Printing and Sticking Custom Wedding DVD Photo Covers

Custom DVD Cover by Mark Hawkins Photography

Mark and Kelly Hawkins own and operate a high-end wedding photography studio in Green Bay, Wis., where a personal, customized experience for the bride and groom is job one. To elevate their print products, the couple invested in a Canon iPF8400 wide-format inkjet printer they picked up from LexJet and their personal printer specialist, Rob Finkel.

LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric DVD CoverMark has also struck up a friendship with Andy Wredberg, owner of AW Artworks in Sun Prairie, Wis., whose work shows up regularly here at the LexJet Blog. Andy helped Mark take the printer upgrade plunge, a plunge that Mark says made a big splash.

“We only shoot about 30 weddings per year and we want them to get the highest value possible, so the more customization we can do, the better. The Canon is such an easy printer to use, and the Photoshop plug-in that comes with it also makes it super-simple,” Mark says. “I told Rob yesterday that the bottom line is that when I hit that print button it’s exactly the way it looks on my monitor; the LexJet profiles are dead-on with pretty much every media type. It’s mind-blowing. Time is money, and I don’t want to waste time, ink and material, and with this printer I don’t.”

Mark Hawkins PhotographyAfter a wedding, Mark and Kelly deliver two main print products: a wedding album and a wall collage. Mark says that one of the reasons they got the printer was to deliver bigger and better wall collages to their clients.

“What spurred the purchase of the iPF8400 was to do some higher-end artwork; not just canvas wraps, but art paper and boutique applications for the wedding market. There are a lot of cool uses for a variety of print media in the wedding market. People spend all this money already, so they should have nice custom printed products,” Mark says.

The client also gets a DVD of all the photos from the wedding, but Mark ran into an issue when he ran out of DVD cases. The new Canon printer and LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric came to the rescue, not only giving Mark a workaround on deadline, but a new way to present DVDs to clients.

“We were out of the cases yesterday, so I used some scrap art paper that I cut to size and folded in half, printed a nice image from the wedding on one side and the photo release for the DVD on the other side that gives them permission to do whatever they want with the images. That way you don’t have to use another piece of paper to print a release, so it kills two birds with one stone. Plus, the Print-N-Stick makes it easy to take it off and reapply it if I don’t align it correctly,” Mark says. “I love having a fully customizable product that gives us an opportunity to recycle and re-use materials that would otherwise go to waste.”

Celebrating UW Wrestling with Print-N-Stick Fabric

University of Wisconsin Photo Wall Mural
Photograph used for the photo wall mural, printed on LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric by AW Artworks, by David Stluka Photography.

It’s a request that’s becoming more common: Can you put up graphics and murals that I can easily tear down and replace without damaging the wall? Andy Wredberg, owner of AW Artworks in Sun Prairie, Wis., has just the print material for that request: LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric.

The University of Wisconsin’s wrestling program was looking for replaceable graphics featuring its current wrestling team national tournament qualifiers, and a photo wall mural for its offices.

Pillar Prints by AW Artworks“We applied the images of their national qualifiers to the big concrete pillars that run through the wrestling center. They have summer camps in the center and wanted something the kids would see and aspire to while they’re in there,” explains Wredberg. “The surface of each pillar is rough and has a lot of imperfections, but the Print-N-Stick contoured to the surface variances really well.”

Wredberg printed six poster-sized images (18” x 36”) for the wrestling center pillars. To ensure an even presentation across the wrestling center, Wredberg added Bucky Badger, UW’s mascot, to the mix since there were five national qualifiers represented.

Bucky Badger printed on LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric“With the tight weave and bright white point and the Print-N-Stick Fabric, the blacks are blacker and it has a richness you don’t typically see in a fabric,” says Wredberg.

For the office mural, Wredberg printed three and half 44”-wide panels applied vertically from ceiling to floor. The photo mural commemorates the record-breaking attendance (more than 10,000) at the most recent Big Ten wrestling tournament held at UW’s arena. David Stluka Photography captured the image from the Big Ten tournament used for the photo wall mural print.

“To make sure everything lined up we picked a few of the elements – the signs and banners going across the picture horizontally – to key off of. The whole thing went up quickly and easily; I was pleasantly surprised. From start to finish, including taking all the furniture out, installation and trimming, it took about an hour and a half. I couldn’t be more pleased,” says Wredberg.

LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric
Mission accomplished: The boring Jumbotron image was seamlessly replaced, actually covered up, with a swatch of Print-N-Stick emblazoned with the Wisconsin logo.

As a final touch, Wredberg is changing the image on the Jumbotron in the photo. Actually, he’s not replacing it, but printing a new image to be placed over it on Print-N-Stick Fabric. We’ll add a photo of the updated mural to this post when it’s been applied, so check back to see how it turned out.

“After we applied the mural they asked if we could put something different on the Jumbotron because the current image is kind of boring. So, we measured it, I’ll print the image, trim it to size and cover up that little section. It will be pretty seamless. You would be hard-pressed to do that with other materials and have it look as good as it does with Print-N-Stick,” adds Wredberg.

Art at the Point of Sale with Inkjet Printed Canvas

Blue Moon Beer on Canvas by AW Artworks

Each brand has its own aesthetic. The advertising that surrounds that aesthetic should be consistent and appropriate to the brand. In the case of Blue Moon craft beer, the advertising focuses on the craft element, emphasizing a hand-painted rendering of the Blue Moon logo and artwork.

Inkjet Printed CanvasWhat better medium, then, than gallery-wrapped canvas? Tyler Peters, distributor beer merchant for Tenth and Blake Beer Company, the craft and import division of MillerCoors, found the canvas craftsman he was looking for in Andy Wredberg, owner of AW Artworks in Sun Prairie, Wis.

Peters is based in Madison, and wanted point of sale artwork that not only in tune with the Blue Moon aesthetic, but was also in tune with the downtown Madison vibe.

“We wanted to create something a lot different than a standard neon sign or banner; something that conveys what we should see in the Madison market,” says Peters. “The artwork ties into a food festival we have here in Madison called Isthmus a la Carts. We had an interactive Blue Moon mural at the event that consumers – over 21, of course – could paint and enjoy some Blue Moon beer, too.”

Blue Moon Mural
The Blue Moon canvas wraps printed by AW Artworks on Sunset Production Matte Canvas were based on this mural painted by attendees of the Isthmus a la Carts food festival in Madison, Wis.

It was a version of this mural that was sent to Wredberg to print and build the 2′ x 3′ canvas gallery wraps. Wredberg used LexJet Sunset Production Matte Canvas to produce the prints on his Canon iPF8300 44″ inkjet printer.

“They printed beautifully; I was very happy with the look and color saturation of the Sunset Production canvas,” says Wredberg. “They had a pretty tight budget, so I checked on the Sunset Production canvas since I felt it would allow us to get closer to their budget and since it was a longer production run for us.”

Wredberg tweaked the design he received from agency a bit to ensure it fit in the gallery wrap format and wrapped the canvas around 1 1/2″ stretcher bars. Now the 50 canvas gallery wraps are ready to be distributed to various bars in downtown Madison.

Wredberg will also print 50 more canvas gallery wraps to promote Batch 19, a pre-Prohibition style lager. Check back here for photos of the gallery wraps in their environment.

Complementing Fine Woodworking with Tasteful Banner Graphics

Banner Graphics for the Fine Furnishings Show by AW Artworks

It’s always a balancing act: how to promote someone’s product at a trade show without overshadowing that product. To find that balance, Andy Wredberg, owner of AW Artworks in Sun Prairie, Wis., decided to incorporate banners into a Neevel’s Fine Woodworking back wall display. Wredberg also created the logo, the color scheme for Neevel’s trade show presence, and photographed the oak tree image that’s the primary image on the banners.

Neevel’s Fine Woodworking specializes in what’s called “live-edge” furniture, a method that incorporates the natural edge of wood into the furniture design. Neevel’s built the back wall for its display at the Fine Furnishings Show in Milwaukee using its unique techniques. The panels not only incorporated Neevel’s woodworking methodology, but acted as recessed banner stands.

“I wanted to create banners that would highlight his business clearly but not detract from the furnishings,” says Wredberg. “When you do that, you grab people’s attentions and create a perceived value. People at the show loved it and he helped raise the standards of the show. You can walk in and easily see who is being promoted without a gaudy sign that overshadows his woodworking.”

Wredberg printed the banners on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Polypropylene, an excellent choice for this display as the material lays flat and doesn’t tear.

Home Improvement with a Canvas Gallery Wrap Collage

Canvas Wrap CollageOne of the most important things you can do from a sales and marketing standpoint, particularly in our obviously visual market, is to show potential clients how they can display their images.

You can say “canvas,” for instance, and people generally like the thought of images printed on canvas, but they don’t necessarily know how to translate it to their particular space, whether it’s a home, office or retail space.

That’s why Andy Wredberg at AW Artworks is constantly showcasing new and unique ways of displaying prints at his studio, and most recently at his home. Besides, Wredberg’s wife recently asked him why he was doing all this cool stuff for clients, but nothing for their home.

So, Wredberg did a family portrait photo shoot at Wisconsin’s state capitol in Madison. Wredberg’s also a talented photographer who was able to sneak into some of the photos with a remote shutter release.

Wredberg then took the images and created an approximately 6′ x 6′ canvas gallery wrap collage from the photo shoot printed on LexJet Sunset Select Matte Canvas. It consists of nine pieces: three 8x13s, two 10x20s, a 14×20, a 14×29, and two 20x30s.

“I’ve seen some collages online, but never tried doing one that extensively. People love canvas, but they have a hard time picturing how it would work for them and incorporate it. Seeing a collage on a wall gives them a better vision of something they could do with it,” says Wredberg, who posted the project on his Facebook page.

Simplifying Sales and Sidestepping Sign Restrictions with Perforated Window Film

Sears Auto Center Window Graphics by AW Artworks
Nothing fancy here, but these window graphics, printed on LexJet Aqueous Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30) by AW Artworks, get the word out about all of the services this Sears Auto Center provides.

On-premise signage is arguably the most effective way to get the word out about your business to a mobile audience, especially given the fracturing of media through this, that and the other app and social media.

Many businesses struggle with restrictive sign codes or shopping center guidelines that make it difficult to stand out from the crowd. In the case of a Sears Auto Center in Madison, Wis., the mall in which the center is located doesn’t allow much outside of a main ID sign.

The Auto Center tried various types of banners and even a large Michelin Man blow-up, all of which had to be taken down per the mall’s signage rules. So the Auto Center’s owner turned to Andy Wredberg, owner of AW Artworks, based down the road in Sun Prairie, Wis.

Though this type of project is not in AW Artworks’ wheelhouse, as Wredberg puts it, he wanted to help and try something outside his wheelhouse, which is primarily fine art and photo reproductions.

“They had some mismatched vinyl lettering on their garage doors and wanted something more attractive to draw more attention to the variety of services they offer,” explains Wredberg. “I talked to Rob Finkel at LexJet and he recommended LexJet Aqueous Perforated Vinyl (70/30), so we ordered a sample and tested it on the window. We ordered a roll of it, laid it out, printed it, sprayed it with a clear, water-based poly and installed it today. It went on easily and it looks sharp. They wanted to be able to see out and it provides some shade inside as well.”

Car Window Graphics
With the leftover window perf material from the Sears project, AW Artworks produced these popular stickers for the back windows of cars for Wisconsin-proud people. Andy Wredberg reports that they’ve sold about a dozen of these.

Now this type of project is squarely in AW Artworks’ wheelhouse, and Wredberg plans to use it on the studio’s sidewalk-facing windows to promote this additional product line. Based on similar window promotions AW Artworks has done in the past for banner stands and canvas wraps, AW Artworks should see more of this type of work in the future.

“I was a little concerned at first because we don’t normally do this type of application. I thought installation would be beyond my skill set, but I just pulled the release liner off a couple of inches to get it started, smoothed it down and was really easy. It only took about an hour,” says Wredberg. “It’s very readable from far away. They’re really a full-service auto center and I don’t think a lot of people realize the capabilities they have, so this will help them.”