A River Runs through a Point of Sale Display

Point of sale product displayTennyson Lacasio’s last point of sale, in-store display masterpiece featured here used flowing “beer” (actually ink-stained water) to draw additional attention and sell more Guinness. Lacasio, graphic designer for Colonial Wholesale Beverage in North Dartmouth, Mass., recently created another water feature. While the concept was different this time around, the outcome was similar; namely, more beer sales.

“This store is one of our other top accounts and after seeing the YouTube video they were interested in doing something unique in their store as well,” explains Lacasio. “We basically had the same amount of square footage with six palettes of beer stacked together. We went over a number of designs with them and the castle theme we settled on seemed like a lot of fun.”

Building a point of sale product displayThe previous display was built to sell Guinness Black Lager; this most recent castle display was built to house Diageo brands Guinness Draught, Guinness Stout, Guinness Black Lager, Harp and Smithwick’s. The big push on these Diageo brands coincides with St. Patrick’s Day and Lacasio reports that the display needs constant replenishment even though the big weekend before the big day has not yet arrived.

Once again, the display not only had to be eye-catching and thirst-inducing, it needed to be easy to shop. The display has scored on both points, drawing consumers ever closer with the final touch – a drawbridge over bubbling water that leads to the castle in the background.

Originally, Lacasio planned to place real fish inside the pool of water over which the drawbridge sits. However, the risk of floaters – fish that might up and die as fish are wont to in these situations – was too great. Therefore, Lacasio printed some fish, laminated with LexJet 3 Mil Gloss UV Premium Low Melt.

The big prints – the two knights which guard the front of the display and the castle – were printed on LexJet Extreme AquaVinyl w/ PSA applied to Coroplast. The drawbridge was printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene and laminated with 3 Mil Gloss UV Premium Low Melt. All of the graphics are double-sided, excepting the knights (it’s hard to find knight backside images) so that the effect continues on the other side of the display.

In addition to the photos here, get a consumer’s eye view of the display at the video embedded below…

March Semi-Madness: 25 Percent off LexJet’s Most Popular Thermal Laminates

Thermal laminates for inkjet printing point of purchase and trade show graphicsThrough the end of March, LexJet is offering 25 percent off of its most popular thermal laminates for a savings of up to $166 per roll. Here’s the roll call of thermal laminates you can get for 25 percent off by the end of the month, a.k.a., March 31

LexJet’s Standard thermal low-melt UV polyester laminates provide high clarity, increased bond strength, superior resistance to abrasion, water, oil, acid and alkali and are perfect for high-production runs on bond inkjet paper, microporous-coated inkjet paper, electrostatic and continuous tone photographic prints.

For more information about this special March-only 25 percent off promotion, application guidance and help with anything else, contact a LexJet account specialist at 800-453-9538.

Custom Size for Photographers: Textured Laminate Now Available in 25″ Widths

Laminating inkjet photographsVeteran photographer Don Brent found the perfect textured laminate for his portrait printing with LexJet Textured Polypropylene Laminate (5 Mil), but really wanted it in 25-inch widths. LexJet recently delivered with a 25-inch wide version of the textured laminate for Brent and photographers like him who prefer the smaller size to better fit their workflow.

“Even though I have an Epson 9880 44-inch printer and a 44-inch laminator I typically print on 24-inch paper. It’s easier to handle throughout the print process, from the paper coming out to trimming and laminating it. But if I need a big print I’ve got the larger printer, laminate and laminator,” explains Brent.

Brent uses LexJet Textured Polypropylene Laminate for various reasons, primarily the characteristic of the polypropylene base. Unlike vinyl and other laminate films, the polypropylene is acid-free, pH neutral and archival. It not only protects the prints from smudges and scratches, it does not degrade over time. Simply put, it’s tough.

“The protective element is huge for me. The client likes the fact that they know it’s protected. I tell them that as long as they don’t pour ammonia all over it, they don’t have to worry about the picture,” laughs Brent. “It’s easier to frame the smaller pictures after they’re laminated because they always lay flat and don’t curl.”

Laminating portrait prints for inkjet printingThe other factor is aesthetics. Brent says customers love the look and feel of the laminate on their prints. Look and feel can certainly be subjective, but Brent says it’s practically universal among his clientele, so maybe, at least in Brent’s case, it’s not so subjective.

“I love the texture, but I grew up with textured prints. My father had an old texture machine that we textured all the prints with that gave us a unique look. It looked nice and was almost impossible to scan and copy. The Textured Polypropylene Laminate does the same thing; it helps make our work unique in the market and makes it very difficult to copy the image and reproduce it,” says Brent.

Brent has a 44-inch D&K laminator that has both hot and cold settings, allowing him to use both pressure-sensitive and thermal laminates. LexJet Textured Polypropylene Laminate is a “cold” pressure-sensitive laminate, meaning that it doesn’t require heat to work well.

Since Brent can apply some heat he usually sets it to a low heat, around 100 degrees F. “It’s great in the winter because the material flows a little better at 100 degrees, plus you can warm your hands,” says Brent.