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Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Canvas Gallery Wraps: Not Just for Galleries

Cottrell Printing Company in Centennial, Colo., does just about every type of printing imaginable, from catalogs and brochures in its spacious commercial department to a variety of large format graphics on its HP Designjet L25500 60-inch latex printer the company picked up from LexJet last year.

Printing canvas gallery wraps for office lobbiesCottrell Printing CEO Rick Hillbrand is a big proponent of not only telling clients and potential clients what they can do, but showing it, as noted in an earlier post here at the LexJet Blog about the company’s 40th anniversary open house.

One of the products Hillbrand believes has potential in the market as they roll out the capabilities of the HP latex printer is the canvas gallery wrap.

Canvas gallery wraps were once the reserve of high-end galleries and art shows. With advances in printer technology and easier ways to build a gallery wrap, however, they’ve become more popular with individual consumers, corporations and others looking to bring a touch of style to their environment, be it an office, a home or any business space.

Canvas gallery wraps printed for officesUsing LexJet’s Sunset HD Pro Stretcher Bars and HP Satin Canvas, Hillbrand has decorated much of Cottrell Printing’s office space with canvas wrap renditions that highlight the company’s history as well as some Hillbrand’s own Rocky Mountain high country photography.

“The Sunset Stretcher Bars were very easy to use and took just minutes to put together and stretch the canvas,” says Hillbrand. “We’d like to sell more of this product, so the first step is making sure it’s visible in our lobby and around the office. We just had a decent order of 12 gallery wraps for a client who’s placing photos of their product in their office lobbies across Colorado.”

Do it yourself canvas wrap stretcher kitsHillbrand says he’s been impressed with the quality of the images produced by the HP latex printer and how well it reproduces photography and artwork. Though Hillbrand has been promoting the fact that the printer has less environmental impact, he says the output is getting more attention.

“The output quality allows us to do a wider variety of work, including the canvas wraps, than we initially thought we would be able to produce,” adds Hillbrand. 

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Solving a Maze with Inkjet Printing on a Ceiling

Inkjet printing ceiling graphicsZachary Arellano, production manager at Coyle Studios in Towson, Md., found the perfect accent for the ceiling of his room. The question was how to get it on the ceiling relatively easily. The design was a maze Arellano created in Adobe Illustrator, and he didn’t want the application of the maze to be a puzzle.

“I called to order some paper from LexJet and picked Michael’s brain [Michael Clementi, Coyle Studios’ customer specialist] to see what would work. He recommended Photo Tex, so I tried it,” says Arellano. “When I put it up, it worked great. I was surprised by how easy it was to work with, especially for something that size.”

The size of the maze art, which actually has a workable solution, is 42″ x 204″. It turns out that the ceiling is the exact width of the roll of material he bought. Arellano included two squares in the maze to account for the light and the smoke detector. Before application, he cut those holes out to fit the material over those obstacles.

“When I was putting it up I was a little nervous at first because when I got to the lights it wasn’t flush where I had already applied it behind me; it was a little askew. With the Photo Tex I was able to back track, pull it off and work my way back to get it lined up right. If I had used anything that adhered permanently there would have been no backtracking,” says Arellano. “I also made a rig to hold up the material while I applied it so it wouldn’t sag too much.”

Arellano has a stash of laser pointers so visitors can try the maze with the pointers. It’s not only a piece of art or an interesting conversation piece, it’s an interactive game of sorts. It was also a great test for the material as Arellano says the company is looking for ways to implement it for commercial wall and ceiling murals and advertising.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Presto Change-H2O: Inkjet Print Makeover at Waterfront Club

Inkjet printing club decor on fabric

“Just change the art and you’ve got a new restaurant.” At least that’s the concept Tim Dussault of The Color I in Anacortes, Wash., and his wife, Lorrisa, an interior décor color consultant, came up with for the opening of a local club called H2O.

Changeable decor artwork on fabricThe concept has been successfully applied, as Dussault swathed what was a former dive bar in water-related images printed on LexJet Poly Select Heavy fabric. “About once a year they normally break down and paint the walls to freshen it up. They wouldn’t have to do that anymore; all you have to do is change the art, which is a lot less labor,” explains Dussault.

Gallery wraps with inkjet fabric
This decorative ice cube piece is actually a gallery wrap using LexJet Poly Select Heavy fabric. The rest of the art was printed on Poly Select Heavy and hangs from the decorative metal rails.

To facilitate this, the majority of the prints slide into slots housed in the decorative metal header rails all around the club’s walls. There are five, 12-foot long decorative rails. Each print is about 64 inches long and almost 12 feet wide.

“The material prints really well, and I’ve been looking for other applications to use it in because it’s a sturdy, heavy products. It’s moldable, but it’s tough, unlike scrim banner that’s not as flexible,” says Dussault. “It also coated real nice when we sprayed it. Then I used our window shade product as a bottom rail to add weight to the prints. The material’s pretty thick so it’s tight in the bottom rail, but it still worked well.”

Vinyl graphics that backlit and hide what's inside
Here, Dussault applied LexJet Simple Adhesive Vinyl SUV Gloss to hide the kitchen and draw additional attention to the new club.

Dussault also created a gallery wrap with the Poly Select Heavy as a decorative 4×4 accent piece. “I really like stretching the fabric material; it’s easier to stretch than canvas and has a soft, tactile look to it,” says Dussault.

One problematic area that required the creative touch of the Dussault pair was the kitchen. With windows on the street looking into the bright white kitchen, it was a distraction from the adjoining club. So, Dussault teamed up with a friend who runs a sign shop and has a Roland SOLJET solvent printer to print a water graphic on LexJet Simple Adhesive Vinyl SUV – Gloss running along the windows.

 Decorative art for restaurants and clubs“We wanted to allow light out, but wanted an eye-catching image that was consistent with the theme. And, we didn’t want to use words because we didn’t want to have to deal with sign codes. It’s really awesome at night when it’s backlit,” says Dussault.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Inkjet Printed Window Shades as a Complementary Interior Décor Design Element

Inkjet printed window shades

Most accidents fall into the Not-so-Happy category, but some fall into the Happy category, as was the case with a recent home décor project Tim Dussault, owner of The Color I in Anacortes, Wash., recently completed for a homeowner.

Printing custom window shadesDussault printed custom window shades on LexJet Poly Select Light as a complement to the interior décor of the home, which was based around a painting that hangs in the couple’s living room. The “accident” was the bottom section of the shade was also a perfect complement to the home’s overall color scheme.

“They rolled the shades down about nine inches to let as much light into the room during the day, making a nine-inch valance.  It created a nice design element to the room so that you didn’t have to have the shade completely up or down to do that,” says Dussault. “That really opened my eyes to using that bottom section of the print for whatever design element you want, whether it’s a consistent color or pattern, to go with the overall interior design of a room.”

Inkjet printed window shadesThe artwork is from a 24×36 original watercolor by Jennifer Bowman, an artist Dussault has worked with in the past. Dussault generated the scene into panels that matched the window spaces in the bay window and printed them on Poly Select Light.

Dussault used his recently updated line of DiY Roller Shade Assemblies for the window shades, which you can pick up at artrollershades.com, and watch the videos below to see the installation of this project as well as how to use the DiY Roller Shade Assemblies. Or, if you prefer, you can view them at YouTube at this link.

“The installation went smoothly and they really liked it and how it all flowed together,” says Dussault. He adds that he chose the Poly Select Light over the Poly Select Heavy since he wanted as much light as possible to flow through them when they’re drawn down.

Dussault also used Poly Select Heavy in another recent project he collaborated on with his wife for a restaurant that turned its bar into a club. In addition to hanging wall murals, Dussault created custom gallery wraps with Poly Select Heavy.

“I like to stretch that material; it’s easier to stretch than canvas. I was also surprised by how well it accepted the spray coating. My experience with fabrics told me that it would absorb some of the coating and change the color of the image, but it dried really well and there was no color shift. Using the fabric and stretching creates a totally different look that I think is more attractive; it’s softer and more tactile,” says Dussault.

Look for photos from this project and more information in a future post here at the LexJet Blog. In the meantime, check out the videos of the installation and how the DiY Roller Shade Assemblies work…

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Tips & Tricks
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YouTube HowTo: How to Apply Wall Graphics with Photo Tex

How to apply inkjet printed wall muralsPhoto Tex is one of the most popular inkjet print materials available at LexJet, and for good reason. It’s versatile, easy to install and just as easy to remove, leaving little to no residue behind after it’s removed.

Though it can be used on a variety of surfaces, and has been, from windows to sign boards, it’s most common application is for wall murals and die-cut decals applied to walls in a diverse range of environments and applications, including convention center graphics, room décor, restaurant art and corporate lobby graphics.

Photo Tex comes in two flavors: One which is compatible with aqueous printers and another compatible with solvent, low-solvent, latex and UV-curable printers. Call a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538 to find out more and for information about the full slate of LexJet’s wall graphics solutions. Also, be sure to check out the free white paper, Increase Revenue by Offering Wall Murals.

In the video below, video production coordinator Sean McGettigan, he of the multiple talents, shows how easy it is to apply and remove Photo Tex, as well as the best method for application…

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Technology & Products
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LexJet Launches the Industry’s First Fully Transportable Graphic

Conformable graphic material for promotional and decorative applicationsLexJet has introduced the industry’s first fully transportable graphic, Infinium, a print medium with laminate and adhesive built into one conformable material. LexJet Infinium – which is compatible with low-solvent, solvent, latex and UV-curable printers – can be applied to virtually any surface, including irregular surfaces and curves, using heat, water or a primer (LexJet Infinium Bond).

“Fully transportable means that, with Infinium, you can print the same material with the same image on the same printer for use in multiple applications,” says Jeff Leto, LexJet product manager. “This conformable material gives you the ability to take the graphic anywhere you want onto virtually any substrate and image it.”

Printing LexJet Infinium with a latex printer
LexJet Infinium, which is printed in reverse and applied to the substrate with water, heat or a primer, is compatible with low-solvent, solvent, latex and UV-curable printers.

Infinium is not a paper, it’s not a film and it’s not a transfer material. It’s a clear material you reverse print and apply face down on the substrate with either water, heat or a primer, depending on the application and whether it’s a temporary or permanent graphic. Click here to see how it works at LexJet’s YouTube channel.

“There is a lot of potential with this product, because in the past you had to print to a substrate, laminate it and apply it, and you sometimes had to use a number of different substrates for one project. With Infinium, it’s one step, one material and one process,” says David Kurniawan, owner of Maryland Signs and Graphics in Towson, Md., who runs Infinium on his HP L25500 latex printer. “We can use it on all types of substrates and surfaces, including rough surfaces, which helps us use fewer materials for a lot of different applications.”

Applying graphics to rocks, tiles and ceramics
Yes, you can even customize rocks with Infinium, which essentially becomes part of and takes on the characteristics of the material to which you apply it. Check out how it works at the link provided in this article.

Manufactured with water-based chemistries, LexJet Infinium is a sustainable material that has no VOCs and is PVC-free. And, since it includes print, adhesive and laminate qualities in one material it reduces waste and production steps. LexJet Infinium is compatible with most commonly used post-print processes, including laser cutting, routing and thermoforming without distorting the graphic.

LexJet Infinium is available in Gloss and Matte versions in 25”, 36”, 42”, 50” and 54” widths and 75-foot  roll lengths. Like all LexJet products it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee and super-fast, $9.99 flat rate shipping from LexJet’s nationwide network of distribution centers. For more information, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.