TwitterTag:

Posted on by Shellie Terry Posted in Marketing & Sales
Leave a comment

Get Social with LexJet!

Are you on social media? We are, too! We share the latest industry news and inspiring customer creations on a variety of social media outlets, like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. We also jump in on group conversations on LinkedIn and join weekly chats on Twitter. There’s a lot going on in the world of wide-format media, and we love being part of the conversation.

If you’re on any of these social channels, we hope you’ll follow us, too! Click on any of the icons below to go to our pages:

youtube icon twitter icon insta icon linkedin icon facebook icon Pinterest-icon

We’re always looking for new customer stories to tell, like this one from Red River Photo Services and new tips and tricks we can offer you. If you have a story to share or a question for our experts, please email shellie.benson@lexjet.com.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles, Marketing & Sales
Leave a comment

Promotions that Work: Free Fabric Wall Clings

Printing mobile photo apps for wall decorFree isn’t always truly free, but the free giveaway concocted by Color Services Photo Lab in Santa Barbara really was free and drove additional business to its doors. Marketed through email, the company’s blog and social media like Facebook and Twitter, with a twist of Hipstamatic, the photo lab’s promotion for free Fabric Wall Clings was over Memorial Day weekend only.

Fabric Wall Clings are prints on Photo Tex Repositionable Fabric from LexJet. Those who took advantage of the promotion were directed to the Wall Art section on Color Services’ website where they plugged in a coupon code and uploaded a photo to receive either an 11×11 or an 11×14 print.

Here’s where the iPhone app Hipstamatic comes into play; Color Services included 11×11 prints since that size works with the Hipstamatic format. Plus, Color Services is the official print lab for the Hipstamatic app, so the lab has custom-tailored products that work well with square images.

“Since the promotion we’ve had a number of orders for the Fabric Wall Clings and we just got a sizeable order for one today, including a 12″ x 4′ panoramic photo. We had 118 people take advantage of the promotion and about 45 to 50 of those were shipped internationally,” says Glen Hodges, owner of Color Services. “It was well worth it; we probably spent less than $500 to do it. It’s hard to figure out a way to market the material so that people can really understand what it can do. Getting samples in their hands through a free promotion did that, and brought them back to place a real order.”

Color Services prints the images with its Epson Stylus Pro 9900 on Photo Tex and then puts two coats of water-based lacquer to provide extra protection and give the images more pop. Hodges reports that through a combination of the promotion and simply showing it to clients – including commercial and interior décor clientele – the product is taking off following its launch in mid-May.

Pictured here is Color Services’ IncrediBooth Fabric Wall Cling product, which is printed at 5.5″ x 30″. IncrediBooth is a mobile app that recreates the photo booths of yore. Color Services has made a savvy play to weave the proliferating photo apps into its business, giving the company greater reach with creative products.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in News & Trends, Promotions & Rebates, Technology & Products
Leave a comment

Imaging USA Recap: Mobile Photo Proofing through PadProof App

Mobile app for the iPad for photographyLast week, LexJet’s crew of Michael Clementi, Ryan King and Alex Ried returned from Imaging USA with information about some notable new products now available in the photography market. In a previous post we highlighted the unique backlit and LED-lit products offered by Redipix.

Now for something completely different (but related)… PadProof introduced a new mobile device proofing app in the photography market. PadProof, as the name implies, is targeting iPads for this app, though other mobile devices like smart phones are in the works.

iPad app for photographers
Timothy Beckford, CEO and co-founder (foreground) and Timothy Lombardo, strategic advisor, at Imaging USA in New Orleans showcasing their new iPad proofing app for pro photographers. Photo by Chet Bell, PadProof user and FOPP.

“PadProof complements your Web-based proofing by enabling you to provide a premium proofing experience to your clients on their mobile devices. In a post-PC world you want to make sure that your business is catering to your clients’ needs on the mobile and the social Web,” says PadProof CEO and co-founder Timothy Beckford. “PadProof creates increased exposure for your business using Facebook and Twitter.  PadProof also helps generate more revenue through increased print sales. It’s never been easier for your clients to promote your brand or purchase prints and canvases from you. All of your PadProof events are tracked in real time and controlled by the photographer at PadProof.com. Products ordered by your clients are fulfilled automatically either directly to you to print yourself or the lab of your choice, and we direct deposit profits straight to your bank account.”

Photographers can sign up to receive an invitation to participate at www.PadProof.com/Pro/. Use the invite code Lexjet to take advantage of one of the 20 invitations reserved through this promo code.

Once the invitation is accepted, photographers can sign up and get the word out to their clients that the app is available and ready for them to use. So, instead of sending the client a URL, you send them the app and an event name or event ID so they can access their photos on their iPad through the PadProof app.

“At the moment it’s invitation-only and only available for the iPad because we want to make sure that during our initial growth phase we can provide the customer experience we want them to have, so we’re limiting the number of initial users based on that. We’ll scale our infrastructure up as we grow,” adds Aaron Drenberg of PadProof.

PadProof offers monthly fee-based plans, a one-time purchase option and a free starter plan that currently has a wait list. Credit card processing, customer service and automatic product fulfillment to the lab of your choice is included in every plan. The app is free for end-use clients to download. Go to www.padproof.com/pro/pricing/ for more pricing information.

PadProof has extended its Imaging USA specials until midnight ET, Friday, Jan. 27. Specials are reflected on the pricing page. For more information about the PadProof app and to sign up for an invitation, go to www.PadProof.com/Pro/.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in News & Trends
Leave a comment

Get More POP for Your P.O.P. with LexJet at the Shopper Marketing Expo

Retail graphics and point of purchase trade showThe Shopper Marketing Expo at Chicago’s Navy Pier, Oct. 18-20, is more than a point of purchase exhibition; it’s all about the entire “path to purchase.” As an integral part of the path to purchase, LexJet will be on hand in Booth 720, showcasing the latest creative point of purchase and shopper marketing ideas.

Stay tuned here at the LexJet Blog before and during the show for LexJet show specials and reports on what’s going on in retail graphics and marketing. Also, check LexJet’s Twitter feed during the show, Oct. 18-20, for up-to-the minute news and points of interest.

LexJet provides retail graphics solutions for in-house corporate print shops and point-of-purchase providers looking for versatile, flexible and unique ways to produce eye-catching, effective promotional and branding programs.

To register for the show, click here, and if you have any questions, you’re looking for specific information from the show or you’d like to meet us there, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in News & Trends
Leave a comment

Weekly Update: Upcoming Shows for Graphics Providers and Photographers

Over the next few months there will be a trade show for just about any type of imaging work you do, whether you make signs, print or specify large format graphics, screen print, engrave or specialize in photography and photographic output. Moreover, all of the trade shows listed below offer continuing education and seminars on how to use your skills and capabilities to expand into other markets…

WPPI, Feb. 17-24, Las Vegas: Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) will host its annual trade show and conference at the MGM Grand Hotel this year with more than 300 exhibitors and 75 speakers covering the full gamut of photography from capture to print and beyond. LexJet will live blog from the event with the latest news and items of interest from the show. Also, look for regular updates and show specials from LexJet reps Justin Craft and Michael Clementi at twitter.com/LexJet. Stay tuned here at blog.lexjet.com for more details on our Where’s Waldo (Craft/Clementi) and the special prizes and promotions available if you find them on the floor during the show as we get closer to WPPI.Special events graphics trade shows

FESPA Americas, Feb. 24-26, Orlando: FESPA, well known in Europe for its giant graphics trade shows, will come to America for the first time this year. Events at FESPA Americas include: Global Business Forum, Wide Format Print Shop Live!, Screen Masters Workshop, Digital Textile Conference, Wrap Cup Masters, Digital Debate at the Innovation Theater and more. Register online and you’ll get a free pass to the show.

The NBM Show, March 24-26, Austin, Texas: The NBM Show is an excellent venue to learn more about your graphics specialty and sample related markets, like screen printing and apparel decoration, engraving and vehicle graphics. The expanded education conference with more than 60 seminars begins Wednesday, March 23. The Austin show is the first NBM Show of the year, which will also travel to Indianapolis (June 9-11), Long Beach (Aug. 11-13) and Baltimore (Sept. 8-10).

ISA International Sign Exposition, April 28-30, Las Vegas: This annual giant expo produced by the International Sign Association may be a harbinger of the beginnings of an economic recovery as ISA reports that the number of exhibitors and pre-registered attendees is up sharply this year. The expo will feature 75 courses in business management, technical requirements and industry trends, as well as a number of special events, such as The American Wrap Star Contest (a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy will be given away in a sweepstakes drawing), a New Product Showcase and a Green Product Showcase.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in News & Trends
Leave a comment

Wide Format Inkjet Printing Business Intelligence at LexJet’s Updated Blog

As part of its recently re-vamped website at www.lexjet.com, and based on comments and suggestions from its customers, LexJet has updated and restructured its wide format inkjet printing industry forum and online educational resource at blog.lexjet.com.

The primary purpose of LexJet’s blog is to keep its customers and those involved in wide format inkjet printing updated about the latest industry news, tips and tricks and innovative projects and people, as well as best practices for sales, marketing and technology. LexJet’s Chief Information Officer, Pete Petersen, explains:

“Working in collaboration with Web developer atLarge Inc., we incorporated customer feedback and blogging best practices into the updated blog. We noticed, for instance, that it was difficult to leave a comment and interact with our authors and experts on the old blog, so we made the comments section for each post more visible and easier to use. The layout of the entire blog is much more consistent now so that you can navigate to another post and find the subject categories, comments and the most recent and most popular posts quickly.”

Previously, the subject categories were based on the market segments that utilize wide format inkjet printing, such as Photography, In-House Printing and Print for Pay. The new categories are more intuitive for the reader and are based on what they do as opposed to who they are.

The new categories are:

Inkjet Technology and New Products: Updates on the latest products and innovations for inkjet printing, including hardware, software, inkjet media and laminates and workflow tools.

Marketing and Sales: Marketing and customer service tips, plus upcoming seminars, conferences and webinars designed to build sales and maximize profitability.

Case Studies and Profiles: Find out who’s doing what and how they did it with wide format inkjet printing.

News and Trends: Trends, technology and news of interest from the wide format inkjet printing industry and beyond.

Tips and Tricks: Posts that detail how to make the inkjet printing workflow as efficient, productive and profitable as possible.

Twitter and Facebook integration has also been added so that readers can easily share stories and links with their colleagues and customers through those social media sites. And, users can follow the blog via RSS feeds or subscribe to email alerts when something’s been posted to the blog.

Petersen plans to post a series of articles on developing a blog and how the architecture behind it, such as plug-ins, maximizes search engine optimization and enhances the reader’s experience. “We’ll focus on how print shops can better market themselves and connect with customers and potential customers through the Web,” adds Petersen.

If you’re interested in being featured at blog.lexjet.com or have any suggestions, tips or tricks you would like to share, contact Regan Dickinson at regan.dickinson@lexjet.com or 941-906-3378.