For all the talk about gas prices, what about vinyl and ink prices? Well, the two are connected. It turns out some wide-format consumables use petroleum products as key components, and therein lies a big problem, according to an article in Wide-Format Imaging.

The article reports that during the May 2000-to-May 2006 time frame, a period that witnessed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbing 18 percent, the price of refined petroleum products skyrocketed 146 percent. Rapidly industrializing nations like China and India are vying for oil and natural gas supplies, and for the products resulting from those raw materials. But the oil supply-and-demand picture is only part of the issue.

Click here to find out what this means for you, and share with our community how higher prices are impacting your business — and some creative ways to cut costs!

Ink and media are linked because neither serves a purpose without the other, reports Wide Format Imaging magazine. Reporter Daniel Halkyardsays a recent trend in solvent ink technology has been the development of eco-solvent and mild- or light-solvent ink—more “human friendly” versions of traditional solvent ink. This shift, the magazine reports, has had an impact on specialty media manufacturers who craft coatings optimized for the ink used in solvent printers.

I couldn’t agree more with Daniel’s reporting in this article. It’s definitely worth the five minutes it takes to read. Click here to check it out.

Compared to vehicle wraps, floor wraps, building wraps and other vinyl installations, applying decals is a snap. Of course, it’s not so easy if you haven’t done it before. I encourage you to get tips from the pros even on the small jobs. While I recommend my book, Vinyl Application 101, because it goes in-depth into many issues you’ll run into, you can get some quick tips on cleaning the surface from our friends over at Easy Street Discount.

Click here for some quick and dirty tips for vinyl graphic installation.

Floor graphics, sometimes called floor wraps, are moving outside. These colorful displays are now common not only in the grocery store or retail establishments, but also on the sidewalks and asphalt at special events, reportes Wide Format Imaging.

Is this the beginning of the “floor wrap” industry? This could be a whole new revenue stream for you. Check back with VinylInsider soon for some tips from the pros. In the meantime, click here to read the article in Wide Format Imaging magazine.

It’s official. The Wide Format Video Network has launched. This is really cool stuff that you’ve just got to see for yourself. There are several challens, including Applications, Color Output Devices, Ink/Toner and Paper/Substrates. Want to see wide format topics in living, moving color? Check it out today.

Click here to visit the Wide Format Video Network.

“I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to get into the vehicle wrap business. Every aspect of wrapping a vehicle is pretty much covered in this book. Learning from expert installers on the do’s and dont’s literally would have saved me hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of not having to reprint several sheets of vinyl due to improper installation procedures. I give this book two thumbs up.” — James Walters

“There may be a lot of industry buzz of late about new, sexier substrates for large format print suppliers and their customers,” writes Gretchen A. Peck in Digital Output magazine. To some, she continues,  vinyl may seem old hat, a tried and true option for banners and other wide format print applications.

Peck sets out to set the record straight in an article called “Vinyl, Vinyl Everywhere” and it’s defintely worth reading. She proves that vinyl remains an incredibly popular medium, as well it should be.

Click here to read the rest of this article on Digital Output.