LexJet Sunset Photo Metallic PaperTag:

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Communication through Appropriate Material Selection

Design, material selection and overall execution by Capitol Exhibit Services contributed to an effective exhibit for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's office in the Pentagon. Photo courtesy National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Every graphics project is ultimately about solving a communications challenge. Sometimes it’s as simple as identifying Joe’s Bar and Grill, while other times the message is far more complex. Moreover, while design is the foundation of effective communication, there are other factors that contribute to and complement the design to create a cohesive and consistent message, such as material selection and the right media mix.

Capitol Exhibit Services, based in Manassas, Va., successfully tackled just such a challenge at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s office in the Pentagon. The challenge in this case was taking a number of design elements and creating a wall-length exhibit that would illustrate the support and services the agency provides to the U.S. military: Humanitarian support; disaster relief and recovery programs; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; global positioning systems; homeland security, support for America’s war fighters; and navigation safety.

The original design called for an anchoring graphic middle panel with a metallic vinyl as the background, an informational panel on one side and a continuation of the graphic panel on the other. Capitol Exhibit Services decided that the more effective print medium for the graphic panels would be LexJet’s Sunset Photo Metallic Paper.

“We were looking for an alternative to metallic vinyl that would still give the graphic an extra shine so I called Jaimie Mask at LexJet for some alternatives and she suggested that we try the Sunset Photo Metallic Paper. Jaimie is a wealth of information and a very good person to have on the phone when we need help finding the latest materials,” says Barney Gault, manager of graphic design and production for Capitol Exhibit Services. “It’s a beautiful paper; it looks just like the Kodak Endura I used to work with in a previous life. Instead of a metallic background, most of it is white, but even the white has a pearlescent shine to it with this paper.”

The graphic was printed on the company’s HP 5500 in about 12 panels, each of which was 40 inches wide and eight feet long (applied vertically). “It worked beautifully. It’s a heavy paper, so instead of wrapping it around the edges like we normally do, we flush mounted the paper and wrapped the laminate around the edges.”

Dimensional letters painted silver cap off the top of the main panel. The secondary panel that details the support and services provided by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency was printed on LexJet 8 Mil Ultra Photo Satin Extra and applied second-surface to 1/4-in. plexiglass on stainless steel standoffs.

“I’ve used the Sunset Photo Metallic Paper for a lot of second-surface applications. It’s a great look because you get the depth of the plexi and the shine of the paper. However, one of the prints was larger than 44 inches so I couldn’t use the Sunset Metallic. If I was going to use it on one panel I needed to use it on all of them for that particular piece,” says Gault.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Living Color: Hawaii’s Chromaco Finds a Perfect Match for its Island Art

Craig Ellenwood, Chromaco's general manager with some of the captures printed on LexJet Sunset Photo Metallic Paper from his work documenting the Kilauea lava flow on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Chromaco, based in Honolulu, sells its fine art reproductions both east and west across the Pacific, as well as throughout its home base in the Hawaiian Islands. Much of the artwork Chromaco prints has a unique island flair, often requiring an equally unique medium in which to produce it.

When Chromaco’s general manager, Craig Ellenwood, found out that LexJet was introducing Sunset Photo Metallic Paper he made sure to pre-order the pearlescent paper. Ellenwood is also a photographer whose recent work chronicling the spectacular Kilauea lava flow on Hawaii’s Big Island was a perfect fit for Sunset Photo Metallic Paper.

“With the metallic paper, the fiery reds in the images just pop,” says Ellenwood. “When I’m in the editing process and working with the raw images I definitely think about how it will look on the paper, and I’ll adjust the image saturation based on the type of paper I’m using.”

Ellenwood adds that Sunset Photo Metallic Paper has been a boon to business. Chromaco’s artist and photographer clientele, including 3D artists, have been clamoring to have their work printed on the paper. Dennis Mathewson, well-known for years in the automotive art market, uses metal as his medium almost exclusively.

Dennis Mathewson's ultra-vibrant work is a perfect match for Sunset Photo Metallic Paper.

“We’ve started printing editions of his work on the Sunset Photo Metallic Paper. Recently we had to rush a proof to a gallery on Maui and there was no time to make and coat a canvas print, so I chose the metallic paper. People were blown away with how well it replicated the qualities of the original painting and someone bought the proof,” says Ellenwood. “I use the highest resolution setting, 2880, and it looks great, particularly with real saturated colors and high contrast. Black and white prints also look amazing.”

To find out more about Ellenwood’s work documenting the devastation of a small community on the Big Island of Hawaii, go to:

http://www.ellenwoodphotography.com/royal_gardens/intro.html

http://news.motionx.com/motionx-gps/2009/08/12/motionx-gps-assists-photographer-in-kilauea-volcano-expedition/

3D animator and illustrator Erik Flint uses Sunset Photo Metallic Paper to give his other-worldly art another dimension.
Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Making a Difference with Metallic

C2 Reprographics prints this flyer on Sunset Photo Metallic Paper to highlight the pearlescent qualities that make a distinct difference on high-contrast, high-end images.

In its quest for a competitive edge, C2 Reprographics in Costa Mesa, Calif., was one of the first companies to try LexJet’s Sunset Metallic Photo Paper after it was introduced this summer. C2 Reprographics’ marketing director, Eric Monroe, says the company has been on the lookout for a way to replicate the unique pearlescent qualities of a paper that had previously been available only for chemical process, continuous-tone printing systems like the LightJet.

“I was dying to get this paper because we often compete with companies that have LightJets. We were looking for an inkjet version of that look so that we could compete in that space,” says Monroe.

Now that an inkjet version is available, C2 Reprographics can use its battery of HP Z6100s to produce a similar effect without having to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a photographic system. For C2 Reprographics, the paper has made the biggest impact in the architectural market.

“When architects create 3D renderings and modeling for their presentations, you’re seeing a lot of vibrant images, like the colors they use in the buildings, trees and sky. We have one architect who uses it exclusively. At first, I wasn’t thinking of my architect clientele as the main market for this paper, but they really like it,” says Monroe.

Monroe says that making a presentation splash has become increasingly important for architects who have been competing in smaller niche markets in response to the tighter economy of recent years. He says the paper gives the presentations a higher-end, more professional look that makes a difference.

Monroe adds that you should choose images with a lot of contrast to bring out the qualities of the paper that cause it to stand out from the crowd. “I purposely pick images I know will play well with the paper, like the flyer we printed on Sunset Metallic that shows a nighttime cityscape with lots of darks contrasting against reflections and light. If it’s a sterile image on a white background you probably won’t notice the difference, so you should just use a less-expensive paper for those applications,” says Monroe. “We charge more per square foot for prints on Sunset Metallic, and so far that’s flown. No one has said, ‘Wow, that’s too expensive.’ Instead they say, ‘I want to try that, because it gives me a distinctive look.’”