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Digital Décor Printing Goes Beyond Wallcoverings
Posted on by Shellie Terry Posted in Tips & Tricks
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Digital Décor Printing Goes Beyond Wallcoverings

A lot has been said over the past few years about the opportunities in digital décor printing … and most of them have been focused on wallcoverings. And while we love a good digitally printed wallcovering as much as the next guy, we wanted to take a moment to focus on other opportunities in decor printing … beyond wallcoverings.

Take a look at some of these inventive, imaginative projects our customers have done using a variety of ink technologies and media types. And the next time someone asks you to print a wall project, consider pitching them on some custom print jobs off the wall.

TABLES: Opportunities are almost limitless for both surface and object printing. Take, for instance, the tabletop creations by Jamie Birch, who used LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric and LexJet Crystal Low Tack for sports-themed customized tables. Want to keep them looking good? Our friends at Fredrix used Fredrix 575 Tempo Canvas top coated with Marabu coating and mounted to a puzzle board and routed into circles to create these branded coasters.

 

 

 

 

 

WINDOWS: Create customized decorative prints on either the window itself or shades to block the sun. Window shades can be created with a variety of products, such as LexJet Poly Select Medium, EnduraFab™ Frontlit Premier or HP Light Fabric. To add some privacy or a graphic element to the window itself, try LexJet Simple Grip Backlit, which can be seen from either side of the window and is enhanced by artificial or natural light.

 

 

 

 

 

LAMPS: A little punch of color can go a long way to enhance a room. Lamp shades have become a favorite among digital printers, using products like LexJet Sunset Textured Fine Art Paper 310g and finishing it with a UV coating for extra protection. Retailers like Lamps Plus give customers a variety of pattern and color combinations so they can create their own one-of-a-kind look.

 

 

 

 

 

PILLOWS: These are just two examples of how you can add some major customization to your throw pillows with a latex printer, courtesy of Fredrix, using Fredrix Natural Raw Canvas, and HP, featuring the versatile HP Light Fabric.

 

 

 

 

 

PRINTS: So, technically these prints go on the wall, but offer a decorative option if adding wall paper or a mural isn’t an option. We love all types of hanging wall art including acrylic-mounted prints, floating canvases, wrapped canvases, framed photos and ChromaLuxe panels. There’s something for everyone and every ink technology in our product mix!

 

 

The Décor Guide: Our Go-To Products
Posted on by Raven Chapman Posted in Technology & Products
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The Décor Guide: Our Go-To Products

In the burgeoning market of décor, the possibility for creative application is quickly expanding, and advances in technology have increased the selection of products available. To help you navigate this process, we’ve created a page of the Top Décor Products You Need Now as an easy guide to the essential tools for this growing business opportunity.

From Wall Murals to Floor Graphics, we highlight the décor products that will offer your customers a range of creative, artistic and eye-catching media.

Check out this new décor page today for information on products for:

  • Wall Murals
  • Canvas Prints
  • Window Shades & Room Dividers
  • Window Graphics
  • Floor Graphics
  • Lamp Shades
  • Tapestries

Click HERE to go to the products page!

Easy Ways to Start Marketing Your Décor Services Today
Posted on by Shellie Terry Posted in Marketing & Sales, Tips & Tricks
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Easy Ways to Start Marketing Your Décor Services Today

Whether you’ve got full décor printing capabilities, or you’re just dipping your toe into this new market, everyone will eventually need to start marketing their services to build business. We sat down with LexJet’s market development pro Rachel Gamberg to learn how to get a décor-focused marketing plan off the ground.

“Based on your equipment and current capabilities, you can identify markets that you can created product lines for and start to segment these groups,” she says. “And if you have plans to invest in new equipment, started thinking about more applications you can offer in the future.”

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Intro to Décor Printing: You Already Have What You Need to Begin
Posted on by Shellie Terry Posted in Technology & Products, Tips & Tricks
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Intro to Décor Printing: You Already Have What You Need to Begin

Today, we’re kicking off a blog series on how on-demand printers and anyone offering wide-format printing services can jump into an exciting new market within the industry: Décor printing.

Chances are you’ve heard about the booming customizable décor printing opportunities in our industry. With the advances in substrates and printer technology, offering your customers more ways to create one-of-a-kind projects for residential or commercial spaces has become more accessible than ever.

It’s also likely your customers are starting to make requests for projects like wall murals, canvas wraps, floor graphics, customized window screens and even lampshades. In other words, if you can print it, they can decorate with it!

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Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Strange Brew: Building and Printing Custom Beer Taps for a Collaborative Brew

Decorating beer taps with inkjet printed graphics

You may know Tim Dussault, owner of The Color I in Anacortes, Wash., from such projects as custom inkjet-printed window shades and a makeover for the H2O club posted here at the LexJet Blog. Dussault is always on the lookout for the next creative, custom project. As he puts it, “Our process is about serving unique niches that aren’t mass produced and that market to a specific audience.”

In this latest case, pictured here, it was a tasty blend of brews from three local brewers – Diamond Knot Brewing Company, North Sound Brewing and Anacortes Brewery – blended for a beer-tasting special event that brought Dussault’s creativity to the fore.

The brew masters from the three breweries exchanged ideas, recipes and yeasts to create a special brew for the event, held in three different places between the Puget Sound and Everett, Wash. The brew was also on tap for a month, and three taps representing each brewery were need for all three locations.

Since Dussault is active in the community and well known for producing projects like this, they turned to him for his expertise. The group came up with a concept, DNA, for the collaborative brew, and an eye-catching graphic. DNA is a double entendre – the initials of each brewery plus the fact the new beer is a blend of the three different yeasts each brewer uses.

Dussault had one day to take that concept and build the nine taps, so he worked with his local sign shop, Anchor Signs, to cut the taps out of one-inch thick PVC board on Anchor’s CNC router, then printed, cut and applied the graphics, which were printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene.

Printing images on window shadesDussault says the event was packed with people from as far away as Canada. Moreover, the event and the work got pub and brewery owners thinking about how to better promote their businesses with the creative use of graphics and signs.

“We’ve had three to four different pub and brewery owners interested in the process, and not just the beer taps, but the whole concept of using graphics in a creative way to promote their business,” says Dussault. “I created a roller shade print for one of the breweries. The roller shade is inside the brewery, which faces the restaurant. On that window shade is a schematic of the brewing process and how beer is made using photos of their own equipment – their tanks and process – so when someone looks at it they see not only the process but what’s being used in their specific brewery. We’re modifying the concept for another brewery because each is so unique.”

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Inkjet Printed Window Shades as a Complementary Interior Décor Design Element

Inkjet printed window shades

Most accidents fall into the Not-so-Happy category, but some fall into the Happy category, as was the case with a recent home décor project Tim Dussault, owner of The Color I in Anacortes, Wash., recently completed for a homeowner.

Printing custom window shadesDussault printed custom window shades on LexJet Poly Select Light as a complement to the interior décor of the home, which was based around a painting that hangs in the couple’s living room. The “accident” was the bottom section of the shade was also a perfect complement to the home’s overall color scheme.

“They rolled the shades down about nine inches to let as much light into the room during the day, making a nine-inch valance.  It created a nice design element to the room so that you didn’t have to have the shade completely up or down to do that,” says Dussault. “That really opened my eyes to using that bottom section of the print for whatever design element you want, whether it’s a consistent color or pattern, to go with the overall interior design of a room.”

Inkjet printed window shadesThe artwork is from a 24×36 original watercolor by Jennifer Bowman, an artist Dussault has worked with in the past. Dussault generated the scene into panels that matched the window spaces in the bay window and printed them on Poly Select Light.

Dussault used his recently updated line of DiY Roller Shade Assemblies for the window shades, which you can pick up at artrollershades.com, and watch the videos below to see the installation of this project as well as how to use the DiY Roller Shade Assemblies. Or, if you prefer, you can view them at YouTube at this link.

“The installation went smoothly and they really liked it and how it all flowed together,” says Dussault. He adds that he chose the Poly Select Light over the Poly Select Heavy since he wanted as much light as possible to flow through them when they’re drawn down.

Dussault also used Poly Select Heavy in another recent project he collaborated on with his wife for a restaurant that turned its bar into a club. In addition to hanging wall murals, Dussault created custom gallery wraps with Poly Select Heavy.

“I like to stretch that material; it’s easier to stretch than canvas. I was also surprised by how well it accepted the spray coating. My experience with fabrics told me that it would absorb some of the coating and change the color of the image, but it dried really well and there was no color shift. Using the fabric and stretching creates a totally different look that I think is more attractive; it’s softer and more tactile,” says Dussault.

Look for photos from this project and more information in a future post here at the LexJet Blog. In the meantime, check out the videos of the installation and how the DiY Roller Shade Assemblies work…