Have you seen the new Océ Customer Experience Center? It’s now open. The multi-million dollar, 18,000 square-foot facility, is located at the Océ Production Printing Systems Headquarters in Boca Raton, FL. The Customer Experience Center aims to provide Océ customers and prospects with hands-on access to the company’s full line of digital printing hardware and software innovations. Read the rest of this entry »

ElevenTen Color has some good news for you. The company just announced  two new products in its Luminosity media portfolio, Ultra-Removable Adhesive Vinyl and Pressure Sensitive Laminating film.

Ultra-Removable Adhesive White Vinyl is available in 54 inch and 60 inch by 50 yard rolls. The film is compatible with Solvent and Eco-Solvent based inks and has an indoor lifespan of up to two years. The adhesive technology allows for this material to be removed and re-applied multiple times with out tools or cleaners.

This ultra-removable vinyl is a valuable tool when creating advertisements, promotions, wall graphics and trade show displays along with being ideal on painted walls, wallpaper, windows and wood paneling.

The Océ Arizona 200 GT UV curable flatbed printer is available for order in the United States.

The Océ Arizona 200 GT printer delivers the same award-winning image quality as the Océ Arizona 250 GT printer but is  configured for light production environments, making it accessible to print shops and sign makers with lower  volume demands.  It produces near-photographic image quality with the flexibility of printing onto both rigid  substrates and roll-based, flexible media.
If you are doing building wraps or other large vinyl installations, this printer is worth a second look.

Avery Dennison Graphics & Reflective Products Division in partnership with GatorWraps, Inc., and Mossy Oak will give Staff Sergeant Jacob Karl a homecoming he will never forget. SSgt. Karl was greeted with a custom vehicle wrap for his 1997 Ford F-250 truck after returning home from his third tour in Iraq.

Avery Graphics donated its popular MPI 1005 EZ RS film and DOL 1100 matte overlaminate for the truck wrap. The wrap will be custom designed with the new Mossy Oak Break-Up pattern, printed and then installed by GatorWraps at its new location in Ontario, California. MPI 1005 EZ RS is a high-quality cast vinyl film ideal for a wrap project like the one for SSgt. Karl’s truck. The wrap can be adjusted or removed without damaging the truck’s original paint.

According to Tammy Karl, SSgt. Karl’s wife, her husband has a weak spot for the Mossy Oak Break-Up pattern. She contacted GatorWraps to see if it was possible to create the special wrap for her husband in time for his homecoming. Avery Graphics, GatorWraps and Mossy Oak didn’t hesitate to grant Tammy’s request and get the project started. “Being part of this project is very exciting. We are giving back to a soldier and his wife for the sacrifices they have made for our country. Ultimately what we are doing for SSgt. Karl is very little compared to what he has done for us,” said Joel Ross, Marketing Communication Manager for Avery Dennison Graphics & Reflective Products Division.

SSgt. Karl has been a U.S. Marine for almost 13 years. He has served as a recruiter and is currently in Iraq with a unit that trains Iraqi police forces. In his own words, he is doing something very important, being a part of the solution, helping Iraqis be able to stand on their own feet and live happy and safe lives in their own country. SSgt. Karl’s wife Tammy said, “I realize that he is not just our hero, fighting for our freedom and our way of life, but he is their hero too.”

The Avery Graphics wrap featuring the Mossy Oak Break-Up pattern will include a custom design by GatorWraps with the U.S. Marine Corps emblem and silhouettes of U.S. Marines. A shadow of a bull rider will symbolize SSgt. Karl’s love for the rodeo. The wrap will be completed free of charge, and the truck will be waiting for SSgt. Karl when he lands at Camp  Pendleton sometime between August and September 2008.

SkinzWraps, a full-service vehicle wrapping company, announced today that Wingstop has selected the company to be its national vehicle wrap vendor.

“Wingstop’s nationwide expansion (more than 550 restaurants either open or under development in 25 states) is outstanding. We are clearly excited to be selected as their national vehicle wrap vendor and are confident that we can meet their immediate needs and keep pace with their expansion goals,” says Peter C. Salaverry, Chairman & CEO of SkinzWraps.

SkinzWraps, headquartered in Dallas with locations in Los Angeles and Miami, is one of the nation’s premier full service vehicle wrapping companies. SkinzWraps pioneered the concept of “wrapping” vehicles and continues to push this type of outdoor marketing to a new level. Its clients include: Sony Records, American IronHorse, United States Marine Corps, Hooters, Scion of Dallas, Clear Channel Communications, the Dallas Desperados, Dallas Yellow Cab, and Earth Biofuels. For more information, visit the company’s website at http://www.skinzwraps.com.

There’s a good article in Wide-Format Imaging by Neal McChristy.
It talks about how from the beginning of workflow to cutting and finishing, how prints are rasterized can mean the difference between smooth and glitch-free processing or wasted time and media.

In the simplest form, he writes,  raster image processors, or RIPs, convert vector graphics to bitmap images for printing. But complex jobs demand more of them, including color-matching and color management options, variable-data printing, and even cutting options.

Built-in RIPs are the choice of some. HP machines like those at Rapids Reproductions have built-in RIPS, and Greg Tarca, reprographics manager, said they tried RIP software with a 50-inch Encad machine, but it was very slow. “You could only do one thing on that computer—RIP to the printer.”

According to David Reidel, assistant vice president of color graphics at eBlueprint, color management issues are better handled using their RIP software. “Making a profile for each media is a large task—usually about three hours per media, he said. “But once you make the profile, you can pretty much bank on it that the colors are correct,” said Reidel.

Vendors say shops should look for RIP software that eases Pantone spot color-matching, automates color management, does rasterizing for all the shop’s equipment and has a reputable company behind it. And when buying a machine, the choice of RIP software is an important factor in long-term profit.

Click here to read the rest of this article on Wide-Format Imaging.