When it comes to tiling large graphics for wallcoverings, starting with a well-designed graphic that’s prepped off-site is one of the best ways to make sure your installation is a success. Here are three great tips on how to tile your graphic and prep for installation.
1. Site Inspection
Test Surface: Start with a site inspection to test the wall to make sure your media is compatible because most zero or low VOC paints have additives that prevent adhesive from sticking to it.
The New Year is underway, which means your resolutions to learn something new and save money are in full swing. And ONYX is here to lend a hand.
Convert to ONYX Thrive by April 30, 2016, and receive an extra Adobe® PDF Print Engine with Adobe Normalizer at no additional charge (a 995.00 value). With the scalable platform of ONYX Thrive and an added Adobe® PDF Print Engine with Adobe Normalizer, you can process more files in less time. The complete 64-bit platform of ONYX 12, combined with the Adobe PDF Print Engine, delivers unprecedented performance, predictability and scalability. Call LexJet at 800-453-9538 to learn more and order ONYX Thrive.
Onyx Graphics announced the release of ONYX 11.1 software, now available through LexJet. This release adds six new features to the 21 enhancements of ONYX 11.0 software to further streamline wide format workflow for professional print service providers.
ONYX 11.1 software is available for the full Onyx Graphics product line including ONYX Thrive workflow software and ONYX ProductionHouse, ONYX PosterShop and ONYX RIPCenter RIP software.
Perhaps the biggest news with the new release is that ONYX PosterShop will now include the ability to generate color profiles. Upgrade to ONYX PosterShop 11.1 now to optimize your color output by generating profiles for your unique printing workflow. The ONYX Profile Generation module is simple, easy and automated with the ONYX Print > Read > Next workflow. Powerful tools are also available to control and fine-tune advanced color profiles.
Onyx Graphics designed ONYX 11.1 software to offer users the ability to improve color output quality by taking advantage of the new, expanded gamut ink control included in the color profiling module. This expanded color gamut gives users the ability to easily match corporate colors, achieve deeper darks and print a wider range of colors.
Additional color enhancements in ONYX 11.1 include simplified spot color ink restriction with the new dynamic multi-channel ink restriction swatches, enabling users to enhance output quality without sacrificing color. For example, users can control the starting point of orange and other HiFi inks to eliminate grainy output with multi-channel ink restriction swatches.
Automation enhancements incorporated into ONYX 11.1 include unit sizing and disproportionate scaling in Job Properties as well as mirror and print reflection control.
A new cut path previewing feature improves user confidence in printed output before submitting images to production. The ability to preview cut paths in Job Editor, RIP-Queue and Job Properties modules is combined with a new, cut-only workflow. This new workflow is important for users primarily handling cut vinyl, enabling them to import jobs directly into the cut-server module without the extra step of printing.
ONYX Thrive 11.1 workflow software includes the latest Adobe PDF Print Engine (APPE) 3.2 for a true end-to-end PDF workflow. According to Adobe, APPE 3 combines performance optimizations with a new scalable framework to power high-speed digital presses and large format printers. Print service providers will benefit from the fastest rendering platform for reliable reproduction of complex, graphically-rich content.
ONYX also offers various technical tutorials and white papers through the documentation section of myonyx. In addition to white papers and documentation, access to product downloads, updates, ONYX training videos and the Partner Portal is available through myonyx-Registration through myonyx is required to view the following new documents:
Tutorial – Tiling Workflow in ONYX
ONYX 11.1 – Print Mode Defined Colors White Paper
Tutorial – Creating an Indexed TIFF for use with Colorways
Tutorial – Using Swatch Books and Print Mode Defined Colors
ONYX 11.1 – Understanding Reflect at Print Time and Mirrored
ONYX 11 Textile – Using Step and Repeater
ONYX 11 Textile – Using Colorways
Using the Cut Only Workflow in ONYX 11.1
To purchase an ONYX 11 software license, to upgrade through the ONYX Advantage software maintenance program, or for any questions, call a LexJet print specialist at 800-453-9538.
The ONYX Advantage program provides product upgrades, new printer drivers, and access to on-demand training and support videos. Current ONYX Advantage agreement holders can obtain ONYX 11.1 now by contacting sales@onyxgfx.com and requesting a key update.
HP made great advances with the latest generation of HP Latex Printers, the 300 Series. One of those improvements is the process for creating ICC profiles.
With the HP Latex 360 Printer, profiles are created directly on the printer through the front panel in three easy steps.
If you are depending on third-party profiles created by media manufacturers, you can also easily install these profiles on your Latex 310, 330 or 360 Printer through the HP Embedded Web Server.
The best part is that profiles for the Latex 300 Series Printers are RIP-agnostic. Once you install the profile on your printer, it can be used in any compatible RIP software.
In the videos embedded below in the order shown, learn how to create a new media profile with the HP Latex 360 Printer and learn how to install a third-party profile for any Latex 300 Series Printer.
Creative Interior Imagery, based in West Pittson, Pa., merged interior décor and design with digital printing for a medical center that wanted something less conventional and more inviting for its patients.
Eric Marsico, a partner at Creative Interior Imagery with Keith Tomkins, recommended hundreds of feet of wall and window murals to carry the common “tree” theme recommended by the medical center’s architect throughout much of the facility.
“They were hesitant at first because they had used wall murals on other projects that didn’t hold up. We pitched LexJet Velvet WallPro SUV with ClearShield Wall Armor and found that the stuff is tough when partnered together. We beat it up in the shop to test it beforehand and it held up really well,” says Tomkins.
For the windowed nurses’ station Tomkins chose LexJet Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30). The trick was to ensure a perfect match from walls to windows. Not only that, but Tomkins took great pains to match the interior paint as well.
“They painted their building with a specific paint color, so we went to the paint manufacturer’s website, pulled those paint numbers, and plugged them in to make sure we matched their paint. We got the RGB formulations, converted them to CMYK and incorporated those colors into the graphic. They were impressed with how closely our prints matched their paint colors. You can’t tell where the wallpaper ends and the paint starts,” says Tomkins.
Tomkins adds that to ensure a seamless transition along the walls through the windows and back onto the walls from panel to panel he took pictures of the empty spaces and manually lined everything up instead of using the tiling function in the RIP software.
In addition to the vector tree art that adorns the walls and windows, Creative Interior Imagery installed a gigantic photo of a tree Tomkins found and captured in a local park. Tomkins photographed the tree with his GigaPan camera so that fine details would be apparent in the final print, also on LexJet Velvet WallPro and protected with Wall Armor.
“They wanted the tree to go up the wall and across the ceiling so you felt like you were sitting underneath it. I took the shot going up the trunk and through the canopy. By the time it was done it was a 1.2-gigapixel image. It’s 11 feet off the ground, goes up 19 feet and across the ceiling 14 or 15 feet and is about 10-12 feet wide. The resolution is amazing. If you get right up to it you can see the texture in the bark; it’s just like you’re standing in front of the tree,” says Tomkins.
Tomkins adds that this is the company’s largest project to date and that the combination of the right materials and a precise color management system made it a successful project sure to bring similar projects through the doors in the future.
“We spend a lot of time working with profiling software. We have an i1 and custom-profile all of our media. There are manufacturing tolerances in everything – printer, ink and media – and when we do it in-house we can get it spot on, like we did with the paint colors, which shows how the profiling helps. That’s one of the things that sets us apart, and when you get into a major project like using different materials and matching décor and paint color management is a big issue,” explains Tomkins. “And, at nighttime when the inside is lit, you can see it from the highway and it looks fantastic.”
The project was printed on Creative Interior Imagery’s Epson SureColor S30670 low-solvent printer. To illustrate the tight color tolerances Creative Interior Imagery’s color management system can produce, Tomkins recently created a gigapan wall mural of New York City using 12 different inkjet media on four different printers (the S30670, and the Epson Stylus Pro 11880, 7900 and 4880).
“With this 2 1/2′ x 6′ mural in our showroom we can show people how their print will look on the different media and show off our color matching skills, because that’s difficult to do,” says Tomkins. “The architectural firm did a walk-through of the medical center with interior designers after we installed the murals, and person who was leading the group remarked that no one else could match the quality of the materials and workmanship, so we were feeling pretty smug about that.”
ONYX recently announced some good news for users of ONYX version 6.x (including ProductionHouse 6.0 and 6.5 and PosterShop 6.0 and 6.5), as well as updates to ONYX 11, new printer drivers available and some handy new videos.
Version 6.x users now qualify for legacy pricing from now until Aug. 31 for its Advantage Service Agreements. So, if you’re a Version 6.x user you can now get the same price, and all the support that comes with an Advantage Service Agreement, as Version 7.x and up users. Contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538 before this summer promotion ends.
ONYX released an update to ONYX 11 with significant RIP updates. The update is free and will ensure your software is running at its fullest potential. Go to the ONYX Product Updates page to update.
ONYX also added new printer drivers, which have been added to the Printer & Profile Download Manager, and include: EFI R3225, Fei Yeung Jumbojet FY-3286, Fei Yeung Ultimaker FY-1325A, HP Latex 310, HP Latex 330, HP Latex 360, Jeti Titan HS, Jeti Titan S, Mutoh ValueJet 1604 AG and Oce ColorWave 900.
With the introduction of HP’s next-generation latex printers, ONYX has produced three new how-to videos about using ONYX with the HP Latex 360 Printer: