Wednesday Only: 25% Off LexJet Production Display Film SUV

Find out why so many LexJet customers are raving about Production Display Film SUV with this one-day 25% off* sale!

Compatible with eco-solvent, latex, solvent and UV-curable inks, this film, launched in January 2016, has quickly become a customer favorite for its lay-flat, dimensionally stable qualities that are ideal for a wide variety of applications, from banner stands to trade show displays.

Product highlights:

  • One-step production process with no lamination required
  • Smooth, semi-matte surface for excellent image quality
  • Fast dry times for high-production output
  • Ideal for trade show graphics, banner stands, hanging signage and POP displays
  • Compatible with eco-solvent, latex, solvent and UV-curable printers

To order, call your LexJet representative at 800-453-9538 today, Aug. 24, 2016, before 8 p.m. EST or shop at LexJet.com. Next offer date: Sept. 12.

*Exclusions may apply; no minimum order

Learn more about the versatility of LexJet Production Display Film SUV in this video:

Q & A: What Goes Into an Award-Winning Trade Show Booth?

Every trade show display is unique in its design, construction, size and technology, but what makes a great booth stand out above all of the others? Each year, Exhibitor Magazine hosts the Portable Modular Awards honoring the best of the best portable and modular exhibits, celebrating their excellent structure and design.

The displays are chosen based on their outstanding performance in a range of categories such as Best Use of Technology and the Best Use of Graphics, as seen above in this 2014 Sun Chemical Corp. booth built by E4 Design.

How the Pros Prep for Trade Shows

Chances are, you’ve been to many trade shows. As a printer, installer or spectator, you know that trade show displays can range from the very simple to the extremely elaborate. The key to pulling off a trade show display without a hitch is good communication with customers upfront.

For help, we turned to two industry pros, Kaine Guidry, a former OEI employee and current print technician in LexJet’s Experience Center, and Bernie Raymond, production manager at Morley, which designs, engineers, fabricates and installs trade show exhibits.

Creating a Lasting Impression

053

If there’s one thing that Dearborn, Mich.-based Carhartt prides itself on, it’s making products that “outwork them all.” So it was only natural that the 125-year-old company would collaborate with the trade-show exhibit pros at Morley to make a truly lasting impression.

Saginaw, Mich.-based Morley designed and built a trade-show display that combined the look of an 1890s mercantile with a contemporary 21st century feel in an open and inviting floor plan that provided a private and practical environment for sales reps to conduct business in the booth. It also allowed Carhartt to showcase its seasonal messaging and rugged jeans, jackets and work apparel.

“We’ve used the display for them for several years,” says Bernie Raymond, production manager at Morley, which designs, engineers, fabricates and installs client exhibits. “We do different themes for them with different photography every year.”

The 2015 design has a turn-of-the-century flair with a brick wall facade and rich red, gold and burgundy tones. The upper level houses an actual working conference room that has a wall of frosted acrylic windows. In years past, the windows were decorated with vinyl logo art, Raymond says. To complete this year’s theme, the windows were covered in two-tone images of industrial production scenes.

“We wanted to do something different with it, but we didn’t want the room to be closed off completely with a fully opaque graphic, which would make it feel smaller that it already is,” Raymond says.

He had been experimenting with LexJet’s Simple Low-Tack Clear Vinyl, which is backed with a removable adhesive. “The results, especially when used on a frosted acrylic, were very promising,” he says. Once the images were printed on the HP latex printer, he was able to laminate it immediately. “We put the LexJet Elite Matte UV Vinyl Laminate over top of the vinyl to protect it and give it a little more substance when we mounted it.”

046The images were “perfectly clear,” he says, and could be viewed from either side of the window while still allowing some light to come through. “They loved it,” Raymond says. “It was exactly the kind of effect they were looking for.”

Raymond says he added latex printing to his operation two years ago to take advantage of the durability of latex prints, lack of drying time and a more extensive portfolio of materials he’s able to use that weren’t available for the aqueous printer. The addition has allowed him to be more agile with customers, as well.

“You never know what the client’s imagination is going to come up with, so we have to be prepared for any situation that they can think of,” he says. “My advice is: Have fun and experiment and see what you can come up with. There are all kinds of ways to use these products that can yield some amazing results.”

A Professional Showroom that Sells at Spectra Imaging

Spectra Imaging Showroom

When opportunity knocks Spectra Imaging’s owner, Brian Rogers, answers. Rogers has had his eye on a space adjacent to Spectra Imaging’s offices and production facility for the past couple of years and when it became available he jumped on it.

It's a natural progression from Spectra Imaging's new showroom into the conference room.
It’s a natural progression from Spectra Imaging’s new showroom into the conference room.

“The area is perfect for a showroom because it naturally leads into our conference room. Our sales staff can take clients through the showroom first and then go into the conference room for a meeting,” says Rogers. “People are so visual and if you have the products set up then they sell themselves a lot easier than simply showing them photographs of your work.”

The makeover was simple: they took the doors off the hinges, replaced the carpet and painted the walls to match the rest of Spectra Imaging’s interior. The overall effect is professional, which is exactly how Spectra Imaging prefers to position itself, and happens to be how it operates as well.

Spectra Imaging's lobby is tastefully decorated, providing a professional atmosphere in which to conduct business.
Spectra Imaging’s lobby is tastefully decorated, providing a professional atmosphere in which to conduct business.

Spectra Imaging is tastefully decorated, as you can see in the photos, while it promotes its work through well-conceived pieces, from the displays in the showroom to the inkjet-printed images in the conference room, as well as framed pieces touting the company’s recognition from both inside and outside the industry.

Rogers reports that the showroom has more than its duty and exceeded expectations as far as generating interest, and ultimately, sales. The key is to set it up so that it makes sense. In other words, there’s a natural progression from one display to the next so that potential clients see options from good to best to meet their needs from both a budgetary and messaging standpoint.

Of course you can’t show everything, particularly those larger projects that would take up the entire space if they were replicated in the showroom. However, and perhaps most importantly, it shows the variety of inkjet materials and finishes on which their graphics can be printed.

AW Artworks Puts the Finishing Touch on its Restored and Revitalized Print Studio

Renovating and restoring an inkjet print studio

Last time we checked in with AW Artworks, owner Andy Wredberg was in the midst of a big restoration job on the print shop’s new facility, housed in an old bank building originally constructed in 1899. The point of AW Artworks’ move and subsequent months of painstaking restoration was to put AW Artworks front and center in Sun Prairie, Wis.

This weekend, AW Artworks officially opened for walk-in business at the new location. Previously, says Wredberg, the sign on the door said, “By Appointment Only,” and the door was locked while the crew restored the building and produced prints for its clients behind those closed doors.

Printing a banner for a studio opening
AW Artworks printed this banner on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Polypropylene to let passersby know they're open for walk-in business and to be very clear about everything the studio can do for them.

Wredberg decided to go ahead and do a “soft” opening in conjunction with a block party this past weekend. Now that AW Artworks is open, the next step is a grand opening with a reception, give-aways and prizes to really get the community involved and bring more attention to the shop.

“Before, when we had just a few canvas prints in the window, people who passed by thought we were a photo studio. Now people know what we’re all about since the banner and the A-frame sign out front tells them exactly what we do: Turn your photos into canvas, graphic design, banners, custom home décor, trade show displays and so forth,” explains Wredberg.

The banner (pictured here) was printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Polypropylene, a material Wredberg describes as striking the perfect balance of quality and economy for that application. “We love it as an inexpensive but very sharp-looking banner,” says Wredberg.

Finding that balance is exactly how Wredberg approached the renovation of the building for the print studio. The sweet spot Wredberg was after could be described in one word: Approachable. The studio’s overall look should appeal to those looking for top-notch reproductions and those who need commercial work done quickly.

“My thinking behind this place is to bridge the gap between a ritzy, high-end art gallery and Kinko’s. I want it to be approachable, but I don’t want it to look like a cheap, fast place since we’re focusing on high-quality materials and prints. We’ll offer banners, signs and trade show displays, but at the same time, if you’re an artist or photographer we’re second to none for quality,” explains Wredberg.

Renovating a large format inkjet printing studioJudging by the photos from the newly-renovated studio, and the feedback from the first walk-in potential customers, AW Artworks succeeded in its mission. Wredberg also decided to make his two Canon 44-inch printers (an iPF8300 and an iPF8100) a focal point of the main studio area.

“We intentionally put the printers in the front room so you can see them in action. Whenever someone sees a massive print coming off these printers they stop and gawk. That’s part of us bridging the gap between those two worlds,” says Wredberg.

Another finishing touch – beyond the detailed restoration of the building’s original marble and wood floors and ceiling accents – includes Victorian-style picture rails and a plethora of canvas prints that hang from them.

“It looks sharp and is very functional for wall displays. It’s a snap to put the picture rails up, hang them level and space them evenly,” says Wredberg. “Pretty much everything in here is printed on Sunset Select Matte Canvas, plus we just tried some of the Sunset Reserve Matte Canvas and loved the texture of that for art prints; I like the tooth it has on it. We’ll do some mounted prints on Sunset Photo eSatin and we still have a few finishing touches on the studio to complete for the grand opening.”