Vinyl Banners at Eastern Mountain Sports

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Jay Buckley
Vinyl Banners in Retail Stores
Vinyl Banner

Here’s a great way to announce a promotion or sale – hang a vinyl banner from a pole in your store.  The banners can be double sided to be viewed from all over the store, and you can move them around to the best viewing area in the store.  A piece of cord attaches to either end of the pole, and can be hooked to any good point on your ceiling.

Consider the vinyl banner option especially when you have the promotion annually.  The vinyl lasts quite well, and if rolled up nicely will come back out of the box looking like the day it was made.
One trick we have is that we put a label on the box when we ship it to show the artwork that is inside.  Instead of taking things out of a box, you just look at the label. It’s a big time saver!
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Wide Banner Stands

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Jay Buckley
Wide Banner Stands
48″ Banner Stands

Here is a pair of 48″ wide banner stands we did for a ski area.  By themselves they create a trade show booth, which is what they used them for. Instead of paying for a booth to be delivered to the show, they carried the banner stands and a box of literature into the Boston Ski Show, and they were ready to go. Instant trade show booth!

Once the show was over, they were out just as fast.  You can have a banner stand back in the box inside of a minute.
If they want to display them in a local restaurant, motel, or store it’s just as easy. No wonder we are selling a lot of banner stands!
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Our Banner Stands at the Balsams

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Jay Buckley
Retractable Banner Stand
Retractable Banner Stand

We recently made several banner stands for the Balsams Resort, which is north of us in Dixville Notch, NH.  It’s where everyone in the town gets together at midnight to cast the first votes in every presidential election.  They also have a fabulous Donald Ross golf course, which is what this banner stand talks about.  What a great way to remind their guests that the Balsams is a great place to go in the summer too!  There was about two feet of snow on the ground when I was there, so we didn’t play much golf, but the cross country skiing on their 90 km of trails was unbelievable!

What’s great about a banner stand is the ability to place it just about anywhere in the resort.  If you need to get it out of the way for a function, or move it to the dining room,  it’s easily done. 
These are our premium banner stands, and it’s very easy to change the graphics. We give you a new one with the aluminum rails already on it, and changing it out takes a minute.  At the Balsams, they have a set for winter and another for summer.
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Our photos on display in the Smithsonian

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Jay Buckley
On display in the Smithsonian
Smithsonian Display

This job takes me back about 8 years. We did a job for a photo magazine that had a world-wide contest for nature photos. The winning photos were published in the magazine, and displayed for a year in the Smithsonian museum. For several years, we printed the pictures in large format size for the exhibit.

What was really cool was that the people who organized the exhibit got sample prints and prices from several companies, and put them all on a table with the prices hidden below. They picked the print they liked best for quality, and then turned over the prices.  They liked ours best.  We had the best price too!  We got the job.
I like to think we’d still be printing them today except that HP, as a sponsor of the event,  gave them a large format printer and they now print them in house.  I made the introduction, and lost the customer.  I guess no good deed goes unpunished these days!
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Exhibit at Plymouth State University

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Jay Buckley
Historical Display Exhibit
Weeks Act Display

Here’s a great use of large format printing– an interesting display at Plymouth State University describing the events and legislation leading up to the preservation of the White Mountain National Forest.

The prints are mounted on gatorboard, gloss laminated, and have a black plastic edge trim that gives them the look of a frame, as well as protecting the edges from damage.
Plymouth State has a hanging system that uses clips that set in a groove in the wall, with a nylon strip ending in a snap that attaches to the picture frame wire on the back of the piece. The system allows displays to be positioned anywhere along the wall, and at any height, without any nails being driven.
It’s a great display, and a very interesting story about how the National Forests were created.
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People Cutouts for a trade show booth

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Jay Buckley
Cutouts for a trade show booth
Cutouts for a trade show booth

It’s always a trick to figure out how to create excitement at your trade show booth.  Here’s a unique display used by one of our customers- life size people cutouts of some of their musicians.  A sideways glance at the booth made you think that the performers were right there.  It made you look, and that’s what they were trying to do. By all accounts, it was very effective.

We’ve do a lot of people cutouts for trade show booths, sales meetings, and retail stores- and have even done them for the lobby of a Broadway show.
Typically, they are hand made pieces when you want just one. We have the ability to computer cut them when you get into quantities.
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Color printing of tax maps

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Jay Buckley
Tax Maps
Tax Maps

Here’s an interesting job we did recently- printing a set of tap maps for a town. They had digitized their tax maps, and wanted to print them out in full color. When people come to look at them, it’s a lot easier to undersatnd the map when things are color coded. For instance, wetlands are shown in a different color than forests.

We printed two sets, one for the town planner to keep in his office, and one for the public to reference.  The reference set was laminated with clear glossy plastic to protect them. The planner kept a paper set that he could mark up for future changes.
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Banners for across the street

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Jay Buckley
Across the street banner

Across the street banner

Here’s a banner from a set we did recently to notify people about the upcoming 2010 census.  Across the street banners are a great way to let everybody in town know about something.  We see them used to announce events, races, charity auctions, and concerts.

The banners will hang across the street, which presents unique challenges for a banner.

First of all, they need to be tough! We use a special heavy duty vinyl, and we sew re-enforcements into the corners. The material we use is also good to -20 degrees Fahrenheit, so it can be used in winter up north.  Most vinyl becomes brittle at -5 degrees, and if the temperature drops below that, they shatter as they flap in the wind.
Most towns have a cable across the street in strategic places to hang banners like these.  We suggest that the top be connected to the cable with D rings, and the bottom held by a rope with a bungee cord in it.  This allow the banner to move to shed the wind.  We can also put ‘”wind cuts” in the banner to let the wind through. Either way, a good size banner can generate a lot of force in a high wind, and you need to find a way to keep it from sailing down the street in a storm.
The good news is- they are effective! If you are doing a big event, it’s a great way to let a the whole town know it’s going on.
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Saving energy with motion sensing light switches

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Jay Buckley
Motion Light Switch

Motion Light Switch

Here’s a great way to save energy in your company, and it’s one thing we are doing at MegaPrint Inc. as part of our effort to be green.

These infrared motion sensor light switches will turn the lights on in a room when you enter, and leave them on as long as they see motion of something warm in the room- like a person. We found that lights and fans tended to stay on for a long time in the washrooms, so we installed these switches.  We set them so that the light and fan turn off after about a minute after you leave the room.

They have worked so well we have put one in the lunchroom too. People would turn on the lights to get a cup of coffee, and they would stay on all day. Now they turn off when nobody is using the room.  Great for the environment, and our electric bill too.

The switches take about 10 minutes to install, and cost about $50. You can adjust the time until they turn off, the sensitivity, and the viewing angle of the motion sensor.

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Car Magnet Advertising

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Jay Buckley
Car Magnets

Car Magnets

Here’s a product we are seeing more of recently- car magnet signs. It’s a great way to advertise your business around town- just slap one on your car door! It’s amazing the number of people who will notice them. 

We solvent print on adhesive vinyl and then apply to a magnet backing. We round the edges so they don’t lift up in the car wash. These magnets are good for several years.

We are told that you should wait a month to put them on a new car, since the paint isn’t totally dry yet.  On my car, I move it around a bit every once in a while, so that if the paint fades a little  it doesn’t leave a mark.

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