How EnduraFab™ Can Help You Break Into New Markets

If you’re looking for new revenue streams — and who isn’t? — consider how the latex-compatible EnduraFab™ Textiles product line can help you reach new customers or expand the services you provide to your current clients.

The key to selling printable fabrics to your customers is focusing on the benefits of these products and how their versatility and ease of use can help your customers achieve their project goals. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits your customers will love:

Lightweight and easy to transport: Since they are fabric, EnduraFab™ products are much lighter weight than vinyl and can easily be folded and carried without creases and wrinkles, making it a great option for trade shows or traveling exhibits.

Durability: These 100% polyester warp knit fabrics are specially treated with a proprietary coating that makes them latex-compatible while still maintaining a nice hand feel. With latex technology, the images have great longevity and color reproduction that lasts. These fabrics have also passed wash testing as well under normal wash cycle conditions.

Versatility: EnduraFab™ products can be finished in a number of ways — stitched to create pole pockets, finished with silicone edging for framing or simply trimmed with scissors for short-term signage that doesn’t fray along the edges.

Knowing this, where can you attract new customers? Consider retail shop owners who like the elegant drape of a fabric sign, versus a vinyl banner that looks like it belongs outdoors. EnduraFab™ Frontlit is a great option for soft signage or tableskirts. Also, many retail outlets prefer SEG frames that can be easily swapped out. EnduraFab™ Stretch finished with Keder Tape or a gel edging is so easy to use that any retail staff person could make a sign switch in a matter of minutes.

Think about facilities where fire retardant properties are important, such as schools, malls and healthcare centersEnduraFab™ Frontlit FREnduraFab™ Frontlit Premier FR and EnduraFab™ Stretch FR all meet the flammability standard for NFPA 701, 2015 Edition (Test 1, Small Scale) and require heat set for desired print durability.

SEG-framed EnduraFab™ Frontlit Premier is a great option for modern, clean office or home décor that’s heavier weight and resistant to scratches and scuffs. Check out the video below to watch EnduraFab in action as a dramatic spa décor art piece.

Popular LexJet WallPro SUV Wallcoverings Updated

LexJet WallPro SUV by York
Change an environment to anything your customer wants with high-quality wall decor printed on LexJet WallPro SUV by York. Photo courtesy Fostergraphs, Decorah, Iowa

LexJet has partnered with York Wallcoverings to update its line of inkjet-printable wallpaper compatible with solvent, low-solvent, latex and UV-curable inks. LexJet Velvet WallPro SUV by York, LexJet Pebble WallPro SUV by York and LexJet Canvas WallPro SUV by York are now available in both 15 oz. and 20 oz. weights.

Applied with wallpaper paste, LexJet WallPro SUV by York is a high-quality, permanent wall mural solution for a range of environments, including homes, corporate offices, healthcare facilities, schools, retail stores, museums, restaurants, hotels and resorts, sports and entertainment venues and more.

“LexJet WallPro printed great; it looked like it did on the monitor to the printer,” says Chris Knight, owner of Deck the Walls, Joplin, Mo., regarding a project the company did for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition using LexJet Velvet WallPro SUV.

LexJet Velvet WallPro SUV by York comes in three subtle textures: Velvet, Canvas and Pebble. Velvet has a smooth, lightly textured surface perfect for high-resolution images and photos. Pebble is best for those who desire a more visible texture behind the image. Canvas has the texture of finely woven canvas for a more fine-art look.

“As the oldest and largest wallcovering manufacturer in North America, York understands substrates from a printer’s perspective. And more importantly, we know what works best on walls,” said Tim Quinn, York Wallcoverings Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “York is proud to partner with LexJet in offering six superior-quality LexJet WallPro items.”

LexJet WallPro SUV by York wallcovering substrates also meet Class A fire-rating standards and EPA requirements for low-VOC emitting products.

The 15 oz. and 20 oz. versions of each are available in 54″ x 20′, 54″ x 75′ and 54″ x 150′ rolls from LexJet’s Nationwide Distribution Center Network.

For more information about LexJet WallPro SUV by York, call a LexJet printing specialist at 800-453-9538.

Home Improvement with a Canvas Gallery Wrap Collage

Canvas Wrap CollageOne of the most important things you can do from a sales and marketing standpoint, particularly in our obviously visual market, is to show potential clients how they can display their images.

You can say “canvas,” for instance, and people generally like the thought of images printed on canvas, but they don’t necessarily know how to translate it to their particular space, whether it’s a home, office or retail space.

That’s why Andy Wredberg at AW Artworks is constantly showcasing new and unique ways of displaying prints at his studio, and most recently at his home. Besides, Wredberg’s wife recently asked him why he was doing all this cool stuff for clients, but nothing for their home.

So, Wredberg did a family portrait photo shoot at Wisconsin’s state capitol in Madison. Wredberg’s also a talented photographer who was able to sneak into some of the photos with a remote shutter release.

Wredberg then took the images and created an approximately 6′ x 6′ canvas gallery wrap collage from the photo shoot printed on LexJet Sunset Select Matte Canvas. It consists of nine pieces: three 8x13s, two 10x20s, a 14×20, a 14×29, and two 20x30s.

“I’ve seen some collages online, but never tried doing one that extensively. People love canvas, but they have a hard time picturing how it would work for them and incorporate it. Seeing a collage on a wall gives them a better vision of something they could do with it,” says Wredberg, who posted the project on his Facebook page.

Good, Profitable Business: Custom Inkjet Wall Murals for Home Décor

Printing custom wallpaper for home and office decor

“It’s good, profitable business,” says Bill Barley, owner of Bill Barley & Associates, Lexington, S.C. That “good, profitable business” to which Barley refers is custom wall murals printed on a variety of materials for home and office décor.

In the project pictured here, Barley chose to print this original mural by David Hedges to LexJet TOUGHcoat 3R DuPont Tyvek. Barley discussed using an adhesive-backed product, like Photo Tex Repositionable Fabric, with the client, but the client was more comfortable using professional wallpaper hangers to apply the Tyvek.

“The job went really well. The LexJet Tyvek material is dimensionally stable. When you wet the back of it and put the paste on it, it doesn’t swell like a lot of wallpaper products do. The wallpaper professionals told me that they’ve had problems with similar murals on conventional wallpaper material swelling, which makes it very difficult to match up the panels,” says Barley.

The artwork was commissioned specifically for this project. Barley planned for Hedges to paint the initial artwork at one-third the size of the final mural.  Barley digitized it and Hedges finished the details using Adobe Illustrator.

The images were brought up to full size with Genuine Fractals and then cropped in Photoshop. “I did the cuts full size in Photoshop so I could get pixel-to-pixel matching with no overlap on the final panels,” says Barley.

The panels – four 34″ x 6′ vertical panels for the bar mural, one 3′ x 5′ panel for the car/theater image and three 36″ x 10′ panels that would comprise the top border – were printed through the ImagePrint RIP on Barley’s Epson Stylus Pro 9880.

“As far as the material printed, it was excellent. The material holds color well with good color matching. I printed out a sample and checked the color balance on it and then printed the job. I didn’t have to re-print anything,” says Barley. “It’s a permanent installation in an upscale home, which is one of the reasons they wanted to hang it like wallpaper. There will be cabinetry and a marble counter built around it to finish it off.”