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Get the Most Out of Your Aqueous Printer
Posted on by Jennifer Corn Posted in Technology & Products
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Get the Most Out of Your Aqueous Printer

Are you using your aqueous printer to its full potential? From canvas prints to temporary outdoor graphics, your aqueous printer is the utility player every profitable printshop needs. We’ve put together some applications and media suggestions to help you get the most out of your printer:

Décor: If you are considering décor applications, you may have thought an aqueous printer limited your capabilities, but, in fact, you can print plenty of décor applications, including wall art and wall murals. LexJet Sunset Select Matte Canvas is a customer favorite for photo prints or fine art reproductions. It can also be easily stretched for canvas wraps, like the GOframe system. If you are looking for wall murals, decals or window graphics, try LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric, an easy-to-use and apply option that’s forgivable and repositionable during installation. Check out our Digital Décor Printing Line Card for more aqueous options, as well as many others.

Soft Signage: One of the fastest-growing trends in the market is the transition to soft signage using fabric rather than rigid vinyl or polyester films for POP displays, banners, framed graphics and even trade show booths. The advantage to fabrics like LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth or LexJet FlexTex 170g is that they are easier and lighter to ship, image nicely and can be used for indoor or temporary outdoor applications. With soft signage textiles, you’ll need some easy finishing techniques — watch this video for quick tips on using a hot knife for perfectly finished edges.

Outdoor Banners: When it comes to outdoor advertising and event signage, LexJet TOUGHcoatTM Water-Resistant Polypropylene and  TOUGHcoatTM ThriftyBanner are two of the most popular products. Both products are easy to handle, offer scratch- and water-resistance, and a bright white point which means vibrant prints, even in outdoor weather. Need more outdoor aqueous options? Check out this blog for more ideas and applications that will look great and stand up to the elements.

Still unsure how you can use your aqueous printer to expand your market offering? Call one of our specialists at 800-453-9538 or visit us at LexJet.com.

Customization in Wide-Format Printing: It’s Getting Personal(ized)
Posted on by Shellie Terry Posted in Tips & Tricks
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Customization in Wide-Format Printing: It’s Getting Personal(ized)

One of the earliest benefits of digital inkjet printing was the ability to create one-off, customized prints. Over the past two decades, that’s been a major selling point for printers offering banners, POP signage and trade show graphics, and it shows no signs of slowing down.

In fact, the digital print industry is branching out into many more market segments, thanks to improved print technology as well as new, innovative media and substrates, such as the personalized wallcovering printed with quotes, pictured above.

These new ideas and products, of course, are in response to increasing demands from graphic designers, brand owners, interior designers and consumers themselves who have seen customization in action with everything from canvas printed on demand to the mass-customization project: Share a Coke. Digital print technology allows print service providers to deliver smaller runs faster and with higher-quality results.

In the décor market, “there are more companies developing brands, which is increasing the competition and simultaneously creating a need for customization,” Rachel Nunziata writes in Big Picture magazine. “Product companies and manufacturers are also adopting in-house digital print – or outsourcing to print providers. This allows for product modifications of color or scale and smaller curated collections.”

This has been embraced in the label and packaging arena, as well, with digital printing giving smaller brands the chance to stand out. “The ability to customize packaging allows independent brands entree into the big leagues,” says Ralph Giammarco, VP of S-One Labels & Packaging in BXP magazine. “They can use personalization, tactile substrates and metallic finishes, do promotions around sporting events or holidays and enjoy super-fast turnaround.”

Check out some of the newest products now available that can help you delve further into customized wide-format printing:

Wrapping paper: Have your customers asked you to print photos for an upcoming wedding or birthday? Imagine using those pictures to customize wrapping paper, allowing them to personalize the gift-giving experience. If you have a latex printer or DesignJet production printer (Z6200 or newer), you could increase profitability by adding HP Satin Wrapping Paper to your product offering and help your customers make a splash at their next gift.

Wallcovering: For years, homeowners have spent countless hours in the wallpaper and paint departments at home improvement stores. With the ability to create custom wall coverings for your clients, you will help save them time and money as well as give them a way to design unique and personal bedrooms, boardrooms or commercial spaces. If you have either a latex or solvent printer, you can create custom wall murals with an array of options: the various textures of Vescom, HP PVC-free Wall Paper, which is certified for use in schools and hospitals when printed with the HP latex printers, and finally, the subtle textured options of Avery Dennison MPI 2600 Wall Film.

Art and décor: While printing images on photo papers is what initially put digital printing on the map, it’s time PSPs help customers understand all the options available for personalized art and décor. Canvas prints help your clients turn a great photo into a beautiful work of art. There are a variety of canvas products available for all printer technologies, including LexJet Sunset Select Matte Canvas for aqueous or LexJet Sunset by Fredrix Satin Canvas SUV for latex and solvent. If you have a dye-sub printer, ChromaLuxe Aluminum Photo Panels create stunning wall décor that will surely be a great conversation starter for homeowners and business owners, alike.

These are only a handful of options that are available to you to help you expand your product offering and keep your customers happy and always coming back to see what new and exciting things you can print for them.

If you have questions about any of these products or would like additional ideas on customization opportunities, visit LexJet.com or contact one of our sales specialists at 800-453-9538.

Captured on Canvas: Memories & Moments That Last
Posted on by Shellie Terry Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Captured on Canvas: Memories & Moments That Last

When Kathy Ogg first became a mom 23 years ago, she soon realized she wouldn’t be returning to work as she once knew it. Instead, photographing and printing pictures of her kids, now age 4 through 23, became a hobby, then a passion, then a whole new career.

Five years ago, with her original Canon imagePROGRAF 8400 printer, she started Re:Image Printing, perfecting the art of using photos not only taken by professional photographers, but amateurs who were capturing family moments on their cell phones, as well.

A customer’s candid image captured on canvas.

“I’ve worked with a lot of families who thought that Facebook would be the way to store all their pictures and they got rid of their originals,” Ogg says. “But then they realized that once they’re on Facebook, the photos are tiny.”

So Ogg helps families determine which photos would work best as prints on either photo paper or canvas wraps. She’s now upgraded to the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-4000 and is a loyal user of Fredrix 777VWR Vivid Matte Canvas and LexJet Sunset Select Matte Canvas.

Often, potential clients shy away from canvas wrap prints because they think they need a professional photographer in order to get professional prints made. However, Ogg says, “I’m trying to teach people that cell phone pictures do print really well now — I can blow them up to 24×36-inch canvases. You just have to ask yourself: Does that picture do something to your heart? If so, then it’s worthy to print to a canvas and put on your wall.”

Memories aren’t only photographs. This recipe card is forever remembered on a canvas print.

Ogg moved from Indiana to Winter Garden, Fla., a few years ago, where she now runs a print and canvas wrap shop. When testing the media that she prints to, she looks for consistent results, vivid, accurate colors without a lot of texture and handling without cracking in the corners when stretched on canvas bars.

She’s opted for the canvas wraps because she finds the finished look to be “timeless,” unlike frames that can go out of style and glass that can stick to — and ruin — the printed image. She tops the canvas with a coating for extra protection — gloss coating for landscape images and colors that need a lot of “pop” and satin for family photos.

“Some professional photographers think there’s no way that canvas can reproduce their colors,” she says. “But I just say – why don’t you let me show you. Between the printer and the Fredrix or LexJet canvas, I can guarantee the quality.”

Ogg has also been experimenting with LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric, a removable repositionable self-adhesive product that delivers great image quality, as well.

LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric used for a nursery room mural.

“Print-N-Stick is the most fun material I’ve ever printed to,” she says. “I love how versatile it is, and it will stay up as long as I want it to. It’s truly removable without peeling paint or damaging the wall behind it. It feels more like fabric and really adheres to the texture of the wall.”

Ogg uses Print-N-Stick mostly for her children’s room murals, but is starting to offer it to her customers, too. Between the fun wall murals and canvas wraps, her own home is a reflection of what she can create for clients’ homes. “There’s a reason behind every picture hanging up on my wall,” she says. “I walk in and I’m home — I’m happy and at peace.”

GOframe Stretcher Bars Easily Turn Memories into Art
Posted on by Jennifer Corn Posted in Technology & Products
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GOframe Stretcher Bars Easily Turn Memories into Art

With Father’s Day, graduations and summer upon us, now’s a good time to create gallery-wrapped prints that make wonderful gifts and turn fond memories into beautiful art pieces using the Goframe 1500 Pro kits, available from LexJet.

Whether you’re looking to print on Sunset Select Matte Canvas or one of the new FlexTek fabrics – available in 200g SUV and 170g aqueous versions – the GOframe stretcher bars will easily turn your photos into works of art. According to LexJet Sales specialist, Matt Bailey, his customers love working with the GOframe bars.

“They are very user-friendly, but if needed, we have ‘how-to’ videos available that show step-by-step instructions. Even though we have other bars, the GOframes are the most popular with my customers,” Bailey says.

Aside from being easy to use, the Pro Series GOframe stretcher bars offer adhesive strips and archival glue to ensure proper adhesion and the reusable corner braces are perfect to keep on hand for future gallery wrapping projects.

The next time you want to create a memory worthy of being displayed in a museum, try the GOframe 1500 Pro kits or call 800-453-9538 and talk to your LexJet specialist for additional information. To see how easy it is to use the GOframe system, watch the video below for step-by-step instructions.

Posted on by Shellie Terry Posted in News & Trends, Technology & Products
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Introducing: Even Richer Images with Next Generation Sunset Select Matte Canvas

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Printers and artists turn to Sunset Select Matte Canvas for projects as varied as unique, industrial-themed indoor art canvas wraps in Pennsylvania to weather-resistant fine-art photo banners in Idaho. The smooth texture, unsurpassed white point and crisp, rich photo production make it an easy choice for a multitude of projects and finishing treatments.

Versatile and durable, Sunset Select Matte Canvas was selected as one of 2010’s Hot Awards from Professional Photographer Magazine in the inkjet media category. And now, LexJet has released its next generation of the poly-cotton blend Sunset Select Matte Canvas.

The new Sunset Select Matte Canvas has a slight texture change and a higher Dmax, which means photos are even more detailed and vibrant. These improvements, however, haven’t altered the price, which remains the same for this 18 mil acid-free, pH neutral archival canvas.

Sunset Select Matte Canvas is available in standard roll widths from 17-inches to 60-inches in 40-foot rolls. It works with both dye and pigment inks and is compatible with current and legacy model printers from Canon, ColorSpan, Encad, Epson and Roland.

Call a LexJet print specialist at 800-453-9538 for more information and to try Sunset Select Matte Canvas for your next project.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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A Growing Market for Wide Format Printing at PostNet North Port

PostNet North Port Showroom
PostNet North Port’s show room features numerous samples of the store’s wide-format inkjet capabilities with a Canon printer and LexJet inkjet media.

 

The PostNet store in North Port, Fla., like other PostNet locations across the world, provides a full slate of printing-related services. Over the past three years or so, the North Port location has seen its wide-format printing operation grow substantially each year.

North Port PostNet owner Joyce Klingle estimates that wide-format printing now accounts for about 30 percent of the store’s sales, which is quite a jump over three years given the plethora of products and services the store offers its clients.

PostNet North Port Storefront
PostNet North Port’s storefront features LexJet Aqueous Perforated Vinyl used to promote the store’s printing services.

A big break came when a local Perkins Restaurant manager noticed samples of perforated window graphics at North Port PostNet. The manager asked for pricing and a sample to send to Perkins’ headquarters, which led to a contract to ship window graphics all over the U.S.

“Our customer specialist at LexJet, David Iannotti, first told us about what we could do with perforated window film. Any time we have a question about anything all we have to do is call David; he’s our go-to guy for information about wide-format printing,” says Klingle. “We printed more than 1,500 window perf graphics for this project and laminated them since we knew they would be displayed outdoors.”

Backlit Prints by PostNet North Port
This sample at PostNet North Port is printed on LexJet 8 Mil Absolute Backlit.

The project came off without a hitch and helped contribute to the positive word of mouth so crucial to this PostNet location since it’s not located on busy Highway 41, which bisects North Port.

“We’ve been at this location for three years. We were located across the street from here for about two years before we moved into this location,” explains Klingle. “We rely a lot on word of mouth and people coming in to see what we can do.”

And they can do just about anything with their Canon iPF8000S, though the bulk of their wide-format printing is for canvas gallery wraps printed on LexJet Sunset Select Matte Canvas and coated with Sunset Satin Coating, banners typically printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat ThriftyBanner and window graphics on LexJet Aqueous Perforated Vinyl.

“Every year our wide-format printing increases by about 50 percent,” adds Klingle.