overlaminateTag:

Posted on by Shellie Terry Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
Leave a comment

LexJet brandUP: Wheels Up at Suncoast Jeep Festival

In the LexJet brandUP tradition, we supported a community event with wide-format printing and dye-sub transferred graphics of all types to highlight event activities and direct foot — and vehicle — traffic for the second annual Suncoast Jeep Festival at the Sarasota Fairgrounds in Sarasota, Fla. (Watch the video above to see all the activity and printed projects.)

The Festival is a gathering of Jeep lovers from all around Florida who convene for two days of fun that includes obstacle courses, relay games, kids mini-Jeep courses, a Tug-O-Jeep competition, food trucks and a vendor area with Jeep styling options to trick-out your ride.

Even though there’s a saying that Jeep stands for “Just Empty Every Pocket,” somewhere between the lift kits, bumpers, lights, winches and other modification options, these folks were digging deep to help charities, too. A major purpose for the event was supporting organizations focused on mental health, first responders, veterans and children in need.

“The Festival is a gathering of vendors and community and enthusiasts to raise money for charities,” says Billy Elkins, the Festival co-director and designer for this year’s event graphics. “We decided this year that we were going to take it up a notch across the board. We got a lot of new activities and we also wanted to step-up all of our signage and take advantage of all the stuff that’s available to us in the graphic world today.”

That stuff includes things like panoRama Walk & Wall textured self-adhesive material that marked the finish line for the Tug-O-Jeep competition; HP Print & Cut and HP Adhesive Vinyl for event decals and mini-Jeep graphics; and Fisher Textiles for outdoor flags in the Jeepers Midway.

“This was a highly branded event, and we wanted to take it to the next level, and we were able to do that with all of the graphics we had,” Elkins says.

Visit Suncoast Jeep Festival to learn more, or call a LexJet print specialist at 800-453-9538 to learn how LexJet products can enhance your next event.

A Welcome Addition: HP Clear Gloss Cast Overlaminate
Posted on by Jennifer Corn Posted in Technology & Products
Leave a comment

A Welcome Addition: HP Clear Gloss Cast Overlaminate

Late last year, LexJet introduced the HP Adhesive vinyl line to the industry at SGIA and the response from customers has been fantastic. Earlier this year, HP Prime Matte Air GR was added to the portfolio. It offers the same imaging quality as the Prime Matte Air GP, but with a gray removable adhesive.

Increasing variety to its overlaminate line, HP announced the addition of Clear Gloss Cast Overlaminate earlier this month. “The new cast laminate is a way for print service providers to see an increase in profitability on box trucks with rivets as well as fleet graphics,” says Tiffany Liashek, National Accounts specialist. “The new overlaminate provides significant cost savings to comparable products. As much as $200 per roll, in some cases.”

Partnering HP Optimal Gloss Air GRP with the new cast laminate, gives PSPs have a total graphics solution for around $0.92/sf. Liashek eases concerns of mixing the calendered Optimal with the cast laminate. “If the laminate is a higher quality vinyl than the printed vinyl, you can mix it. But you never want to use a calendered laminate on a cast vinyl. That’s when shrinkage and edge curl can occur,” she says.

In the past, when an installer heard “calendered vinyl,” he expected that product would be lower quality when compared with cast vinyl, but manufacturing and adhesive technology have improved. “The terms ’cast’ and ‘calendered’ should now be thought of as the way the film is made, not an indicator of quality,” Liashek says. “With calendered film now offering the same or better durability, finish and appearance as many cast films, the only remaining factor is the cost.”

Often, customers want to know which laminate is right for them. To help them choose, Liashek asks some important questions: “To make sure that I offer the right solution, I ask where the graphic will be displayed? What is the temperature like? Is there a lot of sunshine? Is it a vertical or horizontal surface application?” she says. “How they answer these questions will determine if they should consider a cast overlaminate.” The HP cast overlaminate offers protection against abrasions, heat and UV rays, and is extremely conformable. It also adds longevity to underlying graphics, with 10-year durability.

With the newest addition to the portfolio, PSPs can provide high-quality, durable results at a reasonable cost. “Any experienced installer can use calendered vinyl, and he knows when it will be more economical,” Liashek says. “That means an educated consumer can save a lot of money without sacrificing quality.”

Call a LexJet specialist at 800-453-9538 or visit LexJet.com to stay up to date with the latest information on additional products to the HP Adhesive Vinyl portfolio.

Posted on by Jennifer Corn Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
Leave a comment

Putting it to the Test: HP Optimal Gloss Air GRP is “a Winner”

Recently, Scott Kaiser and his installation team at Sunrise Signs in Gloucester City, N.J., received a roll of HP Optimal Gloss Air GRP from LexJet. Before using any new product for a project, Kaiser says they like to push the material to the extreme. “Any time we try out new material, we torture it to see what it’s going to do,” he says.

So how did the Optimal fare? “We tortured it and it stood up great,” Kaiser says. “We stretched it and it didn’t white out, which can sometimes be an issue with latex inks. I also like the repositionable quality, and it really does take to those rivets!”

In the video above, you can see the intense testing of the Optimal laminated with HP Gloss Polymeric Overlaminate which includes stretching, overstretching, heating, rolling over rivets and repeated repositioning. Not only is an installer looking to see how well the color sits on the material, but checking performance on different surfaces is also important.

“We put it on some rough surfaces on that truck. It’s an old, beat up box truck and it was in terrible shape,” Kaiser says. “We wanted to see how it does when problem areas arise. We lifted it back up and reheated it to see if it went back to its shape. It did.”

When it comes to fleet or box truck graphic installations, there can be some challenges. “He (the installer) was putting some graphics on a super smooth trailer, and he liked working with it, but for another trailer, there were lots of rivets.”

Although there were many rivets on one of the jobs, Kaiser says the vinyl held tight. “They just had to work a little bit slower through those areas, but the vinyl held, and the rivets look tight.”

Kaiser says that he will continue to use the HP Optimal Gloss Air GRP protected with HP Gloss Polymeric Overlaminate for trailers and box trucks. “I’ve used other well-known brands before, and I think the HP Optimal had great success when compared to the other products,” he says. “Our installer even put it on his own trailer.”

Whether testing against the rigors of installing on a less-than-perfect surface or overstretching it to look for white-out conditions, Kaiser and his installer put the Optimal Gloss Air GRP through its paces, and both have declared it a “winner.”

If you are interested in learning more about the performance of the Optimal Gloss Air GP – or any other products in the HP Adhesive Vinyl line – call a LexJet specialist at 800-453-9538 or visit LexJet.com today.

Posted on by Jennifer Corn Posted in News & Trends, Technology & Products
Leave a comment

Now Available from LexJet: A New Line of HP Adhesive Vinyl

Later this week, we will be unveiling a new HP Adhesive Vinyl line at SGIA Expo in Las Vegas. These new products will give print service providers the ability to offer a total HP solution if they are currently using HP Latex printers and ink.

These products will have competitive pricing to help PSPs save on production costs when compared to similar products currently on the market.

HP Prime offers three varieties of intermediate calendered vinyl products:

  • HP Prime Gloss CP has a bright white gloss finish with a clear permanent adhesive
  • HP Prime Gloss Air GP and HP Prime Matte Air GP offer air-egress liners for bubble free application and opaque gray adhesive that provides consistent image quality, regardless of the substrate color

HP Optimal offers:

  • HP Optimal Gloss Air GRP is a high-performance calendered vinyl with a gray repositionable adhesive and an air-egress liner. This multi-purpose vinyl works for everything from fleet graphics to wayfinding signs, giving PSPs the opportunity to reduce the number of products they keep on hand for different applications.

HP Polymeric Overlaminates:

  • HP Gloss Polymeric Overlaminate and HP Matte Polymeric Overlaminate, which can be used in conjunction with all HP Prime and HP Optimal products or as clear, printable films.

These additions to HP Large Format media are compatible with latex, solvent and UV-curable printers. “This vinyl line offers consistent and reliable image quality which means clients can increase productivity while they decrease waste and labor,” says Vince Bejar, LexJet sales specialist.

LexJet understands the focus on the origin and environmental impact of goods. With that concern in mind, these products are manufactured in America, are REACH compliant, and contain no chemicals that require notification in accordance with Proposition 65.

If you are interested in learning more about the new HP Adhesive Vinyl products, please contact a LexJet sales representative at 800-453-9538 or visit us at www.lexjet.com.