Yard signs are a quick and easy solution for temporary graphics as well as election year signage, which will be gearing up soon. And that means more demand for signage, such as banners, yard signs and posters.
When it comes to yard signs, there are a few tips to keep in mind in terms of what content to include, color and design and the proper material to print to. Here’s what you need to know, and some tips you can pass along to your customers:
Now more than any other time of year, outdoor signage and graphics are front and center and in demand. We hold outdoor graphics to higher expectations in terms of durability and longevity, but also in photo and color reproduction and overall strength and visual appeal. We gathered some of our customers’ favorite outdoor products for a variety of applications. Check out this list to find your tried-and-true choices, as well as some new products that you’ve yet to discover:
Although it’s not technically specified for outdoor use, our customers have found that LexJet TOUGHcoat ThriftyBanner can take the heat … and the rain. Photographer Carl Caylor reproduced football player images, shown above, and displayed them on the field in frames attached with BannerUps for an entire football season. “We had a few games with really nasty weather, and they really held up great,” he says. “The ThriftyBanner got wet, but after the game we hung them up to dry, and everything was fine. It was amazing for a product that’s not really rated for outdoor longevity.”
LexJet Simple Adhesive Vinyl SUV is a tried-and-true outdoor self-adhesive option. It can be used to cover up eyesores, like Spectra Imaging achieved quite stylishly by covering a generator and finishing it with a film laminate for extra outdoor protection, pictured here. Another self-adhesive favorite is LexJet TOUGHcoat AquaVinyl PSA, a go-to choice for durable outdoor signs, like those used for election season yard signs when paired with Coroplast or foam boards. And don’t forget that LexJet now carries a full line of Avery Dennison films and laminates made specifically for long-term outdoor use for vehicles, transit and marine graphics, as well as floors, windows and walls.
Need a lasting window option? We’ve got dozens of window graphics choices, but if it’s a retail space and you want to see through the graphic, a favorite option is LexJet Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30). Because 70% of the surface area is printable, you get great graphic reproduction and color punch with the added benefit of not obstructing the visibility through the window. Compatible with solvent, eco-solvent, UV-curable and latex inks, it’s designed to mount on the exterior of the window and will cleanly remove from the glass within the first year of installation.
Try LexJet Production Display Film SUV for banner stands. If you’ve got a customer request for banner stands that’ll be used outdoors, this is an ideal option for you. Our Production Display Films were a huge success when they launched, and it’s not hard to see why — this true lay-flat option won’t curl on the sides the way some material will, especially when they’ve been displayed for some time. The solvent option means you don’t have to apply a laminate top coat, and it’s super versatile. LexJet Production Display Film SUV is ideal for trade shows when you don’t need it to stand up to the outdoor elements.
If you’ve got dye-sublimation capabilities in your facility, a high-end, durable solution is ChromaLuxe EXT, made specifically to be used outdoors and guaranteed to last up to and beyond three years. These metal panels create stunning, high-end signage or décor with the vivid color reproduction we expect from dye-sub transfers. Stay tuned to our blog for more information and real-life examples featuring ChromaLuxe EXT!
Wide format inkjet printing has been a revelation for Jaru Copy Services in State College, Pa. Traditionally a reprographics and copy shop for engineering and architecture, adding the ability to produce full-color inkjet posters, graphics and signs to the mix has been a big business builder for the firm.
Operations manager Ed Weeden says the graphics side of the business has grown exponentially in the past two or three years, becoming a much larger percentage of Jaru’s total business.
“We’ve produced more between January and June of this year than we did all year last year. I owe a lot of that to LexJet. And, thanks to LexJet shipping, I don’t have to keep any inventory at all; I order it on-demand. We’re quickly evolving and molding ourselves into a one-stop print shop.”
A good case in point is the ongoing graphics project Jaru is putting together for the Pasto Agricultural Museum in Rock Spring, Pa., which is an extension of Penn State University.
Jaru’s latest addition to the museum is the 7 1/2′ x 16′ photographic reproduction shown here. The museum added the antique farm implements below and on top of the photo, which depicts how those implements were actually used.
The photo was reproduced from a 3″ x 6″ original, printed on a Canon iPF8300 inkjet printer on LexJet TOUGHcoat AquaVinyl PSA, laminated with LexJet Performance Satin UV Vinyl Laminate (3 Mil) and applied in four panels to a 1/4″-thick PVC board.
“The printing and laminating went fantastic, but applying such a large graphic in panels was something new for us; it had to line up perfectly. Chris Shigley [Jaru’s LexJet customer specialist] suggested I use a big squeegee so I made one out of the PVC board. That worked well and we had a couple of people working around the board to make sure everything lined up and didn’t skew,” says Weeden.
Weeden adds that there’s a second piece that will go behind a large hay maker. Jaru has also produced the smaller descriptive signs for each display, also printed on TOUGHcoat AquaVinyl PSA.
Revolution3 Triathlon (REV3) is a growing, dynamic series of 12 triathlons and adventure races held across the United States. REV3 started about five years ago in Connecticut and continues to add new races every year from Florida to Portland, Ore.
Most of the races are Olympic-REV half-REV triathlons, with one full-REV (2.4-mile swim, 26-mile run, 100-mile bike) and an adventure race. More styles of events are on tap for 2013 and beyond, such as family fun runs and glow runs before the big events. The events also support various charities, including Run Across America, Ulman Cancer Fund, Team RWB and Multisport Ministries.
REV3 collaborated with KRT Architectural Signage, Warrenton, Va., to build a superstructure at the finish line for all of its events. REV3 art director Jay Bussiere created the concept and KRT built the structure, including a built-in LED timer.
Bussiere also worked with his LexJet customer specialist, Jaimie Mask, to bring not only the finish line structure graphics to life, but the banners and other signage as well.
“We recently purchased a new Canon iPF9400 wide-format inkjet printer. I did a search for vendors online and found LexJet’s website,” says Bussiere. “It was impressive the way I could narrow down my search and find what I needed easily. LexJet’s site is intuitive, and I appreciate that, being a web designer as well as an online customer. Then, Jaimie gave me some recommendations on inkjet materials for use outdoors.”
Given the type of printer Bussiere purchased, Mask recommended LexJet Extreme AquaVinyl w/ PSA and LexJet TOUGHcoat AquaVinyl PSA for the structure. Bussiere protected the graphics with LexJet Performance Gloss Vinyl Laminate (3 Mil).
He also used LexJet TOUGHcoat Blockout Scrim Banner, LexJet TOUGHcoat ThriftyBanner, LexJet 11 Mil Blockout PolyGloss and LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Polypropylene for various event signage.
The structure and the signs will travel from event to event. The photo here shows the finish line from a triathlon in Knoxville, Tenn. “The finish line structure is quite massive; you really can’t miss it,” says Bussiere. “And, with quality materials from LexJet, matched with custom REV3 graphics, the finish line and expo area become a beacon for athletes and passersby alike.”
For more about REV3 and upcoming events, go to rev3tri.com. And, check out the video recaps of the Knoxville event in the videos embedded below:
REV3 GLOW RUN – Knoxville, TN from REVOLUTION3 Triathlon on Vimeo.
REV3 Triathlon KNOXVILLE Pro Recap 2013 from REVOLUTION3 Triathlon on Vimeo.
From now until May 31, order four rolls of any of the LexJet outdoor aqueous inkjet media listed below and get the lowest-cost roll free. Or, put another way, buy three rolls and you’ll get another one free (the lowest-cost of the four).
All of these solutions feature a bright-white base that provides higher ink saturation for vibrant colors with additional scratch and weather resistance for producing photo-quality outdoor and indoor graphics…
For more information about this limited Buy 3 Get 1 Free promotion, as well as help finding the right product for the project, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538. This offer is not available online and is only good when you call in. Some restrictions apply.
At Fine Balance Imaging Studios (FBIS) in Langley, Wash., on picturesque Whidbey Island, the watchwords are quality and variety. The studio images everything from fine art and photography to commercial and special event graphics, using an amazing range of inkjet printable materials from LexJet to better serve its clientele.
An ongoing project for Fine Balance Imaging is the annual summer art festival in Langely called Choochokam, which is Hopi for “gathering of stars.” FBIS co-owner Joe Menth chairs the design committee and prints just about everything imaginable for the festival, from directionals and schedules to booth signage.
With a long history experimenting with different materials, Menth employs his materials and color management knowledge and arsenal of LexJet media to create a colorful and informative venue for the thousands that swarm to the island for the festival.
A few years ago the look of the festival underwent a makeover with Menth heading up the design committee, employing a metal artist to create custom ironworks for the row markers at the event based on the signature design created by Chris Baldwin.
Menth chose to use LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth for the banners attached to the ironwork, and says the material has held up to weather and abuse after years of being used and re-used. For replacement banners where needed, as well as crosswalk, booth and artist banners, Menth used LexJet’s new Poly Select Light fabric.
Other areas of the festival were decorated with Photo Tex for non-permanent, easy-to-apply-and-peel-off applications like schedules at the main event stage, the fronts and sides of shuttle buses and posters applied at the ferry terminal on huge posts to direct people to the free shuttles.
Fine Balance Imaging also used LexJet TOUGHcoat AquaVinyl PSA for the primary information booths (which Menth also designed) and some other non-adhesive applications on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Polypropylene, though these applications were replaced with Poly Select Light for this year’s festival for the look and feel of fabric, plus a cost savings over other media options.
“I’m impressed with the fine art quality I can get with the Poly Select fabric. You can see the details as crisp as just about anything else we print to. It’s also a nice, affordable material for large wall hangings when a client doesn’t want to invest in a more expensive material,” says Menth.
Just such an opportunity came up recently when local fine artist Dan O’Halloran wanted wall-sized hanging reproductions of his work. Menth printed The Archer and The Kingfisher for him on Poly Select Light on the studio’s Epson Stylus Pro 9900 at 44 inches wide by five feet tall. One of them sold almost immediately.
Menth says, “He was one of the first artists whose work we carried in our art gallery before we started the printing studio, and we’ve remained friends for many years. While he’s still working his way through his old offset lithography limited editions of all of his original pencil drawings, he is now starting to explore alternative processes with us, printing on fabrics and polyester cloth. We’ve done large-scale tapestry-style hangings for Dan and other fine artists on machine-washable cottons and silks, but the price point was simply too high for the perceived value the artwork could be priced for at retail. The Poly Select Light cloth has become an excellent alternative for a flowing fabric look without the associated costs of real cottons and silks we’ve printed on in the past.”
FBIS also hangs three fabric portraits along the side of the building outside the second story windows. The banner on the left, printed on Poly Select Light, is a reproduction of 19th Century Japanese artwork the studio prints. A whopping 50 percent of all retail sales of the prints from an ongoing exhibition started last September by FBIStudios, by the way, go to the Japanese Relief Fund for victims of the tsunami.
The “Ukiyo-e: Pictures of the Floating World” exhibit of Japanese woodblock print reproductions hangs throughout the building inside, with prints on Moab Moenkopi Unryu Kozo (Mulberry) Paper with bamboo hanging rods, as well as the ever-popular Water Resistant Satin Cloth.
Large hangings of Hokusai and Hiroshige, as well as many other lesser-known 19th Century Japanese artists are represented, care of the public domain imagery available through the Library of Congress. Much care has been taken to keep the original aesthetic of the work, with minor retouching done to clean up the images, but without the over-saturation and over-sharpening that appears on the gaudy reproductions of Japanese art found on most large-scale retail poster shops and websites.
The resulting images are available not only in the building where FBIS has their printing and photography/classroom studios, but also on their new website, GratitudeGallery.com, where they are adding many of their clients’ work at no commission; artists receive 100 percent of the retail sales minus the print cost.
The middle building banner image on Poly Select Light is a rainbow, representing the color magic FBIS works for its clientele. The third and latest banner is a photo of the island’s lavender fields, a picture-perfect scene printed on LexJet Poly Select Light that captures the printing expertise of the studio and the island’s charm.
Fine Balance Imaging has been donating the printing of building banners for various community events since the day they moved into the historic Bayview Cash Store building, but always at a cost that prevented the banners from being changed out more than once every four to six months.
Previously, the banners were printed on Tyvek, Polypropylene, or Water Resistant Satin Cloth. With the introduction of the Poly Select Light cloth, however, all future banners will be run on the versatile and cost-effective material.
“The banners get a lot of attention and it’s pretty neat having something that big with all that color hanging from the building,” says FBIS co-owner Nancy McFarland. “We usually leave those out on the building for a month or two. They get a lot of weather and wind, so it’s a great durability test.”
FBIS prints all of its work on its three Epson printers, a 4800, 9800 and 9900. Menth says the printers, coupled with the ImagePrint RIP, ensure color consistency and accuracy on each job, and that’s what FBIS is all about.
“I love the printers, and we use ImagePrint 8.0, which is beautiful because we can download profiles for just about any printable material in the industry and for any lighting condition we could run across. It also allows us to run these ridiculously long banners,” adds Menth.