Carnival of Inkjet Printed Backlit Signs

Printing backlit signs for a travelling carnival

Keith Bernard, owner of Now That’s a Wrap by Road Signs, is a vinyl application expert. Based in Sarasota, Fla., the company wraps anything and everything with precision and perfection.

When the company was recently asked to create a package of 48 backlit signs for two carnival game stations, Bernard decided to take a unique approach.

Instead of simply applying a translucent backlit inkjet material with a gloss laminate to the front of the approximately 24″ x 40″ Lexan panels that would line the top of the game structure, Bernard printed LexJet Simple Transparent Adhesive Vinyl in reverse, backed it with Simple Translucent Vinyl (6 Mil) and applied both to the Lexan with a laminator.

An alternate way to print backlit signs“Since they travel a lot from place to place and they wanted it protected by the Lexan itself so that if the Lexan gets scratched it doesn’t scratch the print. So we did a second-surface mount and mirrored the image so that you’re looking through the Lexan at the graphic,” explains Bernard. “We could have printed to a translucent material and applied a gloss laminate and no one would know the difference, but with the second surface mount to the Lexan it really looks a lot better and it’s more durable for all the traveling it will do.”

Once the carnival is ready to pull up stakes and move to the next venue, like a state fair, the entire game station folds up for easy transportation. Then, when it’s folded out again the Lexan graphics are already in place in their slots and backlit with LEDs recessed in the top of the game station.

“Those graphics really popped out there and the customer was very happy,” adds Bernard. And, thanks to the process Bernard chose to apply the graphics they can be handled rather roughly with no damage to the graphics.

WPPI University Continues in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Portland

WPPI University, the traveling two-day workshop from Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI), just concluded its first summer stop in New Jersey and moves on to Atlanta (July 24-25), Las Vegas (Aug. 13-14) and Portland, Ore. (Sept. 5-6).

Photography seminars and workshopsThe workshops are $149 per person and include a mini trade show, a portfolio review, seminars on a variety of topics, lunch and refreshments, a certificate of completion, and a free expo pass to WPPI 2013 in Las Vegas, March 7-14.

Educational tracks include Lighting, Portrait, Business, Business/Marketing, Social Media, Workflow, Seniors and Portrait, all taught by industry experts.

The portfolio review is a one-on-one or group review with one of WPPI’s judges, who will critique portfolios by identifying strengths and weaknesses and then will give advice on how to best showcase your portfolio.

For more information and to register, go to www.wppionline.com/on-the-road.shtml.

David Ziser Wins Sunset Award for Print on Sunset Photo eSatin

Award winning wedding photographyYou may know David Ziser from such pro photo educational venues as his popular Captured by the Light seminars and his DigitalProTalk.com blog. Ziser is also renowned, and originally renowned, for his just-right wedding and portrait photography.

At the recent PhotoPro Expo held on Super Bowl Sunday weekend in Covington, Ky., just across the river from Cincinnati, Ziser won the coveted LexJet Sunset Award, the first awarded this competition season, for his remarkable print on Sunset Photo eSatin Paper.

The image, from a recent wedding photo shoot, is entitled Can’t Take My Eyes off You. It’s an appropriate moniker for the shot, which makes the bride front and center.

As with all of Ziser’s photography, the award-winning ingredient is in the subtleties that make the photo so strong and rich. While the lighting on the bride is picture perfect, all lines point to her: the railings and fences converge naturally where the bride is posed.

While this may look fantastic digitally, the trick in competition is to translate the digital image to print. That’s why Ziser chooses Sunset Photo eSatin Paper. He says his studio uses it exclusively for all of their album printing.

“The heavier weight and wide color gamut of eSatin is exactly what I’m after in a print; I just love how that print medium presents,” says Ziser.

Look for your opportunity to win the LexJet Sunset Award at upcoming competitions across the country. We’ll preview most of those competition opportunities here at the LexJet Blog, and post follow-up stories on the winners.

P.O.P., Display and Print Ideas at the Shopper Expo: LED Lighting

Lighting point of purchase displays with LEDsCHICAGO – While the weather outside here is frightful, brand managers, marketing and advertising firms, and others developing and deploying in-store retail marketing programs huddle inside Navy Pier to find out the latest at the Shopper Marketing Expo.

LexJet is here in Booth 720, sharing our expertise and insight on producing eye-catching, effective promotional and branding programs with large-format inkjet printing. One lucky attendee will also walk away with a Canon iPF8300 inkjet printer. Not a bad deal at all.

Lighting backlit cabinets with LEDs
Inkjet graphics for an in-store display backlit with LEDs by LEDCONN. LED lighting is a great opportunity for large-format print providers.

Speaking of wide-format printing, in addition to the usual mix of display hardware, there are some notable developments in LED technology you ought to know about for lighting alternatives. Two companies – LEDCONN and Louisville Lamp Co. – are showing their LED lighting products for edge-lit and backlit large-format graphics.

For years, LEDs have been steadily gaining acceptance as an alternative lighting source, particularly in the sign industry for lighting channel letters. Just a few years ago, the only economically viable LED light source was the red LED. Since then, white LED costs have plummeted while the quality has gotten significantly better.

Inkjet printed graphics lighted with LEDs
At the Shopper Marketing Expo in Chicago, Louisville Lamp Co. showed how inkjet-printed graphics can be edge-lit in acrylic.

Moreover, LED lighting is much easier to install and service, it’s longer lasting and is more energy efficient than traditional lighting sources like fluorescent bulbs. For large-format print providers this is fantastic news because it will help sell more backlit projects to end-use customers.

LED providers like LEDCONN and Louisville Lamp have been working on viable solutions for backlit cabinets and appear to have been successful. LEDs can be used to provide different effects, from a more typical backlit to edge-lit and other halo-lit applications. And, since LEDs are tiny and compact, the cabinet profile is much slimmer, for an elegant, screen-like display.

Printing guru and Color Cossack, Tom Hauenstein, he of the infamously awesome LexJet Great Output Tour, said the one thing to look out for with LED lighting is that it’s cooler/bluer than other light sources. Therefore, it’s recommended that you test and experiment with images on the light source to see how they shift and adjust accordingly. Also, you might be able to request a warmer version of the LEDs from the manufacturer or supplier.

Other companies in the industry, like Sylvania and SloanLED, have been concentrating on the larger outdoor backlit cabinets and very close to revolutionizing this part of the sign industry as they did with channel letters (it’s estimated that most channel letter installations are now done with LEDs rather than neon).

Now is an excellent time to look into LED lighting as part of your large-format print services. The qualities and benefits of LEDs, as well as their novelty and eco-friendly aspect, provide additional opportunity and profit potential

Tomorrow, look for a Shopper Expo wrap-up on the “path to purchase,” how that path is changing with Internet media and smart phones and what it means to you.