BeerTag:

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
Leave a comment

Point of Sale Print Horsepower at Standard Distributing

Window Graphics on Simple Perforated Window Vinyl by Standard Distributing

The top beverage distributor in Delaware requires a top-notch print shop to win space at the point of sale and build the brands they sell. Standard Distributing Co., New Castle, Del., has the advantage of quality and quantity at the point of sale through the work of its print shop, led by sign industry veteran Matt Glick.

Standard Distributing recently added the Epson SureColor S30670 low-solvent printers to its printer lineup.
Standard Distributing recently added the Epson SureColor S30670 low-solvent printer to its printer lineup.

Before joining the Standard Distributing team nine years ago, Glick had worked with grand format solvent VUTEk printers. Glick already knew the ins and outs of these 10-foot-wide industrial machines and has translated that experience into an efficient and productive print shop.

Glick recently brought in Epson’s new SureColor S30670 low-solvent printer that he got from LexJet to add to a printer arsenal that also includes an Epson GS6000 low-solvent and HP Designjet Z6100 aqueous printer.

LexJet Simple Adhesive Vinyl SUV“We had another solvent printer for about eight years and it wasn’t producing the quality and speed we needed, so we got the Epson SureColor from LexJet. The clarity and visibility of the colors is much better; the colors just look richer. Everything I print on the Epson is clear and the resolution is better, and there’s no smell, and the speed is fantastic,” explains Glick. “One prints scrim banners and window perf, the other prints adhesive-backed vinyl, and the Z6100 prints paper posters, banners and temporary stuff. It speeds up production when I don’t have to worry about changing materials every time there’s a different job; we can nest them together on the same printer.”

Window Sign by Standard DistributingIn addition to the print production horsepower provided by those printers, there’s also a Seal 410 laminator for mounting and laminating, a rotary cutter and a 72″ large-format cutter for finishing.

Glick estimates that about 60 percent of the 400-600 designs created in the shop each month are prints applied to Coroplast, 30 percent banners and 10 percent specialty graphics, like perforated window film, floor graphics and counter-top graphics.

For banners, Glick’s material of choice is LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Polypropylene; for adhesive-backed applications on Coroplast and aluminum it’s LexJet Simple Adhesive Vinyl SUV; and for window graphics it’s LexJet Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (60/40). Glick adds that perforated window vinyl graphics are an effective way to get tap handles into an account

“My biggest challenge is over-marketing our accounts. We want to be as visible as possible without being so busy that we lose the message in the process,” explains Glick. “Simple is always better and consistency is another important ingredient. From a production standpoint it’s been helpful to work with a vendor like LexJet. My rep, Kyle Stephens, has been very helpful with my questions, he’s accessible, and he always seems to have the shipping down so we get the products we need when we need them; the customer service has been outstanding.”

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
Leave a comment

Banner Stands Front and Center at Clark Beverage Group

Banner stands for bars and restaurantsYou might say that Brian Walton, print shop manager for Clark Beverage Group, Southaven, Miss., has point of sale design and print production down to a science. It helps that Walton is involved in just about every aspect of the distribution company’s business; it helps provide needed perspective on what resonates in the market.

With what Walton calls flawless printing from his Canon iPF8000S wide-format inkjet printer and inkjet media from LexJet, Clark Beverage Group is able to create competitive advantage with unique point-of-sale displays.

Recently, Walton says they’ve had great success with portable banner stands at various venues that promote both their brands and the lineup of bands playing at those venues. Walton typically uses the LexJet Spring 3 Banner Stand with LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Polypropylene as the print medium for this type of application.

Producing banners stands for bars“It’s not something that gets pushed up against the wall; it’s placed front and center. When you walk in, it’s impossible to miss it. When we tried the banner stands the first time, it was a big hit. If someone gets a banner stand and a competitor sees it, they want their own, so it becomes a kind of tug of war between these bars,” says Walton. “They’re also convenient from a formatting standpoint, so that if I make one Sam Adams band list and I want to push Sam Adams somewhere else I can just swap out the information. They see the connection with the beer and they see the schedule information they need.”

Walton has also used LexJet 11 Mil Blockout Water-Resistant Polypropylene, but only in situations where there’s lots of light that can shine through the back and detract from the message. Most of the banner stands don’t require the blockout since they’re generally in low-light environments.

Whatever the design, Walton says he keeps everything as simple as possible and always works to separate the brands, instead of mixing two or three brands together on one piece.

Window graphics with perforated window vinyl
Another effective point of sale tool for Clark Beverage Group is LexJet Aqueous Perforated Window Vinyl.

“I’m always finding complexity in the corporate world and the challenge is to simplify everything. When I first came here they treated Miller Lite and Coors Light the same. We got out of that and began treating those beers differently since they have their own distinct branding. That way you stay true to the brand and get space at the point of sale for both. We make the package, the brand and the price the stars of the design,” says Walton. “My workflow is to build everything in Illustrator, then to Photoshop. The Canon has the Photoshop plug-in, which really makes production go a lot faster.”

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
Leave a comment

Printing Branding Backgrounds for Beers

Wall murals and graphics for stores

The cooler wrap is tried and true for selling beer at the point of sale. It becomes even truer when you can translate it to any room in the house, so to speak, and create a branding background that gives your brand the highest visibility.

Printing wall murals for store signageTennyson Lacasio, sign shop manager at Colonial Beverage in North Dartmouth, Mass., took the inkjet printed cooler wrap to the next level with two recent projects at local liquor stores. Both projects were printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene and laminated with LexJet 3 Mil Matte UV Standard Low Melt.

Lacasio says he laminated the prints first (each project had anywhere from three to 12 printed panels) then applied the laminated pieces to Coroplast. This method helped hide the ridges that normally show through when you apply the print material directly to Coroplast before laminating.

“When you run print material through the laminator directly to Coroplast it bonds so closely that it shows the creases in the Coroplast. When I laminated the material first, it gave it a nice, fine, seamless finish,” says Lacasio.

Inkjet printed wall muralsAlso seamless was the paneling, particularly on the Blue Moon background display. Lacasio says this was mostly due to the fact that the wall he applied the panels to in the new building was perfectly square. Moreover, and most importantly, this 12′ x 19′ Blue Moon mural did its job rather effectively.

“You see it right off the bat when you walk into the store. The walls are light blue, which complements the graphic and draws your eye to the back of the store. The owner just wanted to do one brand, which allows you to focus on the strong points of the brand,” says Lacasio. “The image is not pixilated at all and it’s very impressive to stand right in front of it. After we installed it, people were walking out of the store with Blue Moon and they commented on the enticing feel of the image.”

As per usual Lacasio paid special attention to brand details in the designs, including such minutia as the types of glasses in which you serve the beers.

The other two wall murals – featuring Coors Light, Miller Lite and Leinenkugel’s – are on either side of a walk-in cooler door. The Coors Light mural, themed as an American fall, is 8′ x 13′. The Miller Lite/Leinenkugel’s mural, themed as a German Oktoberfest, is 8′ x 10′.

“Fortunately, they’re placing a minimal amount of cases at each display and replenishing them regularly so that you can see most of the display from just about anywhere in the store,” says Lacasio. “I had huge canvases to work from, which makes all the difference in wall branding graphics.”

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
Leave a comment

Selling Beer with Banner Stands

Printing banners for banner standsThere are a million and one ways to promote beer (or anything else for that matter) at the point of sale, but one way that’s often overlooked is the use of a simple retractable banner stand.

“They’re lightweight, portable and collapsible so that it’s easy for our account reps to take the banner stands from one place to another,” says Bob Korabek, POS designer for Caffey Distributing in Greensboro, N.C. “They’re also great for tight spaces. You can utilize them in small areas, like c-stores, where you can put them next to a beer display. And, since it’s retractable, you can also create a smaller banner that’s not as high if ceiling space is an issue.”

Korabek recently completed a couple of winning projects using retractable banner stands. One was a promotion for Blue Moon, which was tied into today’s (Aug. 31) astronomical event called, coincidentally, a blue moon (click here for another project with the blue moon promotional tie-in).

Using banner stands for point of sale displaysThe other banner was designed to be displayed in the entrance to sports bars, featuring the 2012 Carolina Panthers schedule. Since the schedule goes through the end of the year, it’s a perfect relatively long-term promotion that puts Miller front and center at least through December.

“For shorter promotions we can easily take out the previous promotion and re-use them for another one,” explains Korabek. “I just use the usual LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Polypropylene that I get from LexJet for all my banners and apply Heavy Duty Banner Tape on the edges of the tall sides to strengthen the edges and prevent long-term curling possibilities.”

LexJet carries a full line of banner stands for any budget and any application. Here are three to check out initially:

XStand: Available in 24.5″ x 63.5″, 26.5″ x 71″ and 32.5″ x 71″ fits the bill for a cost-effective, lightweight indoor display. Click here to see the demonstration video.

MediaScreen 1: Available in 33 7/16″, 39 3/8″ and 60″ widths, this more-durable banner stand also includes a lifetime warranty and the telescoping pole adjusts the height from 63″ to 88 5/8″. Click here to view the demonstration video.

MediaScreen 3: Available in a 33 7/16″ width, this banner stand features changeable graphic cassettes so you can change the message in seconds, a lifetime warranty, a base that compensates for uneven floors, and more. Click here to see the demonstration video.

For all of the Display Hardware demonstration and how-to videos at LexJet’s YouTube channel, click here. And, if you’d like to read more about banner stand applications, tips on production and the right banner stand for the job, download LexJet’s educational white paper, Making the Most of Banner Stands, at www.lexjet.com/banner-stand-white-paper.aspx.

And, as always, if you need any additional help or information, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538. Happy Labor Day weekend!

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
Leave a comment

Step Back in Time with a Printed Cooler Wrap

Vintage London tavern design

Give the people what they want is an excellent phrase to keep in mind when you’re designing anything. In the case of Douglas Liquors in North Attleboro, Mass., the owner – who happens to be English – wanted to immerse his customers in a traditional London tavern.

Printing a themed cooler wrapColonial Beverage’s sign shop manager, Tennyson Lacasio, was happy to oblige. Lacasio did some research and brought all the elements of a vintage pub to the fore: stone walls, barrels, candle and lantern lighting, and so forth.

The tricky part is combining a themed décor-like cooler wrap with the necessary branding. And, as you can see by the design and the accompanying photos, Lacasio expertly and seamlessly worked the beers Colonial Beverage sells into the picture.

Branding and advertising at the point of sale“The only things I snuck in that were modern were the Blue Moon and Coors neon signs, but all the other brands were given a more vintage, aged look. Still, those neon signs worked well and did not distract from the theme, and that was most important to the owner,” says Lacasio.

The 44.5″ x 46′ cooler wrap was printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene, laminated with LexJet 3 Mil Matte UV Standard Low Melt, and applied to Coroplast.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
Leave a comment

A Once in a Blue Moon Point of Sale Display

Point of sale display printed for Blue Moon beers

It happens once in a blue moon… That is, a blue moon. No, the moon doesn’t literally turn blue. Technically, it means there’s an extra full moon once every two and a half years, on average. This month, Aug. 31 to be exact, is the next blue moon, which won’t show up again until 2015.

This relatively rare event was the perfect opportunity to promote – what else? – Blue Moon beers. It also happens to coincide with a MillerCoors display design contest, so account representatives Anthony Copetillo and Vinnie Montemurro and P.O.P. shop manager Steve Lalio of The Nackard Companies in Flagstaff, Ariz., collaborated on a display concept for a Wal-Mart in Show Low, Ariz.

Printing a point of sale beer display“MillerCoors put out a creative display incentive for August and September, which included Blue Moon. They showed us some examples of a full theme, and I thought this concept would be perfect for the season. It also gave us an opportunity to educate customers about all the characteristics of Blue Moon beers,” says Copetillo. “I give Steve some ideas and the points I want to see on the display, then he comes up with the design theme. Steve always has great ideas that are exactly what I’m looking for, so there are rarely any changes to his design.”

Lalio’s design is divided into three parts to comprise the full backdrop behind the beer display – in-depth information about the different Blue Moon beers (year-round, seasonal and specialty), a centerpiece to draw attention and illuminating copy about what a blue moon is – plus the phases of the blue moon that “float” in front of the backdrop.

“We submitted it to MillerCoors and it caused some ripples. They were happy to see that we’re educating the customers about Blue Moon,” says Copetillo. “I’ve been doing this for 18 years and now more than ever people want to know what food to pair it with, the flavors and the characteristics of each beer.”

Printing point of sale display for beer companies
Here's a similar display conceived and executed by the Three Musketeers of The Nackard Companies: account reps Anthony Copetillo and Vinnie Montemurro and P.O.P. shop manager Steve Lalio.

The backdrop was printed on a Canon iPF8000S on LexJet 8 Mil PolyGloss Banner in seven 36″ panels, which were then stapled to the wall. Lalio says he designed it in Photoshop and used the ONYX RIP to properly tile it so that it could be spliced into one seamless backdrop. The total size is 21 feet wide by six feet high.

The moon phases, which dangle from fishing line a few feet in front of the backdrop, were printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene, laminated with LexJet 3 Mil Luster UV Standard Low Melt and applied to a heavy card stock.

“I used the PolyGloss Banner for the backdrop because I knew the Blue Moon and fall colors would really pop out with that material. We designed it so that it was informative about not only the beer, but the blue moon,” adds Lalio.