Wall MuralsTag:

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Setting the Scene with Wall Murals

Museum Exhibit Wall Mural
This wall mural, printed on LexJet PolyGloss PSA with a Canon iPF9100 wide format printer, sets the scene for the exhibit, Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization. Photo courtesy Orlando Science Center.

 

Wall murals are an excellent way to set the scene for any main attraction, whether it’s a special event, an exhibit, or any other venue.

LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric
Eric Vickers, creative manager for the Orlando Science Center, first tested LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric on various surfaces in the graphics department. Graphic design by Chris Ward. Photo courtesy Orlando Science Center.

The Orlando Science Center has recently used printed wall murals to great effect for its special exhibits, including one for the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination traveling exhibit, which showcased artifacts from all six movies, and one for Sesame Street Presents: The Body exhibit.

“It’s a great entrance piece when you’re going into the exhibit. It helps theme and create an experience before you even go into the exhibit,” says Eric Vickers, creative manager for the Orlando Science Center.

For the Star Wars exhibit, Vickers used LexJet PolyGloss PSA for the walls surrounding and leading into the exhibit, printed with a Canon iPF9100 from LexJet.

“They were photorealistic images from Lucasfilm, so I really like the PolyGloss for those types of images,” says Vickers.

Vickers adds that those wall murals “got the ball rolling” to make wall murals a regular feature of the special exhibits the Orlando Science Center hosts.

Museum Wall Mural
The Orlando Science Center used LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric for the Sesame Street Presents: The Body exhibit. Vickers says that since Print-N-Stick is not entirely opaque it’s best not to overlap the seams, especially with light-colored graphics.

“We’ve been using LexJet materials since we got the Canon iPF9100 about a year and a half ago. We like the polypropylene material better than vinyl because we can get the same pop from it as we can from paper, and it’s easy to work with,” explains Vickers.

For the Sesame Street murals, Vickers decided to try LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric after testing it on various surfaces in the graphics department (see photos).

“It’s the best of both worlds, but opacity is the only thing we have to be careful with since it’s not completely opaque. If you overlap the seams on a graphic with a light-colored background they can show through,” says Vickers. “It’s much more repositionable than any other material we’ve worked with, and comes off the walls easily. It’s the most forgiving material we’ve worked with so far; we don’t get bubbling or imperfections in it. It’s a little trickier to cut, but it follows straight lines really well; you just have to be a little more careful going against the grain.”

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles, News & Trends
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Windows, Walls & Doors with Latex: Countdown to First Place

Window Graphics Cottrell Printing

The results are in from LexJet’s first annual Windows, Walls and Doors Contest, and we’re counting them down from third place to first place. To be eligible for the competition, the winning projects had to be printed on either HP or LexJet media with the HP Latex Printer.

First up is our third-place winner, Cottrell Printing in Centennial, Colo. Cottrell will receive $1,000 of in-store credit at LexJet for this beautiful beach scene printed on LexJet Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (60/40).

Window Graphics by Cottrell PrintingThe window graphics were produced for MI Sports in Denver, highlighting the brands the store carries. The graphics were applied in five panels: three 1′ x 6′ horizontal panels for the logos (top and bottom for the window on the left) and two 50″ x 6′ panels for the beach scenes. Cottrell’s large format manager, Brett Hillbrand, says the larger beach scene panels were applied from top to bottom vertically.

Since the store’s windows face south, the graphics have the added benefit of providing relief from the sun in the summertime.

“From inside, it allows the perfect amount of light to come through. I drove past it the other day and it still looks great. The client was quite happy with the end result and the quality we were able to deliver with the printer and the perforated window vinyl. And they ordered some more large-format work from us, like retractable banner stands,” says Hillbrand.

Stay tuned for the unveiling of the second- and first-place winners in the coming days…

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Technology & Products
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LexJet Introduces New Repositionable and Removable Adhesive-Backed Fabric

Print-N-Stick Fabric from LexJetLexJet’s new Print-N-Stick Fabric™ brings true photographic-quality printing to an inkjet fabric material that’s also backed with a repositionable and removable adhesive.

The new product is a combination of LexJet’s popular Water-Resistant Satin Cloth and a proprietary adhesive system that allows users to easily apply, reposition, remove and re-use graphics on virtually any flat surface without leaving any residue behind.

“Printing has been a cinch. I fed it right into the printer and didn’t have to make any changes to the suction to feed it in,” says Jack Ansley, owner of John H. Ansley Studio, Devon, Pa. “It has a very nice white surface, which produced rich blacks and great image quality for a project I recently printed applied to a concrete wall. I was amazed at how easy it is to apply and reposition without any bubbling.”

Print-N-Stick ApplicationAnsley adds that he’s applied one panel of the multi-panel project, pictured here, which is scheduled to be completed over the next couple of weeks.

The water-resistant fabric is also easy to finish; it won’t rip, wrinkle or stretch during production or installation and can be cut into any shape without fraying or tearing. Compatible with aqueous and latex inks, LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric has a 110⁰ white point and allows higher ink saturation for deeper, sharper colors than most inkjet fabrics.

LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric is ideal for wall murals and cut-out wall graphics, point-of-purchase displays, decals, window graphics, signs and more. It is available and shipping from LexJet’s Nationwide Distribution Network in 24″, 36″, 42″ and 60″ wide x 100′ roll lengths (LexJet also offers a 24″ x 20′ test roll).

For more information and to order, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Technology & Products
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HP’s Safe and Sustainable Inkjet Wallcovering Material

HP PVC-free Wall PaperHP PVC-free Wall Paper provides the best of all worlds for wall graphics. Compatible with latex and UV-curable printers, this wallcovering material is easy to use – it goes up and comes down with water, and comes with an HP warranty – and provides reassurance with environmental certifications and responsible sourcing.

Wall murals printed with HP PVC-free Wall Paper and an HP Latex Printer (Designjet L26100, Designjet L26500 and Designjet L28500) are GREENGUARD Children & Schools Certified and meet AgBB criteria using this FSC-certified paper.

Benefits of HP PVC-free Wall Paper include:

  • PVC-free alternative that easier to dispose of than most PVC-based materials
  • Mold and mildew resistant
  • Vivid color with high-definition detail
  • Ultra-smooth finish
  • Meets commercial wall covering standards
  • Indoor display permanence of up to 20 years
  • Pre-paste makes application easy
  • Strippable and easy to remove
  • Flame-resistant

For more information about HP PVC-free Wall Paper and anything else you need help with, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Building Business with In-House Inkjet Printing and Samples at Arc Studios

Printing Promotional Graphics with an Inkjet PrinterAaron Thomason, owner of Arc Studios Photography in Dalton, Ga., knows the value of a print. It’s what helps showcase and sell his artistic portrait photography.

With a variety of inkjet-printable media from which to choose through LexJet, Thomason is able to present his work in a variety of formats, each with its own unique look.

“I don’t have to do any advertising other than the promotional printing I do for my studio and storefront. I can place a banner stand next to the street so people driving by can see it, so I get a lot of people stopping in who saw it when they drove or walked by the studio,” says Thomason. “I typically use a big image with just a few simple words so that my studio is in the back of their mind when they need something I can provide.”

For banner stands, Thomason uses a LexJet Blizzard Outdoor Stand with LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Polypropylene, and on his storefront windows he uses Photo Tex Repositionable Fabric. “I change those images up regularly and they work great. They see some rain and other weather, but the images have held up fine,” says Thomason.

Printing Promotional Graphics Inkjet PrinterOn the inside of the studio, Thomason showcases canvas gallery wraps printed on either LexJet Sunset Reserve Bright Matte Canvas or LexJet Sunset Production Matte Canvas, and Photo Tex for wall murals.

He also uses LexJet Sunset Photo Metallic Paper for images that lend themselves to the pearlescent pop of the paper.

“Before I started doing my own printing I was lucky if I sold one canvas print per session. Now I’m able to sell three or four canvases per portrait client since I was able to bring the price down by doing it in-house,” explains Thomason. “We stretch the canvas here on a 1 1/2″ frame and add the UV coating, so I’m able to produce canvas less expensively for my customers, deliver it on time and ultimately sell more canvas.”

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles, Technology & Products
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A Sparkling Inkjet Alternative for Gallery Wraps, Wall Murals and Décor

Printing gallery wraps on vinyl
Gallery wrap printed on dreamScape Bling and wrapped on LexJet Sunset Stretcher Bars.

The term “bling” is normally associated with clothing and jewelry. As Serena Williams puts it, “It’s a lot of bling to play with. You got to have the bling.”

Be that as it may, Jeff Behlmann, owner of Behlmann Digital, Florissant, Mo., has found a use for bling in a different context. Behlmann’s bling is Bling, an inkjet printable wallcovering medium by dreamScape from LexJet.

Bling has metallic particles embedded in the base film that gives the wallcovering an unmistakable shine. Behlmann has used Bling for wall mural projects ranging from casinos to photography, each designed to catch people’s eyes and draw attention to the message and imaging.

“We printed about 5,000 square feet of wall murals on Bling for a casino. They wanted metallic ink, but we used Bling as an alternative solution. We printed just enough white ink with our UV-curable flatbed so it would still shine through,” explains Behlmann. “It was a repeating pattern and it turned out really slick. When we showed them the proofs they liked it a lot, especially when the light hit it.”

A closeup of the seamless edge of the Sunset Stretcher Bars and the bling of dreamScape Bling.Behlmann adds that they typically print Bling on a Roland low-solvent inkjet printer; the light coating of white ink just worked best for the casino project based on the effect they were after.

Since Behlmann Digital started working with Bling, they’ve experimented with different colors and patterns, laminates and applications. Though lamination is not required, Behlmann says it’s fairly typically for the material to be manhandled during installation, so they use a gloss laminate in those cases. As opposed to a matte laminate, a gloss laminate will retain Bling’s qualities.

“You can print any type of image on it, but it seems you need areas where the color’s knocked out to get the Bling effect. There was a really cool underwater shot of a turtle swimming in a colorful reef. We thought it would look really sharp, but it didn’t because there were too many dark colors,” says Behlmann.

Printing gallery and museum wrapsBehlmann has also experimented with Bling for gallery wraps. Though heavier and thicker than a typical canvas used for gallery wraps, Behlmann reports that it works well, especially when stretched on LexJet Sunset Stretcher Bars.

“We created samples in-house to show what the Bling looks like stretched on frames. The Sunset Stretcher Bars are such a neat system and are very easy to use. They’re beveled so that you don’t see the outline of the wood. I’ve seen other frames that are just a flat piece of board someone might make in their garage so you see that inside edge an inch or so in,” says Behlmann.