Vinyl Banner Welded Hems

Posted on June 28, 2018 by Jay Buckley
hem welder for banners

Welder for Vinyl Banners

We just installed this machine that welds the edges on our vinyl banners. It’s faster than sewing, and looks better too! We especially like the fact that it doesn’t leave a line of stitching in the vinyl banners. We use it to hem our banners before we install grommets, and also to do pole pockets in our vinyl banners.

The machine is made by Miller Weldmaster, a lead in this field. They specialize in helping companies like us to join vinyl banners using heat instead of thread. The seams are thus smoother than what you get with sewing, and stronger too.

We think this new machine is going to give us a better product, and help us keep our costs down. The next time you order a vinyl banner from us, tell us how you like the new hemming method!

 

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Print and Cut on Sintra®

Posted on June 19, 2018 by Jay Buckley
cutouts of sintra

Printed Sintra Cut to Shape

I saw these Sintra prints at the National Arboretum in Pittsburgh during a recent trip there. In this case they were showing the size and markings of different penguins in their museum displays.

Sintra is a PVC foamed sheet that accepts ink beautifully, can be cut into shape cleanly, and is completely waterproof.  A good idea where penguins are involved! When printed with our UV cured flatbed printers, it is also durable and has a reasonable life in sunlight, usually about 3-5 years. We like it for museum displays.

We also print a lot of museum displays on gatorboard, which is lighter and stiffer than Sintra. It’s our material of choice for all manner of indoor displays.

 

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Map Wallpaper

Posted on June 15, 2018 by Jay Buckley
map printed as wallpaper

Very Large Map

We have an interesting partnership with Point Two Design, a company that has the technology to generate a map of just about anywhere in the world. They can transmit the file to use for the production of wallpaper. The maps are exceptionally high resolution, and a crisp and clear even when printed at very large sizes. The photo is of a 10×4′ map of Fort Pierce Florida on our shop floor.

People have many uses for large wallpaper maps. For instance, employees of a city will benefit from a wall size map that allows them to talk about road closures or construction projects. Fire departments also need to figure out ahead of time how they will get to an emergency when roads are closed.

Not too long ago, we printed a 8×8′ map of the White Mountain National Forest, which they use to plan projects and discuss logistics. They tell us that it works a lot better than crowding around a map on someone’s desk.

Sometimes, having a map of your town is just a great way to show your pride in it!

 

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Adhesive Vinyl on an Elevator

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Jay Buckley
sticky back vinyl on elevator

Adhesive Vinyl on an Elevator Door

I ran across this interesting use of adhesive backed vinyl on a recent trip to Pittsburgh. Having been in the elevator business in a former life, I thought it was pretty neat.

The hotel had installed printed adhesive back vinyl on the elevator doors to communicate with their customers while they were riding in the elevator. In this case, it was a photo of a dog, which appealed to the dog lover in me!

But, I could see this kind of thing taking off, with people advertising their restaurant or health club using adhesive vinyl on the elevator doors. One other thing to think about is removal, and we have our wallboard vinyl with “sticky note” adhesive which would be easy to remove once the time comes.

 

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Getting the Look of Frosted Glass

Posted on June 11, 2018 by Jay Buckley
Frosted Glass Look with vinyl

The Look of Frosted Glass

In the old days they created the look of etched or frosted glass by etching glass with acid. No longer! Today there’s an adhesive vinyl product from 3M that gives you an easy to apply frosting for glass. It looks like the real thing, and is a whole lot easier!

They call it Dusted Crystal, and that’s about what it looks like. It’s easily cut with our Summa Cutter, giving the frosted glass look you see in the photo. We can cut letters and shapes, all we need is an .ai file of the cutting path.

We can print on it too, giving you the look of frosted glass with a four color design in it. That gives you the ability to be really creative! Give us a call when you want the look of frosted glass with a minimum of fuss.

 

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22×28″ Sign Holders

Posted on June 6, 2018 by Jay Buckley
sign holder for 22x28 sign

Chrome Sign Stand

We print a lot of 22×28 signs to go in sign holders like this. Get us artwork and you can have them back in a few days.

Often, people call and ask for foamcore signs for a sign holder like this. The problem is that the slot at the top is about 1/8″ wide, and foamcore is 3/16″.

The solution is to print on 1mm Sintra (.040″) or 3mm Sintra (.120 or roughly 1/8″). Printing directly on these materials gives nice bright prints at a reasonable cost. The Sintra signs are waterproof, rugged, and wipeable, which can be important where small hands are able to touch them.

For the environmentally conscious, we can also print on a 50 point board that is a 100% recycled material and can be recycled with your cardboard.

All of these 22×28 signs can be printed single or double sided. Give us a call for your stanchion sign needs!

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Sticky Back Signs

Posted on May 31, 2018 by Jay Buckley
warning labels for equipment

Adhesive Vinyl Signs

We call them adhesive backed vinyl, but there are lots of other terms that people use. I hear stickers, crack-n-peel, and stick on signs, just to name a few. These vinyl stickers are on our solar array, and they do a great job of warning people about the high voltage involved.

There are plenty of places where you can buy pre-printed vinyl stickers, but what we do is print custom stickers. If you can’t find the one that says what you need it to say, or if you want your logo on it, for instance, give us a call.

We can also help you with the design of your vinyl sticker, and our graphic designers have a lot of experience helping people like you to get just what they need.

 

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Job Site Banner

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Jay Buckley
Banner on Steel of Job Site

Job Site Banner

We printed this job site banner for our good customer Casadei Steel, who used it to tell people going by on the highway who was doing the steel work on a new building. Sounds like a good way to advertise!

These jobsite banners were 5×15′ in size, so we used our Across the Street banner material, which is extra heavy and has re-enforced corners. Being up in the wind as these banners are, the extra strength material is a good idea.

When you want a banner for a construction job site, we are ready to help! Lead time is a few days, and we can help with the graphic design if you need it.

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Cutouts Other Than People

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Jay Buckley
cardboard cutout of a product

Cutout of a Medical Product

We do a lot of cutouts of people for events, anniversaries, and such. This cutout was for a trade show for our good customer CR Bard, and instead of a person it’s a cutout of their product. They liked it so much they ordered 10 more of them for their US offices!

This is not just a cutout of 1/4″ white Sintra PVC board, either. We printed a photo of the actual item, with all the shading and such to make it look like the real thing. We then cut it on our CNC table.

We’ve done cutouts of cars, cartoon characters, smart phones, even a forklift! If a cutout of your product helps for your next trade show, give us a call!

 

 

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Lobby Wall Mural

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Jay Buckley
wall mural in a medical school lobby

Lobby Wall Mural

Here’s a lobby wall mural we printed recently for the University of Missouri Medical School. It’s 9 x 22′ in size and done on our wall fabric material.

Lobby wall murals are a great way to set the mood for people coming into your building. In this case, they are telling people about the school and the two campuses they have.

You’ll see a lot of our custom wallpaper out there these days as lobby wall murals. Give us the size of the wall and artwork to print, and we’ll take it from there! Usually the entire process takes two weeks from receipt of your files until you are holding it in your hands.

 

 

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