Promoting More than Beverages for Dew Downtown Flagstaff

They say everyone loves a parade, but be that as it may, Nackard Companies used a recent Christmas light parade in Flagstaff, Ariz., to promote the city’s upcoming Dew Downtown Flagstaff.Dew Downtown Flagstaff is an annual freeride ski and snowboard competition that plows through San Francisco Street, Flagstaff’s main drag. The course is strewn with urban obstacles – cars, tires, rails and barrels – which competitors navigate to the finish line, winners awarded with medals made by Nackard Companies with LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene applied to metal.

Medals aren’t the only thing Nackard Companies and the beverage distributor’s P.O.P. shop manager Steve Lalio will make for Dew Downtown Flagstaff. Besides hundreds of signs for the event, Lalio also plans to wrap one of the 55-gallon barrels being used as an obstacle so it looks like a Mountain Dew can.

“They’ll put the barrel in the ground and put snow on top of it, so when the skier comes – they’re jumping over cars, tires, handrails and other urban obstacles along the way – this will be one of the obstacles they hit,” says Lalio, who adds that the event, which takes place Feb. 9-10, is open to skiers and snowboarders and practically all ages.

To make the event bigger and better each year, luring more sponsors and crowds to Flagstaff, the promotions are being ramped up. One of those promotional opportunities the Nackard Companies was involved with was the Christmas light parade. Nackard Companies decorated the Dew Downtown Flagstaff “float” with banners along the side, a Coroplast skier finishing a ramp ride and a large logo with the basic facts about the event.

Lalio printed everything on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Polypropylene. The prints weren’t laminated, except for the big logo circle since that particular piece will circulate around town at street corners and businesses to continually promote the event in town. The extra time out in the weather and the repeated handling necessitated the addition of the LexJet 5 Mil Luster Standard Low Melt laminate.

For more information about Dew Downtown Flagstaff, go to www.dewdowntownflagstaff.com/, and to read about last year’s event and what Nackard produced for it, click here.

End of Year Rebates from Canon, Epson, HP

Inkjet printer promotions and rebates
Donald Stocks of PIP Printing in Greenville, N.C., took advantage of the combination of rebates and the LexJet iPad Mini promotion. He's up and running with his new Canon iPF8300S, shown here printing on LexJet 8 Mil Production Satin Photo Paper. Stocks said, "The pricing was great and the iPad Mini was icing on the cake."

Just in time for Christmas, following are a variety of rebates and promotions from Canon, Epson and HP, most of which end on Dec. 31.

Speaking of Dec. 31, don’t forget to take advantage of LexJet’s free iPad Mini promotion: Buy a 42″ or wider printer and/or laminator, plus $500 in inkjet media or laminates, and you get a free iPad Mini. To top it all off, you don’t pay anything until Jan. 31.

As Gary Kingsbury, owner of The UPS Store in Homestead, Fla., put it: “I’m very pleased with the deal, especially since a starter set of ink is included; that’s not an insignificant value in and of itself. My net cost on the printer is quite low when you consider everything you get with it.

Canon
From now until Dec. 15 you can take advantage of mail-in and trade-in rebates, which can be combined:

  • iPF6400: $300 trade-in rebate (must include a photo of any 17″ or wider printer), plus a $300 mail-in rebate
  • iPF6450: $500 trade-in rebate (must include a photo of any 17″ or wider printer), plus a $350 mail-in rebate
  • iPF8400: $800 trade-in rebate (must include a photo of any 36″ or wider printer), plus a $1,000 mail-in rebate
  • iPF8400: $400 trade-in rebate (must include a photo of any 17″ or wider professional printer), plus a $1,000 mail-in rebate
  • iPF9400: $1,000 trade-in rebate (must include a photo of any 36″ or wider printer), plus a $1,500 mail-in rebate
  • iPF9400: $500 trade-in rebate (must include a photo of any 17″ or wider professional printer), plus a $1,000 mail-in rebate
  • iPF9400S: $1,000 trade-in rebate (must include a photo of any 36″ or wider printer)
  • iPF9400S: $500 trade-in rebate (must include a photo of any 17″ or wider professional printer), plus a $1,000 mail-in rebate

And, while supplies last, there are also ongoing trade-in and mail-in rebates on Canon’s other printers:  $300 on the iPF6300, iPF6350, and iPF8300S; $880 on the iPF8300; and $1,200 on the iPF9000S and iPF9100. For trade-in eligibility you must have a 17” or wider printer for the 24” Canon printers, or a 36” or wider printer for the 44” or 60” Canon machines.

Mail-in rebates include $350 for the Canon iPF5100, $500 for the iPF6300, $1,000 for the iPF6350, $1,000 for the iPF8300 and $3,200 for the iPF9100. The trade-in and mail-in rebates on these printers can be combined where applicable.

For complete rebate terms, go to www.usa.canon.com/rebates and pick up a claim form online at acbpromotions.com/imageprografrebate.

Epson
Epson’s December mail-in rebates for its line of 17″ printers include:

This month’s instant rebates include:

And, you get a 30% Money-Back Mail-in Rebate for qualifying EPSON Signature Worthy Cut Sheets through Nov. 30. Eligible products include 8.5″ x 11″ and 13″ x 19′ cut sheets of EPSON Cold Press (Bright White and Natural), Exhibition Fiber, Epson Hot Press (Natural and Bright White) and the Signature Worthy Sample Pack.

HP
Trade in your 42″ or wider aqueous or 30″ or wider solvent printer/printer-cutter and get $3,000 cash back when you buy an HP Designjet L26500 61-inch latex printer.

And, you can trade in your large-format aqueous or solvent printer/printer-cutter (54″ or wider) and get $10,000 cash back, or trade in a 42″-53″ aqueous or 30″-53″ solvent printer/printer-cutter wider and get $6,000 cash back when you purchase an HP Designjet L28500 104-inch latex printer.

These Upgrade to Latex Winter 2012 promotional deals are good through Dec. 31 and claims must be submitted by Jan. 31, 2013.

Plus, with the HP StartRight Program, receive up to $300 in free HP large-format media with the purchase of select HP Designjet printers. Go to www.hp.com/go/HPStartRightPromo for more information.

For complete promotion details and a claim form for the HP Upgrade to Latex Winter 2012 promotion, click here.

For more information about the printers, to take advantage of these rebates as well as fantastic bundle deals from LexJet, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538. And, to download rebate forms, go to www.lexjet.com/rebates.aspx.

An Economical Alternative to Dye-Sub Fabrics for Displays

Printing fabric banners with an inkjet printerWhen it comes to display graphics, everybody wants something “different” to help set them apart. That’s exactly what a number of customers were requesting from Productive Displays, Addison, Ill., for their trade show banners.

Some had seen dye-sublimation fabrics at trade shows and liked the look of it. So they wondered if Productive Displays could produce something similar.

“We had a different type of poly fabric in the past that was no longer available. Then we went tried another six or seven materials and none of them were really good solutions for us: they weren’t vibrant enough and the saturation was too high,” explains Bruce Ulrich, president of Productive Displays. “When we traded our aqueous printer for a Canon iPF8300S we talked to Bryce Montisano at LexJet and found the right inkjet fabric.”

Fabric banners for trade showsThe fabric is LexJet Poly Select Heavy, and Ulrich says it’s met their imaging needs and the needs of their customers for nice fabric banner displays.

“The LexJet fabric provides us the ability to present customers with a fabric alternative without the need for a dye-sublimation process. We’re able to utilize the capacity of our existing printers and it’s also a less costly process for the customer,” explains Ulrich. “We presented it to those customers, and we have about half a dozen customers who use that material regularly. The ones who are using it have totally bought into it. The LexJet fabric is a very nice solution, and it’s difficult to tell the difference between dye-sub and this material.”

Get up to $2,500 Cash Back on Canon’s New Printers through December

New large format inkjet printersCanon announced its Q4 mail-in and trade-in rebates on its next-generation imagePROGRAF larger-format inkjet printers: the iPF6400, iPF6450, iPF8400, iPF9400 and iPF9400S. From now until Dec. 15 you can take advantage of mail-in and trade-in rebates, which can be combined:

  • iPF6400: $300 trade-in rebate (must include a photo of any 17″ or wider printer), plus a $300 mail-in rebate
  • iPF6450: $500 trade-in rebate (must include a photo of any 17″ or wider printer), plus a $350 mail-in rebate
  • iPF8400: $800 trade-in rebate (must include a photo of any 36″ or wider printer), plus a $1,000 mail-in rebate
  • iPF9400: $1,000 trade-in rebate (must include a photo of any 36″ or wider printer), plus a $1,500 mail-in rebate
  • iPF9400S: $1,000 trade-in rebate (must include a photo of any 36″ or wider printer)

And, while supplies last, there are also ongoing trade-in and mail-in rebates on Canon’s other printers:  $300 on the iPF6300, iPF6350, and iPF8300S; $880 on the iPF8300; and $1,200 on the iPF9000S and iPF9100. For trade-in eligibility you must have a 17” or wider printer for the 24” Canon printers, or a 36” or wider printer for the 44” or 60” Canon machines.

Mail-in rebates include $350 for the Canon iPF5100, $500 for the iPF6300, $1,000 for the iPF6350, $1,000 for the iPF8300 and $3,200 for the iPF9100. The trade-in and mail-in rebates on these printers can be combined where applicable.

For complete rebate terms, go to www.usa.canon.com/rebates and pick up a claim form online at acbpromotions.com/imageprografrebate.

For more information about the rebates and special bundle deals, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Louisville Slugger: How Spectra Imaging Built a Thriving and Growing Business

Window graphics for a grocery store chain

Brian and Leslie Rogers started Spectra Imaging in their 500-square-foot garage about seven years ago with a Mac mini and a Canon iPF8000. Since that time, Spectra Imaging has grown exponentially, eventually occupying 6,000 square feet of space in a Louisville, Ky., office building, adding additional employees and ramping up its production capabilities.

Main identification sign for a companyWhile Spectra Imaging’s success is based on the usual ingredients – high-quality output, customer service and finding the right products for production – it’s the intangibles that have helped set the company apart.

First, Spectra Imaging is debt-free. All of its equipment purchases are paid for, alleviating the additional burden that debt payments can have on a company. Second, Spectra Imaging emphasizes a show-and-tell approach to sales.

“The growth of our company is attributed to our drive and determination and just getting out in front of people,” explains Brian Rogers. “You can’t just walk in there, hand them a brochure and tell them that this is what you can do. When our salespeople meet with customers they have a sample case and an iPad. There’s an image on our site of a very large sign on the front of a building for a hardware company, for example, and our salespeople have a smaller version of that exact sign, printed on the same material and applied to the same substrate. That way, they can see how the material works and what it looks like when it’s done. A brochure is not good enough.”

Wall decor graphicsRogers says this is especially effective with Photo Tex PSA Repositionable Fabric from LexJet. Customers can see first-hand how easy it is to work with and how versatile it is in a variety of applications.

Whatever the material used, Spectra Imaging is armed with physical samples and various options for a collaborative, consultative and ultimately productive meeting.

“Customers are looking for something different and unique; they don’t want the same stuff they’ve been getting. LexJet has been instrumental in keeping us updated about new products we can add to our sample case so we can show customers what’s available and what they can do with them,” adds Rogers.

Spectra Imaging can provide just about any imaging product and service to its customers, including graphic design, scanning original artwork, printing and stretching canvas, custom framing and practically any large-format application.

Photo reproduction for interior decorNow armed with two HP 9000 solvent printers, two HP Designjet 5000 aqueous inkjet printers and two Canon iPF8000s, as well as fabrication and finishing capabilities with a CNC router and a laminator, Spectra Imaging is well positioned to make its next move: hiring an additional salesperson and production specialist as well as adding more printer fire power.

Rogers says his favorite materials are the aforementioned Photo Tex PSA Fabric (both Aqueous and Solvent), LexJet Simple Adhesive Vinyl (Semi-Matte and Gloss), LexJet 10 Mil Opaque Display Film, LexJet Production Satin Photo Paper PSA and LexJet Sunset Fine Art, Photo and Canvas media.

“The great thing about Sammi [Spectra Imaging’s LexJet customer specialist Samantha Calabrese] is that she’s familiar with the products we’ve used and is quite helpful about making recommendations and letting us know about new products,” says Rogers. “Even if we’re not buying a product from LexJet, like our HP 9000, Sammi did some research and helped us find other LexJet customers who had one so we could get some feedback from them about the printer before we bought it.”

Save a Bundle with an HP Latex Printer and Onyx PosterShop X10 Bundle

Large format inkjet printer and software bundleLexJet is offering a bundle package that includes the HP Designjet L26500 61-inch Latex Printer and ONYX PosterShop X10 RIP software. This special offer provides significant savings over purchasing each separately and is available only for a limited time.

To find out the details of this bundle and more about pricing and other incentives, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538. Also, be sure to check out the videos at LexJet’s YouTube channel that provide more information and how-to’s for ONYX X10 and HP printers:

ONYX X10 Playlist

HP Printers and Workflow Playlist

FYI… The latest version of ONYX PosterShop includes the following enhancements, and more, for the wide format inkjet printing workflow…

  • G7 grayscale calibration support and integration with Curve2 Software, which is a proof-to-print process based on a set of color criteria developed to ensure digital print technology elements – RIP, printer, media and ink – can reproduce a typical offset lithography sheet.
  • Optional JDF module add-on for facilitating automated print workflows
  • Multi-page PDF splitting workflow in RIP queue with Quick Sets where the ONYX RIP-Queue can process each different page size and optimize page nesting for maximum media savings and speed performance since each page can be processed and sent to the printer individually, without having to wait for the entire PDF file to be processed
  • Added CMYK compatibility mode
  • Print-and-cut media compensation
  • New measurement device support, including low-resolution swatch support for i1, new Barbierie Spectro LFP textile device and Barbierie 8mm aperture for supported devices