More advertising agencies and Fortune 500 corporations are moving towards city skylines to brand their products and kick off mega marketing campaigns in a more dramatic fashion. As billboards become more the norm, many firms are turning to building wraps and wallscapes to get their messages across to the public. According to I.T. Strategies, the outdoor building wrap market is forecast to grow at a 15 percent clip between 2006 and 2010.

Some building wraps can go beyond ten stories high depending on the size of the building. Custom sizes and shapes are another option that can also be utilized for added dramatic impact. The creative teams at these agencies realize the sky’s the limit when it comes to getting their brand message to the people driving by or walking on the streets below.

Click here to read the rest of this article in Wide-Format Imaging magazine, and be sure to pick up our e-book on megawraps.

The use of large format fabric with digitally-printed or vinyl graphics opens up a world of opportunity to trade show exhibitors, entertainment and set designers, museums, event planners, and more. Fabric output is lightweight, easily portable, suitable for outdoor use, mood enhancing, pliable, and accepts vibrant color graphics. So says Kim Crowley over at Digital Output magazine. She talked with the folks over at Moss for a great take on this topic. Click here to read it for yourself.

Digital color management is sort of like mapping where you are and where you’re going in the color-printing arena. So says Neal McChristy over at Wide-Format Imaging magazine. Check out this excerpt from his article:
“You can’t send some guy in with a spectrophotometer in to make a couple of profiles and have a color-management problem solved,” said Mike Adams, owner of Correct Color, Austin, TX. “A typical project for me is I go in someplace and they have whatever varying degrees of color problems or no color problems and just want to be better. I design their color workflow from beginning to end. I make profiles of all of their machines on all the media that they print in all the resolutions they print in and whatever RIP they have and do all the settings.”

Do you use a color consultant? What are your biggest challenges with matching vinyl colors?
Click here to read the rest of this story on Wide-Format Imaging magazine.

LexJet launched new vinyl films engineered for optimal compatibility with solvent, low-solvent, and UV-curable printers. Check out the LexJet 11 Mil Display Film SUV w/PreLume. PreLume technology guarantees whiter whites for a longer period of time. You can also check out Display Film SUV w/PreLume, a satin-coated, scratch-resistant, coextruded rigid film that lays flat, straight, and true for displays like retractable banner stands and display graphics, as well as point-of-purchase and trade-show displays. The film is 100 percent opaque, with a quick-dry surface that ensures brilliant colors and high definition images.

“With the addition of Display Film SUV w/PreLume, LexJet offers an extensive, versatile, and value-packed line of SUV roll materials that meet an array of application demands, from trade show graphics and signs to specialty décor applications like wallcoverings,” said Jeff Leto, LexJet’s product manager. “LexJet has developed a line of products engineered for cross-compatibility in response to requests from customers who require flexible and efficient solutions for their application needs.”

I’d love to hear from someone at LexJet about PreLume. What makes it work?

Decals are one thing, but who ever came up with the idea to completely wrap a car, bus, truck or van with vinyl?A new article offers you some insight…

As lifestyles became faster than ever, the only way for marketers to stay abreast with their clients is to catch up with their speeds — thus, the birth of mobile ads and the vehicle wrapping industry.The trend is believed to have started with long-haul trucks in the mid-90s.

Since these vehicles travel great distances, advertisers saw an opportunity to reach a wider audience by placing colorful vinyl ads on their bodies. And, because it proved effective in generating recall, delivery trucks.

Click here to read more about the birth of the vehicle wrapping industry.

Mutoh America just announced a new line of high-performance variable drop mild-solvent printers. The Blizzard series will make its debut at the SGIA in Orlando. Mutoh promises these printers offer impeccable output quality at 430 square feet an hour and can reach top speeds up to 861 square feet an hour in production mode. Read the rest of this entry »

MACtac has expanded its line of IMAGin vinyl with new Multi-Print Media (MPM) products. MACtac’s JT5529BFD and JT5929BFD series of products transition easily from digital inkjet to screen printing platforms due to the layflat polycoated liner component in the product construction.

These products not only reduce costs by reducing the need to carry two different types of media to achieve the same high-print quality, they also improve installation by taking advantage of MACtac’s IMAGin B-Free air egress adhesive system.

The MACtac MPM products provide durability up to 10 years outdoors and are conformable over complex curves, rivets and corrugation without lifting, peeling or shrinking. The B-Free adhesive system makes repositioning easy during the installation process and provides a secure bond within 24 hours of application.

Click here to learn more.