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Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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An Almost Infinite Variety at Infinite Imaging

Inkjet printing canvas for corporate lobbies
Copyright IonBond LLC

As its name implies, Infinite Imaging is one of the most versatile digital printers on the eastern seaboard. Based in Portsmouth, N.H., Infinite Imaging’s success is based on its can-do attitude. There is very little, if anything, the company can’t do, especially when it comes to customer service.

“The company started with me and one guy, and now it’s me and 23 others and it’s based almost exclusively on customer service. Everyone talks about customer service, but only a few actually do it,” says owner and founder Bill Hurley. “For instance, I have someone employed just to make phone calls to make sure our customers are happy, and the phone’s not allowed to ring more than three times.”

That’s just the tip of the customer service iceberg at Infinite Imaging, but it speaks to an overall philosophy that has led to its unprecedented growth and success, even during economically trying times.

Case in point is the two projects pictured here for IonBond and Max Edge. IonBond is a company that with an ionization process for coating new metal parts and Max Edge is a fitness center. Both received similar treatments of LexJet Simple Flo Wrap Vinyl on cinder block walls. In addition, Infinite Imaging applied simple graphics to the interior walls at Max Edge, and created canvas wraps with LexJet Sunset Reserve Bright Matte Canvas for IonBond.

Printing wall graphics with an inkjet printerThe result was exactly what the customers wanted to promote their products and services. “The Max Edge project in particular came out great. They loved it and it was a treat to install,” says Hurley. “And, when we’re looking for inkjet media, LexJet is our first call because they’re totally responsive to our needs.”

This is an important factor for Hurley since the company has such a wide range of customers and employs a number of digital processes to produce both small format and wide format output. Infinite Imaging dove into wide format back in 1998 when the market was still relatively immature, leveraging its expertise in offset printing.

“The second I saw wide format I knew it would be a huge market. Today, we are one of the largest reprographers in New Hampshire and we do all kinds of digital printing, including the wide format division,” says Hurley.

Inkjet printing wall graphics for a corporation
Copyright IonBond LLC

In addition to an emphasis on responsive customer service, Hurley and Infinite Imaging are extremely active in the community. The company provides automatic discounts to non-profits, for example, to help them print promotions and marketing materials more economically. It’s a good deed and it raises awareness in the community about the quality of Infinite Imaging’s work.

“My company has the products every non-profit needs, which are printed marketing materials – banners, flyers, tri-folds and whatnot – so they always come to us. When you’re active in the community they get to see you firsthand, and they know you’re for real,” says Hurley.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Technology & Products
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Windows Made Simple with Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30)

LexJet has just introduced Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30) to complement its Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (60/40) offering. The 70/30 offers more print area for that extra punch at retail; 60/40 is best for applications – like vehicle windows – that require more visibility looking out the window.

Using window graphics for advertisingSimple Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30) is a 6-mil perforated vinyl designed to stop people in their tracks outside a store and lure them inside. Once inside, shoppers can see outside, and see quite well since the vinyl also cuts down on sunshine glare.

The two-layer perforated liner allows trouble-free printing for shops with UV-curable printers. “We printed some large panels and with UV-curable printing we have to make sure that your ink stays on the liner and doesn’t come off and fill the hole. It’s an issue we’ve had with other similar products, but we haven’t seen it at all on this product,” says Ricky Shannon, operations manager for Keith Fabry Inc., Richmond, Va.

Designed to be exterior-mounted to windows, Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30), is easy to handle and easy to print, install and remove. “It’s fairly low-tack when you apply it, but it becomes fairly aggressive so that it stays on the window. Then, when we peeled it back to remove it there was no residue so it works very well from installation to removal,” adds Shannon.

Use LexJet’s Optically Clear Cast Laminate or LexJet Gloss Polyester Laminate (2 Mil) for additional protection, if needed. A nice bonus is that the laminates not only protect, but will not interfere with the clarity of the image or the inside-outside view.

Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30) is compatible with solvent, low-solvent, UV-curable and latex printers, and is available in 60″ x 100′ and 60″ x 20′ rolls. To find out more, and to find the right material for the application, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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From Blueprints to Fine Art at West Side Reprographics

Adding fine art reproduction to inkjet printing operationIt was a natural expansion for West Side Reprographics in Vero Beach, Fla. Already well-versed in graphics reproduction for its core corporate and architectural market, producing CAD, presentation and technical prints, West Side Reprographics added fine art and photographic reproduction to its product mix about six months ago.

With the purchase of a Canon iPF8300 44” wide inkjet printer from LexJet, West Side Reprographics created a sister company out of its offices called Vero Beach Fine Art Reproductions. With its already well-honed expertise in full-color wide-format printing, the addition of fine-art reproduction services was a cinch.

David Lovett, West Side Reprographics manager, worked with his LexJet customer specialist, Josh Abel, to get the new system up and running. Though the latest Canon inkjet printers are virtually plug-and-play, Abel was able to help with the details and finding the print materials that would make West Side’s customers happy.

Fine art printing in Vero Beach“The printer was really easy to set up; the learning curve was hardly a curve. With Josh’s help, we were able to install all the proper media profiles into the printer and my computer. That was really the only thing I needed help with on the printer, and Josh helped me through the process. Now I just pretty much tell it to go,” says Lovett. “Josh also helped me out with the materials in the beginning. The main client I was trying to please was looking for something different and Josh found a canvas that made him happy, and everyone else likes it as well.”

Lovett says that West Side Reprographics is primarily printing its fine art and photo reproductions on LexJet Sunset Reserve Bright Matte Canvas and Sunset Select Matte Canvas, finished with LexJet Sunset Satin Coating and Sunset Gloss Coating. Coating the canvas was another one of the very few learning curves facing Lovett with its new inkjet capabilities.

Vero Beach fine art printing“When I first started with the canvas I was rolling it on, but I wasn’t really happy with that. I’m not a good painter, so I’m sure it was me, and not the coating. I was pressing down too hard and then too lightly in spots. I know rolling works great for other people, but I just didn’t have a knack for it,” explains Lovett. “Josh did some research for me and recommended a sprayer, so I went to Home Depot, got a sprayer and I’ve been using it ever since. The product is easy to use and you don’t have to mix it with anything. I dump it in the container, screw it onto the sprayer and off I go.”

With a smooth and efficient system in place, West Side Reprographics was able to get the word-of-mouth ball rolling as satisfied clients recommended the company’s work to others in the area. Lovett also made a point of visiting local frame shops to let them know about their capabilities. As with the individual clients, once the frame shops saw the quality West Side Reprographics was able to produce they helped get the word out as well.

The next step, says Lovett, is to get the Vero Beach Fine Art Reproductions website up and running to drive more business to that division of West Side Reprographics. Launching new endeavors is nothing new for Lovett, who opened the Vero Beach location about seven years ago. It’s an extension of the main location, which is about 75 miles down the coast in Riviera Beach, Fla. The Riviera Beach location has been in business for more than 40 years.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Leveraging Point of Sale Signage and Product Placement with Design

Printing signs for point of sale

It’s no secret that craft beers are the fastest growing segment of the beer market, and due to their growing importance to liquor store owners and other purveyors of fine brews, craft brews require a different sales technique at the point of sale.

Point of sale signage for craft beersIn the beer market, price points have traditionally been the top sales point in a typical point of sale sign. However, with craft beers the sale is different. Beer distributors that sell craft beers take extra time and effort to educate the customer about the various types of craft beers, even going so far as to take a page out of the wine menu and pair them with complementary foods.

The project show here produced for Raynham Wine & Liquors in Raynham, Mass., by Colonial Wholesale Beverage Corp. – designed, printed and installed by Colonial’s Tennyson Lacasio – is a perfect illustration of the craft beer sales concept writ super-large across 90 feet of cooler space.

The sign has just a taste of branding at either side, with 12 foot long bottles of Colonial’s latest addition to its beer portfolio from Boulevard Brewing Company, Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale and Long Strange Tripel, as bookends to the sign. Other than those two bottles, there’s no branding and no pricing. The rest of the sign marks the store’s Beer Cave, flanked by a quick explanation of craft beer types shown bubbling up in the glasses in which they’re made to be enjoyed.

Though light on branding and absent pricing, Colonial’s Lacasio says this treatment is entirely appropriate, leading consumers to Colonial’s craft beers. It’s also exactly what the store owner wanted, giving Colonial better product positioning in the store while helping cement the relationship. Colonial went head to head with a competing distributor on this project, and pulled ahead for the point of sale victory with Lacasio’s classy, crafty design.

Making beer signs with an inkjet printerThe 90-foot long by 43-inch tall cooler sign was printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polpropylene and applied to Coroplast, which was attached to the wall with an industrial hook-and-loop system, a.k.a., a product that rhymes with Melcro.

Lacasio says he only uses the industrial hook-and-loop system for signs that will be attached to the wall permanently, or for a long time. This method is preferable to screws and washers that mar the overall look of the sign, he says.

Lacasio and one of Colonial’s merchandisers spent the good part of a day applying the graphics to the Coroplast, working from the middle panel out to ensure an even application across the cooler, making sure to leave some extra material at the end so you don’t come up short after all that work.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in News & Trends
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NBWA 2011: Find out What’s New in Point of Sale Printing at LexJet’s Booth

Point of sale printingThe National Beer Wholesaler Association’s annual convention is right around the corner, tapping into Caesars Palace in Vegas Oct. 16-19. In addition to a keg full of education, from maximizing social media to demographics and industry trends, LexJet will be on the convention floor showcasing the latest in point of sale printing.

Stop by booth 920 where you’ll see the latest large-format and small-format printing technologies, try out new tracking software to boost your advertising and promotion production efficiencies, and find out about economical ways to get your message to market quickly and effectively.

LexJet customer specialists will be on hand to answer your questions and reveal the methods they’ve used to help hundreds of beer distributors across the country make an impact at the point of sale in their markets. Also, be sure to ask about show-only specials on inkjet printers and printable materials so you can get a head start on dominating your market.

If you have any questions, or would like to set up an appointment, call 800-453-9538 and ask for a specialist in LexJet’s bottling group. For more information about the NBWA Annual Convention, seminars, exhibitors, travel and hotel, go to nbwa.org/convention.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Promotions & Rebates
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September Inkjet Printer Rebate Update

Rebates on large format inkjet printers at LexJetIf you’re in the market for a new wide-format inkjet printer, September is a great month to buy with great rebate programs from Canon, Epson and HP.

Canon continues to offer a choice of mail-in rebates of up to $3,000 or a one-year CarePAK Extended Service Plan. These rebates are in addition to Canon’s trade-in rebates that can be instant at the point of sale.

Epson is also continuing instant rebates on its latest series of printers, including the Epson Stylus Pro 4900, 7890, 9890, 7900, 9900, 11880 and GS6000 low-solvent printer.

HP is offering up to $1,000 if you own a 24″ or wider printer, plotter or vinyl cutter when you purchase an HP Designjet Z6200 42-inch photo printer. The 60-inch version already has the $1,000 rebate built in. And, when you buy an HP Designjet L25500 latex inkjet printer, you get a $2,000 instant rebate. This rebate is already built into the price, and you get a free full set of inks.

To download forms and more information, go to www.lexjet.com/rebates.aspx, or call a LexJet account specialist at 800-453-9538, who will be able to help you find the right printer for your specific needs.