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Make an Impression with ChromaLuxe Photo Panels
Posted on by Jennifer Corn Posted in News & Trends, Technology & Products
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Make an Impression with ChromaLuxe Photo Panels

Since we started telling photographers and print service providers about ChromaLuxe Photo Panels a few years ago, they have become one of our most popular products. Why? It’s simple: ChromaLuxe images make an impression.

From the bright vivid colors with the gloss to the durability of the EXT products, the dye-sublimation technology helps art, signage, and photographs stand out from the crowd. We are excited to announce that a new finish has been added to the ChromaLuxe family: Textured Aluminum panels.

Textured ChromaLuxe
ChromaLuxe Textured Aluminum

The texture adds a unique look to your images, it also reduces glare and hides fingerprints for graphics in high-traffic areas. As with all ChromaLuxe products, the textured panels are durable and easy to clean.

ChromaLuxe metal prints are lightweight, durable, made with recycled material, and are 100% recyclable.

Be sure to visit our new easy reference guide to see informative videos and the wide variety of available ChromaLuxe panels. If you are interested in learning more about dye-sub technology or about the new textured panels, give us a call at 800-453-9538 today.
Ideas to Help Your Community and Print for a Good Cause
Posted on by Jennifer Corn Posted in Tips & Tricks
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Ideas to Help Your Community and Print for a Good Cause

During this time of social distancing, there are ways that local print shops can help members of the community. Creating graphics, updating and refreshing old graphics, and helping with décor renovations are great ways to help small businesses, as many non-essential companies and organizations are closed.

If you’re looking for inspiration and ways you can help, check out our collection of LexJet brandUP stories:

When Cat Depot moved to its new location in Sarasota, Fla., volunteers taped pictures of cats to the windows and displayed operational hours on regular office paper that had to be replaced often. Because the non-profit organization relies heavily on volunteers and donations, eye-catching graphics were not a priority. That’s when the idea of LexJet’s brandUP was born. A group of LexJet summer interns visited Cat Depot to see what type of graphics were needed and what media would be required. To replace the taped images on the front windows, the interns selected Simple Perforated Window Vinyl 70/30, to help with the interior and exterior doors, they chose LexJet Simple Flo Wrap Vinyl, and to help with some temporary signage, LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric was the perfect solution.

The owners of Average Joe’s Grooming were looking to add some puppy love to their new space and make it more functional. Installing LexJet Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30) on the windows reduced glare to benefit the groomers while passersby were greeted with a welcoming image of a larger-than-life dog. To liven up the interior walls, the team printed smiling dogs and cute cartoons on HP PVC-free Durable Smooth Wall Paper and LexJet Solvent Print-N-Stick Fabric.

Felts Audubon Preserve is perfect for bird and nature enthusiasts. It is tucked away among the neighborhoods of rural Palmetto, Fla. Unfortunately, vandals damaged the signs that were originally designed and donated by a local Boy Scout troop. As a brandUP project, LexJet donated ChromaLuxe EXT metal photo panels with graffiti and fade-resistant properties that stand up to vandalism as well as the tough Florida sunshine. We partnered the ChromaLuxe panels with LexJet InFuze® Rigid Substrate Dye-Sublimation Paper and used the Geo Knight Digital Knight 20×25 Jumbo Swinger for the transfer process.

If you are printing for essential businesses or charities in your community, we’d love to hear your story. Call us at 800-453-9538 and let us know how we can help.

Top 5 Hottest Launches of 2018
Posted on by Shellie Terry Posted in Technology & Products, Tips & Tricks
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Top 5 Hottest Launches of 2018

Looking back on 2018, we’ve seen a lot of much-needed innovation, as well as power-house collaborations. Our top five launches of the year answered customer demand for versatile, cost-effective, application-driven solutions across the board in the wide-format market. If you haven’t tried these new options, what are you waiting for? The year’s almost over!

Fabric transferred using InFuze transfer paper

LexJet InFuze® Dye-Sublimation Papers — Adding to our dye-sub portfolio was a top priority for our customers who were bringing this new technology to their tool kits. We created the fresh InFuze brand, and brought to market four high-end, competitively-priced transfer paper options that our customers couldn’t refuse:

Outdoor signage transferred to ChromaLuxe EXT

ChromaLuxe EXT — Another important product line for our dye-sub customers is the stunning ChromaLuxe metal photo panels, a high-demand item. This year, ChromaLuxe introduced its EXT line, geared toward extended outdoor use — something dye-sub wasn’t able to achieve previously. The EXT innovation won ChromaLuxe an SGIA Product of the Year award, and it’s not hard to see why. Check out this story about how the panels were used as wayfinding signs for Felts Audubon Preserve.

AveryxLexJet — In one of the wide-format industry’s biggest news stories of the year, LexJet partnered with Avery Dennison, adding more than 200 calendared and cast vinyl, film and laminate products to our product line. Now, LexJet customers have access to all the vehicle and fleet wraps, wall films and so much more.

LexJet Flex Tek used for banners

LexJet Flex Tek — One thing so many print shops struggle with is inventory space, that’s why we love all-in-one media products like LexJet Flex Tek 170g for aqueous printers and LexJet Flex Tek SUV 200g, compatible with eco-solvent, latex and UV-curable inks. This non-woven technical fabric is lightweight and easy to use, making it a go-to option for hanging banners, retractable banners and even wrapped canvas.

HP Vinyl + Overlams — What the world needs now is a line of vinyl products that work well and are priced right. That’s what we delivered with the massive launch of the new HP Vinyl line of products.

We brought them big time with our 2018 SGIA Expo booth, where the colors were bright and installation was a breeze. But don’t take it from us — listen to what customers have said:

HP Vinyl for walls
  • “The colors are truer than with my previous material and the gloss is more vibrant.”
  • “We did an install onto a gym wall mat and it went on without a hitch! The rigidity of the material and the strength of the backer lead to a smooth installation.”
  • “My guys love the HP. They grab it for every application they can use it on, and they tell me that the air-release component is the best they’ve ever used.”

Now that you know all the hottest launches of 2018, stay tuned to this blog to discover the trends you need to keep an eye on in the New Year!

ChromaLuxe Panels for Décor: Personalization Is Always in Style
Posted on by Jennifer Corn Posted in Technology & Products
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ChromaLuxe Panels for Décor: Personalization Is Always in Style

As the year starts to wane, décor magazine editors often start compiling chic trends anticipated for the upcoming year. However, for some designers – like Nate Berkus – a trend that is always relevant is individuality and personal style. In an interview with Atlanta Magazine in 2017, Berkus said your space “should remind you of the people you love and have loved, or the places that you’ve been or wish to go.”

What better way to follow Berkus’ advice than helping customers decorate their homes with meaningful art pieces created from images of family members or important places? With ChromaLuxe Aluminum Photo Panels or ChromaLuxe EXT, you can turn family portraits and vacation pictures into personalized art décor.

ChromaLuxe panels utilize dye-sublimation technology, which means the image is sublimated into the panel, so it is protected from indirect sunlight and other environmental factors indoors, while ChromaLuxe EXT panels have additional UV protection when the artwork is displayed in the outdoor elements.

With multiple display options available, ChromaLuxe prints make great housewarming or wedding gifts, are perfect décor for family reunions and provide a little piece of home for students who are looking to brighten up the drab walls of a college dorm room or apartment.

If you are interested in learning more about how to create dye-sub art, or any of the components of the process, including ChromaLuxe Aluminum Panels, Epson F-Series printers or LexJet InFuze paper, visit LexJet.com/dyesub or call 800-453-9538 and speak with one of our specialists today.

Posted on by Jennifer Corn Posted in Case Studies & Profiles, Technology & Products
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LexJet brandUP: A ChromaLuxe EXT Print Project That’s Really for the Birds

Felts Audubon Preserve is a hidden gem, tucked away among sprawling neighborhoods in rural Palmetto, Fla. Whether you’re a novice birder or an avid twitcher, Felts is the perfect place to visit when you want to unplug and see some of the spectacular species of birds and butterflies Mother Nature has to offer.

The Preserve land once belonged to Otis and Anita Felts, who owned and operated a family-run dairy farm. When Otis died in 2002, the family wanted the land to remain natural and free from future development, so the Felts family donated the 27-acre parcel to the Manatee County Audubon Society.

The property is beautiful and serene today, but back in 2002, it was in rough shape, and any improvements were always completed by volunteers. There are still no paid staff members at Felts, and original member Don Bansen remembers the first major project: volunteers cleared more than 300 tires out of the lake. “Everybody was covered in mud, it was a mess,” he says.

While tires in the lake no longer pose a problem, one issue occasionally plagues groundskeeper Fred Allen: vandalism. In the past, volunteers witnessed graffiti and spray paint on signs or broken display cases. Membership Director Lucette Wombacher believes mischief increases a little when school lets out for the summer.

“Everything is made possible by volunteers. They help keep the grounds looking good and Fred is instrumental in keeping the trails neat, so birders can walk through,” says Wombacher. “It’s important to have something that resists damage so we can stay focused on clearing invasive plants and trails rather than cleaning vandalized signs,” she says.

To make it easier for the volunteers at Felts, Heather Reece from LexJet suggested ChromaLuxe EXT metal photo panels with graffiti and fade-resistant properties that stand up to outdoor elements. The panels offer a glossy white finish, which makes them perfect for art and photo reproductions. The 0.045-inch metal panels have been tested to last three years or more outdoors without fading.

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Posted on by Jennifer Corn Posted in Technology & Products
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Create Vivid, Lasting Outdoor Graphics with ChromaLuxe EXT

Last year, LexJet unveiled a full suite of dye-sub products, including printers, transfer papers, heat presses and ChromaLuxe aluminum photo panels. In order to be keep up with the increasing popularity of dye-sub technology, we recently added an exterior product to the mix: ChromaLuxe EXT Extended Life Metal Prints.

The UV-resistant coating on this product significantly reduces fading, is easy to clean and resists graffiti, chemicals, weather and scratching. ChromaLuxe EXT panels are versatile and can be used to create vivid outdoor exterior art displays, photographic directional signage and tabletops. The outdoor durability is guaranteed to last for two years for photographic prints and three years for signage-based graphics.

It also works great for long-term indoor applications where there is excessive exposure to direct sunlight.

All ChromaLuxe panels pair well with LexJet InFuze™ Rigid Substrate Dye-Sublimation Paper for exceptional transfer quality.

For more information on the new ChromaLuxe EXT photo panels and other dye-sub opportunities, call your LexJet sales specialist at 800-453-9538 and download this flyer.