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Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Technology & Products
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Plug, Play and Save Big with Replacement Toner Cartridges for OKI Printers

Replacement toner cartridges for laser printersOne of the biggest (if not the biggest) expense in the print shop is ink and toner. Saving here can make a big dent in the overall cost of production, which is why LexJet recently introduced replacement toner cartridges for the OKI C9650, OKI C9600 and C9800 laser printers.

The replacement toner cartridges provide a savings of more than 60 percent (up to $300) on each cartridge. The replacement cartridges are plug-and-play and provide the same great color with no adjustments.

“We’ve been using the replacement cartridges for the past few months and they’ve been working great,” says Jaymon Swanson, production manager for M & M Distributing in Salt Lake City. Swanson adds that the print shop has realized significant cost savings with no hitch in production or image quality.

M & M has an OKI C9650 and uses it for a variety of small-format point-of-sale pieces like menus, table tents and other smaller displays printed on LexJet Promo-Point media for laser printers.

For more information about LexJet Replacement Toner for OKI laser printers, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Printing the American Flag in all its Glory

Printing an exhibit for a museum

“It looks like the American flag exploded in this room,” says Molly Engquist, curator of exhibits for the Siouxland Heritage Museums in Sioux Falls, S.D. But that’s the point of the exhibit now on display at the Old Courthouse Museum, which is one of two museums the Siouxland Heritage Museums operates (the other is the Pettigrew Home & Museum).

Museum exhibit signs and graphicsThe backbone of the display, which is a visually-intensive fact-filled exploration of the history of the American flag, are two pop-up display booths printed on LexJet 10 Mil Opaque Display Film and finished with a 10 mil textured matte laminate.

Our department tries to make history pretty so that it’s more fun to learn. The display was so crisp and clear, even though we used a matte laminate because of the gallery lights. Everyone who’s seen it so far has been very pleased with it,” says Engquist. “We found LexJet when we were looking for the right print material to use on the pop-up booth. Erin Krcmar [Engquist’s customer specialist] has been very helpful.”

The prints were applied to the display booths with magnets in five vertical panels, three in the middle and two end caps. Lamination was done by Express Copy and Printing in Sioux Falls since Engquist doesn’t have a laminator. The fact that both the printable material and the laminate are 10 mils each helps guard against de-lamination for a more durable display.

Creating graphics for museumsThe two main pop-up booth displays are flanked by a combination of retractable banner stand graphics and framed information panels.

Durability and portability were two of the most important qualities Engquist was looking for in the print materials and hardware used for the exhibit. When the exhibit has run its course at the Old Courthouse Museum it will be sent to county libraries and smaller museums that don’t have the budget or resources to create their own exhibits.

The exhibit opened on Flag Day, appropriately enough, and is called Symbol of Freedom: The American Flag. The museum received a grant from the Daughters of the American Revolution to create the exhibit, which will make a lasting impression at the Old Courthouse Museum and throughout Minnehaha County.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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A River Runs through a Point of Sale Display

Point of sale product displayTennyson Lacasio’s last point of sale, in-store display masterpiece featured here used flowing “beer” (actually ink-stained water) to draw additional attention and sell more Guinness. Lacasio, graphic designer for Colonial Wholesale Beverage in North Dartmouth, Mass., recently created another water feature. While the concept was different this time around, the outcome was similar; namely, more beer sales.

“This store is one of our other top accounts and after seeing the YouTube video they were interested in doing something unique in their store as well,” explains Lacasio. “We basically had the same amount of square footage with six palettes of beer stacked together. We went over a number of designs with them and the castle theme we settled on seemed like a lot of fun.”

Building a point of sale product displayThe previous display was built to sell Guinness Black Lager; this most recent castle display was built to house Diageo brands Guinness Draught, Guinness Stout, Guinness Black Lager, Harp and Smithwick’s. The big push on these Diageo brands coincides with St. Patrick’s Day and Lacasio reports that the display needs constant replenishment even though the big weekend before the big day has not yet arrived.

Once again, the display not only had to be eye-catching and thirst-inducing, it needed to be easy to shop. The display has scored on both points, drawing consumers ever closer with the final touch – a drawbridge over bubbling water that leads to the castle in the background.

Originally, Lacasio planned to place real fish inside the pool of water over which the drawbridge sits. However, the risk of floaters – fish that might up and die as fish are wont to in these situations – was too great. Therefore, Lacasio printed some fish, laminated with LexJet 3 Mil Gloss UV Premium Low Melt.

The big prints – the two knights which guard the front of the display and the castle – were printed on LexJet Extreme AquaVinyl w/ PSA applied to Coroplast. The drawbridge was printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene and laminated with 3 Mil Gloss UV Premium Low Melt. All of the graphics are double-sided, excepting the knights (it’s hard to find knight backside images) so that the effect continues on the other side of the display.

In addition to the photos here, get a consumer’s eye view of the display at the video embedded below…

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Technology & Products
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New Durable and Rigid PVC Free Laminate at an Economical Price Point

Choosing the right laminate for displays and trade showsLexJet brings its 17 years of experience and innovation in developing printable media and laminates for the graphics market with the addition of LexJet Performance Textured Polypropylene (10 Mil) to its line of Performance laminates. The new laminate is a 10-mil version of LexJet’s popular Performance Textured Polypropylene (5 Mil) and was developed for customers who require extra rigidity and the same proven performance as the 5-mil laminate for point of purchase displays and trade show graphics.

 “The 5-mil version of our Performance Textured Polypropylene has been a favorite of our customers since it was introduced three years ago. They love all the qualities of the laminate that, most importantly, translate to a dependable and economical product that brings repeat business,” explains Dione Metnick, LexJet’s product manager. “At the same time, many of those customers were looking for those qualities in a thicker, more rigid laminate to help meet their needs for other applications.”

Performance Textured Polypropylene (10 Mil) is priced 35 to 40 percent lower than most comparable 10-mil textured laminates on the market and does not contain any PVC resins or hazardous substances. Since it’s PVC-free, it has better overall clarity, protects against yellowing and has a higher dimensional stability so that it won’t shrink and cause the most hateful of print shop situations… The emergency do-over. It also features the most durable acrylic adhesive in the industry for unequaled bond strength between the laminate and the graphic.

“Our clients are very demanding and if they don’t like it, our policy is to re-do it, so we want to use materials that ensure we don’t have to re-do anything. We’ve had great success with LexJet materials, including the Performance Textured Polypropylene, on this and similar projects,” says Charles Fleming of Southwest Museum Services in Houston, referring to the multi-media project the company designed and fabricated for the Reagan Ranch Center.

The proprietary velvet-textured co-polymer PSA film is equivalent in price with less-expensive thermal laminates while providing greater durability, adhesion strength and image quality. The laminate is ASTM rated for use with floor graphics as well, and is resistant to and compatible with most solvent cleaning agents.

It is available and shipping from LexJet’s nationwide network of distribution centers and comes with a 30-Day Money Back Guarantee. Available roll sizes are: 38 in. x 20 ft., 38 in. x 75 ft., 38 in. x 150 ft., 51 in. x 75 ft., and 51 in. x 150 ft.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Technology & Products
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More than a Sale: Significant Price Reductions on Inkjet Blockout Films

Inkjet printing banner stand display graphicsHere’s a refreshing change of pace in a world gone haywire with rising commodity prices: LexJet has actually reduced the price of its Opaque Display Films – 6.5 Mil Gloss Opaque Display Film and 10 Mil Opaque Display Film – by up to 17 percent. Both polyester films are compatible with aqueous inkjet printers. This is not a limited-time promotional offer, but the new price going forward for these two high-quality inkjet imaging films.

Plus, first-time buyers of any LexJet Elite laminate get 30 percent off their first purchase. In addition to the price reduction and 30 percent off LexJet Elite sale for first-time buyers of the laminate, both Opaque Display Films come with a Lifetime Warranty when combined with LexJet’s Elite Polycarbonate and Elite Coex (5, 10 and 15 Mil) laminates.

Jason Price, owner of GraphX Direct, says they use LexJet 6.5 Mil Gloss Opaque Display Film laminated with LexJet Performance Textured Polypropylene Laminate (5 Mil) for the bulk of their retractable banner stand graphics. For display graphics applications, GraphX Direct laminates the 6.5 Mil Gloss Opaque Display Film with Elite Textured Coex Laminate (15 Mil).

“You just can’t compare the combination to any other product for retractable banner stands. We use it to set our banner stands and graphics apart because it images super clean and super sharp, plus the color matching is dead on every time,” says Price. “Curl is also a big deal and over the years I’ve tried all kinds of media for banner stands and this combination has proven to be the best to eliminate edge curl.”

For more information about the Lifetime Warranty, the new lower prices and to take advantage of both, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Technology & Products
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More Great Inkjet Canvas Options from LexJet

Printing canvasBuilding on more than 15 years of researching, developing and bringing award-winning inkjet printable canvas products to the fine art, photography and graphics markets, LexJet introduces Sunset Reserve Matte Canvas and Sunset Reserve Bright Matte Canvas.

Both canvas products are now available and shipping from one of LexJet’s ten nationwide distribution centers and, like all LexJet products, come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Sunset Reserve Matte Canvas and Sunset Reserve Bright Matte Canvas round out a diverse portfolio of LexJet inkjet canvas products that include the award-winning Sunset Select Matte Canvas and Sunset Select Gloss Canvas, the solvent and UV curable compatible Sunset Select Satin Canvas SUV, and Instant Dry Satin Canvas.

“Both versions of the Sunset Reserve Canvas have a nice subtle texture for true artistic color-critical canvas reproduction,” explains Alex Ried, LexJet product manager. “And, since some customers prefer a bright white base to a more neutral white tone and vice-versa it was important to offer that option with the same performance, quality, consistency and color gamut.”

Compatible with aqueous printers from Canon, Epson and HP – and specially engineered to take advantage of the wider color gamuts provided by the latest generation of their printers – both canvas products are perfect for a variety of applications, from commercial and corporate graphics to gallery and museum wraps and other fine art and photographic output. Both are optimized for LexJet’s Sunset Coatings – Gloss and Satin – and work well with other spray and roll-on protective coatings.

Canvas printing
Mark Lakey, Art Warehouse, Chattanooga, Tenn., printed this black-and-white photo by Nashville photographer Ed Rode on Sunset Reserve Bright Matte Canvas.

“It prints great. I love it because when I profiled the canvas, I could amp up the sharpness with photography and get more detail out of it. And, the coating allows for a high ink load, so if someone wants to produce high-quality prints they can do it with this canvas,” says Mark Lakey, owner and president of Art Warehouse, Chattanooga, Tenn., who prints for renowned photographers and artists. “You see more vibrancy with this canvas in color prints and for black and white printing I can hit the tonality marks I’m after.”

Stretching and wrapping canvas
Lakey stretches and wraps Beach at Sunset, photographed by Jim Begley, Corbin, Ky., and printed on Sunset Reserve Bright Matte Canvas.

Sunset Reserve Matte Canvas has a neutral-white finish that produces a wide color gamut without optical brighteners. Sunset Reserve Bright Matte Canvas features a bright white base. Both are a water resistant, acid-free and pH-neutral with a poly/cotton blend so they’re easily stretched for gallery and museum wraps.