“Best of the Best” Top Wide-Format Shop in the Country – Wide Format

Transcription

“Best of the Best” Top Wide-Format Shop in the Country – Wide Format
April 2016
The Premier Source for the Visual Communications Industry
2016
Best
of
the
Best:
Top Shops & Reader's Choice Top Products
Behind the scenes of
WFS’ Top Shop: Coloredge
PrintingNews.com/12183347
ISA Showstoppers Pg 29 | Driving Business with Automotive Dealerships Pg 24
For more information, visit PrintingNews.com/10006791
April 2016 | Table of Contents
Features
10
Top Shops 2016: It’s Crunch Time
Economic uncertainties, a focus on margins,
and an ever-consolidating industry force the
top shops to examine their businesses and
dig in for the long haul.
By Denise M. Gustavson
20
2016 Top Products Winners
This year, we have a strong line-up of winning
products—as voted on by the members of
the visual communications industry.
Compiled by Denise M. Gustavson
22
24
Regulatory Changes for 2016:
Two Concerns for PSPs
Above: Coloredge created
all of Kiehls’ digital signage
animations, which are new
and refreshed every month.
Last June, the Supreme Court rendered a verdict
that may have an impact on sign codes nationwide.
By Richard Romano
4
Market Opportunities: Driving the Business
42
Automotive dealerships are a great
segment to court.
By Toni McQuilken
29
On the Cover
In July 2015, Identity Signs, one of
this year’s Top Shops, worked with
Utah Olympic Park to create park
signage for the pool jump structure
remodel. To learn more about the
top print providers, turn to page 10.
ISA International Sign Expo 2016 Showstoppers
Be sure to check out these show-stopping
products on the exhibit floor in Orlando.
Compiled by Denise M. Gustavson
Columns
Editor’s Note
The Road of Resilience
By Denise M. Gustavson
Industry Insights
Dreamweavers
By Lori Anderson
Departments
6
41
News
Market Place/Ad Index
Wide-Format & Signage, Volume 24, Number 4 is published monthly (6 print issues: February, April, June, September, October, and December. 6 online
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Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
3
Editor’s Note
The Road
of Resilience
This year’s Top Shops list is a
remarkable tribute to their resilience
and continued relevance.
By Denise M. Gustavson
F
or me, the April issue has traditionally been my
favorite, and gives me the opportunity to reflect and
examine the business habits, struggles, and triumphs
of some of the best wide-format print and signage
providers in North America. In many cases, I’ve had the
opportunity to watch some of these companies grow and
evolve over the last eleven years. There have been challenges and struggles for everyone. We’ve been through a
recession and out the other side, and it only goes to show the resilience of
these shops and the industry as a whole.
Just look at the definition of resilience (according to Merriam-Webster).
Resilience is the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or
change. For those who are interested in the history of language, the roots
of the word go back to 1620-30 and the Latin word resili is the present participle of resilire, which essentially means to spring back, rebound.
I think the Top Shops on this year’s list embody the meaning of the word
resilience. Even though they have to fight (in some cases for every job),
they power through the challenges of a consolidating industry, increasing
price pressures, and declining margins (for some commodity-based applications). They struggle to find and train the right people that will inspire
them to even greater heights.
And the industry rewards them each and every time.
These shops work with some of the top brands and companies because
they trust them to honor their brand identity and get the job right. This
year, the Top Shops sent in so many fantastic and eye-catching jobs from
2015 that the list almost reads like a who’s who. It includes: Calvin College,
Nissan Stadium, San Diego Comic Con, Hugo Boss, Mickalene Thomas and
the Queens Museum, Kiehl’s, Nike, BCBGMAXAZRIA, San Diego Padres’
Petco Park, Herve Leger, Faconnable, UnderArmour, Harland Clarke Holdings Corporation, Children’s of Alabama—Gait & Motion Lab, the Cotton
Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium, the Charles & Anne Morrow Lindbergh
exhibit at the Morven Museum & Garden, National Geographic, Uber,
GE, Utah Olympic Park (check out our cover this month), Outdoor Retailer
event, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum, Utah State Aggie Recreation
Center (ARC), Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, Indiana Goodwill Stores,
and Howard Hughes Corporation.
And that’s just the start. The Top Shops represent the best and the
brightest our industry has to offer, and it brings me a great deal of pleasure to have the opportunity to recognize and honor them every year.
These are the shops who “get it,” and who embrace the changes and
conquer the challenges. Congratulations to all of this years honorees,
and I can’t wait to see the fantastic creativity and innovation the next 12
months will bring.
Find this article at
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4
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
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News
Thomas Printworks Enhances Market
Position with Strategic Acquisition
FASTSIGNS Cares Initiative Benefits
Local Charities and the Red Cross
Thomas Printworks has acquired Seebridge Media in
Houston, TX from Steve Johns and Larry Vaughn effective February 1, 2016. Seebridge Media’s core business
is offset printing and direct mail but also offers some
large format printing.
Seebridge Media
formed in 2012 when
Johns and Vaughn
merged their two companies together to become a
full-service marketing communications provider. They
have grown to 117 employees and operate in a 110,000
sq. ft. production facility on the north side of Houston,
TX. Steve Johns will remain with Thomas Printworks
as their Regional Vice President and Larry Vaughn will
remain in the role as their Sales Manager.
This agreement broadens the services that Thomas
Printworks and Visualogistix, a division of Thomas
Printworks, are able to provide to its customers. “Our
acquisition of Seebridge complements our overall vision
and goals. With the added capabilities of Seebridge we
are better able to provide our customers with creative
and innovative solutions to their marketing needs
through the use of high-quality print signage and collateral. This acquisition represents an important strategic
opportunity for Thomas Printworks, with the goals of
adding print capabilities, efficiencies, and expansion
across markets,” said Bryan Thomas, President & CEO
of Thomas Printworks.
PritningNews.com/10209386
FASTSIGNS
International,
Inc. has launched
FASTSIGNS Cares,
a philanthropic initiative. FASTSIGNS
franchisees who
choose to participate in FASTSIGNS
Cares may work with causes that are near to their
hearts and/or join in raising money for the American
Red Cross and the Canadian Red Cross.
“As leaders in the visual communications industry,
we understand the power of a brand,” said Catherine
Monson, CEO of FASTSIGNS International. “That’s why
FASTSIGNS Cares includes raising money for the American Red Cross and the Canadian Red Cross, which are
great brands that serve local communities.”
FASTSIGNS owners and their teams are involved in
their local communities through a variety of business
and charitable organizations. Both the types organizations served and the ways FASTSIGNS franchise
owners work with them are diverse. For business
organizations, this may include serving on committees
or boards; for charitable organizations it may include
franchisees serving as volunteers, offering their FASTSIGNS location as a collection point or by providing
signs and graphics.
PrintingNews.com/10054488
Epson Digital Couture Event Offered Stunning Display of Technology and High-Fashion
The Epson Digital Couture event was held in advance of Fashion Week in New York City provided a
visual representation of how Epson’s digital printing
technologies impact the fashion and textile industry.
The fashion event, built around the theme “Harmony
and Peace through
Fashion,” showcased
collections from 11
North and Latin
American designers
created using Epson’s
SureColor F-Series
dye-sublimation
printing solutions.
“Epson Digital Couture is a unique opportunity to get a glimpse
into how digital
technology is poised
to dramatically impact the fashion industry,” said Keith
Kratzberg, senior vice president, Epson America. “It is
truly amazing to see what artists and designers are able
to accomplish when there are no limits to creating their
vision, resulting in breathtaking designs of the highest
6
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
quality that conveys each designer’s signature style.”
Held in New York’s Meatpacking District, the event
showcased the designs made possible by Epson dye-sublimation technology through the featured collections of
the following designers:
§ Chloe Trujillo from Los Angeles, CA
§ Cristina Ruales from Brooklyn, NY
§ Fabrizzio Berrocal from Costa Rica
§ GM by Gustavo Moscoso from Ecuador
§ Kaleidoscopic by María de Lourdes Ramírez and Isabel
Navarro Landa from Mexico
§ LENERD by Felipe Santamaría Luque from Colombia
§ Matías Hernán from Chile
§ Ossira by Agostina Orlandi and Ludmila Osikovsky
from Argentina
§ Pionier by Janet Ríos and Carmen Artica from Peru
§ Santika by Danny Santiago from Miami, FL
§ Tigresse by Fabio Yukio from Brazil
“The success of the Epson Digital Couture event
underscores the synergy of fashion and state-of the-art
printing technology for a new era of design creativity
and functional versatility,” said Agustin Chacon, Epson
America’s vice president of international marketing.
PrintingNews.com/10005229
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Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
2016 World Wrap
Master Champion
Announced in
Amsterdam
Jim Miller, owner of
Millers Decals, USA, has
won the title of World Wrap Master at FESPA Digital 2016.
Sponsored by Avery Dennison and Mimaki, the European leg of the competition, which took place over the
first two days of the show attracted 28 competitors from
15 countries and saw Jim named European Wrap Master.
He then joined those who had already taken part in Wrap
Masters’ events globally for the World Series ‘final battle’.
Ruan Greeff, South Africa (Wrap Master Africa 2015) and
Michael Szwacki, UK, took second and third place.
Wrapping a variety of items, including Audi A1 Sportbacks, clogs and superhero items, the entrants were
judged by expert wrappers and trainers; Ole Solskin, Justin Pate, Kiss Lajos (winner 2014/2015), and John Duever.
Duncan MacOwan, Head of Events, FESPA, commented: “This year has been a nail-biting, edge of your seat
competition as the caliber of entrants has been so high.
There could, however, be only one Wrap Superhero, and
Jim’s technical abilities shone through. It’s also been
great to see non-competitors learn more about wrapping
through the daily workshop sessions, as it’s such a rapidly expanding market offering a host of new opportunities
that PSPs can begin to offer their clients.”
PrintingNews.com/10071490
Gigantic Color Relocates Dallas
Headquarters
Gigantic Color is relocating its
Dallas headquarters effective
April 30. Gigantic Color will
remain in the Brook Hollow
community with a move from
7900 Ambassador Row to 415
Regal Row.
“Since we started this business, our customers have always been our first priority,
and they continue to remain our focus through the process of this move. We want them to know that we’re not
going too far – only a four minute drive from our previous
space – and that we will continue to keep their business
needs at the forefront of everything that we do,” said Troy
McGinnis, senior vice president and general manager.
After 10 years of continuous growth at its current location, Gigantic Color’s new office will boast redesigned
sales and project coordination areas, an enhanced digital
workflow, and streamlined quality control and fulfillment
areas. Gigantic Color has also added a new custom project room to generate innovative ideas and creative thinking. This will enable the company to continue serving its
growing client roster with dynamic and effective design,
print and installation services.
PrintingNews.com/10776694
PrintingNews.com
Dilli Digital
Presses Opens
Subsidiary in Europe
Dilli has announced the opening of
its European development, sales, training, and service
subsidiary in Belgium.
Purposedly located to service the EMEA region, Dilli
S.A. will focus on the further development of a network
of professional distributors to cover the regions and support installations of the company’s innovative solutions
for labels and packaging digital printing and finishing.
The range will include printing, die-cutting, laser cutting varnishing and further embellishment machines.
More than 3,000 Dilli installations have already taken
foot in EMEA region, opening for the label and packaging business as a natural extension of the well-established wide-format activity.
PrintingNews.com/11282943
Avery Dennison Names Mitchell R. Butier
President and Chief Executive Officer
Avery Dennison Corporation has elected president and COO Mitchell R.
Butier as president and
CEO, effective May 1, 2016, and nominated him for
election to the board. Current Chairman and CEO Dean
Scarborough will serve as the Executive Chairman of the
company’s board of directors.
“Mitch has worked in various businesses and regions across Avery Dennison and in roles of increasing
responsibility, including chief financial officer and
president and chief operating officer,” said Scarborough.
“Most recently, he has been the driver behind increasing the higher-value market segments of our portfolio.”
PrintingNews.com/10211158
Roland DGA Announces Keynote
Speaker for imagiNATION 2016
Inkjet User Conference
Roland DGA has announced
that the keynote speaker for
the company’s upcoming inkjet
user conference, imagiNATION
2016, will be Dr. Chip Bell, a
motivational speaker, best-selling author, and expert on
customer loyalty and service
innovation. Dr. Bell will share
his insights and strategies
with attendees at imagiNATION 2016, a day of inspiration,
educational workshops, and networking to take place
on April 20 in conjunction with the ISA 2016 Expo in
Orlando.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Bell kick off imagiNATION
2016 with his cutting-edge ideas for better meeting the
ever-increasing needs and expectations of today’s more
demanding customer,” said Rick Scrimger, president
of Roland DGA Corporation. “Attendees will be able to
apply his concepts and practical tips within their own
work environments immediately after leaving the conference to elevate the quality of their customer service
and support to the highest possible level.”
The keynote will be followed by 25 educational workshops conducted by industry leaders and experts, all
designed to provide Roland owners with information,
ideas and resources they can use to help ensure the
success of their respective businesses. Upon conclusion
of the workshops, the conference will wrap up with a
lively cocktail reception, giving attendees an opportunity to unwind, get to know each other, and discuss what
they’ve learned throughout the day.
PrintingNews.com/10007761
EFI Acquires Dye and Color Systems Developer Rialco Limited
EFI has acquired Rialco Limited, one of
Europe’s suppliers of dye powders and
color products for digital print and
industrial manufacturing industries.
Based in Bradford, UK, Rialco will
now operate as part of EFI’s industrial inkjet business, and will continue
to work closely with and support its
existing clients as well as expand and grow its capabilities with new products and new customers. EFI plans
to improve its inkjet portfolio with Rialco’s advanced ink
component capabilities.
The dye-sublimation ink market Rialco serves is one
of the fastest-growing sectors of the global ink industry,
with new research from Smithers Pira forecasting 18.4
percent year-over-year growth in dye-sublimated material print volumes through 2021, and a greater than 100
percent increase in volume and value of dye-sublimated
PrintingNews.com
printed material in that same time frame.
Financial terms of EFI’s acquisition of Rialco were not
disclosed.
“The deal gives EFI the platform to extend the technical advantages we provide to customers in the signage,
textile, ceramics and other industries that are rapidly
transitioning from analog to digital printing,” said Stephen Emery, vice president of EFI’s ink business.
Rialco employees have joined EFI and will continue to
work from Rialco’s facility in Bradford.
“Being part of EFI gives Rialco an important opportunity to continue growing our offerings as part of a leading
developer of advanced industrial ink products,” said Paul
Davies, a Rialco co-founder and current director of EFI |
Rialco (at left). “Our team is looking forward to working
with our colleagues across EFI to bring Rialco’s innovations to a broader range of customers and markets.”
PrintingNews.com/10005156
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
9
Top Shops 2016:
It’s Crunch
TIME
Big Ink
planned,
designed,
and produced
environmental
decor for a gala
to feature the
accomplishments
of the 10-year
anniversary of
its customer,
Bridgewater Bank.
Economic uncertainties, a focus on
margins, and an ever-consolidating
industry force the top shops to
examine their businesses and
dig in for the long haul.
By Denise M. Gustavson
Comic-Con in San Diego is Off The Wall Signs’ biggest event of the year and something their whole crew looks
forward to every year. In 2015 it included these wall and elevator graphics at the Hard Rock. “The amount of
signage we need to print, install, and remove and the amount of time we to do it in, is unreal and amazing at
the same time,” said Mariela Faith, co-owner.
10
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
PrintingNews.com
Hackworth worked on a custom wall paper project for the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia.
The project consisted of 35 individual wall graphics.
T
he Top 60 shops had a gangbuster year in
2015, reaching an all-time high just north of
$725M and showing nearly 13 percent yearover-year growth. And according to all their
comments, most are looking to keep the same
momentum in 2016.
“Over the past three years we have seen dramatic growth of 10 to 20 percent per year as a company,” said Brent Albers, owner Identity Signs in
Sandy, UT. “As for 2015 we saw consistent growth
the first three quarters of the year then we saw a
cool down towards the end of year. Then, as January hit, the gas pedal was pushed to metal again.
Our 2016 outlook is better than ever.”
“ER2 Image Group increased volume by 20
percent from 2014. 2015 has been one of the largest
revenue increases we’ve seen in the 25 years we
have been in business,” reported Gary C. Schellerer,
COO/VP of operations of ER2 in Bloomingdale, IL.
“Industry revenue has increased steadily over
the last couple of years (close to 15 percent
annually) and our revenue (color and graphics
department) has been on track with that as well.
We see the industry to continue this trend in the
near future. New technology and applications
will continue to increase business opportunities
throughout the industry,” said John Davis, CEO,
Alabama Graphics, which has locations in Birmingham and Montgomery.
However, there is an underlying thread of uncertainty that has weeded its way through shop
owners’ insights. Dwindling margins for some
PrintingNews.com
applications like the out-of-home market, pricing
pressures, low-bidders, economic uncertainty,
consolidation, and market over-saturation has put
the warning flags up and is forcing shops owners
to yet again find ways to meet these growing business challenges.
“2015 was one of the best years ever for Ferrari
Color,” reported Shara Meredith, marketing director based in the firm’s Salt Lake City headquarters.
“Clients were eager to cement their leadership
positions in various markets. They used extensive
graphics and signage to communicate with their
customers. However, the biggest issue facing the
sign and graphics industry is the merging of traditional and digital elements. This is affecting many
of our retail ‘brick and mortar’ clients as well as our
own markets.” Ferarri also has shops in Sacramento and San Francisco.
According to Davis, “Pricing is all over the board,
so it takes some digging to really compare apples
to apples.”
In Paramount, CA, Graphic Trends, Inc.’s VP of
operations, Allen Gasper, concurs. “An over-saturation of printing companies and low bidders are
making it difficult to stay stable and consistent.
Old relationships with clients are put to the test
with persuasive low prices and short-term agreements surrounded by poor service from unestablished newbies.”
“Companies are killing the pricing on certain
work. We all need to truly look at the numbers
and not kill the pricing on the work that we are
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
11
Size of Printed
Materials
In 2014
There were 50 shops with
147 locations and 14 new
locations planned for 2015.
doing,” said Howard Weinstein, CEO
and co-owner, Candid Litho, Long
Island City, NY.
“We have seen a steady growth in
the sign industry that just continues
each day, said Nichole Hargrove, EH
Teasley & Company, Dallas. “But some
companies seem to be pricing products
as a commodity and nearly giving them
away with minimal profits.”
“I do sense some uncertainty in the
economy, which slows everything slightly but there always seems to be new opportunities waiting for those positioned
properly,” said Tom Trutna, owner, Big
Ink, Eagan, MN.
“The sign and graphics industry
remains a growth market for those
of us keeping our sights open to new
technology and striving to provide our
customers with high-end graphic solu-
In 2015
There were 60 shops with
167 locations and 18 new
locations planned for 2016.
tions. These concepts must be followed
in today’s market to remain a competitively viable supplier where margins are
becoming tighter,” said Pete Gallo, CEO,
Vista Color Imaging in Cleveland.
Key Differentiators
One of the key phrases we hear often in
regards to future growth opportunities
is finding a way to be different from
the competition. Everyone is looking
for those differentiating characteristics
that make them stand neck and shoulder height above everyone else in the
industry.
The challenge: figuring out the best
way to be different.
This year much of the talk of differentiation, while including closer partnerships with customers—a peren-
Graphic Innovations printed and installed the graphics for the Charles &
Anne Morrow Lindbergh exhibit at the Morven Museum & Garden located
in Princeton, NJ, for its client Isometric Studio.
12
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
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For more information, visit PrintingNews.com/10006743
2016 Top 60 Shops
#
Company Name
Management
Location
For More Info
1
Coloredge Inc.
Jeb Ball, President & CEO
New York, NY
PrintingNews.com/10211031
2
Duggal Visual Solutions
Michael Duggal, Owner & CEO;
Baldev Duggal, Founder
New York, NY
PrintingNews.com/10238971
3
Vision Integrated Graphics Group, LLC
Doug Powell, Owner; Steve Smits
& John Tobe, President
Chicago, IL
PrintingNews.com/10654386
4
Thomas Printworks
Bill Thomas, Owner; Bryan Thomas,
President; BJ Thomas, Founder
Richardson, TX
PrintingNews.com/10209386
5
Diadeis GSG
Ken Madsen, Co-Founder
New York, NY
PrintingNews.com/10005666
6
Candid Worldwide/Candid Litho
Howard and Scott Weinstein, Co-Owners
Long Island City, NY
PrintingNews.com/10004294
7
Gigantic Color
Ken Holsclaw, President; Troy McGinnis, SVP
Dallas, TX
PrintingNews.com/10776694
8
Ferrari Color
Kirk Green, Dan Spangenberg, Marty McGhie,
Co-Owners; Mel Green, Founder
Salt Lake City, UT
PrintingNews.com/10242789
9
reproHAUS
Tito Taing, Owner, President, & Founder
San Diego, CA
PrintingNews.com/10242794
10
Big Mountain Imaging
Jason Cardonick, Owner & President
Philadelphia, PA
PrintingNews.com/10148436
11
Visual Marking Systems
Dolf Kahle, Owner & President; Hermann
Kahle, Founder
Twinsburg, OH
PrintingNews.com/10892160
12
Firehouse
Sally Corman, Owner & President
Indianapolis, IN
PrintingNews.com/10242793
13
Vision Graphics
Guy Timothy, Owner & President; Bob &
Diane Shupe, Founders
Salt Lake City, UT
PrintingNews.com/10242790
14
Color Reflections Las Vegas
Paul Magaziner, Owner & Founder;
Joseph J. Castellano, President
Las Vegas, NV
PrintingNews.com/10264159
15
Graphic Trends Inc.
Kieu Tran, Owner, President, & Founder;
Allen Gasper, Vice President of Operations
Fontana, CA
PrintingNews.com/12052444
16
Source One Digital
Randy A. Crow, Owner & Founder;
Abby Crow, President
Norton Shores, MI
PrintingNews.com/10008024
17
Sharpe Images
Greg Sharpe, Owner; Terri Sealey,
President; Bud Sharpe, Founder;
Zach Sharpe, VP & Owner
Winston-Salem, NC
PrintingNews.com/10007931
18
Brand Imaging Group
powered by Fastsigns
Scott Snoyer, Owner
Antioch, TN
PrintingNews.com/10171191
19
ER2 Image Group (Formerly
Bloomingdale Signs By Tomorrow)
Gary C Schellerer, Owner; Gary R Schellerer,
Owners, President, & Founder
Bloomingdale, IL
PrintingNews.com/10110764
20
Pictura
Paul Lilienthal, Owner
Minneapolis, MN
PrintingNews.com/10242795
21
DGI Invisuals
Glen Fairbanks, President
North Billerica, MA
PrintingNews.com/10242791
22
Cushing
Joseph X. Cushing, Owner; Cathleen
Cushing-Duff, President; F. John Cushing Sr.,
Founder; Brian Burke, Plant Director
Chicago, IL
PrintingNews.com/10004705
23
Alabama Graphics
John A. Davis, Owner; Jeff W. Davis Jr.,
President; Jeff W. Davis Sr., Founder
Birmingham, AL
PrintingNews.com/10003691
24
E.H. Teasley & Co., Inc.
& Inkjet International
Jeff Teasley, Owner
Dallas, TX
PrintingNews.com/10006031
25
ImageKing Visuals
Spencer Jacobson, Owner
Carlstadt, NJ
PrintingNews.com/10242798
26
Hackworth, The Graphics Shop
Dorothy Hackworth, Owner;
Charlie Hackworth, Founder;
Charles Hackworth II, Vice President
Chesapeake, VA
PrintingNews.com/10005750
27
NorthWest Visual
Chad Nannenga, Owner
West Fargo, ND
PrintingNews.com/12182486
28
Colorchrome Atlanta Inc.
John Rhodes, President & Founder
Atlanta, GA
PrintingNews.com/10242812
29
BPI Color
Steve Mueller, Owner & President
Milwaukee, WI
PrintingNews.com/12182490
30
Art Advertising, Inc.
Gary Gestring, Co-Owner; Stacy Gestring,
Co-Owner & President; Paul Grimm, Founder
Jonesboro, AK
PrintingNews.com/12182492
31
Influence Graphics
Ronald Sizemore, Owner
New York, NY
PrintingNews.com/10006020
32
Big Ink
Thomas Trutna, Owner, President, & Founder
Eagan, MN
PrintingNews.com/10114650
33
FastSigns of Glendale
Robert Schmit, Owner
Glendale, WI
PrintingNews.com/10242815
34
Excelsus Solutions, LLC
Mark Laniak, Owner, President, & Founder
Rochester, NY
PrintingNews.com/12052452
35
Hunt Graphics, Inc. d/b/a Signs
By Tomorrow, Rockville, MD
Mary Lou Goehrung, Owner & President;
Mary Lou Goehrung, Sr. and Glenn Goehrung,
Co-Founders
Rockville, MD
PrintingNews.com/12182494
36
Filmet Color Laboratories, Inc
Richard Bachelder, president
Cheswick, PA
PrintingNews.com/10242808
37
Identity Signs
Brent Albers and Kyle Germer, Owners
Sandy, UT
PrintingNews.com/12182499
38
image360 - RVA
Dorothy Hager, President; Scotty Hager, COO
Richmond, VA
PrintingNews.com/12182502
14
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
PrintingNews.com
Calvin College approached Source
One Digital about a project to
renovate and update its aquatic
center. Through the renovations,
the Grand Rapids, MI school
wanted to create a much warmer
environment that also incorporates
the Knights’ team and individual
accomplishments, performance
records, and traditions in
swimming, diving, and water polo.
nial comment when it comes to this
discussion—has been focused more on
technology, specifically automation and
web-to-print.
“I see more automation in our digital
communications and data resources
(hardware and software),” said Gallo.
“The challenge for the next five years
will be to distill the most appropriate
technologies for our individual business
models, and integrate only those into
our production, marketing, and sales
future.”
“Change has been technology-driven
for us,” said Jon Heilman, marketing
director at Firehouse, Indianapolis,
“and not printing technology or even
production technology: it’s order-pro-
cessing technology. That will be our
primary focus for 2016 and beyond to
help differentiate our company.”
Web-to-print technology is not new to
the printing industry, but for wide-format providers, setting up online stores
for products that in many cases are
custom solutions could prove to be a
challenge. But as we observe more
and more commercial printers adding
wide-format signage as part of their
application mix, the commercial printing staple of web-to-print technology
has started to draw more interest and
acceptance in the sign and graphics
market.
“We have had to improve our efficiency and speed with which we turn
around large projects. I believe that
more of the future business will be captured using e-commerce solutions with
an increase in the use of automation
technologies,” said Scotty Hager, partner, Image360 – RVA, Richmond, VA.
There does seem to be a consensus
that stock call-off or tightly controlled
template-based work are the best candidates for online ordering, though it
may be possible to add up-sell options
for premium substrates or finishing.
Web-to-print storefronts and automation software can help streamline
#
Company Name
Management
Location
For More Info
39
Sign Works, Inc.
Greg Janowiak, Owner, President, & Founder
Bensenville, IL
PrintingNews.com/12182506
40
Vista Color Imaging Inc.
Paul E. Gallo, Co-Owner; Kevin C. Vesely,
Co-Owner & President; Paul B. Gallo, Founder
Cleveland, OH
PrintingNews.com/10242814
41
Graphic Innovations
Jim Larkin, Owner & Founder
Warwick, RI
PrintingNews.com/10743268
42
Dimensional Digital Graphics Solutions
Mike Tardy, Owner
San Diego, CA
PrintingNews.com/10242817
43
MegaPrint
Jay Buckley, Owner, President, & Founder
Plymouth, NH
PrintingNews.com/10184508
44
VistaCraft, Inc.
Bill Feighner, Owner & President
Columbus, GA
PrintingNews.com/12182509
45
Cold Fire Signs
Chris Jackson, President
San Antonio, TX
PrintingNews.com/12182513
46
i3 Imaging Group
Jonah Thiem, Owner, President, & Founder
Bennington, VT
PrintingNews.com/10242829
47
Off The Wall Signs & Graphics
Rocky and Mariela Faith, Co-Owners
Las Vegas, NV
PrintingNews.com/12182515
48
FASTSIGNS of Naperville, IL
Shane Beard, Owner
Naperville, IL
PrintingNews.com/10625372
49
Premedia Group LLC
Brian Criscuolo and Toni Hasler, Co-Owners
Greensboro, NC
PrintingNews.com/10625371
50
Capital Wraps
Keoni Denison, Owner & Founder
Raleigh, NC
PrintingNews.com/10210364
51
Academy Repro
Kevin O’Hea
Albuquerque, NM
PrintingNews.com/10003525
52
FASTSIGNS Louisville
Susan Cilone, Co-Owner, CEO,
& Co-Founder; and Sam Cilone, Co-Owner,
President, & Co-Founder
Louisville, KY
PrintingNews.com/10688528
53
BIGraphics, Inc.
Joe Dumont, VP of Operations
Nashua, NH
PrintingNews.com/10167649
54
Original Impressions
Roland B Garcia, Owner & Founder; Roli Garcia, President; Henry Herrera, Vice President
Miami, FL
PrintingNews.com/10107869
55
Chicago Print Group, Inc.
Paul Denst, Co-Owner & President;
Ryan Walsh, Co-Owner
Chicago, IL
PrintingNews.com/12182519
56
Harmonic Media, Inc.
Tyler Lindvall, Owner, President, & Founder
Englewood, CO
PrintingNews.com/10242820
57
IMS Printing & Signs
J.J. Heim, Owner, President, & Founder
Lone Tree, CO
PrintingNews.com/12182522
58
Bay Area Printing &
Graphics Solutions, Inc.
Michael Wallace, Owner;
Stephanie Justice, Operations Manager
Pensacola, FL
PrintingNews.com/12182526
59
AlphaGraphics Carmel
Michael Kile, Owner
Carmel, IN
PrintingNews.com/12182527
60
FASTSIGNS Lexington
Don Marcum, Owner
Lexington, KY
PrintingNews.com/12052495
PrintingNews.com
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
15
Brand Imaging Group designed, color-corrected,
printed, welded, and had the back of the
scoreboard installed to be structurally
sound. This colossal sign is over
50 feet tall and 117 feet wide.
Employees: The 60 top shops have
4,496 total employees.
321 part-time
4,118 Full-time
Breakout by department
Prepress ...............................................................20%
Output ..................................................................25%
Finishing ..............................................................23%
Sales ......................................................................11%
Customer Service...............................................11%
Management ......................................................10%
16
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
some of the in-shop processes as
well as reduce touchpoints, increae
accuracy, decreae waste, and give
customers an easy way to order
simple or recurring jobs easily.
“Our workflow continues to
change rapidly as we try to keep
up with demand, faster print times,
and almost instant deliveries,” said
Albers of Identity Signs. “We have
seen technical advances in software, mobility solutions, and mobile
apps to capture data in the field
both pre- and post production. Making information and asset gathering
very streamlined, and having a
cloud-type storage system to access
files and information anywhere has
been a great asset and continues
to increase our response times.
Our workforce is changing too; we
have to employ the most skillful and
tech-savvy people compared to five
years ago. Technology has ingrained
itself in PSP operations like we
haven’t seen before. The increase in
monthly technology subscriptions to
make the day-to-day tasks mindless seems to be endless, making
throughput faster than ever.”
“We are launching websites that
allow signage to be purchased online. We are paying close attention
to how we can streamline the ordering process for Corporate America that results in a more unified
outcome,” said Ronald Sizemore,
Influence Graphics, New York City.
PrintingNews.com
The Numbers
Sixty-three percent of this year’s Top Shops
classify themselves as a “Digital Color Shop/
Digital Printer,” up substantially from last year’s
48 percent. The sign shop designation was down
from 34.52 percent in 2014 to 17 percent in 2015.
Reprographic Shop was up slightly to seven
percent from last year’s 5.95 percent. The other
categories remain somewhat similar, with “Other”
making up five percent, screen printer and service
bureau each taking three percent, respectively, and
commercial printer making up the last two percent.
The average age of the shops in our list is
35.12 years, with our oldest founded in 1910,
106 years ago: Filmet Color Laboratories, Inc.
from Cheswick, PA. This year, we have 11 shops
with 50 or more years in business: Cushing (87),
E.H. Teasley & Co., Inc. & Inkjet International
(66), Alabama Graphics (62), Thomas Printworks
(60), Candid Worldwide/Canon Litho (60), BPI
Color (60), Duggal Visual Solutions (55), Vision
Integrated Graphics Group (55), Visual Marking
Systems (54), Sharpe Images (52), and Vision
Graphics (50). Shops at the 10-year mark and
under include Identity Signs (10), AlphaGraphics
TOTAL
Carmel (10), reproHAUS (9), Harmonic Media (9),
Cold Fire Signs (8), Off The Wall Signs & Graphics
(7), and Chicago Print Group, Inc. (3).
Comparing the top 50 shops in 2014 and 2015,
the total number of locations is up only two shops
this year to 149 from 147 last year. Adding in the
additional 10 shops (for this year’s Top 60) we
had 167 locations. Thirty-four shops only have a
single location, but nine of our Top 60 list have
five or more locations, with Richardson, TX-based
Thomas Printworks topping out with 27, up two
from last year. New York-based Diadeis GSG has 19
locations also up two, Duggal Visual Solutions has
10 up three from seven last year. Both reproHAUS
and Sharpe images are up one (eight and seven,
respectively). Gigantic Color, Coloredge, Inc., Color
Reflections Las Vegas, and Big Mountain Imaging
all have five locations a piece. Additionally, the Top
60 Shops have plans to open up 18 new locations in
2016, up four from last year’s projected number.
According to the survey, 58 percent of the
shops produce both black-and-white and color
graphics whereas the remaining 42 percent
produce only color graphics. As an average, 52.59
percent of the top shops’ output is wide-format
(36-96 inches in width). Grand-format (96-inches
plus) grabs the next largest share with 22.71
percent. Medium-format (24-35 inches) has
14.86 percent of the share, leaving small-format
(14-inches and smaller documents) the remaining
9.84 percent.
Application-wise things have remained pretty
similar to last year’s report. Banners and signs
take up the lion’s share of the work, with shops
reporting that it has nearly 20 percent of the
overall graphics mix (19.23 percent) with the
retail/POP displays and signs (including floor
graphics) the next in line with 14.41 percent.
The next largest category is exhibit and trade
show graphics (8.25 percent) followed closely
behind by fleet and vehicle graphics (7.67
percent), specialty printing & graphics (7.18
percent), building signs (6.08 percent), and
engineering drawings (5.99 percent). Fabric and
textile graphics is on the rise, up from last year’s
numbers to 5.59 percent. Rounding out the rest
of the applications we have: Décor printing
(5.17), posters (4.9 percent), backlit display
graphics (4.8 percent), other (4.26 percent),
billboards and building wraps (3.43 percent),
and fine art and museum graphics (3.05 percent).
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For more information, visit PrintingNews.com/10008759
PrintingNews.com
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
17
Growth Areas for 2016
Fabric: “People are looking for something nicer
than vinyl.” —Jay Buckley, owner, MegaPrint
“I believe we will experience continued growth
in soft-signage printing opportunities. These
market segments appreciate a more thoughtful
and cost effective manner to sell the message,
and a greater ease of production, finishing,
shipping, and installation. They will also prove to
be popular as Green product opportunities.”
—Pete Gallo, CEO, Vista Color Imaging
Retail: “Even smaller companies are learning
the importance of having a consistent brand
identity and want to carry that through to
all their products and promotions.”
—Stacy Gestring, owner, Art Advertising
“Retail continues to grow as bricks and
mortar businesses need to compete with online
businesses.”—Ronald Sizemore, owner,
Influence Graphics
What Else Can You Do?
As Graphic Trends’ Gasper pointed
out, “Printing services is an assumption, quality is expected, and short
turn-around times is an assumption.
Customers want to know, ‘What
else can you offer?’”
Going along with the technology part of the conversation is the
increased emphasis on data and personalization. “We are working more
and more with our clients’ data,
including generating, storing, and
providing metrics on the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns,”
said Ed Zelasko, VP of sales & client
“Retail, retail, retail! We are seeing the
biggest opportunities there and continue to make
investments to support these opportunities.”
—Steven Saltzman, east coast sales manager,
Big Mountain Imaging
Out-of-Home and Grand-Format Signage:
“Grand-format will have the largest growth due
to more advertising agencies understanding how
to use superwide formats in the public’s eye.”
—Allen Gasper, owner, Graphic Trends, Inc.
“Building construction, consisting of grandformat graphics, including barricade structures,
and building wraps, will have big growth. Transit
stations, subways, and train stations are all being
updated. Signage will continue to grow both
with paper and digital ads.”—Howard Weinstein,
CEO & co-owner, Candid Litho
“Outdoor signage is a wide area but building
signage, event signage, directional signage, etc.
services, Vision Integrated Graphics
Group, Chicago.
One of the challenges facing CMOs
and marketing directors is the ability
to provide detailed analytics on the
real ROI of their various marketing
campaigns. Consider that in 2015
the Fournaise Group reported that:
“90 percent of marketers are not
trained in marketing performance
and marketing ROI and 80 percent
struggle with being able to properly
demonstrate to their top management the business effectiveness of
their marketing, spending, campaigns, and activities.” Shops that
can provide numbers and metrics
continues to grow and as the economy improves
new companies need signage and existing
companies need to upgrade signage.”
—Mark Rowan, marketing director, Hackworth
Digital Signage: “Digital signage is easy to
change and promote the latest product, event,
or company.”—Robb Schmidt, owner,
Fastsigns Glendale
“Dynamic digital signage technology is
improving and the cost is coming down as the
segment matures.”—Scotty Hager, partner,
Image360 – RVA
Wraps: “I believe this has greater potential with
the introduction of solid color wrapping materials
and various laminates.”—Schmidt, owner,
Fastsigns Glendale
“Wraps are now more commonplace and
everyone is asking about them. I tell clients they
are the best ROI ever and there are so many
applications and materials available.”
—Mark Rowan, marketing director, Hackworth
can be an important service to their
customers—and, in turn, become
more closely integrated with them,
essentially aligning with them as a
partner in their marketing process.
In this day and age it is also vital
to measure social media marketing
efforts. Savvy wide-format print
providers can provide reports and
help with social engagement. The
trend toward multichannel marketing—including social media—is not
going to end and customers will
want to see reports that detail how
their marketing message—and their
spending—is aligning with sales
pipeline and revenue goals.
EH Teasley & Company printed and installed a large, 16,000-square-foot window perf job for the 80th
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic game in Dallas and decorated the AT&T Stadium with the Goodyear Blimp
and Cotton Bowl logo for the game.
18
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
PrintingNews.com
Do It My Way
gaining immense popularity.”
clear acrylic printing. The print
Identity Signs’ Albers concurred.
quality that we can deliver with our
Personalization, as discussed in the
“Corporate office branding is
direct to fabric printing is vibrant,
Wide-Format & Signage March Edchanging, and employees are takconsistent and when it comes off
itor’s Note, is a growing trend and
ing notice. If a company has a mathe printer it’s ready for finishing,”
one that print providers can take to
nila-cube type work environment
said Randy Crow, owner of Source
the bank.
employees are often jumping ship
One Digital, Norton Shores, MI.
Brands are discovering that they
to the next, new exciting company.
“The décor sector is growing for us,
can elevate customer loyalty and enTo keep up with the shift, compatoo. Our capability to print custom
gagement—and use their customer
nies are decking out workplaces to
wallpapers, window films, and ceilbase as an engine of advocacy to
be more comfortable and workable.
ing tiles all with dynamic graphic
potential buyers. Product customiEnvironmental graphics and branddesigns that just are amazing when
zation helps brands boost sales on
ing is increasing in the workplace
seen in finished application.”
their own websites or gain share on
and are not just plain graphics on a
“The corporate office décor/wall
a retailer sites.
wall anymore.”
graphics segment
This customization and personThe overall takehas a lot of
alization is translating to sales for
away from
many shops in various applications
Backlit Display
the Top
from vehicle graphics to interior
Other
4.8% Graphics
decoration, and savvy top shops are
4.26%
Specialty Printing
looking for growth in both these
& Graphics 7.18%
markets in 2016.
19.23%
“Clients want unique and
Banners and Signs
are usually willing to pay
14.41%
for it,” said Davis.
Retail and POP
“We just invested in an
Displays and Signs
HP LX3500, anticipating
growth in interior décor,”
Billboards and
said Schellerer of ER2
Building Wraps
Image Group. “We feel
3.43%
wallpaper, canvas wraps,
pillows, furniture, light
Posters
Building Signs
shades, decorative tex4.90%
tiles, and other elements
6.08%
within this space are still
at the beginning stages
Decor Printing
of a digital revolution. The
Fleet and 7.67%
sign and display market has
Vehicle Graphics
5.17%
over 72 billion square feet of
media. Of that number, over 40
Engineering Drawings
Fine Art and 3.05%
percent of it is being produced
Museum Graphics
5.99%
digitally. The decoration industry
Exhibit and Trade
produces a staggering 250 billion
Fabric and Textile Show Graphics
Shops of
square feet of output, and only one
Graphics 5.59% 8.25%
2016 is the
percent is produced digitally.”
need to constantgrowth
“Although the majority of our
ly be innovating. None of
potential for
business is commercial, we see
these shops have rested on their
years to come, said Chris Jacka huge opportunity in residential
previous successes, and they are
son, owner of Coldfire Signs, San
business. So many people are into
always looking for new applications,
Antonio. “This is due to the fact
DIY and love to be able to express
new customers, new markets, and
that more and more businesses are
their creativity,” said Mariela Faith,
new ways to make their shops more
seeing the value of changing the
co-owner, Off the Wall Signs &
efficient. At the end of the day, that
work environment both for employGraphics, Las Vegas. “We recently
is the type of thinking that makes
ees and customers.”
moved into a new facility and have
a shop stand out and takes them
“Interior Designers are pushing
loved the process of decorating our
from simply surviving to being one
environmental art graphics for
shop with wall wraps, acrylic and
of the most influential and profitable
offices,” said Mary Lou Goehrung,
aluminum stand-offs, canvas, dieshops in the country.
owner of Signs By Tomorrow in
cuts, floor graphics, etc. Everything
Rockville, MD. “Use of large-format
is completely custom and interfabrics, wallpaper, vinyl in office
changeable.”
spaces, store fronts, stairwells,
“We are definitely seeing a big
Find this article at
PrintingNews.com/12181373
walls, decorative privacy films are
increase in our fabric, décor, and
PrintingNews.com
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
19
2016
Wide-Format & Signage
Top Products Winners
By Denise M. Gustavson
E
ach year, Wide-Format & Signage turns to the
industry to help us name the winners of the
Readers’ Choice Top Product Awards. This year,
we have a strong line-up of winning products—
as voted on by the members of the visual communications industry.
To be considered for these awards, a product had to
Finishing
be released, commercially available, and shipping between September 1, 2014 and December 31, 2015. Voting was open to all print service providers worldwide
from January 1 through February 1, 2016.
For a more detailed look at each of the products mentioned in this list, please visit PrintingNews.com/
12176737.
Cutters & Routers:
G3 cutter, model XL-3200 from Zund America, Inc.
Window Graphic Media:
IMAGin WindowVIEW Cling from Mactac
Distributor Products
Laminates:
Wrap Overlaminate Series 8900 from 3M Commercial Graphics
Output Devices
Laminating Equipment:
Easymount Air EM-A1600 SH Single Hot Wide Format
Laminator from Vivid Laminating Technologies
Aqueous Printer / Durable Aqueous /
Latex (24-95 inches) and Textile (24 inches +):
Latex 370 Printer from HP
Engineering Printer (24-95 inches):
PageWide XL 8000 Printer from HP
Ink
Dye Sub /Textile Inks:
UltraChrome DS Ink from Epson America
Flatbed Printer (24-inches +):
Scitex FB750 Industrial Printer from HP
Solvent Ink (Eco, Mild, & Hard):
UltraChrome GSX ink from Epson America
Grand-Format Printer (96-inches +):
Latex 3500 Printer from HP
UV Ink:
LUS-120 UV-LED Inks from Mimaki USA
MFP (24-95 inches):
DesignJet T830 Multi-function Printer from HP
Media
Solvent Printer (24 inches +):
SOLJET EJ-640 Large-Format Printer
from Roland DGA
Fabric & Textiles:
Light Fabric from HP
Fine Art & Photography:
Legacy Paper Line from Epson America
Media for Rough Surfaces and Vehicle Wrap Media:
Envision Print Wrap Film SV480Cv3 P40 from
3M Commercial Graphics
Rigid & Semi-Rigid:
White Valuboard from 3A Composites USA Inc.
Wall Graphic Media (Interiors):
PVC-Free Durable Smooth Wallpaper from HP
20
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
UV Printer (24-inches +):
Scitex FB550 from HP
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Designjet SD Pro Scanner from HP
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RIP, Web-to-Print, & Workflow Software:
V10 from Caldera
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Regulatory Changes for 2016:
Two Concerns for PSPs
By Richard Romano
I
t isn’t very often that Supreme Court decisions
affect the graphic arts industry, but last June, the
Supremes rendered a verdict that may have an impact on sign codes nationwide, although what that
impact and its extent may be are not entirely known.
The case was Reed v. Town of Gilbert, and was the
result of inconsistent and unconstitutional regulation
of temporary signage. In Gilbert, AZ, the Good News
Community Church had no fixed location, so it erected
temporary directional signs to let congregants know
where services were being held. The town, like most
towns, had sign codes that placed restrictions on the
size of the signage, as well as how long it could be
displayed. So far, all well and good, as most temporary
signage is regulated this way. The problem was that
the church’s signage ended up being more highly regulated than other similar types of temporary signage,
such as that which was commercially or politically
oriented. The court ruled—unanimously—that this
regulation was content-based, limited speech, and
thus was a violation of the First Amendment. (The
International Sign Association discussed it at length
here: www.signs.org/Newsroom/PressReleases/PressRelease.aspx?PressReleaseID=3316.)
“The case basically says that the church wasn’t allowed to have a sign based on it being a religious sign,
or an event sign for their religious services,” said Rick
Hartwig, EHS Specialist,
Government and Business
Information, for SGIA. “Other signs that were identical
to theirs were allowed to be up longer and had fewer
restrictions. So this sign had fewer allowances and
more restrictions based on its content.”
What this will specifically mean for those in local
governments who create and modify sign codes—and
thus what signage producers and their clients will need
to comply with—remains to be seen. Ultimately, municipalities will reevaluate their individual sign codes
to ensure that regulations are applied consistently and
without regard to what the signs actually say.
“It will primarily look at putting people on notice
who are making these codes to make sure the codes
are content-neutral,” said Hartwig. “You can make as
many regulations as you want, but they can’t interfere
with Constitutional rights.”
Hartwig doesn’t feel there are going to be any
massive, universal changes in sign codes as a result
of the Gilbert decision, but city planners may take the
opportunity to look at their sign codes sooner rather
than later.
“It’s going to happen on more or less an individual
basis,” said Hartwig. “Most of the changes that are
going to be occurring in the first quarter [of 2016] are
either going to be changes they had coming down the
pike for some time, but they’re implementing now because of this decision, or they realized their codes were
really bad and they wanted to avoid the same pitfalls
as Gilbert.”
Regardless of the Gilbert decision, sign codes are always changing, and while, as we pointed out in a story
last year, the physical producer or printer of signage
doesn’t necessarily have to be the one who is an expert
on local sign codes—that’s really the responsibility of
the sign owner (that is, the customer) him- or herself—
sign shops can and do keep track of the latest regulations as a value-added service.
A day after the Supreme court ruled in favor of
the Good News Presbyterian Church in Gilbert,
its Pastor, Rev. Clyde Reed, put up the signs that
inspired the case.
22
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
PrintingNews.com
The new GHS labeling
requirements include standard
symbols for different types
of hazardous chemicals,
identifying those that are (top,
l to r): hazardous (in general),
explosive, flammable, oxidizing;
and (bottom, l to r) corrosive,
hazardous to health, toxic, and
environmentally hazardous.
OSHA’s HCS
Changes Continue
There is also a deadline looming
in 2016 that print service providers should be aware of, which is
related to the ongoing changes to
Hazard Communication Standards
(HCS) mandated by OSHA. There
are three basic components to the
new requirements, which apply to
anything that can be considered a
hazardous chemical:
§ new Safety Data Sheets (SDS) that
replace the older Material Safety
Data Sheets
§ new Globally Harmonized System
(GHS) labels on these products
§ workplace labeling and employee
training programs
The first two predominantly apply to manufacturers and distributors of materials like ink, toner,
solvents, adhesives—“anything
that’s a hazardous chemical,” said
Hartwig—while the third is the
responsibility of print service providers. December 1, 2015 was the
deadline for transitioning to new
GHS labels and new SDSes, and
after that date manufacturers and
distributors must be using the new
system and technically cannot ship
materials using labels and SDSes
created under the old system. The
next important deadline is June 1,
PrintingNews.com
2016, which is the deadline for employers—that is, printers—to have
completed new workplace labeling
and training programs.
The GHS was launched as long
ago as 1992—and has been a long
time coming—and the new standards were designed, as part of a
worldwide United Nations initiative to make hazardous chemical
labeling and reporting consistent.
“Historically, Materials Safety
Data Sheets were horrific,” said
Hartwig. “Every sheet was in a
different format, some were complete, some were not. There was
no set standard.” The same was
true of product labels. So countries
across the globe pulled together
to create a global standard, and
tasked the regulatory bodies in
each country—in the US that’s
OSHA and the EPA—to adopt the
Globally Harmonized System and
oversee its implementation. That
was easier said than done. “Everyone agrees it’s a good thing, but
during the transition period it’s
really causing a lot of problems.”
In essence, manufactures and distributors of these materials need
to get the information from their
raw materials suppliers in order to
produce the new SDSes and GHS
labels—which for many has proven to be a challenge.
Not all of this is of vital importance to print service providers (if
you want more information about
all the aspects of GHS, see here),
but they have some degree of leeway on making sure their product
inventories conform to the new
SDS and labeling standards, since
they are often at the mercy of their
suppliers. However, said Hartwig,
“there’s no excuse for not having a
training program in place.”
Hartwig also offered a reminder
that in 2015 OSHA changed its
reporting requirements for on-thejob injuries, although it has not
been communicated particularly
well. “If you have a fatality, a
single employee has been hospitalized—actually admitted into the
hospital and not just observed—or
experienced an amputation or loss
of an eye, you automatically have
to report that to OSHA,” he said.
What used to be the rule was that
a fatality and/or three or more
people hospitalized from a single
incident had to be reported, and
that was it. “Now they’ve added
a single person being admitted to
the hospital, a minor amputation,
or loss of a single eye,” he said.
At last fall’s SGIA Expo, Hartwig
conducted an extensive OSHA
workshop that walked print facility
owners and managers through the
salient regulations—specifically
the GHS-related changes—as well
as offered a heads-up about a revised set of reporting requirements
for workplace injuries that OSHA
One of the signs that caused a
furor—and a Supreme Court
ruling on temporary signage—
in Reed v. Town of Gilbert.
has proposed, but has not officially
mandated…yet. Currently, injury
and illness information records
(Form 300) are required to be kept
for five years, although OSHA never felt compelled to go back that
far—or very far at all—and cite
employers who had inaccurate or
incomplete records. Now, OSHA is
considering tweaking its regulatory language so that they can. “It’s
really a ‘gotcha’ kind of thing that
they’re trying,” said Hartwig. So in
the workshop he emphasized the
importance of keeping complete
and accurate injury and illness records for the full five years, in the
event OSHA does pull the trigger
on its revision.
Rules and regulations are always
in flux and while they may not
change in dramatic ways, being
aware of even small changes from
year to year can go a long way to
keeping from falling afoul of OSHA
and other agencies. It also helps
protect your employees.
Find this article at
PrintingNews.com/12148556
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
23
Market Opportunities:
Driving the Business
Automotive dealerships are a great segment to court.
By Toni McQuilken
T
his month, the market opportunity we’ll be taking
a closer look at is one that everyone touches in
some way: the world of automotive dealerships.
They are in every city, usually with multiple brands
competing for business, and nearly every family in the
country owns at least one vehicle, with the need to
upgrade on some kind of schedule. Not to mention the
need for repairs and maintenance that very car, truck or
other automobile needs.
And the world of automotive dealerships is highly
competitive as well. Every dealership or dealer group,
whether they carry a franchise flag or operate as an independent, is competing for the same business in their
town. They are constantly looking
for ways to stand out and get
noticed. And this is where a print
service provider can find lucrative
opportunity.
One of the most obvious needs is for the graphics and
signage that give the dealership its overall look and
feel. This includes wayfinding signage, wall graphics,
banners, door wraps, and every other piece of print that
comes together to create the atmosphere the dealer is
going for. One thing to keep in mind: dealerships selling
new cars under a franchised brand are required to stick
with the corporate-approved graphics. In some cases,
corporate will even have printers who are approved to
do the work, while in other cases, the dealership can
contract with a PSP of their choice, as long as they stick
with the approved graphics. It’s important to research
that before going in with a pitch. The other type of
dealership is the independents, who often
specialize in pre-owned vehicles. Because
they aren’t directly affiliated with a specific
brand, they have much more leeway when it
comes to their graphics.
Long Island Ferrari Maserati is one of
those independent dealerships, with a
focus on selling pre-owned, high-end luxury
At Luther Auto, one of
the projects the in-house
shop produced was
canvas artwork that was
designed and printed to
look like old-fashioned
oil paintings. This type
of artwork project is a
great example of one
way PSPs can get their
foot in the door at a
dealership.
24
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
PrintingNews.com
vehicles. Because they sell high-value cars to high-income customers,
they needed graphics to match, an
opportunity that Christopher Fragala of Dolce Design New York took
advantage of. “We were referred
to the owner by a friend of theirs
we wrapped a boat for,” he said.
“We were attracted to the project
for many reasons, especially since
we were given full control of the
design aspect of the project. They
were looking for a design company
that had extensive background in
design and interior media application. We had a brief interview with
the project manager who upon
reviewing our portfolio and with
the strong recommendation felt we
were suited for the project.”
But while a word-of-mouth recommendation to an independent dealer looking for a PSP to design and
create eye-catching art work is the
holy grail of auto dealership clients,
it’s not the only way for printers
to get into this market. There are
several other very distinct types
of printing that dealerships of all
types are need of. Some of the larger groups have created small shops
in-house to help with projects,
but even then they still do look for
partners to outsource certain types
of jobs to. The key is to know what
types of print products the dealership might need, and be able to
pitch them accordingly.
ers saw success taking cars the
dealership was having issues selling—tough colors that sit around
for a while—and doing small things
like the mirrors, roof or trunk.
Accent pieces to take away from
bright color on car that wouldn’t
sell. They were amazed at success
people have with that, spending
$500 on graphics and if it sells a car
immediately it’s a positive.”
Driving onto the lot with a
wrapped car, or offering to wrap
one or two of their vehicles is a
good way to get a foot in the door.
Also, walk in prepared with a portfolio to show a wide range of wrap
ideas, from just doing small advertisements for the dealership to full
custom wraps that the dealership
Vehicle Wraps
It should be no surprise that vehicle
wraps are a big potential market
when it comes to printing for automotive dealerships. And the fact
is, while it seems like an obvious
fit, many dealerships haven’t given
much thought as to how wrapping
can help them sell more cars.
“A lot of people running dealerships may not know as much about
vehicle wrapping as someone like
a fleet company,” noted Tommy
Fricano, regional manager at Avery
Dennison. “A lot of times it’s having
that face time with the dealership
and showing them what it really is,
and even doing a test run.”
Fricano also noted that wraps
don’t necessarily have to be over
the entire vehicle. “A lot of custom-
PrintingNews.com
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2522
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Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
25
The first point of contact many dealerships have with potential
customers is when they first walk in the door. PSPs can help them
create an eye-catching and memorable graphic can help set the tone
for the entire sale.
Driver’s Expressions, which is the
in-house printer for the Driver’s Village auto mall in Cicero, NY, which
is a converted shopping mall that
houses 16 dealership franchises
under the same roof.
Evans noted that one of the big
draws is when he and his team
wrap a vehicle right in the middle
of the mall. “People stand around
and watch,” he said. “It’s a show,
and it’s really cool to see. It will get
them thinking about what can they
buy themselves.” While Evans runs
an in-house shop, that has expanded and today about 30 percent of
his work comes from outside sources, and is all acquired via wordof-mouth and demonstrations like wrapping
the middle of the mall.
It is a method any PSP
can take advantage
of—one way to form
a lasting partnership
might be to arrange
with a local dealer to do
wraps in their lot on the
weekends, when there
will be high amounts
of traffic. If they—and
the PSP—promote it
as events, it can turn
Unlike dealerships that focus on a single
into a win-win situafranchise, those that own independent lots
tion, with the printer
selling used cars have much more leeway in
showing off what they
their look and feel. PSPs like Dolce Design can can do and getting
have a lot more input into the creative process. people thinking, and
can turn around and sell to their
own clients.
“One shop I talked to recently
was visiting a couple of dealers and
I asked what angle he was using.
He said when he walked in, he was
offering to do a free vinyl wrap on
the vehicle that picked up their
customers and dropped them off
if they don’t have a rental,” said
Shawn Crandall, business development manager for Avery Dennison.
“He just walks in and offers to put
stuff on their shuttle van, usually
something simple on the door. But
it’s a foot in the door.”
Wraps are a big business for Chris
Evans, the graphics manager at
26
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
the dealership increasing the traffic
through their lot.
And it’s not just wrapping
consumer vehicles. Many of the
dealership groups also deal in fleets,
which are large numbers of vehicles
sold to and maintained for businesses, including things like cargo vans
and trucks. This is another opportunity for wrapping PSPs should consider. Luther Auto is a mid-western
dealer group with 43 stores across
several states. They specifically
decided to bring some print capabilities in-house because they decided
they wanted to start offering wraps
to their fleet customers.
For Matthew Nelson, the graphic design manager at Automotive
Performance Studio, Luther Auto’s
print arm, the key is knowing your
audience. “No two jobs are ever
the same,” he said. “We are in the
car industry and everyone wants
it right now. Being able to take
what they want, put it together and
make it cost effective, getting it
out there and on time, is important.
This is a very deadline-oriented
business.”
When looking for ways to help a
dealership use graphics to stand
out, don’t just think about the large,
uninterrupted walls. Doorways
and other nooks can be a great
opportunity for a PSP to pitch
unique graphic ideas.
PrintingNews.com
When pitching wrap projects to
dealerships, it doesn’t just have to
be traditional advertising. Another
option is to pitch wraps for specific
events the dealership is involved
with, like this on Driver’s Village
did to promote the Carol Baldwin
Breast Cancer Research Fund.
Marketing Materials
Perhaps the biggest volume of
business a PSP can see from a dealership will be the smaller projects.
It is tempting to walk in and target
the huge amount of wall murals,
signage and branding materials
dealerships use to help win customers. But the fact is, most brands
have strict rules about what a dealership can and can’t display, even
down to the fonts they use for their
wayfinding signage. And while
some brands do allow the dealers
to choose their own print provider,
others have a list of PSPs the dealer
must go through. To start, it is far
better for a PSP to target the smaller pieces of collateral and marketing materials the dealership has far
more control over.
“You have to focus
on advertising,” Crandall said. “You have to
offer specific marketing to
a niche type of group. If I was
still running a sign shop today, I
think I would get the best response
by scheduling an appointment and
walking in with sample books.
Most of the dealerships signage is
already there, I would focus on getting a foot in the door with ‘what
can I do for you today’ pieces like a
banner that day or that week. Start
small and ensure they know what
you have and what you can provide. From a sign shop perspective,
the goal is to help the dealership
get their message out and grow, so
focus on that versus showing off
your capabilities.”
Nelson pointed
out that one
of his single
biggest requests
at Luther Auto are for window
signage. “Any time they’re running
a special we do the windows,” he
said. “The different manufacturers
have different campaigns every
month, so we print it out and put
it on the windows. We’ve actually
started doing more of the windows
than wrapping vehicles. The vehicles we wrap every two years, and
once we get through with them,
until they come back into service
we don’t do more with that vehicle.
But windows change every month.”
For more information, visit PrintingNews.com/10004280
PrintingNews.com
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
27
Evans agreed
that window signage is huge for his dealer group,
but even working from within, he’s
up against an old-school mindset
that any PSP looking to target this
market will need to be aware of.
“It’s coming from the traditional car
dealer mentality where they would
just use a marker on the windshield
to producing something professional and world class. Changing that
mindset from the old-school style of
doing media or ads on vehicles to
something fresh and new and clean
is not that difficult, but it is one of
my biggest challenges.”
Training and Support
It might not seem like a great in, but
another angle to consider is those
large dealer groups that do have
a print shop in-house. As Evans
pointed out, his group’s partnership
Some dealerships, especially large groups, have separate fleet divisions
that cater to businesses that want to purchase multiple vehicles at a time,
or want to buy larger trucks and vans. Offering dealerships another product
to sell their fleet customers—vehicle wraps—is a great way to build a solid
relationship that could expand to other print work down the line.
with PSP Grant Graphics in Saratoga
Springs, N.Y. has been a relationship
that both sides benefit from. While
Driver’s Village does its own printing, they rely on the PSP for parts,
materials and even training.
“We were buying thousands of
dollars of preprinted materials to
slap on the cars, so we talked to
Skip [Grant, founder, business development, Grant Graphics] and he
hooked us up with the right equipment. He taught us how to use it,
and we started out producing year
ovals and price stickers for the cars.
As we grew and experimented, we
started getting into wall graphics
and vehicle wraps. And Skip sent
one of his guys to teach us how to
do wraps. Now we’ve got car wraps,
signs, vehicle decals and it’s gotten
PSPs can look outside the traditional box when looking for ways to
work with dealerships. Many have displays at automotive shows, and
booth graphics like this one produced by the Driver’s Village in-house
shop is a great example of another way to get a foot in the door.
28
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
to the point where we’re going to
have to start adding to our crew.
And we still work with Skip—he
services our machine and we buy all
our materials from him. It has been a
hand-in-hand relationship with him,
and it is nice to have someone who
has grown up with us.”
For PSPs, partnering with either
small independent dealers or franchise with only a few locations as
the sole print provider, or working
with big groups that have some
on-site print capabilities can both be
lucrative paths. In the first, the shop
can build a relationship that can
grow as the dealership grows, with
a steady need for new, innovative
graphics that catch consumers’ eyes.
For the second, it’s all about finding
the areas the dealership needs help
with, and then providing solutions.
The automotive market is all
about relationships. Cars are sold
and deals are signed based on the
strength of the relationship between
the salesperson and the consumer.
And that same philosophy applies
to the vendors the dealership works
with. For a PSP looking to break into
this market, start small and be willing to demonstrate the real-world
applications that can bring tangible
results. Go in expecting to be there
for the long-term, creating a partnership that will both last the test
of time and result in both parties
coming out ahead. That is the way
to win the auto dealer business.
Find this article at
PrintingNews.com/12168248
PrintingNews.com
Be sure to check out these showstopping products on the exhibit
floor in Orlando.
By Denise M. Gustavson
W
hen the ISA International Sign Expo sets down its
roots at the Orange County Convention Center,
South Building in Orlando, FL, April 20-23, 2016,
nearly 600 exhibitors will have their latest products
on display. But where do you start?
Wide-Format & Signage has done some of the leg-work for
you. The products listed on the next few pages include a selection of the newest and most interesting on the trade show
floor. Use these pages to plan your stops on the exhibit floor
before you go.
Altec—Booth C10, C11, & C12
Altec’s AT40S features a large,
two-man aluminum platform
with a reach-through design,
allowing easy access to the work
area for positioning, fastening
and attaching lighting and sign
hardware. The unit has a 180-degree platform rotator and an
adjustable material handling jib
with up to 600 pounds of
capacity. This aerial features a
working height of 45 feet and a
side reach of 30.8 feet. Altec has
many purchasing options for all
your “Lights and Signs” aerials, including rentals and
new and innovative leasing solutions.
Marabu—Booth 237
Marabu North
America LP presents
ClearShield, a
water-based liquid
coating line that offers
the same protection as
film laminates at a fraction of the production costs.
UV-protection, chemical resistance, abrasion resistance
and flexibility are just a few of the benefits protecting
your digital prints with ClearShield liquid coatings.
Avery Dennison—Booth 284
Avery MPI 2600 wall film
PrintingNews.com
Avery Dennison added
three new digital textured
wall films, Pure Canvas,
Crushed Stone and
Natural Stucco featuring
dimensional finishes, to
the MPI 2600 wall film
portfolio. The new films provide quick, customizable and
creative wall decoration and come in both permanent
(MPI 2630) and removable (MPI 2631) adhesives. MPI
2600 films are 6 mil calendered and digitally printable
with solvent, eco/mild solvent, latex and UV curable inks
to create stunning visual graphics. The films are ideal for
short- and longer-term wall vinyl graphics in hotels,
commercial space, retail areas, and exhibitions.
Element Graphics—Booth 634
MagStrapz are
the installer’s
new best friend.
They are
magnetic straps
that allow your
heat gun or
torch to stick
directly to any vehicle. They are made with a heavy-duty,
durable magnet, so your heat gun or torch will no longer
fall, slide, or break. MagStrapz also use a specially
formulated rubber that leaves no marks or imprints in the
vinyl. The straps keep your heating gun a safe distance
away from the vehicle so no paint or vinyl will be
damaged. Save your back from bending over and your
heat gun or torches from breaking with MagStrapz.
Roland DGA—Booth 734
Roland DG’s
completely new
TrueVIS VG Series
takes wide-format
print/cut technology to its most
advanced level yet.
TrueVIS 64- and
54-inch models
incorporate four
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
29
FASTSIGNS International—Booth 844
newly developed FlexFire print heads, new cost-effective TrueVIS INK in 500 ml pouches with reusable
cartridges, new cutting technology, new Bluetooth-enabled Roland DG MobilePanel functionality, and much
more. All of these advanced capabilities work together
to ensure unsurpassed graphic results, maximum
productivity and greater efficiency. The TrueVIS
VG-640 and VG-540 each come with powerful, new
VersaWorks Dual RIP software, an included TU-2
take-up system, and an industry-best Two-Year
Trouble-Free Warranty.
Many print operators
turn to FASTSIGNS to
sell wide-format signage.
The FASTSIGNS Co-Brand program puts the strength of
the FASTSIGNS brand to work for you and turns non-productive square footage into revenue generating space for
only $10,000 down. Converting your existing sign
business to a FASTSIGNS franchise is easy and costs less
than you think. Because you have an existing customer
base, royalties are lower than a start-up franchise.
Rolinx USA — Booth 757
Inteplast Group Ltd—Booth 907
The Mistral
1650 is
testament to
Kala’s
devotion to
design and
technology,
giving even
the most
demanding of
users an easy
to use and
efficient machine and offering by far the best value for
money in its class. It handles single side lamination
with the option of simultaneous mounting (substrates
up to two inches thick), single pass encapsulation, tape
application and colored backgrounds.
The stand out features of the Mistral are its light
self-blocking roll shafts bringing a valuable time saving to roll changes and a patented pressure adjustment
system which maintains a uniform pressure across the
rollers. It even saves on workshop space with a small
footprint and convenient low-level storage for four
rolls.
Easy Mount—Booth 779
EasyMount, LLC offers its
narrow 3.5x6-inch channel
letter raceway extrusion that
features a true, two-piece
system. It features a front
and back piece that requires
no in-shop fabrication. Once
the back piece is mounted to
the façade, the front piece
(with letters already mounted) can be “dropped and
locked” into place. To finish
up, simply fasten the end caps and administer fasteners along the bottom tabs. Its sleek, solid face makes it
aesthetically smooth for ANY channel letter job. Power
supplies are accessible by slide out pan on left or right
side of sign.
30
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
Available in
5mm thickness
and standard
sheet sizes,
IntePro PS is a
unique Polystyrene faced graphic board that is a
durable material with very smooth printing surface.
Unlike traditional polystyrene faced boards, IntePro PS
uses adhesive free co-extrusion technology to create a
smooth solid print surface that will not delaminate.
Esko—Booth 923
Digital
finishing can
be a bottleneck, requiring faster
turnarounds
on an increasing variety of
materials. The
Kongsberg C
is a 3.2-meter
finishing system that completes the vast majority of
finishing without losing quality or productivity—at
speeds never accomplished before. More than 10 feet
across the table, its unique, extremely rigid, carbon-composite traverse assures excellent precision and
high speed, fast acceleration, high quality cutting,
creasing and powerful 3kW milling capabilities.
Arlon—Booth 935
Arlon is excited
to debut our
new cast
digital wrap
film, DPF
6100XLP at ISA
which features
a new low profile, air egress liner. DPF 6100XLP has a
low initial tack allowing for a speedy installation while
ensuring a smooth paint-like finish. DPF 6100XLP is
recommended for full and partial vehicle and fleet
PrintingNews.com
Scaled Royalty Program
Conversion Allowance
FASTSTART training on efficiencies and procedures
Buying power with vendors, helping lower your costs
Respected and recognized brand
State-of-the-art technology and training programs
Proven effective local and national marketing
For information on our Conversion Program:
www.fastsigns.com
Mark Jameson 214-346-5679 [email protected]
For more information, visit PrintingNews.com/10054488
wraps providing superior conformability around rivets,
curves, contours and channels.
EL Hatton Sales—Booth 954
Banner Ups
TexTape is a
double-sided,
pressure-sensitive
adhesive hemming
tape that sticks to
polyester and
nylon woven or
knitted textiles.
TexTape allows
printers to finish textile banners and flags instantly
in-house in minutes. Works great on latex or dye sublimation printed textile banners and flags. Creates a clean
crisp edge that looks great. No sewing labor required.
Just peel, stick, and fold hem that is super-strong and UV
durable indoors or out. No cost of expensive sewing
equipment or skilled operator and maintenance needed.
Available in 3/8- and ¾-inch widths.
Mutoh America—Booth 959
The new ValueJet 405GT is
here! Customize your world
with personalized t-shirts,
hats, workout apparel and
more. No screens to burn or
messy inks. Print custom
designs and photographic
art work directly onto your
t-shirts with vibrant CMYK
ink for incredible “pop” on
white shirts and use white
ink for printing on black
and colored t-shirts. A large
easy to use seven-inch digital control panel, expanded
print area and fast print speeds are only a few of the
features that make the ValueJet 405GT a valuable
addition to any print or screen shop.
Orbus Exhibit & Display Group—Booth 1012
Embrace
Tension
Fabric
displays from
Orbus Exhibit
& Display
Group feature
a collapsible
straight silver
frame and
support a
fabric graphic that attaches by simply pushing the
graphic into a thin channel. State-of-the-art printed
32
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
fabric graphics feature silicone-edge beading, allowing
for simple application to lightweight silver frames. Bars
around the frame perimeter support the push-fit fabric
graphics, and create an edge-to-edge seamless display.
Graphics quickly slide into the thin channels for setup
or messaging changes. Embrace displays range from
tabletop to full height 10 feet wide straight backwalls,
with stabilizing feet included for a sturdy display
solution.
Royal Sovereign International—Booth 1051
Produced by Bobis Engineering and distributed in the
US by Royal Sovereign International, the Multi-Applicator is the easy choice for your flatbed application needs.
Best-In-Class Features include: Precise laser cut aluminum profiles offering the truest table size, full-length
dust free table illumination with no unsightly gridline
and a maintenance free roller transport. The Multi-Applicators also comes standard with a Swiss engineered
hydraulic system that will raise and lower the work table
from 32 to 41 inches. Adapt your worktable to your needs
instead of adapting to meet the needs of your worktable.
Drytac—Booth 1079
Visit Drytac at
the ISA Sign
Expo 2016 to see
the newest
JetMounter
model—the
JM55 Force. This
entry level roller
laminator boasts
a heavy-duty
metal construction for users
who require long-term durability and functionality. It is
excellent for mounting, laminating and decaling
pressure sensitive materials. Noteworthy features of the
Force include a maximum laminating width of 55 inches
(1397mm), large 4.7-inch (119.4mm) diameter non-stick
rollers, speed control up to 20 feet (6m) per minute, a
maximum nip opening of one inch (25mm), top and
bottom auto-grip supply shafts with brake tension
control on the operator side, and an interchangeable
110V or 220V electrical configuration.
PrintingNews.com
STS Inks—Booth 1161
STS Inks
has announced a
new neon
fluorescent
ink set for
most major
manufacturers’ printers.
The neon
ink can be
printed as
spot colors
or mixed with standard CMYK
process colors. Mixing the neon
fluorescent colors with standard
CMYK colors opens up a wide range
of custom colors and effects. These
prints can be view under normal
lighting conditions or get an even
wider range of effects by viewing
under black light. No need to buy an
additional printer to add new
output possibilities, just add STS
Inks neon fluorescent ink set to
your existing printer.
Oki Data—Booth 1171
The ColorPainter M-64s from OKI
Data is a 64-inch wide-format
printer that delivers rich, glossy
output for indoor and outdoor use,
and high-density images on media
including backlit signs, banners and
vehicle wraps. Its distinct competitive advantages equate to higher
productivity and profitability.
Recent upgrades include enhancements to the Smart Nozzle Mapping
What's In Your Magnet?
ACCO Brands—Booth 1135
The SEAL 62 Base pressure-sensitive wide format laminator with top
heat assist ensures the perfect
finish every time. Ideal for mounting and laminating pressure-sensitive graphics up to 61 inches wide,
this machine offers a flexible
package at an affordable price.
Equipped with adjustable pressure
and speed settings, a two-inch nip
opening and the option for roll-toroll, the SEAL 62 Base delivers
genuine flexibility and high
performance levels perfect for the
small to medium sized user.
A lot goes into Magnum Magnetics®
brand printable magnets:
• World-class product innovation and quality control
• Pleasant and responsive customer service and technical support
• The hard work of dedicated Americans working in a safe and respectful
environment
Experience the quality, service, lead times, and custom solutions you deserve from
your flexible magnet supplier. Experience the Magnum Difference – call us today
at 800.258.0991
800.258.0991
magnummagnetics.com
[email protected]
For more information, visit PrintingNews.com/10006517
PrintingNews.com
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
33
Technology, and the device’s six- or seven-color SX
eco-solvent, low-odor inks have achieved the GREENGUARD Gold Certification for the UL 2818 - 2013
Standard for Chemical Emissions for Building Materials,
Finishes and Furnishings. OKI Data will host live
in-booth vehicle wrap demonstrations during ISA.
3A Composites—Booth 1217
Gatorfoam
consists of
polystyrene foam
bonded between
two layers of
wood-fiber veneer
laminate. This
unique construction makes
Gatorfoam rigid
yet lightweight
and warp-resistant; its surface also is exceptionally
smooth and strong, offering superior dent- and
scratch-resistance. Gatorfoam is available in several
combinations of white and black facers and white or
black foam as well as natural facers with white foam.
Gatorfoam is available in seven standard thicknesses
ranging from 3/16 inches to two inches and in 48x96inch, 60x96-inch, and 60x120-inch sheets.
Gatorfoam Exterior—available in the one inch, 1.5inch and two inch thicknesses—is manufactured with a
specially formulated adhesive that improves both bond
strength and moisture resistance in exterior signage
and displays. When installed outdoors, it is recommended that Gatorfoam edges be painted to protect the foam
from UV exposure.
Top Value Products—Booth 1259
Supernova is
a high-performance backlit
fabric that
features a
smooth,
elegant drape
and offers a
sensational
illuminated
quality that demands attention. This bright white
polyester fabric yields excellence in backlit graphics and
extra appeal that is most popular in high-end retail and
tradeshow settings.
Supernova is an advanced platform for rich, vibrant
graphics. This media is REACH Compliant, which is a
strict EU standard certifying it is free of substances of
very high concern. After imaging, this advanced media
platform yields outstanding color consistency, excellent image sharpness and a beautifully vibrant color
range.
34
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
RTape—Booth 1309
Synaps OM is a next generation
synthetic print media made from
high grade polyester film, not
vinyl. Polyester films have superior
dimensional stability and unmatched lay-flat characteristics.
The result: great looking prints
that hold their shape and color
without extra laminating or
mounting. With Synaps OM you
can say goodbye to bowing,
curling, delaminating and fading, in the toughest
environments, inside or out. Engineered to deliver
outstanding image quality on UV inkjet and latex
printers—Synaps OM delivers effortless, efficient
processing combined with beauty and strength to
create high impact, high margin, large-format graphics.
Agfa Graphics—Booth 1335
At Sign Expo, Agfa Graphics will be showing a brandnew version of the Jeti Mira UV inkjet printer with a
new RTR system designed to minimize waste. Agfa
Graphics’ 2.69m (105.9-inch) true flatbed printer with
moving gantry is built for heavy industrial workloads.
The Jeti Mira produces outstanding quality in six colors
plus white with optional primer or varnish. The 7pl
droplet size produces stunning detail and razor-sharp
text as small as four-point type. The ‘Print & Prepare’
mode offers non-stop printing while its six vacuum
zones with four sets of registration pins enable fast,
accurate double-sided printing.
Direct Color Systems—Booth 1585
With a
printable
area up to
23.8x48
inches (24
inches in
certain
circumstances), the
7200z printer provides digital printing benefits like
one-ups or short runs, but it is also an ideal solution for
those customers that require the larger print area, the
automation, and industry leading production speeds
and resolution. Designed for automation and enhanced
PrintingNews.com
throughput, options include a Pallet Shuttle System for
automated and continuous printing, a patent pending
ADA/Braille signage process, and cylindrical printing
with the EasyCyl 7200.
3M—Booth 1700
3M Envision
Flexible Substrate
FS-1 allows
manufacturers to
build signs that
use less energy
and require less
maintenance, and
also gives graphics
manufacturers
increased design
versatility, with options to decorate with cut vinyl or
direct print with solvent, UV or latex inks. The seamless, wide width flexible substrate is backed by the
industry-leading 3M MCS Warranty, and can be
combined with other LED-enabling products in the 3M
Envision line of products for illuminated signs.
General Formulations—Booth 1715
Concept 252
Wall-Tux is an
adhesive backed
wall fabric with
added opacity and a
superior white point.
This wall product
will indeed “Dress
Up” up any smooth
dry wall surface.
Wall-Tux is a 6 mil
Matte White
Polyester with a
clear low-tack
adhesive that allows
for clean removability up to six months. It resists fraying
when contour cutting and is printable with solvent, eco
solvent, latex, UV curable screen and offset inks.
Concept 252 is designed for temporary application of
decals and graphics to most types of painted interior
smooth walls.
Verseidag US—Booth 1723
Verseidag US
is excited to
offer the
North
American
market our new line of seemee Select printable fabrics.
These high-quality, economical transfer dye sublimation
and latex printable fabrics include a 5.5 oz Poly Light,
8.1 oz Poly Heavy, 7.5 oz Tri White and 7.9 oz Blockout.
Available in widths of 60 inches and 122 inches to 126
PrintingNews.com
inches (product dependent), and offer both NFPA 701
and CA Title 19 fire retardancy.
Foster—Booth 1744
Foster is demonstrating a new
Low Profile
On-a-Roll Lifter at
ISA 2016. The
perfect companion to HP Latex
3000, 3100, and
3500 series
printers, this
innovative lifter enables a single operator to quickly and
easily manipulate rolls as heavy as 660 pounds (300 kg)
and as wide as 16.4 feet (5 m), even in shops with
limited floor space. The rugged Foster construction
guarantees long lifter life, and a new ergonomic pull bar
reduces operator effort. Foster is an HP Partner, and the
new Foster Low Profile On-a-Roll Lifter is available
through HP dealers worldwide.
Miller Weldmaster—Booth 1761
Our fastest,
most precise
welder for
welding long
straight
seams with a
large range of
welding
capabilities
built to fit any
company size
and application. The 112 Extreme is built to take your production to
the next level. An all in one sign seaming solution… cut,
weld and grommet!
Mimaki USA—Booth 1770
New Mimaki
UJF-7151 plus
UV-LED flatbed
printer is designed
for high-precision
printing on rigid
substrates up to
28x20 inches, and
up to six inches
high. Unlike
conventional
models, a print
table moves
during printing for reduced printer unit vibration, which
contributes to very high positional accuracy for producing fine lines, edges and small point text. Produce
wayfinding signage, POP displays, lenticular panels,
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
35
nameplates, and more, or add to your existing sign
business by offering custom decorated goods such as
phone covers, promotional giveaways and packaging.
Encore Products—Booth 1853
EnCore Products is launching a new
foam board: Brushed Aluminum.
With its dramatic visual appeal,
this product’s potential is limitless.
Brushed Aluminum is an easy and
faster to cut, printable surface
board available in 3/16-inch
thickness.
ONYX Graphics—Booth 1879
Ultraflex Systems Inc.—Booth 1925
Ultraflex Systems
Inc. is unveiling a
new two-story
booth featuring the
launch of Signetics,
the latest innovation in magnetic
receptive media.
Signetics’ benefits
include easy,
on-site installation,
no-edge chipping, neutral white point, and exceptional
durability. The Signetics line features three product
offerings: Signetics Select (74 inches wide), Signetics
LTX (latex printable), and Signetics Duo (two-sided and
latex printable).
ONYX 12 software
delivers faster RIP
performance, a
simplified user
interface and
advanced finishing
tools to do more in
less time. Specifically developed to
make printing more
predictable, ONYX 12 software enables large format
print operators to produce jobs right the first time. It
utilizes the complete 64-bit platform to harness full
processing capabilities, delivering not just faster speeds
but greater responsiveness as well. It seamlessly
handles varied file formats and reproduces the client’s
intent in an accurate, predictable manner. Users can be
confident in the printed output and avoid the costs
associated with handling unexpected results.
Colex
specializes
in wide-format
finishing for
all your
finishing
needs.
Colex offers
the Colex
Sharpcut
5x10-foot flatbed cutter featuring a triple interchangeable tool head, energy efficient six-zone vacuum system,
and vision registration camera and software. Optional
conveyor model with automatic roll feeder and board
loader is available.
AGL—Booth 1913
HP—Booths 1957 & 1971
AGL will be showcasing its Patriot
laminator. This
laminator is designed
to address the issues
associated with
finishing UV, Latex
and Solvent based
printing technologies.
With AGL’s Proprietary nip roll design
and the Industries
best heating and nip
pressure design, this Laminator solves the problems
associated with poor laminate adhesion and silvering.
AGL will also debuting a new medium life polymeric
adhesive backed vinyl media/over-laminate solution for
indoor or outdoor signage. In addition to our Digital
Imaging equipment we will be highlighting our full line
of media, adhesives, PSA vinyls, and laminating films.
36
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
Colex—Booth 1949
The HP Latex
370 Printer
helps sign
shops, quick
printers and
small-to-medium print
service
providers
expand large-format printing capabilities, offer new
applications and build healthier production environments.
Designed for confident, unattended printing in high
volumes, the 64-inch HP Latex 370 Printer features
three-liter ink cartridges that can be changed while
printing, increasing margins and productivity, while
keeping running costs low. The printer is compatible with
traditional signage substrates, like vinyl and banners, as
well as canvas and wallpapers. Third generation HP Latex
inks provide high-quality prints that are scratch resistant
and do not require drying time.
PrintingNews.com
Canon Solutions America—Booth 2011
During this year’s International Sign Expo in Orlando,
Canon Solutions America will feature some of its
leading large-format printing solutions that continue to
redefine the industry. Guests will see first-hand the
diversity of the Canon and Océ machines, and the
equally impressive range of potential money-making
applications associated with the award-winning
products.
In particular, guests can expect to see the recently
launched Océ Arizona 1280 GT flatbed printer. The
launch of the fourth generation of the Océ Arizona
printer series has set the industry abuzz, with enhancements to the technology set to offer even wider application versatility. The newest series was designed for
sign and display graphics print providers and developed
to support a broad range of rigid and flexible media
applications.
AXYZ International—Booth 2035
The Trident
machine from
AXYZ International revolutionizes
the digital finishing industry with
an innovative
hybrid CNC cutting
solution. The most
versatile router/
knife combination
in its class delivers a unique triple-head system which
consists of a twin-knife head and a heavy-duty routing
spindle. These tools allow processing of almost any
sheet material from vinyl, leather, gasket and foams to
natural woods, acrylic and non-ferrous metals up to 6
inches thick. Performance enhancements such as a
servo motors and helical rack and pinion drive systems
guarantee fast and precise cutting while a fully
automatic tool changer further optimizes productivity.
Adams Tech—Booth 2123
Adams Tech offers the
fastest, most precise, most
reliable, most versatile
automated channel letter
bending systems available
to the sign making
industry. The ChannelBender series is our solution for both traditional and
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Trimless channel letters. We are truly automated metal
bending experts, the inventors and original patent
holders of this type of technology. We have been
manufacturing and servicing automated precision
bending systems for more than 20 years and we hold
more than15 patents. Other manufacturers have tried to
imitate our machinery design but not one has been able
to duplicate our precision, accuracy, nor our versatility.
CET Color—Booth 2153
CET Color’s newest K2-1000 UV wide-format printer
features state-of-the-art Kyocera print heads with 2,656
nozzles per head. The printer’s LED UV lamps instantaneously cures UV ink to produce prints at an efficient
speed of up to 1000 sqft/hour. With a maximum media
size of 5x10-feet and a precise five-picoliter drop size, the
K2-1000 offers application versatility and unparalleled
quality for every business need.
Summa, Inc.—Booth 2161
At the 2016 ISA
show, Summa will be
demonstrating their
new F2630 grand
format professional
flatbed finishing
system. This latest
addition to the affordably priced F Series is now
available in a size designed to expand your capabilities
and dramatically increase productivity. With a highly
versatile cutting area measuring 104.33x 120.07 inches
(265 cm x 305 cm), this is the breakthrough cutting
solution you’ve been dreaming about. Be sure to visit
the Summa booth for a full demonstration.
Zünd—Booth 2171
A huge success
since its recent
introduction,
Zünd’s automatic
router bit changer—ARC significantly reduces
setup and processing times for
routing applications on Zünd G3 digital cutting/routing systems. The
user can freely combine up to eight different bits in a
fully integrated tool magazine. From there, Zünd Cut
Center, the workflow suite that powers Zünd cutters,
automatically takes care of picking and changing bits
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
37
based on the job, processing method (cutting, polishing,
etc.), and material at hand. This all but eliminates the
potential for operator error, a common problem in
higher-volume routing applications, and dramatically
increases overall productivity.
Novus Imaging—Booth 2185
Novus Imaging
will introduce
the ULTRA, the
UV LED flatbed
printer that
everyone is
talking about at
the ISA Expo
booth 2185.
ULTRA is FAST,
producing outstanding greyscale print quality at 1300
ft2; per hour. UV LED curing and ink technology deliver
low temperature curing and reliability without sacrificing print speed, color gamut, ink adhesion or media
versatility. ULTRA includes an auto mask system to
save hours of set up time. ULTRA is affordable and field
upgradeable to allow for additional capacity as your
business grows. Available auto loader / unloader. The
ULTRA is proudly made in the USA.
LexJet—Booth 2197
LexJet
Simple Grip
Backlit. Get
ready to
take
window
graphics to
the next
level with
this extraordinary removable, self-adhesive product that
is easily installed on the inside of a window with the
graphic viewable from either indoors or out. What
makes this polyester film special is that when paired
with light—either a spotlight from the front, lighting
from the back or even natural sunlight—the frosted
finish really pops, bring images to life.
Product highlights:
§ High-impact, vibrant graphics during the day or night
§ Easy one-step installation and removal
§ Great for windows or lightboxes
§ Compatible with latex and UV-curable inks
Advantage Sign & Graphic Solutions –Booth 2245
Did you know
that Advantage
Sign & Graphic
Solutions offers
its own Optima portfolio of media and equipment
38
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
products for high quality results, without the high
price? Designed specifically for use in the sign and
outdoor graphics industry, there’s an Optima product
for all your printing needs. All Optima products have
been thoroughly tested and validated for compatibility
on various printing platforms including solvent, latex,
UV, and thermal. Save up to 35 percent just by switching to high quality OPTIMA brand media.
Clear Focus Imaging, Inc.—Booth 2317
Ideal for
retail
window
graphics,
new
translucent
24-Vue Two
Way Vision
Film
maintains
its visual
impact
when
frontlit during
the day as well as when backlit by interior store
lighting at night. An additional advantage of 24-Vue
over traditional one-way-vision films is that the
graphic can be seen from both sides. 24-Vue features a
70/30 perforation pattern (70 percent print surface) and
a clear pressure-sensitive adhesive for interior or
exterior mounting. Its universal release liner is compatible with UV-cure, latex, solvent, eco-solvent, and
other print technologies.
Fisher Textiles—Booth 2335
Stand out from
the competition
with attention
grabbing floor
graphics printed
on Fisher’s
Rebound
printable carpet.
Rebound has an
anti-skid rubber
backing, doesn’t
hold a form when
pressure is
applied and released and is perfect for corporate and
promotional eventing applications. Uses include
short-term carpet for events, trade show floor graphics,
POP displays, bar mats and floor mats. Compatible with
Dye Sub transfer and UV curable printers, it is FR and
meets 16 CFR Part 1630, which is required by the
Consumer Product Safety Commission for carpet
materials. Free sample rolls are available for testing.
PrintingNews.com
Caldera—Booth 2371
TextilePro
offers companies creating
long runs of
functional or
patterned
fabrics using
digital print
technology a
powerful,
streamlined production suite that guarantees consistency of output despite rapid turnaround. TextilePro
harnesses Caldera’s extensive experience in color
control while introducing practicalities intended for
those creating industrial-scale products.
Vanguard Digital—Booth 2399
The
VR5D
utilizes
the
latest
RICOH
GEN 5
print
head
technology. Banding is virtually eliminated with the VR5D.
The mirrored head arrangement (YMCKW - WKCMY) in
each pass not only helps eliminate banding, it allows for
more sell-able output in less time. The VR5D can print
materials up to 4 inches thick and with its standard LED
curing system it can also print the thinnest of materials
without any heat distortion. With print head scalability
between 2 & 10 print heads, additional print heads can
be added on the 2-8 head units, on-site, to increase
productivity and output quality.
Photo Tex Group—Booth 2441
Photo Tex will be
displaying the
Photo Tex (OPA/
OPAS) Block-Out
self-adhesive
removable fabric.
This bestselling
Self-Adhesive
Fabric is wonderful to use when
overlapping/
paneling to hide those overlap seams. This and all
Photo Tex materials are Class A fire rated, non-toxic
and can remain installed for a day or a decade. Stop in
our booth and sign up for a free sample roll to be sent
directly to your shop at no charge.
PrintingNews.com
EFI—Booth 2507
The new EFI
VUTEk FabriVU
product line
includes the
3.4-meter VUTEk
FabriVU printer
being shown for
the first time in
North America at
the International
Sign Expo.
Developed by EFI Reggiani, the Italy-based global
leader in aqueous-based textile print technology,
FabruVU printers run water-based inks and provide
stunning print quality and speed to help print providers
quickly expand their range of offerings with profitable
soft signage, banners and other applications.
Available now, the printer offers print speeds up to
1,500 square feet per hour at 600 dpi, ultra-high resolutions up to 2,400 dpi and four-level grayscale printing
with four to 72-picoliter drop sizes.
Palram America—Booth 2510
The PALIGHT family of foam PVC
products provides printers with
options for high-volume, value-oriented printing, as well as premium
quality printing. PALIGHT EPS is
an economical print substrate that
offers excellent printability and ink
adhesion at an attractive price
point, ideal for price sensitive jobs. PALIGHT Premium
has developed a reputation as the “best all around” foam
PVC because it scores well in so many performance
categories: excellent ink adhesion, surface smoothness,
white point and workability. It’s versatile, flexible,
lightweight and durable. Also available with an embossed Woodgrain surface allowing you to add more
dimension and character to signs & displays.
Orafol—Booth 2535
Join ORAFOL
Americas and
watch daily vehicle
wrap demonstrations of Oracal
970RA Premium
Shift Effect Cast
with RapidAir
technology. Series
970RA Premium Shift Effect Cast is a wrapping film
unlike anything you’ve seen before. Shift your view and
watch the color change before your eyes. It’s engineered
with cutting edge technology that produces mesmerizing multi-color effects combined with RapidAir technology to make installation a breeze.
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
39
Epson—Booth 2557
Epson is
showcasing
its next
generation
SureColor
S-Series
solvent
inkjet
printers: the
64-inch
production
S40600, S60600, and S80600. Developed over a
four-year period, Epson engineers incorporated the
latest imaging technologies—including fourth-generation Epson UltraChrome GS3 solvent ink chemistry, an
all-new precision media feeding system, and a high
performance Dual-Array PrecisionCore TFP print
head—to provide unparalleled levels of productivity
and image quality, plus improved reliability, to the
signage, vehicle graphics and fine art reproduction
markets. The SureColor S-Series redefines the
price-performance equation, delivering high-quality,
sellable output at impressive production speeds.
Magnum Magnetics—Booth 2701
DigiMaxx super-wide magnetic media is direct-printable, flexible magnetic material from Magnum Magnetics designed for super-wide signage and graphics
applications (40 inches and above). We offer 24-hour
turnaround on stock products, and custom material
delivered in days, not months. Rolls and cut sheets
available. DigiMaxx is made in the USA, meaning
excellent lead times, outstanding and consistent
product quality, and unbeatable customer service.
Nazdar SourceOne—Booth 2715
Nazdar SourceOne
will be exhibiting the
latest in digital ink
technology, including
the newest addition to the
line, Nazdar702/703 Series
UV Inkjet Inks. These new inks
are plug-and-play and qualified to
run in the Oce Arizona and Fujifilm
Acuity printers.
40
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
§ Close color match and chemical compatibility: Nazdar
ink uses the OEM color profiles
§ No ink conversion required, replace the OEM ink and
continue printing
§ Flexible ink with reduced chipping on edges when
router or guillotine cut
§ Much improved ink adhesion and performance on
acrylic and Dibond
§ Up to 35 percent less expensive than OEM inks
§ Industry’s strongest third party warranty
ATP Adhesive Systems—Booth 2727
Introducing GP-410 wg g
AE2, a low-cost, 4mil gloss
vinyl with Air Escape
Liner for bubble-free
application. It is easy and
economical. ATP Adhesive
Systems offers a full line of
mounting films, laminates,
and self-adhesive vinyl.
Continental Grafix USA — Booth 2727
Introducing
CourtWrap, the
solution for
athletic court
floors. CourtWrap
is a laminated
Polyester / Vinyl
film with a
revolutionary,
proprietary,
long-term
repositionable /
removable
adhesive. CourtWrap is especially designed for indoor
sporting hall floors, but can also be used on other
smooth, flat surfaces, such as painted metal, glass,
tile, sealed concrete, sealed wood, etc… Extremely
easy to install and remove. Repositionable, Dimensionally Stable & Durable. No adhesive residue. You can
even wash dust and dirt off the adhesive and reapply
the graphic. For Indoor Athletic Court Floors, use with
CourtWrap Protect, textured non-slip laminate. (ASTM
D-2047 certified).
Vista System—Booth 2823
Vista System is
proud to launch the
best solution for
large signs: Vista
Expand.
This revolutionary signage system
ranges in size from
700-1400mm wide
PrintingNews.com
and up to four meters height, yet it can be literally
expanded to any length, by a special hidden internal
element.
The series’ ultra modern design is supported by
exceptional strong aluminum extrusions that are both
vandal-proof and elegant at the same time.
Vista Expand is available with whole aluminum end
caps; only extrusion-covering end caps or none at all.
Its clever design ensures that inserts remain protected
and secured when exposed to the elements.
full automation available. The devices are now made
and supported in the USA.
See our fully automated solutions at ISA, where we
will show a VersaTech 1.6m wide X 3.2m long system
fully functional with conveying and all tools from laser
to router to knife cutting and creasing. MCT also operates CutGuru for blades, bits and more.
Anajet—Booth 2954
MCT—Both 2927
MCT delivers the industry’s most innovative
grand-format digital flatbed cutting solution, VersaTech. At MGE, having pioneered optical registration
with i-cut software, our team now introduces the most
intuitive vision software, TigerVision. Systems come
from 1.6m to 3.2m wide with 3.2m to 9.4m cutting
lengths for laser/routing/knife cutting applications,
Discover the next generation mPower i-series from
AnaJet; now a Ricoh Company. Print vibrant full color
graphics on light and dark t-shirts and other substrates in as little as 20 seconds for a light shirt or 45
seconds for a dark shirt with the mP10-i model. The
industrial strength Ricoh print head is built for speed
and durability, and the AnaRIP and Spark for AnaJet
graphics programs make the printer incredibly
user-friendly.
Find this article at PrintingNews.com/12177257
Market Place
April 2016 Ad Directory
Advertiser ............................... PG#
Advertiser ............................... PG#
Advertiser ............................... PG#
Caldera Software ............................. 27
PrintingNews.com/10004280
www.caldera.com
Magnum Magnetics ......................... 33
PrintingNews.com/10006517
www.magnummagnetics.com
800-258-0991
Mutoh America ................................. 2
PrintingNews.com/10006791
www.mutoh.com | 800-99MUTOH
Canon Solutions America ............... 7
PrintingNews.com/10006967
www.csa.canon.com | 800-714-4427
FASTSIGNS Int’l .............................. 31
PrintingNews.com/10054488
www.fastsigns.com | 800-827-74518
LexJet ................................................ 21
PrintingNews.com/10006398
HPLFMedia.com | 888-896-4668
PrintingNews.com
Master Magnetics ............................ 25
PrintingNews.com/10111182
www.magnetsource.com/one
888-293-3534
Mimaki USA ...................................... 5
PrintingNews.com/10006709
www.mimakiusa.com | 888-530-4021
Mohawk............................................. 13
PrintingNews.com/10006743
www.MohawkConnects.com
800-the-mill
Oki Data ............................................ 43
PrintingNews.com/10007892
www.okidata.com/wide-format
800-264-1272
Signs 365 ........................................... 44
PrintingNews.com/10449454
www.signs365.com | 800.265.8830
Zund .................................................. 17
PrintingNews.com/10008759
www.zund.com | 414-433-0700
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
41
Industry Insights
Dreamweavers
One of the great things about being in
the sign and graphics industry is
making people’s dreams come true.
By Lori Anderson
A
s owner of a Signarama franchise and SAR DesignStudio,
Kip Greer sees it frequently:
the joy when a new sign is
installed.
He knows what customers are
feeling, the thrill of seeing an ambition come into being. Greer has
owned his own business for more
than 40 years. In fact, out of his
career, he only worked for others
for about two of those years.
“I prefer to
work for myself because
I reap the
full benefit
of my efforts.
To be able to
set your own
agenda and
get your own
things done is
the most important thing.
When other
Lori Anderson
decision-makers are
involved, it hampers your ability to
accomplish things,” Kip said.
He understands then, the pride
and promise that are tangibly represented in a new business sign.
“Being in the sign business, which
is a very visual business, you get
to see people’s reactions, reactions
that you wouldn’t think would
exist. When you make a sign for
somebody just going into business,
they’re passionate about that business and the sign represents that.
They see the sign, they are giddy
and excited. It’s always exciting to
me when it occurs.”
Kip hasn’t lost his excitement in all
of his years of owning the Signarama franchise in Durham, NC. As part
of the SAR DesignStudio, his shop
offers interior and exterior signs
in addition to the vehicle wraps,
42
Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016
banners and graphics.
His client base runs from
the small business to
the larger institutions.
And he says he sees the
same level of excitement on larger
projects—even when the employee
doesn’t have the same vested interest as a small business owner.
That’s one of the great things
about being in the sign and
graphics industry: we get to help
make people’s dreams come true.
Granted, before the sign goes
up, there are 100 other ways that
their businesses come together.
But there’s just something about
seeing that sign that makes it
seem real. They’ve dreamed of
and planned for this business for
months or years. The sign speaks
that dream to the world.
It is a dream that an increasing
number of working adults hold. According to a 2014 study, those in their
20s in particular want to own their
own businesses, with 52 percent of
those surveyed said so. That’s just
slightly higher than the number of
those in their 30s with the same
desire. Those in their 40s-60s desire
business ownership much less.
The sign and graphics industry
is the backbone of making this
dream come true. It’s something
that many in our industry experience as well. Maybe the company
was started a few generations ago
by a relative. Or maybe it’s just
a few years old. But many in our
industry enjoy those same feelings
of pride that we help small business owners experience.
If the sign and graphics industry
is at the core of helping achieve the
American dream, ISA International
Sign Expo is the backbone of helping the industry do that. Just spend
a few minutes wandering around
the tradeshow floor—which is sold
out at just over 200,000 square
feet this year—and imagine the
possibilities, not only for your own
business but also for those who will
come through your door, asking you
to help bring their dreams to life.
I hope you’ll join me at ISA International Sign Expo 2016 April 20-23
in Orlando, FL. Kip will be there,
too, as part of the 2016 Signarama
International Convention which
is co-locating with ISA Sign Expo
2016. Kip has attended ISA Sign
Expo before, but sees the co-location as a chance to maximize his
most valuable asset. “Time is something I don’t have a whole lot of,”
he said. “That’s the best part of the
whole thing. We can combine both
trips into one.”
We understand the value of time,
especially to a small business owner. But I promise you, these four
days will spark your imagination in
all that you can create. You’ll find
resources to help you run your own
business as well. And it will help
you understand more about the
promise and potential that faces every one of your customers as they
come into your shop, waiting to see
their dreams come alive.
Because we get to enjoy this
every day, we may forget how
important it is. So the next time
you install or deliver a sign to a
new business owner, take a few
minutes to get caught up in their
excitement. It’s a good reminder of
why we do what we do.
Find this article at
PrintingNews.com/12176768
PrintingNews.com
For more information, visit PrintingNews.com/10007892
For more information, visit PrintingNews.com/10449454