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Posted on by Shellie Terry Posted in Tips & Tricks
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How EnduraFab™ Can Help You Break Into New Markets

If you’re looking for new revenue streams — and who isn’t? — consider how the latex-compatible EnduraFab™ Textiles product line can help you reach new customers or expand the services you provide to your current clients.

The key to selling printable fabrics to your customers is focusing on the benefits of these products and how their versatility and ease of use can help your customers achieve their project goals. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits your customers will love:

Lightweight and easy to transport: Since they are fabric, EnduraFab™ products are much lighter weight than vinyl and can easily be folded and carried without creases and wrinkles, making it a great option for trade shows or traveling exhibits.

Durability: These 100% polyester warp knit fabrics are specially treated with a proprietary coating that makes them latex-compatible while still maintaining a nice hand feel. With latex technology, the images have great longevity and color reproduction that lasts. These fabrics have also passed wash testing as well under normal wash cycle conditions.

Versatility: EnduraFab™ products can be finished in a number of ways — stitched to create pole pockets, finished with silicone edging for framing or simply trimmed with scissors for short-term signage that doesn’t fray along the edges.

Knowing this, where can you attract new customers? Consider retail shop owners who like the elegant drape of a fabric sign, versus a vinyl banner that looks like it belongs outdoors. EnduraFab™ Frontlit is a great option for soft signage or tableskirts. Also, many retail outlets prefer SEG frames that can be easily swapped out. EnduraFab™ Stretch finished with Keder Tape or a gel edging is so easy to use that any retail staff person could make a sign switch in a matter of minutes.

Think about facilities where fire retardant properties are important, such as schools, malls and healthcare centers. EnduraFab™ Frontlit FR, EnduraFab™ Frontlit Premier FR and EnduraFab™ Stretch FR all meet the flammability standard for NFPA 701, 2015 Edition (Test 1, Small Scale) and require heat set for desired print durability.

SEG-framed EnduraFab™ Frontlit Premier is a great option for modern, clean office or home décor that’s heavier weight and resistant to scratches and scuffs. Check out the video below to watch EnduraFab in action as a dramatic spa décor art piece.

Posted on by Shellie Terry Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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LexJet brandUP: A Tail-Wagging-Worthy Business Décor Upgrade

For a shop that caters to cuddly cuteness all day long, Average Joe’s Grooming‘s new space was a little bland. Although the walls were painted cheery sky blue and mint green, the owners Brittany Fenner and Tracey Barette knew their workplace décor could use an infusion of personality to match their happy, furry clients.

That’s where the LexJet brandUP crew came in to create and install custom graphics and photography that was both fun and functional. The team started with the most pressing issue: the front window.

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Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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I Love L.A.! Printed Cityscapes Give Office Walls New Life

Custom Wallpaper by ThumbPrint

ThumbPrint, based in Simi Valley, Calif., was instrumental in transforming an office space in the heart of Los Angeles into a custom experience.

Wallpaper Graphics LexJet Pebble WallPro SUVWhat ThumbPrint’s Kenny Miller calls a “tenant improvement project” for the building located on Wilshire Boulevard near Beverly Hills was certainly improved with the addition of the black-and-white wall murals.

Three of the murals focus on Los Angeles cityscapes, while another features a classic photo of Ben Hogan swinging away on a golf course (the client is an avid golfer). The trick in pre-press was creating consistency among the murals, which ThumbPrint did by adjusting the levels so that the blacks and grayscale matched as closely as possible, creating consistency from mural to mural and room to room.

ThumbPrint Custom Wall GraphicsThe images were printed on LexJet Pebble WallPro SUV 15 oz. by York with a Seiko ColorPainter M-64s low-solvent printer with 3M SX inks, and applied with wallpaper paste.

Two of the cityscapes were applied in conference rooms and measure 89″ x 134″. The image with the palm trees in the foreground were applied to a freestanding wall, covering 89″ x 110″, and wrapped about eight inches around either side of the wall. The Ben Hogan photo is 90″ x 130″ and is the office’s focal point.

“We ordered samples of a few different textures, and Pebble was what the client wanted. It was a good choice because it has a real nice look and feel to the print with some dimension to it, and I like the price point. When you look at it from different angles it gives you a bit of shimmer shine to it. It printed great, and the customer was really excited when we installed it,” says Miller. “The WallPro went down on the walls better than I anticipated. I just went to the wallpaper store and got rollers and adhesive paste. It took about three and a half hours to apply all of it. I mostly do adhesive vinyl, which goes up faster, but this has a nicer look to it and it doesn’t show the seams like vinyl does. I like the way the 15-oz. applied to the wall; there was never a time I was frustrated with it. It completely transforms an office space into something custom and a more inviting space.”

Custom Wallpaper Images ThumbPrintThumbPrint brings the full complement of design, branding and print services to its customers, from promotional products and commercial print products to vehicle wraps and corporate décor. ThumbPrint is a one-stop shop for the majority of its clients, and can create and build a brand from design to print and installation so their clients portray a professional image.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Clear Lake Press Prints Nostalgic Office Décor

Wall Mural by Clear Lake Press

Eric Erickson, prepress systems administrator for Clear Lake Press, Waseca, Minn., loves LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric, and is sticking it everywhere to give customers and prospects a bigger-than-life visual of what they can do with the printable adhesive-back fabric.

The nostalgic photo above was applied at the offices of Clear Lake Press to illustrate the eye-catching displays that can be easily and economically created in similar settings. Erickson has also created visuals in various forms and formats for other environments, like cubicle and bedroom walls.

Cubicle Decor by Clear Lake Press
Clear Lake Press made a cubicle more livable with a view using LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric.

“We’re trying to provide some creative ways of using it, more than just rectangles on walls. You make up something, show it off, and it helps spark ideas for use in their home or business,” says Erickson.

Erickson adds that the unique adhesive, which makes it easy to re-position, remove and re-use is also a big selling point to customers.

“Now that we have offered Print-N-Stick and are showing it off, a lot of people have been asking about it. For instance, we printed some artwork for the Waseca United Way from the front of their brochure. We made a large graphic out of it with Print-N-Stick for use at local businesses to put on their walls and promote the United Way. When they’re done with the promotion, they can peel it off and put it back on the backing paper and hold onto it for future use,” says Erickson.

Printed Wall Graffiti by Clear Lake Press
Wall murals don’t have to be plain rectangles as this cut-out printed wall graffiti illustrates.

For the classic kids’ lemonade stand photo from 1967, Erickson asked the Waseca County Historical Society, a long-time customer, if he could use the photo for their wall. The Historical Society was happy to oblige (with the requisite “be careful with the photo” instructions) and Erickson scanned the original 6 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ black-and-white photo.

The photo was scanned with a desktop Epson scanner and brought into Photoshop for touch-up to get the right tone, and blown up to its final wall mural size of 12′ x 8′. The image was printed in two panels on the company’s Canon iPF8300 and applied horizontally with the help of employees Tonya Wittman and Cory Stencel.

Wall Graphics by Clear Lake Press
Clear Lake Press printed this baby room decor with Print-N-Stick Fabric.

“There’s a little bit of an overlap that you can see. This was our first time applying more than one panel and we learned from the experience. Next time, we’ll include an overlap and slice it right down the middle and take off the excess for a clean, exact cut,” says Erickson. “We love the material and the way the bright white point on the fabric reproduces artwork, whether it’s black-and-white or full color. The coordinator at the Historical Society was thrilled with the mural.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Good, Profitable Business: Custom Inkjet Wall Murals for Home Décor

Printing custom wallpaper for home and office decor

“It’s good, profitable business,” says Bill Barley, owner of Bill Barley & Associates, Lexington, S.C. That “good, profitable business” to which Barley refers is custom wall murals printed on a variety of materials for home and office décor.

In the project pictured here, Barley chose to print this original mural by David Hedges to LexJet TOUGHcoat 3R DuPont Tyvek. Barley discussed using an adhesive-backed product, like Photo Tex Repositionable Fabric, with the client, but the client was more comfortable using professional wallpaper hangers to apply the Tyvek.

“The job went really well. The LexJet Tyvek material is dimensionally stable. When you wet the back of it and put the paste on it, it doesn’t swell like a lot of wallpaper products do. The wallpaper professionals told me that they’ve had problems with similar murals on conventional wallpaper material swelling, which makes it very difficult to match up the panels,” says Barley.

The artwork was commissioned specifically for this project. Barley planned for Hedges to paint the initial artwork at one-third the size of the final mural.  Barley digitized it and Hedges finished the details using Adobe Illustrator.

The images were brought up to full size with Genuine Fractals and then cropped in Photoshop. “I did the cuts full size in Photoshop so I could get pixel-to-pixel matching with no overlap on the final panels,” says Barley.

The panels – four 34″ x 6′ vertical panels for the bar mural, one 3′ x 5′ panel for the car/theater image and three 36″ x 10′ panels that would comprise the top border – were printed through the ImagePrint RIP on Barley’s Epson Stylus Pro 9880.

“As far as the material printed, it was excellent. The material holds color well with good color matching. I printed out a sample and checked the color balance on it and then printed the job. I didn’t have to re-print anything,” says Barley. “It’s a permanent installation in an upscale home, which is one of the reasons they wanted to hang it like wallpaper. There will be cabinetry and a marble counter built around it to finish it off.”