye sub transfer, latex, UV, eco-solvent, and solvent). www.tvfmedia.com

LED MODULES/TUBES/STRIPS The Most Versatile Solution Available for Shallow- to Standard-depth Sign Installations SloanLED has announced the availability of V180 HB Mini, the most versatile, brightest solution available in the V180 lineup for illuminating shallow- to standard-depth channel letters and sign boxes. V180 HB Mini shares the same innovative and efficient design as V180 Mini, while offering a module that is 56 percent brighter. The increased lumen output allows for installation into a wider range of sign depths, while using fewer modules. The result for budgetconscious sign makers is more attractive signs that are less costly to build and operate. V180 HB Mini, like its Large, Standard, and Mini counterparts, features a patented LED array consisting of three diodes placed in an optimal orientation to provide a 180-degree overall viewing angle. Stretch spacing is built into V180 Large and V180 Standard, giving sign builders additional flexibility during installation (particularly in creative applications). www.sloanled.com

li g h ti n g e q uipme n t New Plug & Play LED T8 Lamps Take the Guesswork Out of Fluorescent Retrofitting The innovative Litetronics® Plug & Play LED T8 Lamps convert existing T8 linear fluorescent troffers (among the most prevalent commercial fixtures in use today) to more energy-saving, longer-lasting linear LED tubes. These new models replace two-, three-, or four-foot LED T8 tubes in an end-client’s existing ceiling- or wall-mounted housings with ease.

These lamps deliver superior energy savings with evenly distributed, flicker-free, luminous white-light output preferred in today’s office buildings, restaurants, schools, retail stores, government buildings, plants, and warehouses. White LED light provides visual acuity, true color rendition, and long operating life with negligible maintenance. Installation of Litetronics Plug & Play LED T8 Lamps takes only the time required to change a fluorescent tube, greatly reducing labor costs. After removing fluorescent lamps, Litetronics Plug & Play LED T8 Lamps simply twist securely into existing lamp holders. These fixtures use the existing ballast and lamp holders and operate seamlessly on most ANSI-approved instant-start and program-start electronic fluorescent ballasts. www.litetronics.com/new-products/led-t8.html

12

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

signshop.com

Speedy 400 The new dimension in laser processing

MCI ready

READY FOR

exx

energy saving MODE

Working area of 39 x 24 inches Flexible multi-functional table Available with CO2 laser, fiber laser or both The Speedy 400 is equipped with a CeramiCore速 laser source. This patented design means a higher engraving quality, faster speeds, longer lifespan, and more energy efficiency than metal or glass laser sources.

100% pure. 100% ceramic.

Call us: 866-226-8505

www.troteclaser.com

SignSHOW monumentS/pylons Peachtree Doubles Capacity, Holds Fast to Its Commitment to Quality and Customer Service Wholesale monument sign manufacturer Peachtree City Foamcraft recently purchased and integrated two additional MultiCam routers to meet the growing demand for turn-key HDU sign panels and foamcore monument signs. The additional equipment will allow Peachtree to effectively double production, meeting the rising demand while keeping lead times at four weeks or less. The new investment was a key move in Peachtree’s long-term plan to increase efficiency and overall productivity while reducing cycle times at all of the companies’ plants. With approximately 50,000 square feet of manufacturing space, Peachtree is the nation’s largest wholesale-only supplier of foamcore monuments and HDU sign panels. www.foamcraft.info

PU B L I S H I N G ( B OO K S / D I R E C TO R I E S / C D / D V D ) The Latest Street Graphics and the Law Revision is Released Mercer Sign Consultants is pleased to announce the publication of the most recent edition of the American Planning Association’s Street Graphics and the Law (2015), co-authored by Daniel R. Mandelker, John M. Baker, and Richard Crawford. One of the first—and most influential—systems for transforming the clutter of on-premise signs into an expression of place, the revised Street Graphics contains standards for on-premise sign visibility, legibility, sign orientation, and sign size based on research completed at the Larson Transportation Institute at Penn State University. This updated publication will be a valuable tool for anyone involved in sign design and sign regulation. www.planning.org; www.mercersignconsultants.com

Manufacturers of Precision Board Plus

Professional sign makers start with Precision Board Plus Made in the USA n 15 densities up to 24" thick n 8 standard sheet sizes n Custom Blocks and Sheet Sizes available n Certified Green / Non-Toxic n

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

signshop.com

ROUTERS/ENGR AVERS One-stop Shopping for All of Your Engraving Plastic Needs!

Ability Plastics, a full-service supplier of engravable materials, architectural signs, and digital printing, has entered into a partnership with the Gravotech Group, a global leader in durable marking technologies such as engraving, laser, micro-percussion, and scribing. Among the premium engraving materials you will now find available at Ability Plastics is Gravoply laser- and rotary-engraving plastic. Made in America, these sheets are available in full size, half size, and quarter sizes, or they can be custom-cut to any special size or shape. Other engraving stock available from Ability Plastics includes Rowmark and Innovative Plastics product lines, as well as a variety of other miscellaneous decorating and hot stamping materials. www.abilityplastics.com

S I G N B L A N KS / PA N E LS Hybrid Graphic Display Board Features the Light Weight of Foam Board and Durability of ACM New KAPA® tech from 3A Composites consists of two pre-painted sheets of .008-inch aluminum bonded to a polyurethane foam core. This hybrid construction allows KAPA tech to perform in both indoor and outdoor graphic displays, exhibits, and permanent décor and signage with the durability of an aluminum composite material (ACM) but at half the weight of an ACM. Additionally KAPA tech’s dense polyurethane foam core offers enhanced strength over polystyrene foam boards, and its polyurethane foam edges may be decorated with a wide variety of paints—including solvent-based paints that typically are not available for use with polystyrene foam. KAPA tech is an ideal substrate for creating pointof-purchase and retail-store displays, tradeshow booths, exhibits, and both indoor and outdoor permanent décor and signage. KAPA tech can be decorated by painting and with direct digital printing and screen-printing processes, as well as laminated with decorative film and high-pressure laminates. 800/626-3365; www.GraphicDisplay.com

signshop.com

November 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

15

SignSHOW VEHICLE GRAPHICS The Color Shift is on (Vehicles) Thanks to New ORAFOL Film ORAFOL Americas has announced the availability of ORACAL® 970RA Premium Shift Effect Cast with RapidAir® Technology. This multi-layered, high-performance cast PVC wrapping film has been engineered with cutting-edge technology to produce mesmerizing multi-color effects. This unique shade shifting occurs as a result of your viewing angle and incidence of light. Shift your view and the color change begins! It is available in three high-gloss colors: 988 (Green Blue), 989 (Turquoise Lavender), and 990 (Aubergine Bronze). This 4.25-mil-thick film features a clear, solvent polyacrylate, repositionable, permanent adhesive that, with heat, can be removed with little or no adhesive residue. It is available in the following sizes: 60 inches-by-30 feet, 60 inches-by-75 feet, and 60 inches-by-150 feet. www.orafol.com

VINYL/VINYL FILMS/SUPPLIES Mactac Expands Its Décor Product Offerings Mactac® Distributor Products has launched two brand-new products—IMAGin® DecoMural™ and IMAGin® DecoFresco™ (pictured)—that will expand the company’s décor product range. These adhesive solutions are specially designed for installation on smooth interior walls and can be digitally printed with UV, latex, or solvent technologies.

Installation is made easy with a robust facestock and aggressive adhesive. These products offer an alternative to wallpaper, without the difficult water-activated installation often associated with it. DecoMural DM032 is ideal for providing a long-term textured permanent wall mural to any smooth wall and has a medium texture and feel, allowing for a clean, rich-looking graphic. DecoFresco DF052 is an embossed PVC with an organic brushstroke texture and a robust removable adhesive. DecoMural has an expected lifetime of five years and the DecoFresco up to three years, and both are one-year outdoor durable with a two-year shelf life. www.mactac.com/graphics

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

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HOW-TO

By lori shridhare

Vehicle Graphics

Revved Up Graphics Advances in software and hardware lead to improved vehicle graphics.

N

othing beats the “wow” factor of an exquisitely wrapped vehicle. Thanks to the availability of high-quality materials and innovations in both printers and design software, designs in recent years have become even more eye-catching—making this form of advertising a marketing must-have for any serious business.

“Over the past decade, we’ve seen the industry shift from individual vehicle graphics to full custom wraps that utilize state-of-the-art print technology,” says Chris Cheney, vice president of sales at The Decal Source, Inc. (TDS), based in McLeansville, North Carolina.

The reasons behind this shift are multifaceted, but they may be related to the ability

companies now have to integrate improvements in vehicle graphics’ creation with sound installation practices and solid project management processes.

The latter point is one of the ways TDS works to ensure success with all of their projects.

In business since 1998, the company augments their customer service and project management by assigning a dedicated account service team to each customer.

“Each team consists of an account manager, A graphic artist, and an account coordinator who are paired together in a dedicated office,” says Cheney.

“They are asked to learn the customer’s brand guidelines and intimate details of each project.”

This approach also allows the company to

all Photos: the decal source, inc.

The Decal Source has seen the industry shift from individual vehicle graphics to full custom wraps.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

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he says. “We find that steering a customer away from an extremely busy design with several pictures and redundant wording helps produce a better overall design.”

Second Gear: Installation

The Decal Source wrapped a tag trailer that was going to bepullled behind a metallic-painted RV.

specialize in many areas, including banners, custom graphics, corporate designs, vehicle lettering and wraps, and other kinds of signs.

First Gear: Design The Decal Source’s account service team also handles the design aspects.

“We manage our design process much in the same way we handle all other graphic orders—with a team-based solution,” says Cheney. “Our account service team will bring together a graphic designer and the client to discuss the client’s individual design needs while proposing options to help represent the client’s brand.”

The company uses the Adobe Creative Cloud and Adobe Illustrator as their primary design software.

“Illustrator is the ‘backbone’ of our operation; it gives us the capability to provide proofs quickly and easily in any type of file format that is preferred,” says Cheney.

Once TDS has received the approved design, it moves along to its setup team that prepares the files for print in full scale.

“Over the years, our team has utilized Illustrator to refine our setup process to maximize our yield and modify paneling techniques,” says Cheney. “Illustrator is highly compatible with our production

workflow and easily integrates with our RIP and cutting software.

“This allows us to save time and hassle by easily making adjustments that are universally recognized by all of our software, at any point in the production process.”

Ultimately it’s the customer’s decision on how their vehicle graphic design turns out, but Cheney says simple is better.

“In a world where the time to make an impact on a consumer is so limited (sometimes only a few seconds), a clean design advertising the customer’s logo, contact info, and an attractive stripe help relay the message a lot faster and more efficiently,”

A great installation is key to any project, so the TDS team takes additional time to create panels that are easy to install and minimize seam exposure.

In addition to being a 3M Certified Graphics Installation Company, TDS’s employees are members of the United Application Standards Group (UASG) and the Professional Decal Application Alliance (PDAA).

“Our install department is flexible and goes the extra mile to make it happen for our customers,” says Cheney, noting that this means working long hours or unusual schedules.

According to Cheney, proper education and hands-on training are two key elements of a successful installation department.

“We provide a training environment for new hires,” says Cheney. “This allows them to explore the limitations of certain materials and develop the special touch needed to cut the material properly.”

Third Gear: Projects The Decals Source was able to put its expertise to work on a number of recent wrap projects.

On one of them, the shop was tasked

This box truck wrap posed several challenges from the customization of the vehicle surface to the complexity of the design to wrapping all of the surfaces.

20

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

signshop.com

with creating a design for a twenty-fourfoot-long tag trailer that is pulled behind a metallic painted RV. “Our client was very adamant that he wanted the stripes to mirror the painted RV,” says Cheney, “to tie it all in together.”

It took a little bit of innovative thinking to accomplish this.

The TDS print department ended up printing directly on 3M™ Wrap Film 1080-G120 Gloss White Aluminum metallic vinyl and color-matching each color on the RV while their design team recreated the RV striping to fit the trailer “We’re always pushing the envelope with new films to help our customers,” says Cheney.

The Decal Source also worked on a large, custom box truck that showcases a top NASCAR driver and the sponsor’s product.

“Our client wanted to completely wrap the exterior of the box truck, including the roof as well as many interiors areas that tie in with the exterior design,” says Cheney.

This truck posed several challenges— from the customization of the vehicle surface to the complexity of the design to wrapping all of the surfaces (including interior ledges, trim, awning cover, etc.).

“We first created a custom template of the truck for the design that included all necessary bleeds to help alleviate issues in the production and installation of the wrap,” says Cheney. “As we completed the project, we learned how to calculate wrapping a dome in particular, as well as key areas to trim very carefully during install.”

In addition to the typical 3M wrap media used on vehicles, TDS utilizes 3M reflective vinyl applied on top of several wraps to showcase specific logos or verbiage at night.

“The additional reflective vinyl graphics make a normal wrap stand out above the crowd,” says Cheney.

Over the next few years, Cheney believes the industry will continue to see a broader array of wrapped film products with different textures and additional colors.

“Also we expect to see inks with increased longevity and vinyl media that will wrap more complex curved surfaces with increased conformability,” he says.

“These types of products will ultimately expand the product gamut we can offer to customers and help create vehicle graphics that will stand out for many years to come.” signshop.com

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November 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

21

HOW-TO

By Mark K. Roberts

Vinyl

The Windows to Frosted Vinyl The evidence is in for the case on frosted vinyl.

A

fter thirty-seven years in the sign business, I finally received the telephone call I had been waiting on for quite some time. The client on the other end of the line told me that she wanted my shop to spruce up her plain glass lobby doors as well as a side window inside her suite.

In order to make this vision a reality, she requested frosted vinyl graphics be used on these see-through surfaces.

I have always wanted to get involved in this type of project! Frosted vinyl is a higher-end product—and one that should be marketed and priced at a premium.

The customer for this project owns Pathway Forensics here in Houston, Texas. This company provides digital forensics, electronic discovery, computer investigations, and forensics lab consulting services. They’re located on the eighth floor of a very nice office building. When clients

exit the elevator, the double door entrance to their lobby is the first thing they’re going to see.

And you know what it is that they say about first impressions!

The owner wanted her lobby to look perfect and reflect her company’s services, so she thought frosted vinyl text and oval fingerprint graphics would be very attractive here.

The owner emailed me the JPEG art files that she wanted to use, and I loaded them into our design software. I opened the file for the ovals and generated cut files to the perimeter and to the graphics inside the oval.

After two attempts to create nicely cut ovals with internal cut outs, I finally found my correct blade pressure.

These ovals are evenly spaced and they have the “high-tech” look my client wanted.

Once these graphics were ready, I returned to her suite to first adhere them to the front

Frosted vinyl on the front lobby doors at Pathway Forensics in Houston, Texas.

22

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

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Photo 1 double doors (Photo 1) and then to the 45-1/2-inch-long glass window (Photo 2) off to the side in the lobby.

Armed with a fifteen-inch roll of pre-cut ORAFOL 8810 Frosted Glass vinyl film that I purchased from Feller’s sign supply, a bottle of Rapid Tac, and some masking tape, I taped the cut graphics to the front

24

Photo 2 of the glass doors.

I was not ready to experience the amount of work I would have in store for me to separate the backing sheets from the frosted film. Now I know!

I used a tape hinge along the upper edge and lifted the graphics up to remove the backing sheet (Photo 3).

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

Once free of the backing sheet, I lowered the graphics carefully to the clean window.

I applied pressure strokes using my new squeegee to remove as much of the Rapid Tac as possible (Photo 4). This worked perfectly!

I repeated the process for the right-hand

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Photo 4

Photo 3 door and experienced similar success.

I then cleaned the doors one more time to eliminate streaks and excessive moisture from the Rapid Tac. After all liquid on the glass was dried, I moved to another glass window to apply some decorative ovals cut in the same frosted film.

These ovals are spaced evenly across the plate glass window as a precaution.

The pane of glass is rather large, and the frosted cut vinyl ovals with details were the order of the day.

After removing the trans mask, I cleaned the glass window one more time.

The result was a beautiful glass window

Photo 4: letters placed on top of milk

Photo 5: letters placed on top of milk

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Frosted vinyl text and fingerprint graphics not only enhance the look of the lobby, but also better identify what the client’s forensics business has to offer. with frosted glass vinyl ovals with binary designs cut into the vinyl.

By offering frosted vinyl window film as one of your graphics options, you may experience a lot of interest in this product. By all means, give this wonderful media a try. You could open a niche that will increase your customer base.

Mark K. Roberts is a thirty-eight-year sign veteran and the owner of The InterSign Group in Houston, Texas. signshop.com

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November 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

25

HOW-TO

By David Hickey

Regulations

Reaching Out and Responding The quest for better sign codes continues.

26

A

bout a year ago, Kelly Schreiber reached out to the International Sign Association (ISA) for help with her community’s sign code.

As executive director of the local chamber of commerce in Stayton, Oregon, Schreiber was advocating on behalf of some of her members who had been notified they were violating the town’s sign codes. In all, some sixty-five businesses were warned of impending fines if changes weren’t made.

After speaking with ISA’s James Carpentier, Schreiber decided that this presented a prime opportunity to tackle other problems in the town’s sign codes.

Over the course of a year, Schreiber and Carpentier pushed for massive changes.

What had begun as an issue over temporary and portable signs grew into a desire to allow electronic message centers that changed every eight seconds

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

and a more streamlined sign code process.

This just shows the valuable, on-the-ground work that can be accomplished by local business leaders—especially when armed with ISA’s expertise.

This is a model that ISA and our seventeen Affiliated Associations have begun to follow, expanding education from the planning community to experts who work on improving their community’s economic conditions. This includes Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), economic development offices (EDO), and local chambers of commerce.

These leaders work to attract, retain, and invest in local businesses, educate entrepreneurs on how to be successful, and represent business interests before city officials.

By working closely with these organizations, ISA can alert them to sign code issues that could affect their community’s economic performance.

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The International Sign Association and the Texas Sign Association, along with SBDC officials, will present a seminar next year to help economic officials understand the value that signs bring to businesses in rural communities.

Whether ISA is working with economic experts or local planning officials, we can provide data demonstrating the value of signs as well as expertise and resources in developing reasonable sign codes. This proactive and positive approach can prove to local leaders that

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

A pro-sign recommendation from an economic development office may help eliminate negative language in a sign code.

ISA will do right by their community— and the businesses that are so vital to a community’s success.

With this outreach to community economic officials, we’re covering all of our bases, so that there isn’t a local official who doesn’t know to turn to ISA for their sign code knowledge.

This multi-pronged approach can prove strategic when disputes arise.

A pro-sign recommendation from the economic development office may help persuade the zoning board to strike some negative language in a draft sign code provision. Representatives from the local chamber may change the mind of a recalcitrant city council member on a key vote. These kinds of stories prove that every last bit of outreach helps.

As all sign companies know, sign code development is a constant challenge.

The process can be long, difficult, and frustrating. Sometimes you might feel like your voice isn’t being heard.

ISA and our affiliated associations represent the sign and visual communications industry by sharing resources that benefit communities and businesses alike. And when the sign industry’s goals align with an economic organization, like a local chamber of commerce or a regional SBDC, there’s the power and the will to tackle even bigger issues.

The ultimate goal is better sign codes, and that proves to be a winning issue for the sign industry and business groups alike, and also—most importantly—for the economic development of communities across the country. signshop.com

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Designer: Brandon Antol.

Absolute Perfection:

Wrapped Up

T

here are a couple of essential elements graphics providers need to succeed in wrap design. Chris Fong points out that, from his experience, hardware and software are big contributors. Fong is vice president, Applied Graphics Division, at Absolute Perfection Vehicle Wrapping (www.vehiclewrapping.com) in Eldersburg, Maryland, a 3M™ Certified company of “cross-trained” professionals involved in the graphic design and installation of custom vehicles.

Fong’s staff of five designers uses Onyx, Photoshop, and Illustrator to come up with graphics for clients’ wraps. “We invest in each our designers’ workstations with the most current version of Adobe and the most powerful computers we 30

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

A gallery of recent standout wrap projects.

can buy or build,” he says.

However Fong stresses that computer skills and hardware are not the only element of a good wrap design. “We believe our designs work as well as they do because our print shop and installation team all work under the same roof as our design team,” he says. “Our designers work and learn side by side with the production department and installers on every project.

“This allows our designers to think like an installer and create designs that don’t exceed what our installers can install.”

The following pages recap recent notable wrap projects Absolute Perfection has completed—along with “behind the scenes” commentary about them from Fong. signshop.com

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Project: BrickCrafts Installer: Mike Lawson Printer: HP Designjet L26500 61-inch Vinyl: 3M™ Controltac™ IJ180Cv3 Clearcoat/Overlaminate: 3M 8518 Gloss Laminator: Seal 54-inch Chris’s Take: “BrickCrafts creates all of their products out of LEGOs®, so we thought it would be appropriate and eye-catching to sort of ‘reconstruct’ their logo out of 3D-rendered LEGO graphics.

“Of course, the colors also had to be accurate, given that the owner takes this vehicle to conventions where the likes of the attendees would surely notice if it was anything less than authentic.

“After many hours of meticulous design, marking all of the LEGOs lockup, and getting the colors to work together in a dynamic layout, it still didn’t seem over-the-top enough. So we started pulling a bunch of the LEGOs apart and juxtaposing a few of them here and there, giving it the feeling that they are in motion.

“This seemed to complement the ‘tearing away’ effect towards the front wheel wells and bumper of the vehicle and gave the design the off-the-wall look we were trying to achieve.”

Designer: Brandon Antol.

Project: Bill’s Epic Eats

all Photos: city neon, inc.

Installer: Mike Lawson Printer: HP Designjet L26500 Vinyl: 3M Controltac 40C Clearcoat/Overlaminate: 3M 8508 Gloss Laminator: Seal 54-inch Chris’s Take: “This customer bought a vintage-style food truck one would find at the shore. He wanted a wrap that would help personify his business. One thing he stressed—and that we designed throughout—was that he wanted to incorporate a surfboard for the menu on it.

“He now takes his food truck to different sporting events at high schools and middle schools.”

signshop.com

Designer: Brandon Antol.

November 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

31

All of the red neon was bent in-house by City Neon and attached to the signs with tube supports.

Project: Frederick Soccer Club Installer: Mike Lawson Printer: HP Laserjet 2500 Vinyl:3M Controltac 40C and BriteLine 50/50 Window Perf Clearcoat/Overlaminate: 3M 8508 Gloss Laminator: Seal 54-inch Chris’s Take: “The client wanted to catch the fan’s eyes by using a crisp black-and-blue design on this transportation bus used for a local soccer program.

“The background itself is a silhouette of a soccer net, while the rear of the bus is the team’s logo (to ensure you know who it is that you’re following).”

Designer: Tony Semanick.

Project: Santoni’s Food Truck Installer: Mike Lawson Printer: HP Designjet L26500 Vinyl: 3M Controltac 40C and BriteLine 50/50 Window Perf Clearcoat/Overlaminate: 3M 8508 Gloss Laminator: Seal 54-inch Chris’s Take: “Santoni’s uses a shuttle to bring customers in certain areas of Baltimore to their supermarket, where they have healthier and safer food options.

“In an attempt to convey freshness, our designer used bright colors and photography of people relevant to the client’s target market. He also employed green in the design to resemble freshness and red to make the consumer hungry.

“All of these elements make this wrap stand out.”

Designer: Brandon Antol.

Project: Pollie Ann’s Installer(s): Travis Johnson and Mike Lawson Printer: HP Latex 360 64-inch Vinyl: Avery 700 Series White cut vinyl Clearcoat/Overlaminate: 3M 8508 and 8518 Gloss Laminator: Seal 54-inch

Designer: Brandon Kemp.

32

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

Chris’s Take: “The client requested ‘simple and clean’ aspects, so we utilized their logo as a large focal point and incorporated red, Southern, home-style graphics to display their hours of operation and what they serve.

“To complement the logo, we created a custom fork-andknife tag line. For added information and continuity, we put the call-out bubble by the window and the social media/ contact information by the serving window, so customers can check out what the food truck is about while waiting.”

signshop.com

Project: Zooms Day Survival Gear Installer: Mike Lawson Printer: HP Designjet L26500 Vinyl Brand: 3M Controltac IJ180Cv3 Clearcoat/Overlaminae: 3M 8520 Matte Laminator: Seal 54-inch Chris’s Take: “We built this design for a company that sells not just any survival gear—but rather Zombie Apocalypse survival gear. They came to us wanting to do a fun truck wrap that would reflect this.

“Throughout this design, there are gory elements at every turn— whether it’s the weathered, beat-up look with zombie hands or blood splattered on the truck.

“One thing is for certain, this wrap is sure to make heads turn (and roll)!”

Designer: Brandon Antol.

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November 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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Designer: Brandon Antol.

Project: Gypsy Caravan Installer(s): Tim Cooke, Marc Fong, and Travis Johnson Printer: HP Designjet L26500 Vinyl: 3M Controltac IJ180Cv3 Clearcoat/Overlaminate: 3M 8518 Gloss Laminator: Seal 54-inch Chris’s Take: “The customer came to us with an idea inspired by hand-painted and wood-painted caravans. To make the

design look like it has depth, we used elements that had to be individually treated through custom-shaded blending.”

“On another van wrap for an e-cigarette retailer Harbor Vapor located in the Fells Point historical district in Baltimore [see page 30], the client specified wood and brick in the design to exemplify a nostalgic emotion from customers.

[This client] is also a Baltimore Ravens fan, so we dispersed purple and orange throughout, as well as an image of an e-cig to spread his message, ‘Quit smoking, start vaping.’”

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

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Absolute Perfection Installation When it comes to ideal installation conditions, Fong says that he and his employees prefer wrapping pre-washed vehicles at their 5,000-square foot facility, which is equipped with multiple bays.

His team of installers typically use 3M P.A.-1 squeegees (as well as a mix of Rolle Pro surface applicator tools and R Tape Conform® application tapes, when needed).

“We have a clean, bright, climate-controlled facility away from our production room,” he says. “We like doing our

installs here because this assures that the installation isn’t going to be effected by dirt, wind, temperature, or visibility.”

Another advantage is that the production room with his HP latex printers and Graphtec plotters right next door to the installation bays. Having the ability to print so close together allows for quicker installs. “If we need to reprint a panel, we can do so in a matter of minutes with our printers in the next room,” he says. “Going offsite [eats up] travel time and limits our installers from being able to fix unforeseen problems on the spot.”

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W i d e F o r m a t / B y G r e g o r y S h a r p l e ss / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

The Trends in Wide Format

Five factors to keep in mind when plotting your wide format purchase.

H

ave you considered adding a wide format printer to your shop’s sign arsenal but been waiting for the right time to pull the trigger?

Now might be the best time to take action.

Printer manufacturers are loading even smaller and lessexpensive machines with bells and whistles that help simplify and “profit-ize” the wide format printing process.

And industry consultants continue to stress that opportunities in wide-format are available—if a shop wants to reach out and grab them.

Boston-based consultancy house I.T. Strategies, for instance, projects that wide format output will show a compound annual growth rate of more than 6.5 percent by 2019 (square meters printed), with eco-solvent and latex printing growing at a rate of more than 10 percent in that timespan.

The company states in the 2015 edition of its annual Wide Format Graphics Forecast, “Wide format graphics printing… is a market largely driven by the consumer economy, and that has been growing again, and it is always renewing its adver-

tising needs. It is still profitable, it still grows, and it is still driven by constant technology improvement.”

What follows are five trends to consider as you begin your quest to add digital wide format printing and its opportunities to your business.

1. More versatile printers grow with your business.

In the past, print shops would buy an entry-level printer and, once they outgrew that (or had a need for another application), would then have to buy a new machine with additional features.

Having added more customers, jobs, and different applications, the shop would then buy yet another machine with even more features. It wasn’t unusual to see that very first machine end up being used as a doorstop somewhere in the back corner of the shop’s production facility.

Today printer OEMs are striving to make their machines more versatile and capable of growing as your business and customer base/application base expands.

Photo: Mimaki TS300P.

Wide format printing technology has evolved to now cover items such as printwear.

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Roland’s Texart RT-640 allows the opportunity to venture into digital textile printing.

A prime example of this is the Inca Onset R40LT UV flatbed from Inca Digital Printers. Shops can acquire the “base” machine as a four-color, 63-by-127-inch manual printer that can output at 265 square meters/hour. But because the machine is based on Inca’s Onset Scaleable Architecture platform, users can then upgrade the machine at their facility—to, for instance, an automatic eight-color machine with a speed of 400 square meters/hour. The result: increased capabilities and productivity without having to bring more iron in-house.

Or what if you have invested in a flatbed because all your jobs have been on rigid substrates, but then you begin to get requests for work best handled on a roll-fed machine?

Screen USA’s solution is to enable its Truepress Jet W3200UV HS flatbed to be outfitted with a new roll-to-roll

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system (126 inches wide) that can be added in the field or at the factory. In addition, the standard Truepress Jet W3200UV flatbed with an output speed of 915 square feet/hour can be upgraded to the high-speed (HS) model—1,615 square feet/ hour—in the field.

2. Output gains in predictability, ease of use.

Printer manufacturers, as well as RIP companies, are continuing their quest to make output more predictable and generally easier to produce. No, it’s not yet true “green-button technology,” but many users would say it is getting close.

Epson, for instance, recently introduced its SureColor PSeries lineup of printers, which includes a Commercial Edition featuring a new Violet ink for an expanded color gamut

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Epson’s P-Series also now includes a Commercial Edition featuring a new Violet ink for an expanded color gamut.

and delivering “output matching 99 percent of the Pantone Formula Guide Solid Coated,” Epson reports.

The new P-Series printers (available in twenty-four- and forty-four-inch versions) can also be had with an optional Epson SpectroProofer UVS inline spectrophotometer for automated color management and verification (and, so, can be used for a variety of proofing applications).

On the easier-to-produce side of things, consider how Onyx Graphics has beefed up its ProductionHouse, PosterShop, and RIPCenter software in its latest versions. ONYX 12 features live, color-managed previews that display job edits as they happen—users can see just where spot colors, grommets, marks, tiling, crops, and cut paths are placed before processing (saving time and reducing “guesswork waste”).

Plus new finishing tools enable automatic grommet and mark placement for prints that are essentially “finishing ready.”

Technology is designed to offer smaller drop sizes and more precise control.

Fujifilm’s upcoming Acuity LED 1600 II printer, is another example: The machine features a fast-printing mode of up to 355 square feet/hour; multi-layer printing with white and clear ink; an automatic jetting calibration function; two new vacuum modes for different media (for thin/low-resilience media); and the ability to disable the white and clear-ink heads when not in use for reduced maintenance costs.

The JFX200 UV-LED flatbed printer from Mimaki offers another take on UV LED: With a four-by-eight-foot landscape-oriented format, it can accommodate media up to two inches thick. Other features include: variable-drop printing; printing speeds up to 269 square feet/ hour; layout pins to help ensure proper media alignment; and the availability of white ink, clear ink, and primer (to help the ink adhere to glass).

3. UV LED points the way.

4. Digital fabric weaves growth.

UV LED continues to make inroads with printer OEMs and shops.

UV LEDs have longer-lasting lamps and tend to consume less energy than do standard UV lamps, plus the lamps remain relatively cool during operation.

The result, reports manufacturers, is a higher curing efficiency, safer and more stable output, increased yield, and reduced operating costs.

EFI is a major proponent of the technology and has multiple UV LED models available. Its eighty-inch EFI Vutek GS2000LX Pro with UltraDrop Technology is a production-level hybrid (rigid/roll-fed) featuring eight colors plus white ink, continuous print productivity, single-pass multilayer printing, and optional Material Edge Guides for working with corrugated materials. Its UltraDrop 38

Printing on fabrics for soft signage offers a variety of advantages—from the naturally soft feel and texture to its distinct aesthetic, plus the economic savings when it comes to shipping expenses (for the client as well as the graphics producer).

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

And digitally printing on fabrics is growing: InfoTrends, the Weymouth, Massachusetts-based consulting group, reports that the worldwide digital textile printing market for garment, home décor, and industrial applications will experience around 34 percent compound annual growth to 2019.

Want more proof? Just take a look at how some event organizers are jumping onto the digital textile print bandwagon.

Messe Frankfurt—the mega tradeshow organizer—announced the launch of Avanprint, a 2016 event that will serve as a showcase for digital textile printing technologies. Held parallel with the Texworld and Apparel Sourcing shows in Paris, the Avanprint event will showcase textiles plus relevant machines, inks, and more.

Roland DGA’s Texart RT-640 is an option for digital textile printing: A sixty-four-inch dye-sub transfer printer, it is available in a standard four-color configuration (CMYK) but also can be had in an eight-color setup (CMYKcm + Orange and Violet). The Orange and Violet are designed to allow more intense deep reds, purples, and blues, the company states, while the light colors provide for better skin tones and subtle shadings.

Photo: Mimaki JFX200 UV-LED.

Epson’s P-Series printers can be had with an inline spectrophotometer for automated color management and verification.

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MIMAKI CJV150 Series

The new Mimaki CJV150 Series cut and print devices go beyond extraordinary to deliver a wide range of applications. Eco-solvent inks in a variety of colors – including Silver – and advanced printing technologies means you can produce nearly anything in a single unit that fits your work flow. Precision cutting capability gives you the ability to deliver custom and short-run items such as labels, T-shirt transfers or package prototypes. With the Mimaki CJV150 Series printers’ superb quality, color fidelity, and flexibility – plus cutting capability – you’ll go beyond the expected to increase your business and deliver more than your customers can imagine. The CJV150 is available in four versatile media widths – 32”, 43”, 54”, 63”.

mimakiusa.com

© 2015 Mimaki USA, Inc.

info@mimakiusa.com

888-530-4021

Printer OEMs are making machines more versatile and capable of growing as your business does.

Other features include a gold-plated, anti-static printhead capable of printing seven different droplet sizes; a newly designed feed adjuster; and a TU-3 takeup system. Print speed maxes out at 351 square feet/hour.

The latest version of Wasatch’s SoftRIP TX, engineered specifically for textile printing, boasts an improved Repeats feature with advanced drop and slide options and a “stretch” control that helps adjust for fabric shrinkage.

SoftRIP TX 7.2 also features RIP speed enhancements, Wasatch reports.

This summer, EFI made perhaps the biggest news in digital textile printing when it announced that it had acquired Italy-based Reggiani Macchine, the manufacturer of industrial inkjet printers for printing onto fabrics. The Reggiani purchase moves EFI squarely

Roland’s HeatSoft PLUS media transfers images onto sports apparel and accessories.

into the high-volume/industrial digitaltextile printing space. (Note: EFI also offers the Vutek TX3250r printer—a 126-inch machine for digitally printed fabrics and soft signage.)

5. Promotional goes viral.

Savvy shops can add promotional materials and other three-dimensional objects to the array of applications they already handle by using the right technology. Flat

printing is fine, but if you can also accommodate 3D and thicker materials, you have added to your solutions toolbox.

One such machine for these applications is Roland’s VersaUV LEJ-640FT flatbed UV LED printer. An extension of the company’s VersaUV LEF printer series, the 64-by-98-inch LEJ-640FT can accommodate heavy rigid substrates weighing up to 220 pounds and measuring up to six inches thick. Applications can include promotional products (golf balls, phone cases, pens, etc.), fine art, point-of-purchase displays, signage, and much more. The machine features a maximum print speed of 133 square feet/hour, a top resolution of 1440 dpi, and VersaWorks RIP software.

Shops seeking a similar solution with a smaller footprint might look to Mutoh’s ValueJet 426UF: The tabletop UV-LED printer measures 13-by-19 inches and can print onto a variety of materials, including 3D objects up to 2.75-inches thick. It features a CMYK+White and Varnish inkset, a vacuum table for accuracy, and Mutoh’s Intelligent Interweave i² print technology to help eliminate banding.

This is, of course, just one take on trends; we urge you do your due diligence by also attending the tradeshows, networking with your peers, and consulting with printer manufacturers/distributors prior to finalizing any purchase.

Gregory Sharpless is a Cincinnati-based freelance writer and the former Editorin-Chief of The Big Picture and Digital Output magazines. He has covered wide format printing since the technology’s beginnings.

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he difference between vinyl and fabric can be likened to the contrast between matte and glossy finish in print.

While glossy is captivating, shiny, and vibrant, a matte finish imparts elegance, refinement, and subtlety.

With banners, vinyl may be the best way to go when sharp photographic images are displayed, while fabric might be the direction needed for a series of hanging banners that are designed to have some texture and give.

Fortunately for sign professionals, both vinyl and fabric remain in vogue, with demonstrated needs in a range of markets.

Adhesive Vinyl Pixus Digital Printing (www.pixus.com), based in Lafayette, Louisiana, has about 500 business customers across the U.S., including casinos, construction, restaurants, retail stores, ad agencies, and more.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

Sharpen or soften the look of your banners.

Working on everything from banners and signs to adhesive graphics, P-O-P displays, and wall murals, the company operates with six large format printers, two ten-foot MultiCam Digital Express finishers, and high-speed wide format routing systems. About a third of their business is in banners with a strong emphasis on vinyl and printed substrates.

According to Manager of Sales and Marketing Mike Latiolais, “We’re seeing vinyl banner requests for sporting events, casino promotions, retail businesses, political campaigns, and universities, as well as construction projects.”

Company projects continuously highlight a diverse market’s need for vinyl banners.

One project demonstrates both the aesthetic and practical purposes for a large banner. The University of LouisianaLafayette football team was looking to demark a private area for practice during outdoor workouts. signshop.com

photo: pixus digital printing.

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To help them achieve this, Pixus printed a polyester mesh banner spanning over two-hundred feet and eight feet tall using one of its latex printers.

The project was printed in fifty-foot sections and joined by hidden seams.

Meanwhile Margaritaville Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana, requested a sign that would top the entrance for its grand opening. To create this look, Pixus printed on two 15-by-30-foot banners and joined them to make one.

“The banner was printed using highresolution with a six-color process and installed with the use of a snap frame unit, which creates a flat-sign appearance,” says Latiolais.

Finally Pixus employees spearheaded a special project in response to a theater shooting in their community this past July that took the lives of two people and injured nine. The company created thousands of 30-by-30-inch custom vinyl banners, 5-by5-inch decals, and 15-by-15-inch Coroplast yard signs for a recently held Lafayette Strong Drive Thru Fundraiser.

“Together we raised approximately Pixus created an entrance sign for this casino by printing on two 15-by-30-foot banners and joining them to make one.

Fabric banners are installed like other banners, using grommets and/ or pole pockets, as seen here.

$120,000 over six days,” says Latiolais, “and 100 percent of these proceeds are being donated to the shooting victims and their families.”

The presentation and installation for vinyl banners include grommets for hanging and stretched frame banners that create a tight banner using a snap open frame system. Other trends are mesh screen banners, a polyester mate-

rial that provides a solution for windy locations.

When it comes to working with vinyl, Latiolais has a few tips: + Use only premium high-performance brands that have a good life expectancy with proper care. + After finishing the banner for hanging, ensure the banner has the correct number of grommets installed. + Always have the outside edges of your banner finished for a clean look. + Roll the banner around the outside of any tube when storing to avoid creasing and flattening out.

Fabric Choices

For those who may be venturing into designing on fabric for the first time, the good news is that there are virtually no limits to its capabilities.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

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photos: (top) mitchell marketing; (bottom) pixus digital printing.

To achieve a smooth, silky appearance, one option is to work with wrinkle-free fabric.

Once primarily a design firm, Mitchell Marketing (www.mitchellmarketinginc. com) is now dedicated to large format printing, with 50 percent of its business in banners.

According to Founder April Mitchell, 100 percent, polyester-woven fabric is a durable material that makes for a viable substitute for canvas but with the print performance of vinyl. Clients have taken notice—well over 75 percent of their fabric banner business revolves around their nineounce, wrinkle-free fabric.

“Our dye-sublimated fabric is a threelayered, woven fabric,” she says. “It also has the advantage of offering minimal light reflection, and the minimal space between threads allows for exceptional print quality and opacity—more than other standard fabrics.”

A typical application for a wrinklefree, polyester fabric is tabletop displays, photo backdrops, or elegant P-O-P displays (where a hand steamer can be used to remove creases).

And there are practical benefits as well: Fabric banners are machine-washable and can also be folded and stored without requiring banner tubes.

Mitchell has been seeing increased interest among larger companies and nonprofits looking for wrinkle-free banners and retractable banner stands for their sales reps to use at tradeshows.

“We’ve also done quite a bit of design work for churches looking for elegant but affordable fabric graphics,” she says.

Another option is a blockout fabric banner, which acts as a photo backdrop for shoots by preventing flash and glare.

“This fabric is constructed with two layers of acrylic coating that is adhered to the base cloth, which is made up of 65 percent polyester and 35 percent cotton,” says Mitchell. “The acrylic layer is used to significantly enhance the brilliance and vividness of the colors.”

The company recently introduced tension fabric, which is appealing to designers who work in special event, architectural, and brand marketing industries.

For those who may be venturing into designing on fabric for the first time, the good news is that there are virtually no limits to its capabilities.

“Designing on fabric is exactly the same as designing any other digital or offset printing project, except that our files need to be designed at 100 percent signshop.com

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Sign shops should know both vinyl and fabric remain in vogue, with demonstrated needs in a range of markets.

However while fabric is reserved mainly for indoor use, vinyl, which is waterproof, can be used for semi-permanent outdoor applications when UV-safe ink is incorporated.

“I wouldn’t recommend fabric for a permanent outdoor solution,” says Mitchell. “Fabric—some more than others—will absorb moisture, and this can cause the edges of the banner to curl.

Instead, go with vinyl.

“Depending upon your need and budget, use mesh, block-out, or 13-ounce scrim.”

In working with fabric or vinyl, Mitchell advises to keep these tips in mind: + With the exception of wrinkle-free fabric, always store banners rolled up. + Avoid folding whenever possible. + Do not overstretch the material upon installation. signshop.com

photo: mitchell marketing.

Fabric banners often appeal to churches looking for elegant but affordable fabric graphics.

of final size, with no bleeds, and at 150 dpi (versus 300 dpi), which is standard for most digital and offset print projects,” says Mitchell.

Earlier this year, they switched from digital printing to dye sublimation.

“Dye sublimation is scratch-resistant and will not cause the edges of the fabric to curl,” says Mitchell. “Our large format printers can handle JPEG and PDF files up to 8-by-100 feet for a single banner.”

When it comes to installation, fabric banners are installed like other banners, using grommets and/or pole pockets.

“If used for a retractable banner stand, we pre-install the graphic to the leader feed with packing tape for easy graphic changes,” says Mitchell. “Hems and grommets are included in the price; two- and three-inch-pole pockets and/or velcro finishing are also available.”

Mitchell works with both fabric and vinyl. The advantages to fabric are that it weighs less than vinyl and it’s environmentally friendly.

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Signs From Above Crop specialists transform landscapes into gargantuan art and advertising displays.

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MazePlay Eighteen acres of maze art feature a collage of imagery of all things that made their U.S. debut back in 1964.

Photo (OPPOSITE page):, The maize.

E

ach fall, some of the planet’s largest signs, art, and illustrations emerge from rural landscapes throughout the country.

At ground level, these popular attractions are corn mazes—wayward paths through fields, most of which intentionally lead nowhere. Only when viewed from above does the order in that chaos become apparent as those trails, amid rows of green, combine for a truly colossal image measured in acres rather than feet.

“I like to joke that I’m an artist, but my paintbrush is a tractor and the earth is my canvas,” says Shawn Stolworthy, president and founder of MazePlay (www.mazeplay.com), a company that produces about one hundred such mazes each year.

MazePlay is one of a handful of specialists in corn mazes.

Although their methods differ slightly, all provide landowners services in maze design, creation, and marketing.

Ultimately their goal is to set their clients up with a moneymaking, agri-tourism destination. In meeting that need, they produce art and advertising on a grand scale An impressive, though typical, example is a maze done last year to mark the fiftieth anniversary of all things 1964. Over eighteen acres with more than seven miles of trails, it featured portraits of The Beatles and a drawing of an original Ford Mustang—both which made their American debut that year.

“We’ve yet to tell a client, ‘No, we can’t do that,’” says Rob Stouffer, founder of Precision Mazes (www.precisionmazes.com).

“There’s really no limit to what we can create, as long as the crop is consistent and we have enough space.” (Note: A telling example of his abilities, shown on page 50, is a pointillist portrait of surrealist Salvador Dali created a few years ago on an eight-acre field.)

At The MAiZE (www.themaize.com), Founder Brett Herbst sees almost limitless potential in what can be done with rows of crops in a field. “We’ve created designs featuring everything from celebrities to marriage proposals,” he notes.

The company’s work has been seen throughout the lower forty-eight states and averages more than one hundred mazes each season. This year, one of the company’s projects called for an eleven-acre rendition of country music superstar Garth Brooks (pictured, opposite page), while another required a field portrait of Taylor Swift.

Art and Commerce Directly or indirectly, the art and advertising aspect of this work was pioneered by crop artist Stan Herd (www.stanherdarts.com). signshop.com

Pop culture icons are a popular subject for maze art, such as this fifteen-acre field transformed into Duck Dynasty stars.

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“I first began creating monumental earthworks in 1985,” he says, “and I was the first person to actually create large, representational earthworks on the land.”

Herd’s work typically involves precise arrangements of row crops to create the image. He often incorporates other elements—rock, bricks, sand, potted plants and flowers, etc.—to add details and texture. His artistic creations include depictions of everything from Kiowa Chief Satanta, President Obama, and pastoral country scenes to Van Gogh’s painting Olive Trees.

To subsidize these creative endeavors, Herd has also transformed landscapes for business clients. In fact, a recent project had him recreating the logo of ale brewer Shock Top® in a field.

One of Herd’s most visible ads was for Absolut® vodka a few years ago. “The Absolut earthwork was created on seventeen acres out of sorghum, alfalfa, wheat, and plowed ground with some additional mulch,” he recalls.

Photographer Jonathan Blumb shot the field from the air throughout the year for seasonal variations. “The photos captured green wheat in spring, then [it] being harvested as a golden image, and then in the fall, which is the shot Absolut chose for the ad,” says Herd, noting that a winter shot with snow highlighting the image offered yet another perspective.

Most corn mazes, in contrast, are intended as fall events, although many have a commercial purpose too. Some merely

Precision Mazes promote that maze and its host from above; others double as actual ads for a participating sponsor.

“More and more, we’ve seen our farms being approached by companies and other organizations who have an interest in partnering together and being featured in what’s essentially the biggest billboard available,” notes Herbst.

Maze Design and Delivery The graphics featured in most mazes are merely functional art.

Precision Mazes 50

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

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Cartoon favorites, pop culture icons, logos, sports mascots, QR codes, patriotic themes, and local landmarks have all been featured as maze designs.

In every case, with every supplier, the process typically begins over the winter months with some acres and an idea.

“We start with exact dimensions of the field we’re working with, then take it from there,” says Chayce Whitworth, chief designer for MazePlay.

Like other maze specialists, he’s protective of the software and proprietary tools he uses to finalize his designs, though the process is always similar. “All our designs start out as line art, which we slowly turn into a maze,” says Whitworth.

The lines in that art double as the paths through the maze.

Designing a graphic that will also function as a maze can be a challenging, tedious process. The real purpose of these graphics is as a visual puzzle at ground level. Ideally people traveling one line can’t see across the field to the next.

The entire project must take into account the spacing between rows in which corn, sorghum soybeans, or other row crops are typically planted. That can vary depending on region and crop, but the average spacing between rows is thirty inches.

Because these graphics are neither entirely horizontal nor vertical, maze producers usually recommend landowners sow the field in rows equally spaced running east-west and north-south.

As the plants grow, those rows create a living design grid for transferring the image on computer screen or paper to the field. Before that work begins, satellite imagery of the field may be used to give designers some idea of how well their design works within the parameters of that field, and if any modifications are required.

tiller to turn crops under to completely clear the paths that make up the design.

“If we’re hitting a field pretty early, the landowner may need to take care of some weeds later in the year,” he says. “Usually once we’re done, the maze will continue to grow up just as it’s supposed to look.”

Amazingly Large Ads By late summer, that image, as seen from above, is a selling point of these mazes.

Most maze owners use aerial photos to promote their mazes.

PhotoS: (OPPOSITE, TOP), cHUCK NICKLE; (THIS PAGE) JONATHAN BLUMB.

Cutting and Clearing When the crop has grown between knee- to waist-high, maze creation begins. In some cases, that work is done by the landowners themselves, but most mazes are actually cut or cleared by the companies that design them.

And here’s where their preferred methods most differ.

The MAiZE can supply its customers with GPS coordinates to guide them in cutting the design with a vehicle navigation system. “GPS can make the process a little simpler, but we’ve found it can sometimes be less accurate,” according to Dusty Rigby, one of the company’s design and cut specialists.

In most cases, members of the The MAiZE staff travel to the site to do the work. Using one corner as a reference point, they’ll plot the design out on the living grid of corn rows using colored flags. Then, starting from one corner, they’ll cut the maze design, row by row, using zero turn mowers.

Stouffer and his staff also cut their mazes but rely on GPS coordinates and a navigation system to guide them in their work. “We design on twenty-foot centers between paths, then cut a path that is generally five feet wide,” he says. “I use the GPS file we’ve created of our design to show me where I am and where I need to be next.”

Accoding to Stouffer, depending on when in the season they cut and the growing conditions, he advises the landowner they may have to do some additional path maintenance before the maze opens in the fall.

Stolworthy also creates mazes guided by GPS. Rather than cut his designs, however, he uses a tractor pulling a modified signshop.com

Stan Herd Intricate, interesting designs and iconic images can generate a lot of coverage in local media, as the fall maze season draws near. For the maze owner and participating sponsors, all that attention translates into a lot of free advertising.

In fact, a new advertising medium could be taking root in the countryside. “There’s real opportunity in what we do to create ads that really show off our capabilities,” says Stouffer.

“Our designs are only limited by the size of that field,” reiterates Stolworthy. “It really comes down to how much space we have to work with.”

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I d e n t i t y / B y A s h l e y B r ay / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Serving Up Neon 52

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

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A restaurant expansion leads to new signage with a nostalgic twist.

C

ity Neon, Inc., has been around since the 1950s, and in that time, the shop has seen many lighting trends come and go.

Today the company handles mostly LED projects, but they still get requests for the occasional large neon project—such as the one they’ve been working on for Primanti Bros., a chain of sandwich shops based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The chain has recently expanded to new locations in the Pennsylvania and Ohio area, and it wanted to maintain the original look it had when it opened over fifty years ago.

City Neon worked to provide the signage for over ten new locations, including a pylon sign, three wall signs, and one sandwich logo for each new restaurant.

That adds up to a lot of red neon that City Neon had to bend in-house.

In fact, the hardest part of the fabrication was keeping up with the magnitude of work. So when the shop had signs due at the same time for two locations, logistics won out.

“One project is about three weeks of neon. So two projects at once due in five weeks was just impossible for our neon guy to do,” says Chris Atkins, operations manager of City Neon.

“So we ended up subbing half of one job out.”

Order #1: Pylon Signs The new locations include eighteen- to thirty-foot-tall pylon signs with open-face red neon channel letters. The lone exception is the York, Pennsylvania location, which features an eighty-foot-tall pylon sign.

City Neon fabricated the backs of the channel letters from aluminum using its Gerber Sabre™ router.

all Photos: city neon, inc.

City Neon provided signage for ten-plus locations of Primanti Bros. restaurants.

signshop.com

November 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

53

Feature / By Author /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// All of the red neon was bent in-house

by City Neon and attached to the signs with tube supports.

With the Super ChannelBender from AdamsTech, the shop bent the channel letter sides.

City Neon used a Norlok machine to attach the sides to the back. This “clinching” method of attachment cuts back on waste because it punches the metal into itself without the need for other fasteners.

For the main portion of the pylon sign, Primanti Bros. wanted to maintain a very particular look.

“They try to stay with an I-beam, industrial look to maintain the Pittsburgh, ‘steel city’ kind of thing,” says Atkins. “What we did to keep that look was use an I-beam, but it’s kind of hard to mount channel letters to an I-beam.”

So their solution was to build a raceway to house inside of the I-beam. The SignComp raceway is hingeable and attaches

to the I-beam. It houses all of the wiring and power supplies, which made adding the channel letters later easier.

Order #2: Wall Cabinets Each restaurant received three illuminated wall cabinets, which ranged in size from four to five feet tall and ten to twenty-two feet long.

The cabinets are made from aluminum square tubing and angle, as well as four-by-eight sheets of aluminum that was all welded together. SignComp extrusions were added to the sides for an even more dimensional look.

The cabinets were painted with a combination of Matthews Paint and AkzoNobel’s GRIP-GARD® paints. “We painted it, stenciled it with vinyl, and then painted it again to give it two

The cabinets were painted with a combination of Matthews Paint and AkzoNobel’s GRIPGARD® paint.

54

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

signshop.com

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

1935

Ed Matthews opens first Matthews Paint store on Belmont Avenue in Chicago

1955

Ed Matthews Jr. joins Matthews Paint

1968

Moves corporate office to Wheeling, IL

1993 1995

Moves corporate office to Pleasant Prairie, WI

1985

Joins SEGD

800.323.6593 • www.matthewspaint.com •

2012

PPG buys Acquires 1-Shot, Lacryl Matthews Paint and Field Master

2009 2015

Introduces MAP-LV Ultra Low VOC. Moves to Delaware, OH

colors,” explains Atkins.

The neon lettering that had been bent in-house was attached to the cabinets with tube supports.

Meanwhile the transformers and wiring were housed inside the cabinets.

Order #3: Sandwich Logos

Order Up! Install

For the sandwich logo signs, City Neon digitally printed the image on an ACM panel using an Epson SureColor® S30670 printer. A neon ring runs around the panel and was attached with tube supports.

City Neon also installed all of the signage at the new locations.

For the pylon and wall cabinets, the shop used a modular build process that allowed them to install the pylon sign in four to six hours and the wall cabinets in two to three hours—with the wiring as well.

Each wall cabinet had 90-degree angle pieces with holes in them, and these pieces were used to mount the signs.

(Note: Depending on the wall material, the cabinets were either bolted, lagged, or all threaded to the wall.)

The sandwich logo signs were screwed into the wall (using Tapcon® screws on the brick walls), and they took two to three hours to install (including wiring).

During the installations, City Neon used its Manitex SkyCrane SC62 to lift everything under thirty feet. For the eighty-foot pylon sign, the shop used its eighty-fivefoot Elliott truck along with a crane rented from sister company City Crane.

One thing is for certain—this project definitely satiated City Neon’s craving for neon projects!

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

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B a n n e r s / By M i k e A nto n i a k / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Weathering the Storm A storm gives GCI an opportunity to prove its “special forces” approach to grand format.

all Photos: michael gabbard photography.

G

CI Digital Imaging of Cincinnati, Ohio specializes in grand format graphics and, as a wholesale supplier to other sign shops, devising and delivering solutions when others cannot.

“There’s a ‘special forces’ mentality about [our] company,” says GCI Marketing Director Brian Krueger. “We’re prepared and willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Other sign companies turn to us because they can’t do a grand format job themselves.”

That “can-do” attitude is a tradition that has guided four generations of the Bedacht family to success as print services providers since the 1920s.

This past Labor Day weekend, current GCI Owner and President T.J. Bedacht helped save the day for one of Cincinnati’s main events, the “Western & Southern/WEBN Fireworks presented by Cincinnati Bell,” locally known as “Riverfest.”

Sponsored by radio station WEBN (a member of the iHeartMedia radio network), the end-of-summer celebration is capped off with a fireworks spectacular the Sunday night of this weekend.

Like so many events of its kind, the financial support of sponsors is critical to its success. “Our biggest sponsors are featured on huge banners hanging from the Purple People Bridge, the backdrop for the fireworks show,” explains Justin Tabas, director of integrated marketing for iHeart Media Cincinnati and executive producer of the festival.

However nature intervened and caused a shift in plans.

signshop.com

Lost to the Storm Nine of those colorful vinyl banners—each measuring 20-by40 feet—were hanging from the side of the bridge the Friday night heading into Labor Day weekend. Then a thunderstorm featuring fifty mile-per-hour winds ripped through the area around seven o’clock in the evening.

“By eight o’clock, I started getting calls from people telling me that the banners were gone,” reports Tabas. “The storm had completely shredded them.”

Tabas visited the site to assess the damage and then contacted the sign company that had provided them about the possibility of reprinting them in time for Sunday’s festivities. It was a no-go.

“My worst fears were realized,” he says. “They didn’t have

November 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

57

The new sponsor banners were installed just in time for Labor Day fireworks.

enough material on hand, nor the staff on a holiday weekend to redo the job.

They could, however, fulfill “Plan B” and print a single, smaller banner featuring all the sponsors’ logos as a way of acknowledging their contributions.

Reluctantly Tabas agreed and, by ten o’clock that night, was trying to line up a rigging crew to install that banner the following afternoon.

Cincinnati’s local news that night featured video of the shredded banners on the bridge to give viewers some idea of the ferocity of the storm.

Watching this news report at home, Bedacht saw the footage and immediately sensed an opportunity.

GCI to the Rescue Tabbas recalls receiving a text from Bedacht around 10:30 that night asking, “Do you need help with your banners?”

In the ensuing back and forth, Bedacht explained he had the crew and the print capability to recreate the banners within a day. All he had to do was check his warehouse to make sure he had enough material on hand to be able to complete

CUT

the entire project.

Bedacht convened a skeleton crew at his warehouse, verified they had the material, and mapped out how they could turn the job around.

He recommended to Tabas that they print the banners slightly smaller on 13-ounce mesh and take advantage of the full sixteen-foot-width capacity of GCI’s HP grand format presses.

“I was concerned about how the mesh [Bedacht] recommended would look, but he sent me sample images, and it looked fine,” remarks Tabas.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

panels, ensuring a superior cut quality & dust collection while providing enhanced safety since the saw blade is “behind” the machine. Day after day, thousands of Hendrick PRO V users reliably produce superior product.

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Printing seamless banners at that width would also expedite the job, eliminating the need to weld material to achieve a larger size.

Shortly before 2 a.m., Tabas and Bedacht had agreed on a tentative plan: GCI would print and deliver a total of ten 16-by-25-foot banners by 6 p.m. Saturday evening.Tabas would secure a rigging crew to start dismantling the shredded banners Saturday afternoon and replace them with new banners as they were delivered.

“GCI was ready to go,” says Tabas.

“All we lacked was approval from management at WEBN and the artwork with sponsor logos.”

Tabas got the OK first thing Saturday morning and, by 9 a.m., had emailed all the art files to GCI.

my staff whine about obstacles.

“We thrive on that kind of stuff.”

Tabas came away from the weekend an advocate of GCI’s capabilities. “They were the only ones who would even touch it,” he states. “The whole way they handled the project—being able to turn it around in less than twenty-four hours with the quality they delivered—it was unprecedented in my experience.”

Projects like this validate GCI’s “special forces” approach to grand format,

according to Bedacht. He says it’s key to have the right material on hand for any job, to plan ahead on how to handle challenging rush projects, and to be willing to be on call 24/7.

“Finally you must be prepared to turn a potential disaster into a win/win,” he sums up. “That’s how we make fireworks at GCI.” For more information about GCI Digital Imaging, visit www.gci-digital.com.

Delivered as Promised By 11 a.m., the first completed banner rolled off the press and headed for the finishing department. Grommets were installed and the edges sewn and reinforced as the next banners in the queue were printing.

By 2 p.m. that afternoon, GCI’s staff delivered the first three banners to the bridge for installation.

By 6 p.m., all ten were at the bridge and ready for installation, as promised.

Then another thunderstorm rolled into Cincinnati, testing nerves and the durability of the replacement banners already in place. The mesh held up and easily weathered the storm without a tear—to the relief of Tabas and the installers.

Sunday morning installation resumed, and by noon (the official opening of the day’s festivities), all banners were in place.

Nine celebrated the event sponsors and a special tenth had been added in recognition of GCI’s contributions and capabilities.

“The shredded banners were all over the local news Friday night,” points out Tabas. “When people showed up Sunday morning and saw ten banners on the bridge, it was like a miracle to them.

“They were shocked we were able to replace them in that time frame, with that kind of quality.”

For Bedacht and crew at GCI, it was a highly visible demonstration of their dedication and capabilities.

“We’re gaining a reputation as the goto guys when you’re in a pinch and need a group unafraid of unconventional requests,” says Bedacht. “You’ll never hear signshop.com

Before: The large, blank wall wasn’t very exciting in the client’s man cave, so Mentor Signs suggested a wall wrap.

November 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

59

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A Race-Ready Wall Wrap

A shop’s work on a large wall wrap is worthy of a photo finish.

all Photos: mentor signs & graphics.

M

entor Signs & Graphics, Inc., holds the title as the longest running sign company in Mentor, Ohio.

General Manager Dan Soulsby and his father started the business in 1993, with Dan buying it from his father later on. The full-service shop handles everything from channel letters and monument signs to vinyl graphics and wraps.

But what it specializes in is quality. “What makes us different from other sign shops is we only do high quality,” says Soulsby.

“I don’t want [anything] coming back.”

He believes businesses should budget for quality graphics and signs, and he quotes Steve Forbes on the significance of branding, “Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business.”

Lately the shop has been doing a lot of vinyl graphics work— vehicle wraps, custom labels, window treatments, and walls. In fact, it’s this last product that Soulsby recently pitched to the owner of a nearby machine company.

of a race to cover a large, blank wall in the room. The client loved the idea, so Soulsby got into the driver’s seat.

Mentor Signs bought a high-res photo of a Daytona 500 race from a photographer. There was just one problem—the car in the lead wasn’t the client’s favorite driver, the late Dale Earnhardt.

“So I took [Dale Earnhardt’s] car (No. 3) and PhotoShopped it in, and you can’t even tell,” says Soulsby.

(Note: As part of this project, Mentor Signs also applied vinyl graphics of Dale Earnhardt to the garage doors.)

Lap 1: Design This owner is a big NASCAR fan and showed Soulsby his “man cave” on a recent visit to the business.

Soulsby suggested putting up a wall wrap featuring a photo signshop.com

The client is a big NASCAR fan and owns two racecars himself.

November 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

61

After: The wall wrap featuring a shot from a NASCAR race helped transform the space and serves as a great conversation piece.

Before: The large, blank wall wasn’t very exciting in the client’s man cave, so Mentor Signs suggested a wall wrap.

Lap 2: Fabrication Mentor Signs printed the graphic out on twelve, sixteen-foot panels of IMAGin® RoughRAP™ vinyl using a Mimaki JV33 printer. The printing took about a day and a half.

Mentor Signs chose RoughRAP vinyl for its ability to adhere to rough surfaces, since the wall here is concrete. “We just heated it up, and it went right into all the grooves,” says Soulsby.

V

“Take your time and go look at the wall that you’re going to be applying to and then determine what media is going to work best.”

—Dan Soulsby

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

®

Lap 3: Installation Before installation began, the client applied a coat of paint to the wall. Mentor Signs waited a few weeks for it to cure before coming back to do the install.

Mentor Signs recommends always checking the wall before an installation.

“First take your time and go look at the wall that you’re going to be applying to,” says Soulsby, “and then determine what media is going to work best.”

Mentor Signs rented a scissor lift and had two installers on the job. The panels had a 1/2-inch overlap, so one installer lined the panels up at the top and the other lined up the bottom.

It took about eight hours to install the wall wrap.

Lap 4: The Winning Results This 16-foot-wide-by-44-foot-long graphic was one of the tallest wall wraps the shop has ever done, so there were some nerves going into it.

But Soulsby counsels other shops to never be afraid to take on a job such as this. In fact, this turned out to be one of his favorite projects.

“We were a little hesitant going into it.

Did we pack enough in for installation?

What if there’s a mistake?” says Soulsby.

“If there’s a mistake on a 16-foot wall it’s kind of scary because we’ve got to print out a panel that’s 16 feet-by-50 inches.”

Luckily the project went off without a hitch, and the customer loved it.

“With the product that we used, we were happy because it laid well and printed well,” says Soulsby. “The customer even gave us 11 out of 10 stars on it. He loves it. It’s such a conversation piece for him.” signshop.com

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Your Direct Source for Sign Information 3 Easy Steps

Receive vital product and service information from manufacturers and distributors by completing the adjacent card or visiting www.signshop.com/infodirect

1. Choose up to 10 categories of interest and check off on card.

2. Select up to 28 suppliers and record InfoDirect # on card.

3. Mail card to start getting info!

Page

InfoDirect #

1

3M Commercial Graphics . . . . . . . . 19

33

Orbus, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

2

AdamsTech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

34

Orbus, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

57

3A Composites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

3

Allwood SignBlanks Ltd.. . . . . . . . . 28

35

Orbus, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

58

Ability Plastics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

4

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36

Ornamental Post, Panel & Traffic. . 69

59

American Planning Association . . . 14

5

Brinks Mfg. (Van Ladder) . . . . . . . . 62

37

Outwater Plastics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

60

BF Plastics, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

6

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38

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61

Delvie’s Plastics, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . 10

7

Canon Solutions America . . . . . . . . 41

39

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62

Diversified Sign Suppliers, Inc. . . . 10

8

Coastal Enterprises Co.. . . . . . . . . . 14

40

Saw Trax Mfg. Co. Inc. . . . . . . . . . . 66

63

Fisher Textiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

9

Corel Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

41

Sign America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

64

Gemini, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

10

Covestro LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

42

Sign Bracket Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

65

Graphics One. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

11

Duxbury Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

43

Sign-Mart Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

66

Gravotech Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

12

Echod Graphics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

44

Sign-Mart Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

67

Hansen Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

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Epilog Laser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

45

Signs365. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4

68

Innovative Plastics. . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

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FASTENation, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

46

SloanLED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2

69

JDS Industries, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

15

Fisher Textiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

47

Small Balls, Inc. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

70

Litetronics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

16

G2G Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

48

Southern Stud Weld . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

71

MACtac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

17

Gemini, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

49

Stamm Manufacturing.. . . . . . . . . . 47

72

Mercer Sign Consultants. . . . . . . . . 14

18

GoVivid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

50

Stouse, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

73

Mimaki USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

19

Hartlauer Bits, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

51

Trotec Laser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

74

Nash Industries, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . 10

20

Hendrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

52

US LED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

75

OKI Data Americas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

21

International Sign Association. . . . 63

53

USSC (United States Sign

76

ORAFOL Americas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

22

J. Freeman, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Council) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

77

Peachtree City Foamcraft. . . . . . . . 14

23

Kern Laser Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

54

Vista System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

78

Ricoh Americas Corp.. . . . . . . . . . . 10

24

LMT Onsrud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

55

VKF Renzel USA Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . 45

79

Rollem International. . . . . . . . . . . . 10

25

Marabu North America . . . . . . . . . . . 5

56

Wilkie Mfg., LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3

80

Rowmark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

26

Master Magnetics, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . 59

81

Seiko Instruments USA. . . . . . . . . . 12

27

Matthews Paint Company. . . . . . . . 55

82

SloanLED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

28

Mimaki USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

83

Top Value Fabrics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

29

Mutoh America, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

30

National Banner Co., Inc. . . . . . . . . 69

31

OKI Data Americas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

32

ORAFOL Americas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

InfoDirect #

64

Company

Company

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

Page

InfoDirect #

Company

Page

Companies in Sign Show

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I d e nt it y / By J e f f Wo ot e n / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Sign makers embrace their “eye of the tiger” to upgrade a zoo’s entrance sign.

Welcome to the Jungle

all Photos: frazier signs.

T

iger World in Rockwell, North Carolina is a non-profit animal rescue conservation and educational center that houses rescued lions, tigers, wolves, monkeys, and other exotic animals. The facility is also one of just a handful of accredited zoos in the nation that operates without any tax support whatsoever.

Sign maker Robert “Boomer” Frazier, Jr., attended the park with his family this past Father’s Day. During their visit, they noticed that the warning/educational signs near the Hamadryas Baboons habitat were not only hard to notice but, once one did find them, hard to read as well (due to their size). Upon leaving, they also noted that the park’s main entrance sign (as well as several others) were simple, plain, and just worn out.

Boomer and his wife, Lisa, own Frazier Signs, a small company in nearby Concord, North Carolina, so he contacted Lea Jaunakais, president and founder of Tiger World, to discuss a proposed signage upgrade. Impressed with the worthy cause the park was undertaking, Boomer decided his shop would help them with their entrance sign at no cost. “They’re a great group of people doing some great things for this planet’s animals,” he says.

Some backstory: Boomer is a third-generation sign maker. His signshop.com

grandfather, Howard L. Frazier, started Frazier Signs in Decatur, Illinois back in 1933, and Boomer even worked there during his high school years and well into his late 20s beside his brother Tony and under the tutelage of his father, Robert C. Frazier.

After moving to Concord in 2000 to search for larger opportunities, Boomer found employment at several sign companies

The park’s original entrance sign was simple and needed a visual upgrade.

November 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

65

in the area. In 2012, he and his wife decided to give ownership a go, so he asked his father for permission to resurrect the then-defunct Frazier Signs name as a sign of respect for his family heritage. “Our business is doing really well, and we’re growing each year,” he says.

For this project, Boomer came up with the concept and design for the updated entrance sign. Its new elements include a revised logo, full-color text and graphics, updated contact and social media information, and a special custom appearance.

He then contacted his good friend and

66

business associate Bill Blalock, owner of The Sign Factory in Charlotte, North Carolina, to provide the print for the sign.

First Tiger World Marketing Director Mike McBride created the layout for the digital print using Adobe InDesign and exported it via Adobe Acrobat as a JPEG. Once finished, he sent this electronic file to The Sign Factory, who used their HP Designjet L26500 latex printer to output it onto ORAJET 3651 vinyl with ORAJET 210 Matte laminate.

Frazier Signs then applied the print to a four-by-eight-foot 6mm Dibond® panel.

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

To give the new sign an added “jungle feel,” Frazier Signs used real bamboo throughout that was located and cut by Boomer’s fourteen-year-old son, Austin.

“We cut down multiple-sized bamboo pieces,” says Robert. “Some of the larger pieces were almost thirty-five feet tall and four inches in diameter.”

One piece of the sign they wrapped with bamboo was the 4-inch-by-4-inchby-10-foot treated wood support posts hosting the new Dibond panel.

Frazier Signs routed 1/4-inch-wideby-1-inch-deep grooves in the posts to allow the Dibond to be inserted into the supports for added stability. They then used three-inch wood screws to anchor the panel into the grooves.

“We cut two-inch strips of the bamboo using a hammer and a wood chisel and screwed them to the flat sides of the posts,” explains Boomer. “Then using the router, we cut wide notches in larger diameter bamboo.

“Doing this allowed it to fit the corners and overlap the flat strips, so none of the original posts were visible.”

The shop also used a hand-held router to cut grooves in the bamboo for the top and

signshop.com

bottom of the background Dibond panel as well, allowing it to slip over the edge.

Boomer and his two “do-it-all” employees, Charlie “GoGo” Familette and Brent “BigUn” Alexander, agreed on adding a small-diameter, weathered grass skirt to the background of the sign. Believe it or not, they actually found the grass skirt piece at Kmart.

Meanwhile they cut the rope ties for the bamboo pieces from 5/8-inch braided safety line. “Both the [grass skirt and the rope ties] really add color and a natural feel to the sign,” says Boomer.

With assistance from the park staff, Boomer and his two employees removed the existing sign one morning before the park’s opening. They then hand-excavated the first twenty-four inches of the two fortytwo-inch-deep holes for the supports and then used the park’s skid steer to punch through the tougher remaining twenty inches of the required footings. They finished by cementing them into place.

The sign was placed near the entrance, where it complements the surrounding heavy vegetation and growing adolescent bamboo in the background. “[These elements] added to the sign’s overall fit and

“Tak look goin

—Da

placement on the property,” says Boomer.

In addition to thanking his fellow sign makers and his son who helped make this sign a reality, Boomer also credits his wife, Lisa, for funding and approvals.

Most of all, Boomer is really thankful (and thrilled) that Jaunakais allowed his company the opportunity to do this sign upgrade for Tiger World.

“For everyone involved, the events that inspired the conception, fabrication, and installation of this new entrance sign makes the completion of it all that more rewarding,” he says. “It’s a shining exam-

ple of a sad situation for an endangered animal that led to a new relationship between [my shop] and Tiger World.

“If we can use our experience and capabilities to help [this park] present a beautiful new entrance sign that says as much about them as does the care and service they provide to these majestic animals, then that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

Frazier Signs is already in early discussions with Jaunakais about addressing visibility and functionality of the educational signage located at Tiger World, with plans to hopefully work on this soon.

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Before: The large, blank wall wasn’t very exciting in the client’s man cave, so Mentor Signs suggested a wall wrap.

November 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

67

Production Tips:

T

Panel Saws

he vertical panel saw is a versatile piece of equipment when it comes to cutting sign panels.

Among the materials this equipment can be utilized to cut are: Precision Board™, Sign*foam, MDO, Coroplast, foamboards, acrylics, Sintra® PVC, and aluminum composite materials (Dibond®, PolyMetal, Max-Metal, etc.), to name a few.

One advantage often touted for vertical panel saws, compared to horizontal table saws, is its in-shop space savings (the “table” being oriented from floor-toceiling instead). Another advantage often attributed is that the panel remains locked in place while the saw blade moves along precision guides to cut through material.

This month, Larry Holbrook, general manager of Saw Trax Mfg., Inc., (www.sawtrax.com) in Kennesaw, Georgia, offers the following tips on appropriate blade selection: • Always use the right blade for the right substrate when making cuts with your panel saw. “Standard 25 tooth blades are for fine for general purpose cuts,” he says, “but for finished pieces, it is important to select the correct blade.”

• For plastics such as acrylic, Lexan, and PVC, select a premium, high tooth count blade with an Alternate Top Bevel (ATB) tooth design. “The teeth of this type blade alternate between a left and right bevel to yield a smooth finish cut in plastics,” he says.

• For thin aluminum and aluminum composites, select a premium blade with a high tooth count and a Triple Chip Grind (TCG) tooth design. “TCG blades offer superior cutting through nonferrous metals,” he says, “and unlike ATB blades, the teeth are not beveled left and right but rather alternate between a higher ‘trapezoid’-shaped tooth and a lower flat top tooth.”

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

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November 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

69

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Sign Builder Illustrated

fb.com/SBIMag Go to www.signshop.com Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

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CONNECT

To The WORLD Of SIGNS Dec. 3, 4 & 5 Atlantic City, NJ

See All The Latest Technology & Products:

Roland, Mutoh, HP, Epilog, Watchfire, Optec, Alpha Imaging, SignComp, Gemini, Everylite, Indy Imaging, Peachtree, Nova Polymers & many more.

Crane & Bucket Trucks, Service Vehicles, LED’s, Digital Displays, Printers, Cutters, Lasers, ADA, Awnings, Paint & Coatings, Inks Seminars on Design (Dan Antonelli), Marketing (David King the MarketKING), Social Media, Safety, OSHA , Photoshop, Digital Signage, Engineering, Dye-sublimation

Oh What A Night!

A Musical Tribute To Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons

Don’t Miss Our Spectacular Friday Evening Event.

You’ll be dancing in the aisles to those hits of yesteryear like Sherry, Walk Like A Man and Working My Way Back to You. PLUS all USSC members receive 2 FREE tickets to this exclusive concert. Additional tickets are just $25.00 each (Members) / Non-members $50.00 each. Join today . . . then enjoy an unforgettable evening!

REGISTER TODAY Go to www.ussc.org to register online

Exhibit Hall Open: Thurs., December 3 - 3 to 7 pm Fri., December 4 - 10 am to 5 pm / Sat., December 5 - 10 am to 4 pm UNITED STATES SIGN COUNCIL 211 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, PA 19007 / 215 785-1922 / FAX 215 788-8395 / ussc@ussc.org Sign World International is a Registered Trademark of the United States Sign Council, Inc.

“

SHOP TALK

B y J o h n F u l e n a

Digital Printing Methodologies

The Key to Standout Graphics

T

he current generation of graphic arts solutions empowers signage shops to print high-quality signs, banners, wraps, point-of-sale displays, and more that really “pop.” Because most print shops are on tight budgets, when choosing equipment, it’s important to know what the need is—such as large format signage, more color options, substrate versatility, or a combination of all.

Flexible hardware will be key, and most print shops will want to find hardware that enables a wide variety of eye-catching applications on unconventional substrates like stone, metal, and specialized paper.

Signage ultimately has two real jobs—to get your audience’s attention and to convey a message that sticks. It sounds simple, but given the broad scope of the sign industry, the competition is fierce.

And with the ISA estimating double-digit percentile growth across all of the graphic arts areas such as signage, point-of-purchase displays, vehicle wraps, and more, well into 2016, it’s more important than ever for sign shops to know how to differentiate their offerings.

While there is no set formula for success, some things to consider include: Multi-channel options. Companies today want to do more than just produce a billboard or banner but rather want those same graphics

to be replicated for direct mail brochures or a digital display that can be viewed by clicking on a QR code with a mobile device. This can be a tall order and shops need to learn how to not just produce great-quality signs, but be marketing service providers that can cost-effectively provide a multi-channel signage approach that incorporates print, online, social media, and more.

Digital signage. More and more companies are looking for ideas around when and how to use digital signage and are looking to their print and marketing service providers to help them understand when the business result is worth the added cost. Understanding the nuances of digital signage and what campaigns will bring them the most ROI as part of a multi-channel strategy can be what makes a sign shop truly stand out to its customers as a holistic partner and not just a commodity vendor.

Green printing choices. Incorporating ecofriendly practices and sustainable products is important and won’t just make a printer look more environmentally stable in its customers’ eyes but can also help reduce costs. Taking a green approach can be as simple as evaluating the sustainability of your paper and ink choices.

John Fulena is vice president, Production Printing Business Group, at Ricoh (www.ricoh-usa.com).

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2015

Photos: (TOP) Shutterstock.com; (left) ricoh.

To read more, scan the QR Code below.

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The Road Ahead

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