‘Tis Better to Give than Receive, so Gift Memories This Holiday Season

Capturing memories is a year-round activity, but it’s turning those memories into gifts that make the holidays unique. From weddings to births to bringing home a new pet, remembering a special moment requires a special photo paper, and LexJet has several award-winning options.

Vacation Memories

Remind your loved ones of the beauty of an exotic trip or wild nights under the Vegas lights with Sunset Photo Metallic Paper. The metallic finish is perfect for oversized wall art of bright cityscapes or vast landscapes mounted. You can mount the prints to board and display them without a frame. Photo Metallic offers rich colors, shine, and glossiness with maximum detail and minimal glare.

Portraits and More

When it’s time to give the gift of school portraits, family photos, or wedding albums, award-winning Sunset Photo eSatin Paper is what the pros use. Heavyweight and reminiscent of darkroom photos, Photo eSatin has a slightly textured finish that resists fingerprints and smudges. Sunset Production eSatin Paper is another option. It’s not quite as heavy but is an excellent choice for high-volume printing.

Family Heirlooms

Today’s photo is tomorrow’s family heirloom. LexJet Premium Archival Matte is the perfect choice for long-term archivability because it is acid-free for a longer print life with pigment inks. The smooth matte finish is ideal for displaying photos in a brightly lit room without worrying about unwanted reflections.

No matter which option you choose to spread holiday cheer, you can’t go wrong with LexJet’s photo papers. They make everyone’s holiday merry and bright.

For more information on these photo papers and other gift ideas, visit us online at LexJet.com or contact your favorite LexJet Holiday Elf at 800-453-9538 (800-4LEXJET).

Prints That Win: Ambers Anticipation

During her junior year in high school, Abbie Thomas fell in love with life behind the lens while taking a photography class. She always knew photography was in her blood – thanks to her grandfather – but once she started getting hands-on experience in class, she knew this was her calling. At age 17, a friend asked if she would photograph her wedding. Without any experience, and only a high school’s class worth of training, she borrowed her grandfather’s camera, loaded it up with black and white film, and shot her first wedding.

“It was the first time I’d been able to capture a wedding from beginning to end,” Thomas says. “Sitting down with [the bride and groom] after everything was over was amazing, to see the joy on the bride’s face … I just knew this is what I wanted to do.”

Years later, her wedding portraiture work has evolved into award-winning art. For the Sunset Print Awards, Thomas submitted her PPA Northeast winning photo “Ambers Anticipation.” Thomas was inspired by the amber waves of grain when entering the portrait into competition. This wedding shoot was especially personal to Thomas: She used to babysit the bride, Claire, when she was just a girl, and she captured Claire’s youthful exuberance in her senior portrait.

When Claire got engaged, the family knew that no other photographer would illustrate the day the way Thomas could. She was given free rein by the bride to do what she does best: witness the wedding day from beginning to end. To have played an integral part in so many highlights of Claire’s life, Thomas wanted to ensure that everything was perfect at the wedding.

Prints That Win: Misty Morning

Last November, photographers Kathryn and Gary Meek were vacationing in China, when one misty morning, they spied a junk boat moored to just a little wisp of a dock on the Yangtze River. Even though it was at rest, Kathryn Meek said she was struck by the serenity of the scene. She pulled out her camera and started shooting. One of the images she captured would later become “Misty Morning,” winner of the Sunset Print Award – Illustrative category in the PPA Southwest District.

“It is one of my favorite shots. The trip was a cool experience and I was able to get a really cool shot,” she says.

To properly convey the ethereal feeling of the scene for the print, she used LexJet Sunset Photo Metallic Paper. “It really made the image pop,” she said of the award-winning paper.

Prints That Win: Golden Arches

Under the royal Alcázar in Seville, Spain, are the Baños de Doña María de Padilla (Baths of Lady María of Padilla). This underground rainwater reserve is a popular tourist attraction, however, on the day that Bill Mills visited, the baths were entirely empty. “That was the beauty of this place …” says Mills, “that no one was there. I had the place to myself, and how often can you say that?”

It was here that he took his Sunset Print Award-winning photo Golden Arches. “You’re not allowed to use tripods in this area, but around this bath was a wall, and so I set my camera there on a two-second delay and shot a couple of different angles,” he says. His image eloquently captures the eerie tranquility of the architecture, earning him this prestigious award.

How Bumblejax Gives Mounted Photos Some Real Pop

When Seattle, Wash.-based Bumblejax wanted to create an ecommerce site that allowed anyone to have access to high-end, modern face-mounted photo displays, they tested out several different photo papers before settling on the winning product.

“The thing about acrylic face-mounting is that not all papers work well with it,” says Tate Dwinnell, who runs Bumblejax with his brother, Corey. “Sometimes the texture in the paper causes ‘silvering.'”

About five years ago, they came across the award-winning LexJet Sunset Photo Metallic Paper, and they were sold.

“After testing several metallic papers, we’ve found that the LexJet Sunset Photo Metallic Paper offers up the best luminescence and dimensionality,” says Corey Dwinnell. “In other words, this paper really makes your images pop!”

While the metallic paper did its job with photo reproduction, adding the acrylic took their finished products to the next level. Bumblejax creates mounted imagery that’s anywhere from 6×6-inch squares to 96×48-inch panoramas. Projects range from corporate jobs and photo shows to decoration for offices and homes.

“We really see an incredible ‘pop’ from the Sunset Metallic Paper when it is face-mounted to acrylic, especially in a gallery setting with proper lighting,” Corey says.

With the right lighting, the artwork almost has a backlit effect. Bumblejax uses CrystalClear Permanent Adhesive to adhere the print to either 1/8-inch, 1/4-inch, 1/2-inch or 1-inch acrylic, which can give the finished piece an almost 3D appearance.

“It’s a more modern aesthetic,” Tate says. “It’s frameless and floats from the wall, so you don’t see any hardware. It’s a real sleek, high-end modern look.”

Take a look a the gallery below to see Bumblejax’s work:

Adding Large Format Printing to an Epic Multimedia Mix

Printing the cover of a proposal book with metallic paperWhen Cheryl Elbers joined Epic Multimedia more than a year ago she brought large format printing with her. Based in Sioux Falls, S.D., Epic Multimedia is a full-service ad agency that’s now even more versatile with the ability to print posters, banners and other advertising related materials in-house.

For the previous nine years or so Elbers ran a photo studio, pro-lab and creative agency. Given her diverse background in the graphic arts – from creative conception to production – she does a little bit of everything for Epic Multimedia. In addition to printing, Elbers does account management, photography, videography, web and print design.

Inkjet printing airport signageWhen Elbers joined the Epic Multimedia team she brought an Epson 9800 with her, as well as the expertise of her print media and ink supplier, LexJet. The combination was an excellent match, as Elbers explains: “Integrity is a big part of who we are; talking with people and not at them, just like LexJet does.”

Beyond the creative powerhouse Epic Multimedia has built that has led to its significant growth over the years, building partnerships with its customers is equally important. “We don’t want to be just a company to someone. We want to partner with them and make them feel confident that we can produce the results they need.”

Inkjet printing postersLarge format printing helps boost this value proposition. Elbers says large format printing is a growing component of Epic Multimedia’s product and service mix. As clients see the quality of the output, the requests naturally pile up at the agency.

For instance, Elbers says that some of the agency’s Request for Proposal (RFP) folders have been topped with a print on LexJet Sunset Photo Metallic Paper (pictured at the top of this post), an inkjet photo medium Elbers adopted as a photographer. “After showing it to our clients, others have asked about the paper and requested prints on it,” she says.

Printing graphics for A-frames for retail and trade showsElbers also uses LexJet 7 Mil Absolute Backlit, Photo Tex PSA Fabric, LexJet Sunset Select Matte Canvas, EPSON Premium Semigloss Photo Paper and EPSON Premium Luster Photo Paper. “LexJet is so handy. Some salespeople can be overbearing, but when LexJet calls it’s not like that at all. I’ve worked with four or five reps over the years, and they must get great training because every one of them has approached it in such a friendly manner that you’re immediately comfortable.”