University Brings Football History to Life with Extreme AquaVinyl

The University at Buffalo football team has a rich and extensive history, dating back over 100 years. The school wanted to showcase the history of the team, as well as the artist who was responsible for creating memorable artwork for the game programs and pay tribute to one of the team’s staunchest supporters.

The members of the athletic department knew that the recently renovated 50,000 sq.ft. exhibition space on the third floor of the Silverman Library would be the perfect place to showcase the “Buffalo vs. Everybody” exhibit and asked Kris Miller, the library’s lead designer, to help with the project.

Largely based on the collection of Buffalo News sports reporter – and football memorabilia enthusiast – Tom Borrelli, the football programs cover the games from 1930-2010. Tragically, Borrelli was critically injured while he was attending a local high school football game and later died from his injuries. His collection was gifted to the University in 2017.

The centerpiece graphic, based on the classic artwork of the programs, is visible from the moment the elevator doors open. “At 35 feet wide by 10 feet high, this is the biggest project I’ve ever been involved in,” Miller said. “I’m not a professional installer, so whatever I use has to be easy to work with and install. If I do have questions, I know I can call [LexJet rep] Ramiro Torrez for assistance.”

For the large super-graphic, as well as several other smaller wall murals, Miller chose LexJet Extreme AquaVinyl with PSA to print on his Canon PRO-4000. “The Extreme AquaVinyl is a pretty forgiving material and doesn’t show installation marks,” he said. “I just had to be careful when I overlapped the edges, but the trade-off is that the final product looks great and is really durable.”

The game programs weren’t the only memorabilia recreated. Twelve photographs from the team archives are also on display. Miller used LexJet Sunset Bright Velvet Rag 315g, to reproduce the images.

“I love the Bright Velvet Rag, the prints always look really nice on that paper,” Miller said. “It isn’t the cheapest paper, but since the prints look like the originals, it’s worth it.”

After the wall graphics were installed and the framed photos displayed, the library hosted a happy hour event for over 250 people, many of whom played on the team during the 1950s and ’60s. “When those former players saw the exhibit, they went nuts, it was nostalgic for them.”

The “Buffalo vs. Everybody” exhibit will be on display through July 2019, but Miller says he’s already planning the next display. “We’ve been asked to do a project about the landmark H.H. Richardson complex, and will be wrapping the wall again,” he says. “We will use your products for that project, too.”

Prints That Win: Leaving with Dignity

For Muskogee, Okla. Photographer Kimberly Smith, 2017 was a brilliant year. Not only did she win the PPA SW Sunset Print Award, but she also won First Place in the 2017 National Sunset Print Awards for “The Beauty of Innocence.” For this Master Artist, 2018 looks to be just as strong: Her 2018 submission “Leaving with Dignity” won the Sunset Print Award for Portraiture in the PPA SW District competition.

Reflecting on her back-to-back wins, Smith says she’s very excited that her work speaks to the judges. “Impact is so important. I put a lot of emotion behind the story in my images and the judges can tell,” she says. “It’s not just another pretty picture. When they see the title [of the image], I want them to brace for impact, I want them to feel something, and apparently, they did.”

The inspiration for “Leaving with Dignity” struck when Smith saw a black and white image of an older woman with a disheveled crown.  She initially envisioned a queen leaving her throne for the last time. However, as she started working in postproduction, Smith says, “I noticed she had a peaceful look on her face, and I added a cloudy feel with rays of light. I felt like she was making her way into Heaven, with God saying, ‘well done, my good and faithful servant.’  I felt like she was leaving this world with dignity rather than leaving the throne. I chose to name “Leaving with Dignity” so people could form their own story.”

During the time between her “innocent” 2017 and her “dignified” 2018 PPA SW wins, Smith decided to step out of her comfort zone and teach an intermediate/advanced level course at the Texas School, which maxed out at 30 students – a rare feat for a first-time teacher. “I wanted to show the students how I create an image from start to finish,” she says.

For Smith, it isn’t just capturing an image that’s important, it’s telling the story. To pass along the techniques and methods to future generations is exciting. “One of my favorite projects for the class was when I printed about 30 copies of one of my photos to teach the students some of the ways I finish a print: enhancing the image with colored pencils, hand tearing the edges, matting, etc.”

Smith chose LexJet Sunset Bright Velvet Rag to use as a teaching tool because “I love the way it tears and the way it feels. It prints really nice.”

Sunset Bright Velvet Rag for Perfectly Distressed Edges

For Oklahoma photographer Kimberly Smith, 2017 was quite the year; not only did she take home a Sunset Print Award for her entry “The Beauty of Innocence” in the Southwest PPA regionals, but in February, she was presented with the 1st Place prize for the 2017 National Sunset Print Award at Imaging USA.

To create her signature style in these winning images, Smith uses LexJet Sunset Bright Velvet Rag 315g with distressed edges that create a fine art finish to her work.

In quite the follow-up to 2017, Smith won another Sunset Print Award in the 2018 Southwest PPA District, and she stepped to the head of the class for the first time to teach a group of students about the art of black-and-white photography … as well as her favorite deckled-edge finishing technique.

While preparing her curriculum, Smith wanted to include the distressed technique for her students. “I want to print out a few different images for them to practice tearing the edges,” she said. Of Sunset Bright Velvet Rag, she says “the thickness (of the paper) means the tears on the edges are perfect for a soft, multi-layered look.”

Sunset Bright Velvet Rag is a 20-mil thick (315g) 100% rag paper with a velvet surface. The bright white finish is the perfect complement to Smith’s preference for high-key black-and-white printing. “The cottony feel and thickness is what caught my attention and it prints beautifully,” she says.

With all the print competitions she does, it’s important that her prints stand up to being held, shipped and displayed all over the country. “Several of my images have been handled a lot, packed in print cases and shipped several times,” she says. “They come back looking the same.”

Bright Velvet Rag will continue to be part of Smith’s award-winning formula for a while. “It’s a beautiful product that I will continue using myself and highly recommend for others.”

If you are looking to give your photographs a fine-art finish, call your sales representative at 800-453-9538 to discuss LexJet Sunset Bright Velvet Rag 315g or visit us at lexjet.com.