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Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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The Keys to Product Placement at the Point of Sale

Printing cooler wraps for liquor stores

As everyone in the beverage distribution market knows, point of sale sign placement is a crucial component of sales. Though it can’t always be quantified there’s no doubt that a restaurant, bar or c-store account that’s happy with their signage is more than happy to place more orders and try different brands offered by the distributor.

Printing cooler wraps for a convenience store
Cooler wrap printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene by Brent Lee and David Raszka, Atlas Distributing, for Renaissance Wine & Spirits, Worcester, Mass.

An excellent case in point of this maxim in operation is Atlas Distributing Inc., and its print shop headed by graphic design manager Brent Lee. Lee says the two most important keys to ensuring high-visibility point of sale placement for Atlas Distributing’s brands – primarily MillerCoors, Samuel Adams, Corona and Heineken – is quick turnaround and colorful, photo-quality graphics.

“Turnaround time is easily the number one factor for us. One of our competitors here promises a turnaround time of two weeks for all their signs. We have a turnaround time of two to three days, so that’s our number one selling point,” explains Lee. “As far as winning signage space at the point of sale, we always use the most current graphics supplied by the brand. Our competitor’s graphics are very simple – logo and price; they won’t use any background graphics, so we have a leg up there as well. Also, we provide the account with a digital proof if is it’s a larger sign before we print and install it.”

In order to fulfill their two- to three-day turnaround promise, Lee says they rely on LexJet’s shipping and logistics infrastructure to get materials into the shop exactly when they’re needed.

“I’ve been using LexJet since I’ve been here, which is almost four years now. LexJet is the leader in this industry. I’ve used a lot of different suppliers and LexJet is the best and shipping is number one; it’s absolutely killer how quickly my orders get placed. If I send Chris [Piersoll, Atlas Distributing’s customer specialist] an email in the morning it’s out before I know it.”

Moreover, the recent addition of a Canon iPF8000S to supplement the shop’s older HP 5500 has also helped speed up the pace. “The Canon printer is incredibly fast. It saves us a lot of time and allows a very quick turnaround, and our clients love that. Plus, when we first got the Canon our sales guys and accounts noticed the quality immediately,” says Lee.

Since the HP 5500 is 60″ wide and the Canon is 42″ wide, larger work is printed on the HP, which allows flexibility and greater efficiency in the print shop workflow. The print shop uses LexJet UV Ink Replacement Cartridges for HP 5000/5500 and Lee says the switch was seamless.

“The LexJet Ink is awesome. We’ve had no problems with it, there’s no difference in color, it’s just as good as the original ink, it was easy to switch, and when you see the savings it’s a no-brainer,” says Lee.

Lee uses Adobe Photoshop CS4 for design and the FlexiSIGN RIP to queue up and send designs to the printers, which also include two OKI laser printers for table tents, case cards, menus and other smaller signage. The print shop’s product purchases and workflow enhancements are driven by those two keys to successful product placement in the field – speed and quality – and it’s working.

Printing point of sale signage for a bar“A few months ago I made a sign for an account and put the wrong brand on it, and instead of returning the sign they actually took the product because they liked the sign,” relates Lee. “We have another account that wanted to make their entire store a Samuel Adams brewery so we made 10 to 12 signs that were just brewery images. That was a very custom job and the account was very happy with it.”

Nor is Lee afraid to experiment with different materials to get that edge in the market. He’s tried any number of banner materials, setting on LexJet Poly Select Heavy fabric reinforced with LexJet Heavy Duty Banner Tape on the edges as his favorite, as well as LexJet Aqueous Perforated Vinyl (70/30) for one-way window graphics.

“We use the Heavy Duty Banner tape to help with fraying on outdoor banners, and that’s been working well. The Poly Select Heavy fabric with the banner tape on the ends is very strong and durable. In New England we’ve had some strong winds, but the banners stay up and the quality is still awesome,” says Lee.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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A UV Boost to Production at the Coors Distribution Center’s Print Shop

Printing signs with a UV curable inkjet printerIn 2011 the Coors Distribution Center (CDC) in Denver printed more than 100,000 signs, plastering the city and the Front Range surrounding Denver with its brand. CDC print shop manager Chuck Black says sign production has increased at least 110 percent and up to 140 percent over the past six years.

Some of that can be attributed to the merging of the Miller and Coors brands, but Black says it all has to do with simple demand.

Inkjet printing point of sale signs“We offer the high quality printing that a lot of our competitors aren’t able to do, so it gives us an edge. We get opportunities to put up signage where not many others can, just because they want that quality,” says Black.

An important component of the quality produced by the CDC’s print shop is keeping up with the latest technology it gets from LexJet. That way the CDC adds versatility to quality, winning on all fronts in Denver’s beer wars.

The print shop recently added CET Color’s X-Press 500H UV Hybrid R-T-R/Flatbed printer as well as a Canon iPF9000S to its lineup, both of which have helped boost production and meet the demand in the field.

Coroplast cut outs printed for special promotions“The new CET UV-curable printer has updated heads and the passes are a lot smoother in the overlap, which means you don’t see the same banding you might usually see in a UV printer. It’s running at medium resolution and it’s running faster than our older UV printer at its lowest resolution, plus it was a lot less expensive than our original UV printer,” says Black.

Since the printer’s a hybrid, it can print directly to flat, rigid materials like Coroplast as well as roll material like banner stock. Black says the UV inks provide a matte finish regardless of whether the print surface is gloss, matte or luster, so when something needs the pop of gloss to make it shine indoors, the Canon printer takes over.

Printing banners with an inkjet printerThe added speed and quality of the two printers allows the CDC to offer its accounts a wider range of signs, including creative Coroplast cut-outs (pictured) for special promotions. Also, and most importantly, the CDC’s beverage brands are front and center, dominating the point of sale in its market.

“The newer technology, with both the CET UV printer and the Canon, helps us win advertising space. When our reps put out our signs they really impress the owners of the businesses we serve,” adds Black.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Step One in a Fine Art and Photography Support System

Furthermore, based in Washington, D.C., is on its way to being much more than a print shop, thanks to the vision of its founder, Jose Ruiz, and Bridget Sue Lambert, Director & Digital Print Open house inkjet printingSpecialist for Furthmore Print, the company’s production studio. The goal is to make Furthermore an alternative incubator for comtemporary art in D.C., New York and beyond. The first step in that goal is to make printing more accessible to those artists.

Furthermore recently kicked off the concept with an open house at its studio, an event that drew hundreds of artists from the surrounding area. Though Furthermore opened its doors late last year, they took time to execute a creative printing project for the open house to show artists all the different possibilities they can explore with inkjet printing and the variety of printable media available to them.

“We recruited artists from New York and Washington, D.C., and we assigned those artists to work on a specific paper,” explains Lambert. “One artist used LexJet Sunset Photo Metallic Paper, another used Sunset Cotton Etching, and so forth, for 18 prints on 12 different papers and materials in all, including Photo Tex and LexJet 7 Mil Absolute Backlit film. We matched their work with the medium we thought would work best.”

Open house fine art reproductionUsing mainly LexJet materials and a smattering of Hahnemuhle papers, the work was produced on Furthermore’s Epson Stylus Pro 9900 through the ImagePrint RIP. The aim, says Lambert, was to show the broad spectrum of inkjet printing possibilities and how each artist’s work can be reproduced to either stringent specifications or into something completely new and different.

One artist, Patrick McDonough, reproduced his work as a windsock with LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth. Another, Isabel Manalo, whose work is originally created on Mylar, had theirs printed on the 7 Mil Absolute Backlit film. The result was a wall of diverse, unusual and innovative work that was the highlight and focal point of the open house.

“The whole idea of the print shop is to provide more economical pricing that’s still high quality and archival on nice papers so that artists have a chance to experiment more and make this part of their studio practice, instead of just for exhibitions,” says Lambert. “Before we created this wall of art and photography it was difficult to demonstrate all of the possibilities with just stock samples. Now they can see everything and all the possibilities in a loose exhibition format.”

Artists and photographersLambert estimates that 200 to 300 artists and art appreciators attended the open house. MillerCoors donated about 20 cases of Peroni and Blue Moon to help with the event, underscoring the widespread community support Furthermore has for its overall concept of being a support system for the arts.

“We wouldn’t be in the position we’re in without the help of LexJet and our customer specialist, Rob Finkel. If I was having trouble with the software or the printer he was right there to help me get it set up. I’ll call him up and tell him what I’m trying to accomplish and he lets me know about the hottest papers and what will work best for the situation,” says Lambert. “I had a lot of struggles with the software I originally chose to use, because I didn’t listen to Rob. He kept telling me to use ImagePrint and I was against it, but then I finally came around and it’s been so much easier.”