Print-N-Stick Fabric and the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field

Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Exhibit Triad Creative Group

Triad Creative Group recently completed a Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame exhibit called Touchdown! for the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay, Wis. So I asked Triad’s project manager, John Toth, a rhetorical (or stupid; you make the call) question: “So… Are you a Packers’ fan?” There was a pause, a chuckle, and, “Absolutely!”

Knowing that Triad Creative Group is located in nearby Brookfield, I should have known better. Still, it had to be asked, because being a fan would make the project that much sweeter, and it was.

Photo Mural Triad Creative GroupHowever, it wasn’t easy. Perhaps the most difficult and time-consuming aspect of the project was typing in the names of each and every Packer Hall of Famer, then adjusting their individual hand-sketched portraits that would ring the walls surrounding the trophy case.

It’s a temporary exhibit at the museum that runs through Feb. 28, 2015, but it doesn’t look temporary, thanks to the work of Triad Creative Group, which also builds custom structures for exhibits and trade shows through its division Rent-Ex. The look of permanence was important to Toth, from the structures surrounding the exhibits to the graphics applied to them.

Triad Creative Group Exhibit“It was challenging in that they didn’t have a large budget, and we came up with the best way to represent the exhibit with the budget they had. We built those walls so they could use them again for different applications,” explains Toth. “And, with the Print-N-Stick Fabric from LexJet they can pull off the graphics without damaging the surface and use the walls for whatever they want. Without the Print-N-Stick material it just wouldn’t work.”

Toth says they use Print-N-Stick Fabric almost exclusively for their booth rental business because the graphics can be easily peeled off, rolled back up on the release liner and the customer can store and re-use them as needed.

Green Bay Packer Trophy Case Triad Creative Group“It’s a win-win-win all the way down the line. It’s a wonderful product. It goes down very easily; it’s extremely forgiving. If it sticks to itself it’s very easy to get it off. I show it to clients and wad it up in my hands, pull it back apart and stick it back up. You’ll be darned if you can find a crease in it; it’s amazing,” says Toth. “The imaging quality is absolutely fantastic. We’ve done everything from product shots to the faces in the Hall of Fame exhibit that were hand sketched. Everything, including the small copy, was crisp and legible. We use the HP Latex Printer. It doesn’t require a laminate, so there are increased savings and value there. And, it’s very easy to trim.”

For the Hall of Fame exhibit they wrapped each 24-foot-long wall section in Green Bay green with the sketches and info about each Hall of Famer on Print-N-Stick Fabric. Black-and-white photo murals of classic Packer football moments were added to the inside curved corners of the wall facing the main displays. Triad Creative Group also built the trophy case, complete with motion sensors to prevent potential theft of the priceless NFL championship and Super Bowl trophies housed inside.

“The photo murals are 4′ x 9′ feet and even with the curve of the wall they went down in one fell swoop; we had them down in ten minutes,” says Toth. “With the exposure this gets the images have to look high-quality, and they looked fantastic when they were finished.”

Remembering the Holocaust and its Survivors at a Special United Nations Exhibit

Holocaust Remembrance Graphics by Presentation Graphics

Hersh and Eli Weingarten, owners of Presentation Graphics in Brooklyn (and father and son, respectively), have a very personal connection to the Holocaust. Hersh’s parents (Eli’s grandparents) survived the Holocaust, as well as Eli’s grandparents on his mother’s side.

Moreover, Hersh’s parents were saved from the most notorious Nazi death camps by Schindler’s famous list. So it was a great honor for the Weingartens to be involved in the creation of a new exhibit commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day at United Nations headquarters, sponsored this year by March of the Living International.

March of the Living Exhibit by Presentation GraphicsThe exhibit focuses on the lives of those who survived the Holocaust, juxtaposing images from the Holocaust with recent photos and stories from survivors. One of the display panels, for instance, shows a photo of the barracks at Buchenwald concentration camp. Elie Wiesel, who would survive and go on to win a Nobel Peace Prize, is pictured in the second row from the bottom, seventh from the left, along with a more recent photo of Wiesel that stands off from the barracks photo (click on the photo to the right for a larger version).

“January 27 is Holocaust Remembrance Day; it’s the day when the Russians liberated Auschwitz. The UN always has some exhibit during this time connected to the Holocaust, and this year they gave the exhibit to March of the Living,” explains Eli. “We got involved with March of the Living through a designer we know in charge of the exhibit. It was a great project to work on, but this exhibit had a personal meaning to us as well.”

March of the Living ExhibitThough they had a strong personal connection to the exhibit, the Weingartens and the Presentation Graphics team put the same heart and soul they put into every print project. Celebrating its 15th anniversary in April, Presentation Graphics is described by Hersh as a “large-format boutique that’s very customized and builds very close relations with our customers.”

And this was a very customized exhibit that required a lot of attention to detail. Working closely with the designer, Presentation Graphics used LexJet 8 Mil Production Satin Photo Paper, laminated with LexJet Performance Matte Vinyl Laminate (3 Mil) to seal the images mounted on half-inch black boards that make up the bulk of the display.

UN Exhibit GraphicsSilicone-edge graphics were printed on a silk poplin material and used for the larger pieces in the center of the exhibit walls. Much of this was backed with LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric applied to the walls of the exhibit to act as a background.

Eli estimates that they printed about 90 different pieces of varying sizes applied to five different walls that all came together into a cohesive whole.

“We consulted with Kara Work, our LexJet rep, on what to use, and she recommended a clear matte laminate, which we found to have superb quality and a beautiful look. For the walls, the UN was concerned about graphics leaving behind a residue and damaging the walls because they had a bad experience in the past, which is why Kara recommended Print-N-Stick,” says Eli. “The fabric look is classy and has a matte finish, which was important to us because we didn’t want the glare from the lights to detract from the message. The UN was happy with the Print-N-Stick solution because it was easy to move around during installation, and when they remove it in a month it won’t leave any residue or damage the walls.”

The exhibit officially opened on Jan. 28 with a reception featuring Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosser, as the keynote speaker, and runs through the end of this month.

Wall Mural Follow-Up on Print-N-Stick Fabric

Wall Mural with Print-N-Stick Fabric.
The latest wall mural at the Orlando Science Center, printed on LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric. Zoom Into Nano was developed with funding from the National Science Foundation by Cornell University, in partnership with the Sciencenter, and Painted Universe, Inc. Photo courtesy of Orlando Science Center.

 

A few days ago we discussed the use of wall murals to set the theme and create anticipation for the various travelling exhibits hosted by the Orlando Science Center. The travelling exhibits typically run for about three months and the Orlando Science Center has made wall murals a standard feature.

“Once we started with the Star Wars wall mural there was no turning back,” says Eric Vickers, creative manager for the Orlando Science Center. “The foot traffic to the exhibit comes in from the right, so you see the mural right away and then walk into the exhibit.”

Just installed yesterday to replace the wall mural fronting the recent Sesame Street Presents: The Body exhibit, the new mural previews the Zoom into Nano travelling exhibit.

The new mural was printed on LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric with a Canon iPF9100 from LexJet. The key to making this mural effective was the ability to hold the detail of the materials shown in the graphic, from left to right: a butterfly wing, salt, oyster shells and moon dust.

“The mural is really impressive in person, and provides more visual interest so that you’re engaged before you walk in. You can really see the texture, especially in the butterfly wing, when you get close,” says Vickers.

Vickers adds that the mural is based on four hanging posters used for the exhibit. Vickers laid out the four pieces together and added the copy. Having four different panels was convenient for lining up the printed panels, which were 35 inches wide by nine feet long.

“We used to apply the panels horizontally so we had fewer seams, but it’s more difficult to keep it level all the way down. Working vertically we can make it level and let gravity work for us so that the application goes more smoothly. The panels were easy to apply and the material holds its shape really well,” says Vickers.

Setting the Scene with Wall Murals

Museum Exhibit Wall Mural
This wall mural, printed on LexJet PolyGloss PSA with a Canon iPF9100 wide format printer, sets the scene for the exhibit, Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization. Photo courtesy Orlando Science Center.

 

Wall murals are an excellent way to set the scene for any main attraction, whether it’s a special event, an exhibit, or any other venue.

LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric
Eric Vickers, creative manager for the Orlando Science Center, first tested LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric on various surfaces in the graphics department. Graphic design by Chris Ward. Photo courtesy Orlando Science Center.

The Orlando Science Center has recently used printed wall murals to great effect for its special exhibits, including one for the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination traveling exhibit, which showcased artifacts from all six movies, and one for Sesame Street Presents: The Body exhibit.

“It’s a great entrance piece when you’re going into the exhibit. It helps theme and create an experience before you even go into the exhibit,” says Eric Vickers, creative manager for the Orlando Science Center.

For the Star Wars exhibit, Vickers used LexJet PolyGloss PSA for the walls surrounding and leading into the exhibit, printed with a Canon iPF9100 from LexJet.

“They were photorealistic images from Lucasfilm, so I really like the PolyGloss for those types of images,” says Vickers.

Vickers adds that those wall murals “got the ball rolling” to make wall murals a regular feature of the special exhibits the Orlando Science Center hosts.

Museum Wall Mural
The Orlando Science Center used LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric for the Sesame Street Presents: The Body exhibit. Vickers says that since Print-N-Stick is not entirely opaque it’s best not to overlap the seams, especially with light-colored graphics.

“We’ve been using LexJet materials since we got the Canon iPF9100 about a year and a half ago. We like the polypropylene material better than vinyl because we can get the same pop from it as we can from paper, and it’s easy to work with,” explains Vickers.

For the Sesame Street murals, Vickers decided to try LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric after testing it on various surfaces in the graphics department (see photos).

“It’s the best of both worlds, but opacity is the only thing we have to be careful with since it’s not completely opaque. If you overlap the seams on a graphic with a light-colored background they can show through,” says Vickers. “It’s much more repositionable than any other material we’ve worked with, and comes off the walls easily. It’s the most forgiving material we’ve worked with so far; we don’t get bubbling or imperfections in it. It’s a little trickier to cut, but it follows straight lines really well; you just have to be a little more careful going against the grain.”