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Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Afghanistan Comes to Life with Inkjet Printed Fabric

Photographic exhibition printed on fabric
Beyond the Mountains: The Interior Life of Afghanistan by Lisa Schnellinger chronicles the everyday life of Afghanistan's people. This exhibition at the Sharptop Arts Association's gallery in Jasper, Ga., features hanging photographic tapestries printed on LexJet Water-Resistant Cloth by John Seibel Photography.

Lisa Schnellinger is a globetrotting journalist and photographer whose engagement in Afghanistan goes far beyond the scope of her work. Schnellinger has become involved in the rebuilding of Afghanistan, founding the Pajhwok Afghan News agency and raising funds to build a girls’ school.

Photographic tapestries for a photo exhibitSchnellinger wanted to tell the story of Afghanistan through photography using an interactive art exhibition as the means to do so. Having seen other exhibitions printed on a silk material, Schnellinger turned to fellow Georgia photographer John Seibel, owner of John Seibel Photography in Dawsonville, Ga.

“I did some regular prints for her prior to this project. I was fascinated with her new project. Lisa told me that for the past ten years she’s had a vision of a show telling the story of the people of Afghanistan from a non-political point of view. She knew I had an Epson 7900 printer and wanted to know if I could print it on silk,” explains Seibel. “I did a lot of research, including at LexJet, and they suggested LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth. One of the nice things about LexJet is that they guarantee satisfaction: if it doesn’t work for your purposes and you send it back within 30 days it’s no harm, no foul. I had never printed on a fabric before, so that was good to know.”

Once the primary print material for the show was chosen, Schnellinger and Seibel worked together to narrow the images down from 100-150 to the 20 or so that would be printed for the exhibition, called Beyond the Mountains: The Interior Life of Afghanistan.

Printing photos on fabric for an exhibition“The goal was to have them produced near life-size and floating in the room so that when people walked through they felt like they were interacting with the people she photographed in Afghanistan,” says Seibel. “We did some test prints on regular luster paper and then strips on the Water-Resistant Satin Cloth. Once we felt like we had the profile and adjustments right, we began printing. LexJet does a great job of producing profiles for their materials, and the profile for the Water-Resistant Satin Cloth was right on the money for my Epson 7900.”

Schellinger designed the layout for the exhibition, which included an audio tour. Attendees could grab an mp3 player with an audio track Schellinger narrated that provided background and stories about the images featured at the exhibition. The combination of hanging fabric tapestries and the audio tour created a dynamic, flowing, interactive and three-dimensional experience.

Photo exhibition about Afghanistan
Lisa Schnellinger, journalist and photographer, who created the exhibition Beyond the Mountains: The Interior Life of Afghanistan.

“The color resolution on the fabric prints came out very nice. You could lay it on the table and it looked good, but it didn’t blow you away until you hung it up in the room and then had the light interacting with the prints,” says Seibel. “I’ve done other prints with Water-Resistant Satin Cloth, including an early morning marina scene. I have it lit from behind and all the light areas in the print just glow. It’s a fantastic medium to print this type of project on. That’s one thing that LexJet does for us; they give us great advice on what products to use for what type project. I’d also like to try LEDs behind it to create the glow artificially.”

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Technology & Products
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LexJet Introduces New Blockout Inkjet Printable Fabric

LexJet recently added Poly Select Blockout Fabric to its line of inkjet-printable Poly Select Fabrics, which also includes Poly Select Light, Poly Select Medium and Poly Select Heavy for aqueous inkjet printers, and Poly Select Light SUV and Poly Select Heavy SUV for use with solvent, low-solvent, UV-curable and latex printers.

Inkjet fabric printing for banners
JojoMonster Graphics printed these large banners for either side of the stage at a charity event on LexJet Poly Select Blockout Fabric.

LexJet Poly Select Blockout Fabric is a 14-mil bright-white polyester fabric with a blockout layer that provides greater opacity. Compatible with aqueous and latex inks, the fabric lays flat, minimizing edge curl and making it easy to work with in production.

“The image quality with the Poly Select Blockout Fabric is really good,” says Joe Batten, owner of JojoMonster Graphics in Venice, Calif. “We recently used it to print hanging banners at a charity event. We needed something lightweight that we could add rigidity to with pole pockets and dowels, and we didn’t want the light to show through and prevent the image from looking good on the printed side.”

Compatible with the latest aqueous ink technology from Canon, Epson and HP, the water-resistant coating provides exceptional imaging quality with a wide color gamut and higher ink saturation for rich, brilliant, eye-catching color. Poly Select Blockout Fabric is an excellent alternative to scrim banner for durable banner applications.

“Like all of our Poly Select Fabrics, Poly Select Blockout Fabric can be used in a variety of applications, from point-of-purchase displays to event signage and trade show graphics,” says Dione Metnick, LexJet product manager. “The blockout layer ensures that the light won’t shine through it when it’s backlit with bright lights, such as you’re likely to find at a trade show.”

Poly Select Blockout Fabric is available in 24″ x 15′, 24″ x 60′, 36″ x 100′, 42″ x 60′, 50″ x 60′ and 60″ x 60′ roll sizes with $9.99 flat-rate shipping from LexJet’s Nationwide Delivery Network. For more information, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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A Successful Formula for Inkjet Printed Fabric Graphics

Inkjet printed fabric banners for trade shows

The last time we spoke with Formula Boats, the marketing department – led by director of communications Tonya Hamilton – had just completed a spectacular wall mural for the front lobby of its headquarters in Decatur, Ind.

Printing fabric banners for a trade showWhile the wall mural is an amazing accent that wows visitors and brings passersby on the nearby road in for a closer look, where the rubber really meets the road (or the rudder meets the water in this case) is at boat shows.

For a classy look that brings out the best in the boats the company is showcasing, Hamilton has been using LexJet Poly Select Heavy SUV. The inkjet printable fabric also images well and is lighter and easier to transport to the more than 50 shows at which Formula Boats exhibits its wares.

“We’re trying to draw attention to the booth and to the dealers in the booth. The banners provide the quick information they need to know about us and our dealers beyond picking up a catalog,” says Hamilton. “The Poly Select fabric is so much richer and nicer than a regular banner material or decals; it makes our boats pop better and gives the banners more visibility.”

But fabric can have a Beauty and the Beast quality about it. The Beast factor is the same one that makes it a Beauty. Since most fabrics are relatively light, it can be difficult to get enough tension for a smooth print.

“We’ve had some problems with the tension on certain fabrics. The take-up reel will fight against the main roller on the printer, where the head is located. We figured out a way to correct the issue by taping a few inches of the fabric in the center to the take-up reel. Then, we cut the edges of the fabric off in a 45-degree angle from the tape to the edge of the fabric so the leading edge taped to the take-up reel comes to a point and looks like an envelope, which gives it more tension as it prints,” explains Hamilton.

Running fabric through a printerP.S. I asked our technical support director, Adam Hannig, about the tensioning issue, and he uses the same basic method on all substrates, fabric or not, to ensure smooth printing all the way through. However, he cuts in a half circle from where the leading edge is taped to the take-up reel, creating a smoother edge that’s less likely to get caught in the rollers (see photo). Also, Hannig adds, be sure to use just one piece of tape in the center.

Problem solved, and Hamilton adds that she prints a lot of duplicates since the company attends so many boat shows each year. For instance, she printed 15 of the 13-foot-long Formula banners, which you can see in the righthand side of the first photo. She also prints banners for dealer showrooms and for the dealer to use after the show at their own follow-up event.