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Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Print-N-Stick for the Band

High School Band Graphics

The Boardman Spartan Marching Band is one of the premier show bands in northeastern Ohio, gaining notoriety for its innovative field shows. Props and graphics are becoming integral parts of each year’s creative productions.

For its annual football homecoming game, Grammy-nominated Boardman High School band director Thomas Ruggieri allows the BHS Spartan marching band’s 189 students to decorate their instruments in celebration.

This year, Ruggieri purchased black mesh covers for the tuba bells, which allow the tuba sound to come through and present a blank canvas to be decorated. The tuba section decided on the Pac Man theme and section leader Mike Perorazio, who is employed at Rudinec & Associates (RA) as a communications specialist, brought the idea to work looking for suggestions.

Any decorations used for the band’s 12 tubas would have to be removable and would have to stand up to Ohio’s unpredictable October weather elements.

Tuba GraphicsSarah Hoefert, Digital Imaging Specialist at RA, suggested LexJet Print-N- Stick Fabric as it had been successfully used in several previous projects. The images were printed to cover only half of the tuba bell opening, leaving room for sound to come out around the Print-N-Stick since it is a much denser material than the mesh covers.

Joe Rudinec, owner of RA, donated the material for these one-time use decorations. RA is a commercial photography studio offering a wide range of services including graphic design, tradeshow booths and banner stands and various display and exhibit services.

Since Print-N-Stick is designed for application to flat solid surfaces, a few safety pins were used to help secure the graphics to each tuba’s mesh cover.

“Mike’s idea and Joe’s donation of sousaphone decorations at this year’s homecoming game worked out so well because the graphics really popped visually while not hindering the sound of the instruments,” says Ruggieri. “It got me thinking about other ways to customize many of the instruments and props we use. This gives us a cost-effective way to give the band a makeover for every new show idea. It’s like getting new instruments that match the theme of each show. The best part is that the stickers will stay on until taken off and not harm or change the instrument in any way except visually.”

The tubas’ decorations were visible and the theme easily recognizable from across the field in the stands where the band plays and throughout the presentation of the pre-game and half-time shows.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Creating a Connection with Wall Murals and Display Graphics

Rudinec Prints Graphics for Museums

Rudinec & Associates is a “photographic services” company, but that doesn’t even begin to describe the company’s capabilities. Case in point is a project Rudinec is currently finishing up for The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, which opens its new museum displays to the public on Thursday, Sept. 12.

Rudinec Prints Graphics for MuseumsThe museum recently purchased an historic church building adjacent to the main museum, added a connecting skywalk, remodeled the old church and converted the classrooms to galleries to display the museum’s folk art and maritime collections.

Rudinec was charged with connecting the collections – which include historic carousel horses, duck decoys, model ships and other ephemera – with graphics that complement, inform and create additional interest. Rudinec does this for museums across the country, providing not only printed graphics, but creative direction, photography and other related services.

In this case, Rudinec mainly used LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric for the various wall murals and informational panels. Rudinec also used LexJet Clear PreLume HD backed with LexJet Elite Coex Backer (5 Mil) for the subtle duck habitat scenery behind the decoys.

Rudinec Prints Graphics for Museums“The duck decoy display case has bars in the back and panels of LexJet Clear fit better for that application. We used Print-N-Stick for the side and bottom panels. We were able to balance the images perfectly between the two materials; the media profiles were remarkably close,” explains Sarah Hoefert, Visual Imaging Specialist for Rudinec. “We used our Epson 9900, and the printing went great. Print-N-Stick really pops; the saturation and image quality is really crisp. For application, it helps to have two people when you have a larger piece or if you’re in a tight spot, but a smaller piece can be applied with just one person.”

Rudinec Prints Graphics for MuseumsHoefert applied multiple panels throughout the rest of the museum’s expanded display areas, six murals for the carousel horse display and one 7′ x 8′ panel for the maritime display area, which Hoefert describes as a “ghost image” of the USS Constitution.

“We photographed a painting of the USS Constitution and created a line drawing of it. The mural turned out very sharp, and it looks like it’s a shadow of the model on the wall behind it,” explains Hoefert.

In the carousel horse gallery, Hoefert applied two 3′ x 5′ panels of Print-N-Stick Fabric above and to the side of the fireplace mantle, which are recessed about 18 inches. “Though the textured plaster surface was fairly uneven, the material had no problem adhering, and shows no sign of releasing,” says Hoefert.

Walls surrounding the carousel horse gallery were built around it to cut down on the amount of sunlight streaming through the numerous windows, mainly to protect the original paintings housed in the display from too much direct light.

Rudinec Prints Graphics for MuseumsHoefert applied four large panels of Print-N-Stick to these walls that are designed to be seen from the street through the windows. “We photographed the carousel horses that are in the gallery, printed the murals and applied them to the walls. When the lights are on at night, they almost glow in the windows,” adds Hoefert.