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Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles, Technology & Products
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Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff: A Small-Format Laminating Time-Saver

Laminating small stuff, like menu boards and table tents, can be a real pain. Just ask Chuck Black, print shop manager for the Coors Distribution Center (CDC) in Denver.

I recently caught up with Black while he was laminating a run of about 1,500 11×17 signs for CDC accounts. The signs, printed on an OKI laser printer, are troubleshooting procedures for each account to follow regarding kegs and whatnot, and what to do if there are problems before calling in for service.

It’s not the most exciting project to come through the print shop, but it has to be done and they all have to be laminated. Fortunately, what would have previously taken a full day or two to run through the CDC’s larger laminator now takes relatively no time at all.

Earlier this year the CDC purchased a small-format GBC laminator, the HeatSeal Sprint 950, which eliminates the hassle of trimming out each piece individually: you feed the printed sheets (usually up to 30, depending on the thickness of the media) and, voila, a laminated piece with a nice 1/8″ border encapsulating each one.

“We got the laminator to save time trimming everything down. All the small-format media we laminated was going through our 38” laminator, and especially when we were doing hundreds of sheets at a time it would just take forever,” says Black. “Since we got the laminator we’ve easily saved 40 to 50 hours of labor time. You just load your paper and you can pretty much walk away from it.”

Black estimates that about 10 percent of the work that goes through the OKI is laminated. Though it’s a relatively small percentage of the small-format printing, it really adds up and was a real time-killer before the acquisition of the laminator.

Black normally uses the 3 mil laminate designed for the GBC laminator, which comes in various roll sizes and is 11″ wide. He switches to the 5 mil version for signs that need a little more substance to them, either for a higher-end look or so they can stand on their own in a tabletop holder.

“You can set the laminator to 11 inches wide and however long you want each piece to be laminated; we usually set it at 11×17. But if you had a roll of 11-inch paper you could laminate a length up to 200 feet,” explains Black. “We’ve printed two per sheet so afterwards I can use my industrial cutter, line everything up and do two or three chops at once and go through the entire stack.”

For more information about GBC laminates and laminators available at LexJet, contact a customer service specialist at 800-453-9538. To find out more about the laminator and how it works, check out the video embedded below…

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Gaining Market Share with Quantity and Quality at Carolina Premium Beverage

Large format inkjet printers for point of saleYou would be hard-pressed to find someone who loves their job more than Sandy Woods, who runs the sign shop – make that “art department” – at Carolina Premium Beverage in Concord, N.C., which is near Charlotte.

“I prefer to call it the art department because I have a degree in art  and we really focus on design as opposed to just mass producing signs,” explains Woods. “I love what I do. I have been here at Carolina Premium Beverage for five years, and have been in design my entire career. I know in my heart that I will retire here. This is home to me; I love this company.”

Using typography for point of sale designThat attitude alone is worth its weight in ink, a.k.a. liquid gold, and the art department has been instrumental in making Carolina Premium Beverage’s brands, chief among them MillerCoors, tops in the distributor’s market, which includes Charlotte and about six surrounding counties.

As you can see by the samples pictured here, design takes precedence over everything else. It is that foundation which secures valuable, premium space for Carolina’s Premium Beverage’s point-of-sale graphics.

The second piece that builds on that foundation, and which ensures the quality and timeliness of the finished prints, is the right equipment and the personal support to go along with it. “I would never want to do my job without LexJet and Kelly [Price, Woods’ customer specialist],” says Woods. “Kelly is a life saver. Most of the time, I order materials a week out, but they’re usually here the next day. When there are occasions when I need to order something right away, she’s right on top of it; she’s awesome to work with. I have two Canon iPF8000S printers that I got from LexJet as well and I love them. They’re super fast and you can’t beat the quality. Those are my babies; I can’t live without them.”

Cooler wraps at the point of saleThe “Siamese Twins,” as Woods calls them, help ensure fast turnaround times for Carolina Premium Beverage’s accounts, which is another way in which the distributor beats its competitors to the punch at the point of sale. Woods, who runs the art department by herself, also has an OKI laser printer for cooler tags, table tents and other small format point of sale.

“Our goal was to surpass the main competitor in our market, and we’ve largely succeeded. Part of that success is the fact that we can get our point of sale out the door much quicker,” says Woods. Ultimately, it is possible, and necessary, to provide quantity and quality point of sale graphics in order to build market share.

She estimates that the art department produces about 3,600 banners and posters a year, not counting special events and venues, like the Carolina Panthers’ football stadium and the Bobcats’ basketball arena.

Point of sale design and printingWoods says her “go-to” print material is LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Polypropylene, which she uses for both indoor and outdoor point-of-sale projects. She also uses LexJet 11 Mil Valeron Banner for outdoor projects that need extra durability, and Photo Tex adhesive fabric for cooler wraps and special events, such as a recent Sugarland concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Charlotte.

Special event and promotional bannersCarolina Premium Beverage was created in 2010 through the merger of three companies: Rudisill Enterprises of Gastonia, N.C., Cunningham Wholesale Company of Charlotte, and the Charlotte-based division of Caffey Distributing.

Each company has a long history in the beer distribution business. The owners of each company believed that by merging their businesses into one they could bring the best portfolio of beers to consumers in the Charlotte market area, says Woods. “It is our goal to be the leading beer supplier to retail customers serving consumers in the Charlotte area,” she adds.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Window Perf-ection: Hitting the Right Note with Window Graphics

Printing promotional window graphics for a bar

If you’ve got windows, use ‘em. At least that’s Billy Owen’s attitude, and it helps that Grellner Sales & Service’s accounts like what Owen creates on their windows. “Window perf is real popular with our accounts and they come to us because we do a better job for them,” says Owen.

Using perforated window vinyl for promotional graphicsOwen, who is Grellner’s graphic designer, designed this tour de force, musically-themed window graphics project for The Neptune in Warrensburg, Mo., just east of Kansas City and west of Grellner HQ in Sedlia, Mo.

If you haven’t guessed already, The Neptune is a live music bar on Warrensburg’s Pine Street. Owen perfectly captured the atmosphere with an inviting combination of guitars, amps and stage. The branding is subtle yet clear enough to put those brands in the minds of patrons as they walk in.

The biggest challenge, from a design and application standpoint, was the large, multi-paned area to the side of the main entrance. Owen says he took a picture of the space and measured it from pane to pane, as well as each divider between the panes.

Owen then set up a template into which he poured the design so that he knew exactly where the breaks came in the panes according to his measurements. Once printed on a Canon iPF8000S, everything fit perfectly, says Owen. “I love this printer, and the material is awesome as well,” says Owen.

Owens used LexJet Aqueous Perforated Vinyl (70/30) for the project, as well as a previous project highlighted here at the LexJet Blog for Fisher & Browns Speakeasy completed earlier this year.

“They haven’t asked for any replacement pieces at the other window perf project so I assume it’s holding up well,” says Owen.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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The Keys to Product Placement at the Point of Sale

Printing cooler wraps for liquor stores

As everyone in the beverage distribution market knows, point of sale sign placement is a crucial component of sales. Though it can’t always be quantified there’s no doubt that a restaurant, bar or c-store account that’s happy with their signage is more than happy to place more orders and try different brands offered by the distributor.

Printing cooler wraps for a convenience store
Cooler wrap printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene by Brent Lee and David Raszka, Atlas Distributing, for Renaissance Wine & Spirits, Worcester, Mass.

An excellent case in point of this maxim in operation is Atlas Distributing Inc., and its print shop headed by graphic design manager Brent Lee. Lee says the two most important keys to ensuring high-visibility point of sale placement for Atlas Distributing’s brands – primarily MillerCoors, Samuel Adams, Corona and Heineken – is quick turnaround and colorful, photo-quality graphics.

“Turnaround time is easily the number one factor for us. One of our competitors here promises a turnaround time of two weeks for all their signs. We have a turnaround time of two to three days, so that’s our number one selling point,” explains Lee. “As far as winning signage space at the point of sale, we always use the most current graphics supplied by the brand. Our competitor’s graphics are very simple – logo and price; they won’t use any background graphics, so we have a leg up there as well. Also, we provide the account with a digital proof if is it’s a larger sign before we print and install it.”

In order to fulfill their two- to three-day turnaround promise, Lee says they rely on LexJet’s shipping and logistics infrastructure to get materials into the shop exactly when they’re needed.

“I’ve been using LexJet since I’ve been here, which is almost four years now. LexJet is the leader in this industry. I’ve used a lot of different suppliers and LexJet is the best and shipping is number one; it’s absolutely killer how quickly my orders get placed. If I send Chris [Piersoll, Atlas Distributing’s customer specialist] an email in the morning it’s out before I know it.”

Moreover, the recent addition of a Canon iPF8000S to supplement the shop’s older HP 5500 has also helped speed up the pace. “The Canon printer is incredibly fast. It saves us a lot of time and allows a very quick turnaround, and our clients love that. Plus, when we first got the Canon our sales guys and accounts noticed the quality immediately,” says Lee.

Since the HP 5500 is 60″ wide and the Canon is 42″ wide, larger work is printed on the HP, which allows flexibility and greater efficiency in the print shop workflow. The print shop uses LexJet UV Ink Replacement Cartridges for HP 5000/5500 and Lee says the switch was seamless.

“The LexJet Ink is awesome. We’ve had no problems with it, there’s no difference in color, it’s just as good as the original ink, it was easy to switch, and when you see the savings it’s a no-brainer,” says Lee.

Lee uses Adobe Photoshop CS4 for design and the FlexiSIGN RIP to queue up and send designs to the printers, which also include two OKI laser printers for table tents, case cards, menus and other smaller signage. The print shop’s product purchases and workflow enhancements are driven by those two keys to successful product placement in the field – speed and quality – and it’s working.

Printing point of sale signage for a bar“A few months ago I made a sign for an account and put the wrong brand on it, and instead of returning the sign they actually took the product because they liked the sign,” relates Lee. “We have another account that wanted to make their entire store a Samuel Adams brewery so we made 10 to 12 signs that were just brewery images. That was a very custom job and the account was very happy with it.”

Nor is Lee afraid to experiment with different materials to get that edge in the market. He’s tried any number of banner materials, setting on LexJet Poly Select Heavy fabric reinforced with LexJet Heavy Duty Banner Tape on the edges as his favorite, as well as LexJet Aqueous Perforated Vinyl (70/30) for one-way window graphics.

“We use the Heavy Duty Banner tape to help with fraying on outdoor banners, and that’s been working well. The Poly Select Heavy fabric with the banner tape on the ends is very strong and durable. In New England we’ve had some strong winds, but the banners stay up and the quality is still awesome,” says Lee.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Leveraging Point of Sale Signage and Product Placement with Design

Printing signs for point of sale

It’s no secret that craft beers are the fastest growing segment of the beer market, and due to their growing importance to liquor store owners and other purveyors of fine brews, craft brews require a different sales technique at the point of sale.

Point of sale signage for craft beersIn the beer market, price points have traditionally been the top sales point in a typical point of sale sign. However, with craft beers the sale is different. Beer distributors that sell craft beers take extra time and effort to educate the customer about the various types of craft beers, even going so far as to take a page out of the wine menu and pair them with complementary foods.

The project show here produced for Raynham Wine & Liquors in Raynham, Mass., by Colonial Wholesale Beverage Corp. – designed, printed and installed by Colonial’s Tennyson Lacasio – is a perfect illustration of the craft beer sales concept writ super-large across 90 feet of cooler space.

The sign has just a taste of branding at either side, with 12 foot long bottles of Colonial’s latest addition to its beer portfolio from Boulevard Brewing Company, Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale and Long Strange Tripel, as bookends to the sign. Other than those two bottles, there’s no branding and no pricing. The rest of the sign marks the store’s Beer Cave, flanked by a quick explanation of craft beer types shown bubbling up in the glasses in which they’re made to be enjoyed.

Though light on branding and absent pricing, Colonial’s Lacasio says this treatment is entirely appropriate, leading consumers to Colonial’s craft beers. It’s also exactly what the store owner wanted, giving Colonial better product positioning in the store while helping cement the relationship. Colonial went head to head with a competing distributor on this project, and pulled ahead for the point of sale victory with Lacasio’s classy, crafty design.

Making beer signs with an inkjet printerThe 90-foot long by 43-inch tall cooler sign was printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polpropylene and applied to Coroplast, which was attached to the wall with an industrial hook-and-loop system, a.k.a., a product that rhymes with Melcro.

Lacasio says he only uses the industrial hook-and-loop system for signs that will be attached to the wall permanently, or for a long time. This method is preferable to screws and washers that mar the overall look of the sign, he says.

Lacasio and one of Colonial’s merchandisers spent the good part of a day applying the graphics to the Coroplast, working from the middle panel out to ensure an even application across the cooler, making sure to leave some extra material at the end so you don’t come up short after all that work.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Winning the Advertising Turf Battle with Tabletop Graphics

Printing and wrapping tabletops for advertisingSometimes the solution is right in front of you, even on the table where you rest your beer. At least that was the solution that Billy Owen, graphic designer for Grellner Sales & Service in Sedalia, Mo., came up with to cut through the advertising clutter and boost the visibility of the company’s beverage brands at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia.

“It’s difficult to get our name out there because every inch of the fair is covered with ads. You have to be creative about it, so we thought we’d decorate these tabletops at the fair for the various brands we carry, like Boulevard, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Coors Light and Smirnoff,” explains Owen. “We put some more eye-grabbing elements together in Photoshop, printed the images on LexJet Extreme AquaVinyl w/ PSA, applied them, and they turned out pretty awesome.”

Wrapping tabletops to promote a brandOwen chose Extreme AquaVinyl based on the recommendation of his LexJet customer specialist, Kelly Price. He was looking for something durable enough to withstand the abuse of fairgoers without lamination and removable. The material fit the bill perfectly. “Kelly is great,” says Owen. “When I’m looking for the right material for a project, especially unusual applications, Kelly is always there to help.”

The tabletops were printed on the beverage distributor’s new Canon iPF8000S, which has become the workhorse printer for Grellner and its four additional branches. “I print most of the big projects for our branches, especially in the summer with events and concerts, so my workload has increased quite a bit and the printer has kept up with the demand. It’s a great printer; I love it,” says Owen.

Printing and applying graphics to tabletopsOwen says that the idea didn’t come completely out of the blue since one of Grellner’s other branches had printed a successful tabletop project. For the fair, they wrapped about 18 different tabletops and the application to each one was seamless and flawless.

“We have a lot of experience with similar applications, so we were able to apply them quickly and smoothly. We just peeled the liner back, smoothed the vinyl down with a squeegee and wrapped it around the edges,” explains Owen. “Everybody loved the tables, and it’s another way we can try to boost our sales over last year. I just went to check them out last night and they’re holding up very well.”