Business - Applications

Leading UK financial services group St James’s Place recently moved into new offices in Barnet,  Hertfordshire.   Their new offices were furnished with high-quality storage walls – good-looking and functional, but, the St James’s Place staff thought, a little anonymous.   Pyramid Visuals of Weybridge, Surrey, were challenged to deliver a ‘new look’ that would enliven the St James’s Place office environment – and chose self-adhesive films from Avery Dennison Graphics and Reflective Products to achieve it.

Evocative photography was supplied by the client, and Pyramid Visuals used it to create full-colour, digitally-printed panels for the office storage wall.   Their high-resolution HP LaserJet 9000 digital printer printed the image on to Avery® Graphics MPI 2000 self-adhesive vinyl – a durable inkjet film recommended for flat surfaces.   Once dry, the printed image was protected by a long-life, high-gloss self-adhesive overlaminating film specially developed to protect digital inkjet print, Avery DOL 2000.

Pyramid Visual’s experienced installation team then took over, removing the storage unit doors from the walls, as well as their locks,  handles and hinges.   The self-adhesive vinyl graphics were applied to the door panels, carefully aligned for the best visual effect.   Locks, hinges, and handles were refitted, and the complete door was hung back on to the wall – this time displaying a glorious image of a path through a bluebell wood, as our picture shows.

‘We love the challenge’
Says Justin Murray, Sales Manager for Pyramid Visuals:  ‘We love the challenge of assignments like this.   They enable us to demonstrate both our technical knowledge and our creativity.   St James’s Place were delighted with the results, which really added personality to the new office environment.’ www.pyramidvisuals.co.uk .

 

Vista System International, a world leader in Modular Curved Frame Technology (MCFT), recently supplied its new multi directional post signs to "Indigo Signworks" for installation at Trollwood Performing Arts campus in Moorhead Minnesota USA.

The location is a large outdoor amphitheater where summertime events are held and draw large amounts of people that need to be directed efficiently. The client required a wayfinding system for the campus that would be suitable for an outdoor environment, match the look and form of existing light pole elements and provide a medium that could easily be updated.

The design team of Vista System created a new MCFT product to match the exact requirements presented by "Indigo Signworks". The result is a new multidirectional post sign, designed to fit into poles of various sizes and shapes. Each sign frame can be positioned in any angle and easily updated by in house staff.

Working with Vista is like having a cost free project engineer on staff. The customer simply provides his ideas and needs and shortly thereafter can visually see his visions become realities. Through the process of creating the new product, Vista provides the customer with 3D renderings, CAD drawings, and superimposed images for presentations. Thanks to the flexibility and modularity of MCFT, projects can often be finished ahead of even tight schedules.

Artist Dan Funderburgh is making his mark with trendsetting wallpaper designs. Since he creates his work digitally, he often looks to others who can bring his digital designs to life in print. So when Barcelona design studio Vasava offered to showcase his work in its Vallery gallery, Funderburgh jumped at the chance.

In his recent exhibit at Vallery, "Time/Life: Science/Library," Funderburgh displayed prints of his wallpaper designs as well as a variety of objects wrapped in his prints. To produce the stunning presentation, Vasava depended on the HP Designjet L25500 Printer, the HP Designjet Z2100 Photo Printer and HP printing materials that included HP PVC-free Wall Paper and HP Air Release Adhesive Gloss Cast Vinyl.

 

A crew which successfully completed a trans-Atlantic sailing challenge took with them a flag donated by one of the country’s leading flag firms and raised almost £5000 for a charity which helps children suffering with Cerebral Palsy.

Hampshire Flag Company donated the 1.5m x 2.25m digitally dye printed flag to the Rainbow Centre in Fareham which helps children with motor impairment learn to overcome their difficulties using a learning system called Conductive Education.

The flag was then taken almost 3000 miles on White Whisper, a Beneteau Oceanis 46, from Southampton to Antigua on a journey which took 14 days. The crew of four undertook the challenge to raise much-needed funds for the charity. The single-sided knitted polyester flag donated by Hampshire Flag featured ‘Raising money for’ wording in large print and the Rainbow Centre logo.

Ian Piper, the Rainbow Centre’s Chief Executive said, “The Rainbow Centre makes a difference to so many young lives and we are delighted that Hampshire Flag so generously donated the flag which was flown throughout this adventurous fundraise.

“It was fantastic to see the flag in-situ on White Whisper and it has played an important role in raising not only vital funds but awareness for the charity,” added Ian.

White Whisper’s journey was by no means plain sailing. It originally set off in November last year, as part of the prestigious annual 2,700 mile ARC race, but had to turn back because of a contaminated fuel tank. White Whisper then set sail on 2 February but the auto-pilot failed two days in. When the crew contacted Falmouth Coast Guard to let them know they were having problems they were asked to change course to help two Atlantic rowers a few hundred miles away who were running low on food.

Managing Director of the Waterlooville firm, Graham Wilkinson, said, “As a successful business we believe it is important to support charities, especially those on your doorstep.”

This is the second time that Waterlooville-based Hampshire Flag has supported the Rainbow Centre. In 2007 it spearheaded a recycling initiative on an industrial estate transforming waste into much-needed cash for the charity.

“Our flags are often taken far and wide for worthwhile causes and we are delighted that the flag helped raise the profile of the Rainbow Centre during this incredible Atlantic adventure,” said Graham.

HP and RedTie are today showcasing the latest innovations in web-to-print solutions and the creative opportunities enabled by digital print at Technology for Marketing & Advertising (TFM&A), 1-2 March, Earls Court 2, London.

RedTie is a globally recognised provider of web to print technology. Integrated with HP Indigo digital presses for high-quality, digitally printed output, the combined offering is an end-to-end solution that enables the production of personalised, effective and clever campaign materials.

"Some of the world's most powerful brands are using digital print and web-to-print solutions to stand out in the marketplace with complex and creative cross-media marketing materials," said Julia Cole, HP Indigo UK & Ireland marketing manager. "TFM&A provides the perfect platform to showcase examples of these highly-targeted, innovative campaigns and inform the marketing community as to how they can be achieved. By the end of the show, we hope everyone will be excited about the inspiring campaigns made possible by digital printing technology."

One such campaign was produced by Coca-Cola Israel.  The company decided to run a unique initiative to refresh its Sprite brand and raise brand awareness.  "Our idea was to involve consumers in the brand campaign in a wholly new way," said Merav Dvori, category marketing manager at Coca-Cola Israel. "For the first time, customers could really participate and design their own product label. We felt this would elevate interest and generate a new, fresh awareness of the brand."

This exciting campaign was made possible by high-quality, HP Indigo digital printing technology and was considered a huge success with more than 100,000 consumers designing their own cans and over 3 million people visiting the campaign website.

To find out more about this and other inspiring possibilities enabled by digital printing, visit RedTie and HP on stand B34.

Graphics of the Americas 2011 (GOA) exhibitors are sharing news about the latest solutions on the show floor at this year's Super-Event with co-located FESPA Americas, ISS Orlando and cr?8 conference. The 36th annual show opens tomorrow in Orlando, FL at the Orange County Convention Center and runs February 24-26, 2011.

George Ryan, GOA President, says, "Our prominent exhibitor line-up continues to impress with the myriad announcements breaking this week and being shown at GOA. Attendees are sure to be impressed with the quality of products being showcased at our exciting, multi-faceted event."

Latest exhibitor news

The latest news from GOA 2011 include, but is not limited to:
          
Enfocus (booth 638) will show the newest versions of its PitStop family of quality control products, and the state-of-the-art Switch automation platform. PitStop Connect --  Enfocus' 2010 breakthrough tool - makes PDF preflight & delivery an easy, hands-off process between designers and production or publishing partners. Customer feedback was instrumental to the recently announced, first update to PitStop Connect, which will be demonstrated at Enfocus booth 638.

EnfocusPitStop Pro - also available for demonstration - has long been recognized for its many PDF editing features and user-friendly design, enabling easy management and customization of presets and tools. Update 1 offers compatibility with the latest Adobe Acrobat X Standard and Pro. It also introduces compatibility with the latest PDF/X-4:2010 and PDF/A ISO standards.
 
Also being shown is the latest update of the company's Switch automation software suite. Among a host of new features, Switch 09 Update 2 adds four completely new configurators - for solutions from Dynagram, Elpical, ColorLogic and Axaio - and updates existing configurators.
 
Morgana Systems (booth 1001) adds a new kind of folder and a new range of creasers at GOA. The Morgana AutoFold Pro represents a new idea in folding, working with any creaser - not just models from the Morgana range - to create a creasing and folding station for digital printers who cannot justify the cost of a fully integrated creaser/folder.
 
The AutoFold Pro is a free-standing unit with a vacuum feed conveyor that can be adjusted to the height of any creaser. It is simply wheeled up to the creaser and, with both machines turned on; the pre-creased sheets are delivered straight into the conveyor for folding. In essence the AutoFold provides a highly efficient creasing and folding station which offers the benefit of the company's 'flying knife' technology to protect digital substrates from the damage that can occur with conventional buckle or knife crease folders.
 
In addition to the AutoFold, Morgana will also show its newly invented range of AutoCreasers, featuring the Morgana blade and matrix creasing system and a new 'PosiFeed' feeding system. This enables the feeder to be piled higher while maintaining consistency and eliminating misfeeds.
 
Intec Printing Solutions (booth 468) launches the DMP420 multimedia printer at GOA. Using a network of authorized partners, Intec printing systems are sold into over 60 countries meeting the tough demands of today's commercial print sector. Now launching into the Americas, Intec believes that the quality, productivity and low cost of ownership of its products will generate a great deal of interest.
 
Producing over 2,000 full color prints per hour, Intec printing systems offer a fast and flexible solution to providing high quality ultra heavy stock printing and combined with variable data and other applications they are designed to meet the toughest customer demands.
 
Complementing the current range is the new DMP420 multi media printer with a revolutionary proprietary feed and delivery system allowing continuous feeding of a wide range of media up to 328 x 1.2 metres and 512gsm. This cost effective and highly productive solution allows customers to print directly onto films, envelopes, synthetic media, polyester, magnetic paper and impressively, because of the media length you can produce six or eight page brochures.
 
Spiral Binding James Burn (booth 539) introduces the new Koilmatic Table-Top Electric Automatic Coil Inserter & Crimper at GOA. It is an affordable fully electric table-top automatic coil inserter designed with the digital print market in mind. Features include easy set up with no tools or shop air to run. The Koilmatic will bind up to 450 books per hour in sizes from 8mm to 20mm on 8-1/2" or 11" binding edge. No tools are required for setup & changeover and a user friendly LCD screen guides the operator through setup and operation. The Koilmatic inserter uses the same patented technology as James Burn CB30QS Inserter.
 
Coastal (booth 1741) shows at GOA 2011 its new Digi-Trans No Weed Laser Transfer Paper. This product was created specifically to leave ZERO BACKGROUND in the space around designs. This revolutionary transfer is a single step, self-weeding paper that will only transfer the toner to the garment alone. This makes the image appear as if it were screen-printed directly onto the textile. Digi-Trans is an ideal paper for white and light-colored fabrics.
 
Digi-Trans No Weed transfer paper eliminates the need to trim around an image before transferring and is great for full color logos or artwork. Digi-Trans runs in both oil and oil-free laser copiers and printers. Digi-Trans works well on cotton, cotton/poly blends, polyester and more.
 
Orbus Exhibit & Display Group (booth 531) recently introduced The Vector Frame back wall series product line. The Vector Frame series provides exhibitors with clean, easy-to-assemble back wall displays. Vector Frame back walls feature extrusion frames and tension fabric graphics, which can be single or double-sided. Using a system of locking extrusions, the Vector Frame assembles quickly and easily with a few turns of the provided alan key. The fabric graphics feature clear, silicone beading sewn throughout the edges, which simply push into the groves of the assembled extrusion frame.  Available in a variety of sizes, both square and rectangle shape, the Vector Frame series works well in tabletop setting, as a banner or as a complete back wall system.  All Vector Frame products pack into a hard molded case for easy transportation and storage; lighting is optional. 
 
Tamerica Products, Inc. - TPI (booth 1101) is showing its newest OfficePro Binding Series and the Economy Binding Series at GOA 2011. The OfficePro Series features three different machines for comb, wire, and coil binding.  All three have push-button punching and fully disengageable pins for flexible punching options, plus a self-centering paper guide for an easy punching setup.  The Economy Binding Series in turn offers low-cost yet high-value options for budget-conscious customers.  These all-manual machines also come in plastic comb, 3:1 pitch twin-loop wire, and 4:1 pitch coil formats.