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Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Filling in a Beverage Barn’s Nooks and Crannies with Banner Branding

Wrapping a Cooler with Banner Graphics

Rather than apply a patchwork quilt of adhesive-backed inkjet media to the cooler and ceiling beams at an area beverage barn, DeCrescente Distributing’s Monty Pyle decided to use JetFlex FL Matte (13 oz.) from LexJet.

Cooler Wrap by DeCrescente Distributing“On a concrete wall hiding conduit and other obstacles it’s easier to wrap it with vinyl banner, rather than applying one strip here and one strip there. There were so many nooks and crannies in this place, it was unbelievable. They raised their ceiling and it made for one big obstacle after another. Then they put cameras in, so we had to take out the cameras, re-install and re-orient them. This was the most feasible way to do it, and it definitely changed the look of the building to where they were happy with it,” says DeCrescente’s Monty Pyle. “The owner originally wanted it printed on satin flag, but I told him he wouldn’t be able to clean it like you can a vinyl banner. The last thing you want is a filthy graphic after just a few weeks that you can’t clean.”

Printed on an Epson Stylus Pro GS6000 low-solvent printer, Pyle installed the huge cooler banner by himself, attaching it with screws to a wood backing above the cooler. Since the drop ceiling was taken out, exposing the beams, Pyle wrapped the beams as well.

Cooler Wrap for the Beverage BarnOn the cooler, Pyle found that the width of the material didn’t quite match the height of the higher ceilings, so he added a strip of Photo Tex PSA Fabric – Solvent Printers to border the top of the main wrap. “Since it was a matte banner material with a matte adhesive fabric it was pretty seamless and creates the illusion that it’s all one piece,” says Pyle.

“The media from LexJet we’ve been using has really been good and our image quality has increased using it with the Epson GS6000, which has also been very reliable,” adds Pyle. “He gave us a lot of opportunity in the store, and it happened so quickly; they wanted it up pretty darn fast.”

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Technology & Products
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Make it Stick with LexJet Foam Tape

This galvanized cooler surface was tough to stick graphics to, so Coco Beverage, Hot Springs, Ark., used LexJet Foam Tape to ensure a solid bond for this point of sale project. Photo by Cameron Biles
This galvanized cooler surface was tough to stick graphics to, so Coco Beverage, Hot Springs, Ark., used LexJet Foam Tape to ensure a solid bond for this point of sale project. Photo by Cameron Biles

LexJet has just introduced LexJet Foam Tape, engineered to stick in tough spots and permanently, primarily for outdoor applications where graphics need to be applied to low-energy surfaces like painted concrete, plastics, finished aluminum, acrylics and glass.

LexJet Foam Tape is durable in all weather conditions with a double-sided adhesive that provides long-term bonding between the print medium and the substrate. It also fills the gaps in irregular surfaces, strengthening the bond, and will not fail due to temperature variations that cause contraction and expansion.

LexJet Foam TapeResistant to water, UV rays, detergents, and picky people picking at the point of sale, LexJet Foam Tape is the high-bond answer to tough-to-stick situations.

For more information about LexJet Foam Tape and all of LexJet’s adhesive products, including application advice, contact a knowledgeable LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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No Windows? No Problem with Big Wall Graphics

Atlas Distributing Wall Graphics

In a previous post we discussed how big, bold graphics on the exterior of a retail location set the stage for interior point-of-sale graphics that reinforce the message and drive consumers to the brands inside. In that particular case, rows of big windows provided the perfect branding palette.

If you don’t have any windows to work with, walls will work just as well, as this recent project by Atlas Distributing illustrates. It’s a 48-foot long and four-foot high super graphic promoting Coors Light that ties in with the local favorite and Stanley Cup contending Boston Bruins.

Located on the outside of a local bar-and-games establishment, graphic design manager for Atlas Distributing, Brent Lee, says, “The side of the building faces a high-traffic area and a parking lot, so customers and others driving by can’t help but see it. They see Coors Light outside and then we reinforce it inside. They might have gone there just to play a couple of games, but they see the sign and it plants the seed that maybe they’ll have a beer with their friends.”

Lee adds that Atlas Distributing’s solid point of sale work on the inside helped secure the space on the outside. Lee took graphic elements provided by MillerCoors corporate, rearranged and stretched them out for a pleasing and appropriate super graphic, and brought a proof of the design to the account.

Needless to say, the client loved the concept, approved it and Lee got to work printing out the graphics in panels on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene with a Canon iPF9400. Lee applied to polypropylene to six sheets of Coroplast. “I just line up the edge of the print with the edge of the Coroplast. There really is no trick other than making sure you’re slow and steady when you apply it,” says Lee.

Meanwhile Atlas Distributing merchandisers drilled anchors into the wall to which the decorated Coroplast panels would be applied. This method will allow Atlas Distributing to quickly replace the graphics when the time comes.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Effective Branding with Perforated Window Vinyl

Branding with Perforated Window Vinyl

Establishing and then reinforcing a brand message from the outside in is a goal that Best Brands Inc., Nashville, strives for at each account that sells its line of wine and spirits. Whenever there’s window space to be had, Best Brands is ready to roll, or squeegee in this case, with promotional graphics.

Best Brands Window Graphics“Perforated window vinyl is the most effective way to brand windows. It’s easier and less time-consuming than setting up a display inside the window. It just goes up as a big graphic and lasts for months,” says Best Brands graphic designer Michael Miller.

The photos here represent a variety of different stores that recently received the Best Brands window treatment. Printed on LexJet Aqueous Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30) on a Canon iPF8000, Miller says the results are bold, brilliant graphics that are surprisingly outdoor-durable for aqueous-ink output.

“The life on perforated window vinyl is supposed to be about six months, but usually the store owners will keep them up between six months and a year. If they’re in direct sunlight they’ll fade after about nine months, but if they’re in the shade they’re still looking pristine even after a year,” says Miller.

Window Graphics by Best BrandsMore importantly, the exterior graphics set the stage for the point-of-sale inside, cementing the brand in the mind of the consumer and leading to more sales.

“I don’t know the numbers as far as the effect the window graphics have on sales, but I do know that whenever there’s an opportunity to cover one of our stores, both our managers and the store owners give it top priority. That tells me that something’s gotta be working,” adds Miller.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Setting the Scene with Special Event Point of Sale Signage

Point of Sale Inkjet Printed Display for Corona

The Nackard Companies and its P.O.P. sign crew are well known for creating enticing displays for all kinds of special events, whether it’s the astronomical anomaly called a blue moon (tied into Blue Moon beer, of course), the annual Dew Downtown in Flagstaff, Ariz., or anything in between.

The Nackard Companies team always seems to come up with something different to help drive beer sales around these events. The most recent example was a collaborative project between shop manager Steve Lalio and account representative Anthony Copetillo for Cinco de Mayo.

The pair came up with a basic concept that would be translated for various Mexican beer brands and placed in a number of different locations. The two projects pictured here were created for Corona and Dos Equis.

Inkjet Printed Point of Sale Display for Dos EquisEach display included a number of elements, highlighted by a faux water tower and an airplane toting a banner with buckets of beer.

Copetillo built the water tower structure with a combination of plywood circles for the top and bottom, held in place with plywood slats, Coroplast and furring strips. The “roof” of the water tower was cut-out cardboard painted black and brown. Copetillo created a palm tree using cut-out and painted cardboard as well.

Lalio printed a banner on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Polypropylene that was about 42 inches tall by 115 inches long, which Copetillo wrapped around the structure. For the Corona display, Lalio designed the piece with a wood-grain background and added the Corona logo. It looks strikingly real, which is a testament to what great design and printing can do for a display.

The airplane, which is about six feet long and has a 38-inch wingspan, was printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene, applied to Coroplast and cut out in the airplane shape. The banner the plane flies behind it, as well as the other hanging banners, were printed on LexJet 8 Mil PolyGloss Banner and laminated with LexJet 3 Mil Gloss UV Premium Low Melt. Lalio laminated these banners because the customer wanted to re-use them.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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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.”