Three Tools to Help You Wrap the Perfect Holiday Canvas

The holidays are the perfect time to create custom gifts. With the hundreds of personal images that people store on their phones, there’s no better way to encourage your customers to print an image than by turning a personal photo into an archival canvas wrap right before their eyes. Here are three tools that can help you create sentimental gifts that will last a lifetime:

HP Designjet Z9+ Printer: This nine-color (plus optional gloss enhancer) printer allows you to easily create content and submit jobs through the HP Applications Center, the dual roll feed saves you the hassle of switching media types between prints, and the vertical trimmer gives you frame-worthy graphics right off the printer.

HP Artist Matte Canvas: This high-quality, stretchable canvas delivers vivid, long-lasting images. Designed for fine art and photography, it’s a cost-effective canvas that works seamlessly with the HP Z9+ vertical trimmer.

GOframe Stretcher Bars: No canvas wrap is complete until it is properly stretched and the easy-to-use GOframe stretcher system is perfect for the novice and professional, alike. The GOframe Starter Kit and bars are designed to help you wrap canvases in no time. The reusable corner clamps make positioning accurate, and the bars are finished with adhesive on two sides for easy installation.

To see how LexJet can help you create other customized gifts this holiday season, call us at 800-453-9538 or visit LexJet.com.

Read about other ways to personalize the holidays:

Explore New Markets with Fisher Textiles for Dye-Sub

Now that we’re carrying a versatile portfolio of Fisher Textiles‘ fabrics for wide-format dye-sublimation transferring, you can explore more options to offer your customers. Providing dye-sub fabrics in wide-format sizes makes it easier for you to create great-looking outdoor signage, trade show graphics and even high-demand décor items at lower prices than other wide-format print technologies.

Fabric signage has become increasingly popular in the last few years, edging out vinyls and films for its ease of use, inexpensive shipping costs and ever-improving reproduction results. Plus, our finishing partners like SignComp, are creating more options to make them easier to install the final display.

For exhibits and signage or table skirts, try Fisher Textiles 1707 Soft Knit for a lightweight option or the award-winning Fisher Textiles 4019 Nirvana with a block-out banner when you need lightweight fabric plus opacity.

For photo backdrops, like the one pictured, we recommend Fisher Textiles 1708 Heavy Knit, which can also double for roll-up banner stands or Fisher Textiles 4608 Power Stretch, which can be shaped into geometric displays and tension displays.

Fabrics in backlit displays are another preferred choice these days. Fisher Textiles 8864 Triple White and Fisher Textiles 8862 Single White Backlit both perform excellently.

Teardrop flags for sales and seasonal promotions are stylish and easy to use, and we’ve recently added Fisher Textiles 1701 Primary Flag specifically for this high-demand application.

One of the most exciting dye-sub applications is in the décor market. Sew-free SEG-type frames, such as those offered by SignComp, give dye-sub printers the opportunity to create finished wall art that’s a less-expensive option than traditional canvas. For instance, if you use Fisher Textiles 1709 Heavy Knit with a SignComp Front Load Soft Signage Kit, you’ll save at least 50% on the fabric over typical canvases on the market, and the frame can be used again and again as the graphics and messaging changes — what a great price savings and usability to pass on to your customers!

Plus, the SignComp frames are quick and easy to use. Check out this how-to video:

 

USA-Made Fredrix Canvas Celebrating 150th Anniversary

Art becomes interesting when it’s timeless — and fine art is only as timeless as the canvas it is created on. Fredrix Canvas celebrates 150 years of producing the world’s premium artist and printable, archival canvases. Manufactured in the USA, Fredrix uses the finest textile woven to stringent specifications, employing both high-tech, state-of-the-art machine coating techniques along with hand priming.

Fredrix has decades of experience producing superior artist canvas and this knowledge has translated into the production of superior printable canvas. Fredrix high-quality canvas produces stunning digital prints with a wide-color gamut that’s color-accurate and consistent from print-to-print.

The Fredrix portfolio of digitally printable canvas continues to grow with the addition of Fredrix 558 Raw Canvas Natural — a 100% natural cotton product with no OBAs that’s an alternative to the typical polyester fabrics and blends.

Fredrix plans to launch its 150th-year celebration this October at SGIA in Las Vegas. Check out the festivities on October 18–20 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

For more information on Fredrix Canvas offerings, call 800-453-9538 to speak with a LexJet sales representative or visit LexJet.com to purchase Fredrix Canvas today — available exclusively in the U.S. through LexJet.

From Banners to Canvas, the All-new LexJet FlexTek Can Do It All

Looking for a multi-functional material that performs for a variety of uses, from canvas to banners and beyond? The new LexJet FlexTek PVC-free, non-woven technical fabric can do it all for a wide range of both indoor and outdoor applications.

Available in both 200g SUV and 170g aqueous versions, FlexTek is finished with a slight texture that looks and feels like traditional fabric. With great tear strength, it can go from grommeted banners to stretched canvas wraps to pole pockets for multiple signage possibilities, including outdoor use (short-term outdoor with 170g aqueous). Plus, with no plasticizers, you get consistent results that you can rely on.

Starting at $0.35 per square foot, FlexTek a versatile, budget-beating, environmentally friendly option.

Product Highlights:

  • PVC-free (no plasticizers) and recyclable with a wide range of post-use options
  • Multi-functional material so you can carry less inventory
  • Comparable to canvas, fabric and other banner materials
  • Cuts clean with no fraying like a fabric
  • Grommetable, stretchable, stitchable
  • Images look great from a distance or up-close

Watch the video above to learn more, and give a LexJet print specialist a call at 800-453-9538 to learn more ways that LexJet FlexTek can work for you.

How to Start Marketing Your Décor Print Services

Deciding to add services like custom-printed wallcoverings and canvas wraps to your business is the easy part. Getting the word out and bringing in potential customers is where the challenge lies. Here are 5 tips to help you get started with marketing décor print services:

  1. Fix your identity. If your operation has always been called a “sign shop,” consider adjusting your business name or adding a new business unit specifically for décor services. Target which services you want to offer (start with one or two) and determine which products you want to print to. Once these are nailed down, the business name and focus will start to fall into place.
  2. Practice and promote. If you’ve decided to add customized digitally printed wallcoverings as your new offering, find a project you can work on as a beta site. Perhaps a restaurant that a friend owns or a business you regularly frequent that could use an update. Offer to print wallcovering for a room for free so you can get real-world experience in terms of the work flow, installation and product performance. When you’ve successfully completed a project, use before, during and after photos on social media and email campaigns to show off your new expertise.
  3. Connect with others. Get to know local interior designers who could capitalize on your new services. Attend networking events and learn about community projects that could allow you an opportunity to show off your work and get free publicity. Focus on collaborating with other professionals who may need the talents of your graphics team to create artwork for canvas wraps or customized patterns for wallcovering — and charge them reasonably for this niche service.
  4. Upsell to current customers. Opportunities are everywhere. If you’ve been creating backlit displays for a retail outlet, ask them if they’re interested in a wall mural to liven up their store. Same goes for restaurants, hotels or corporate accounts that you print signage for. Could they use a fresh accent wall or canvas wraps to add ambiance or elegance to their spaces?
  5. Get your content together. Create a sample book (or web page) of the types of work you can do. Photos with finished applications will go a long way in helping your customers to visualize what you can customize for them.

If you have questions about marketing décor services or success stories to share, tell us about it in the comments below.

Digital Décor Printing Goes Beyond Wallcoverings

A lot has been said over the past few years about the opportunities in digital décor printing … and most of them have been focused on wallcoverings. And while we love a good digitally printed wallcovering as much as the next guy, we wanted to take a moment to focus on other opportunities in decor printing … beyond wallcoverings.

Take a look at some of these inventive, imaginative projects our customers have done using a variety of ink technologies and media types. And the next time someone asks you to print a wall project, consider pitching them on some custom print jobs off the wall.

TABLES: Opportunities are almost limitless for both surface and object printing. Take, for instance, the tabletop creations by Jamie Birch, who used LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric and LexJet Crystal Low Tack for sports-themed customized tables. Want to keep them looking good? Our friends at Fredrix used Fredrix 575 Tempo Canvas top coated with Marabu coating and mounted to a puzzle board and routed into circles to create these branded coasters.

 

 

 

 

 

WINDOWS: Create customized decorative prints on either the window itself or shades to block the sun. Window shades can be created with a variety of products, such as LexJet Poly Select Medium, EnduraFab™ Frontlit Premier or HP Light Fabric. To add some privacy or a graphic element to the window itself, try LexJet Simple Grip Backlit, which can be seen from either side of the window and is enhanced by artificial or natural light.

 

 

 

 

 

LAMPS: A little punch of color can go a long way to enhance a room. Lamp shades have become a favorite among digital printers, using products like LexJet Sunset Textured Fine Art Paper 310g and finishing it with a UV coating for extra protection. Retailers like Lamps Plus give customers a variety of pattern and color combinations so they can create their own one-of-a-kind look.

 

 

 

 

 

PILLOWS: These are just two examples of how you can add some major customization to your throw pillows with a latex printer, courtesy of Fredrix, using Fredrix Natural Raw Canvas, and HP, featuring the versatile HP Light Fabric.

 

 

 

 

 

PRINTS: So, technically these prints go on the wall, but offer a decorative option if adding wall paper or a mural isn’t an option. We love all types of hanging wall art including acrylic-mounted prints, floating canvases, wrapped canvases, framed photos and ChromaLuxe panels. There’s something for everyone and every ink technology in our product mix!