Sign Printing: Selecting The Right Material

Materials
The latest sign materials are designed for maximum flexibility and durability. We can help you select the best material for your sign based on the sign's intended location, look, and length of use.

Vinyl

Cast Vinyl
Cast vinyl is our highest grade vinyl due to the quality of materials used and the manufacturing process. It consists of high quality vinyl resin, organic pigments, solvents and stabilizers (the same ingredients in paint). These materials are mixed to form a paint-like liquid which is then poured onto steel rollers that drop the right amount of liquid onto a continuous roll of nonporous, thick paper. The paper carries the liquid vinyl through a series of low temperature ovens so that it dries. After drying in the ovens, the vinyl is rolled up off the paper and taken to a laminating line where it is carefully unrolled and coated with a clear acrylic adhesive. Cast vinyl typically has a higher gloss surface and is better for vehicles and applications for outdoor use. Because of the materials and manufacturing process, cast vinyl is much less likely to shrink in outdoor usage and has a warrantied life of 5 to 7 years depending on the application.

Calendered
Pellets of vinyl, together with colors and modifiers, are ground in the calendering machines. The resulting hot, molten plastic is extruded onto a series of steel rollers which will flatten it out to the right thickness. It then receives a gloss or matte finish and is stretched to the right width. Finally, rollers cool the vinyl before it is wound up and adhesive and backing is applied. Heat, pressure, huge volume, and stretching are the key words in this process. There is a great deal of internal stress built into the vinyl as a result. Calendared vinyl offers a slightly shorter life span than cast vinyl with a warranted life of 3 to 5 years depending on the application. However, it is typically more cost effective due to huge production volumes and easier to remove from signs that are resurfaced on a regular basis.

Translucent
Translucent vinyl is a cast vinyl. It is typically used in backlit signs such as light boxes. Translucent vinyl offers color consistency, a non-glare surface, and color brightness not found in other vinyl. The benefit of translucent vinyl is that when it is not illuminated it appears to be of normal color and when backlit it allows part of the light through for added visibility at night.

Reflective
Reflective vinyl is best known for its 24-hour advertising capabilities. These films are generally cast vinyl. It is more difficult to cut, weed, and apply due to its thickness, but it typically has a higher impact due to its unique appearance. During the manufacturing process, glass beads are added to the paint-like liquid and spread across the entire surface during production. These glass beads reflect light therefore making the vinyl reflective. The more common applications include fleet graphics, highway signs and locations where night viewing and long distance visibility is required.

Metallic
Metallic vinyl is a mirror finished film consisting of polyester and various finishing products. Its surface creates the look of an actual metal such as a silver, gold, or bronze. This vinyl is typically used for signs that offer a richer look, often times presenting the appearance of a higher end sign such as gold leaf, but for a far more cost effective price. This vinyl is typically used for interior or short-term exterior applications.

Such a wide selection of vinyls make it easy for Sign Art Etc to produce custom vinyl banners that suit your every advertising need.

Substrates

Aluminum
Aluminum is without a doubt the longest lasting material for outdoor signage. It has a factory baked enamel finish, and is coated with a plastic sheet to prevent damage during shipping. It will not rust and is available in a range of sizes and colors, based on the manufacturer. Typical applications include real estate signs, directional signs and any area where durability is a major factor.

Banners
These are probably one of the most popular types of signs used. They come in many different colors for maximum graphic impact. They are highly resistant to tearing and ripping, and are also highly flame retardant, not to mention that they are very easy to maintain! Banners are great for everyday signage, announcement and retail sales applications.

Cardboard/Sho-card
Sho-card is a waterproof cardboard that can also be used as a dry-erase board. This is the perfect sign for easel displays or inexpensive presentations materials.

Coroplast
Coroplast is an inexpensive, lightweight corrugated plastic material used for mostly small, indoor signs, or outdoor signs that are temporary. It comes in many different colors, and is easy to cut into different sizes. Use coroplast stakes and you have an instant yard or tournament sign.

Magnetics
Magnetics can be cut into all shapes and sizes, and can be used outdoors or indoors. They are weather resistant and color stable. One of the most popular uses for magnetics is on car doors, for effective advertising that can be moved between vehicles.

M.D.O. (Medium Density Overlay Plywood)
MDO is thick, durable, layered plywood that can be cut into many different shapes and sizes. This type of plywood is specific to the sign industry. It is layered as to prevent warping and coated with a finish so that vinyl and adhesives take to the material easier. Typical application includes job site signs, semi-permanent development signs and directional signs.

Acrylic
This is a type of plastic, commonly refered to by its brand name Plexiglas that can be formed and cut to make interior signage. Its polished finish gives it a glossy and elegant appearance which is great for office signs or more upscale occasions.

Polystyrene
This is an inexpensive, non-glare smooth plastic that is very easy to work with. It is best for interior signage such as cheap poster printing. This material is light weight and easy to transport. Because of its flexible nature, polystyrene is perfect for a sign that has to fit or contour to a curved surface.

PVC (Sintra/Trovicel)
Also called Komatex, or Sintra, PVC is a rigid plastic board available in many different colors. This material is easy to cut into different sizes and shapes. It has a textured surface for a matte appearance and is flame retardant. Great for retail store directional signs and interior identification signs.

Consider Your Readers: Choosing The Appropriate Size For Optimum Visibility

The title may seem obvious, but if you perform a tour through your local community and take a studied approach, you may be surprised at how many signs and advertisements are nearly INVISIBLE. The reason being that someone didn't consider the impact of the sign in relation to its environment, rendering the effect of their marketing efforts null and void.

This does not need to happen, and if you consider a few basic guidelines ahead of time, you can increase the effectiveness of your ad many times over.

Such factors to consider include:
Color
Shape
Font
Complexity of Design
Background / Environment
and Size

When thinking about banner printing, consider the the type of traffic involved. Is your message intended to reach drivers at highway speeds, city speeds, or pedestrians? Perhaps even all three at the same time?

Have you ever watched a movie on your home television and realized as the end credits roll by that there is no way you could ever read them, if you wanted to, at that fast speed and at that tiny font size? The same principle applies to your banners and signs. One very basic factor to take into account is size -- both the overall size of your banner and the size of any copy on the sign. Here's a simple visibility chart to give you some idea:

Interior VS Exterior Signs: What Are The Options?

Article From Sign Art Etc

The places you can put your sign are limitless: cars, windows, floors, yards, doors. Location is only limited by your imagination. Choose where you want to put your sign and we'll help you determine the right materials, design elements, and other resources to make your sign a cost-effective attention-getter.

Ask yourself these questions:

Where is the sign going to be placed?
What elements are going to affect the sign?
How is the sign going to be installed or hung?

Available Vinyls - All perfect for interior or outdoor vinyl banners:
Cast Vinyl Interior/Exterior
Calendered Vinyl Interior/Short Term Exterior
Translucent Interior/Exterior
Reflective Interior/Exterior
Metallic Interior/Short Term Exterior

Other Possible Substrates
Aluminum Interior/Exterior
Banners Interior/Exterior
Sho-card Interior
Coroplast Interior/Exterior
Magnetics Interior/Exterior
M.D.O. (Medium Density Overlay Plywood) Interior/Exterior
Acrylic Interior/Exterior
Polystyrene Interior
PVC (Sintra/Trovicel) Interior/Exterior

Such a wide selection of substrates and printing materials makes it possible to fulfill your every custom order for vinyl banners.

Sales Brochures: A Brief How-to for the Uninitiated

An effective brochure is one that gets read. A brochure that gets read is one that is planned for and has a clear focus. Brochures can be used to

• Keep your product or service at the top of customers’ minds.
• Differentiate you from your competition.
• Reinforce your marketing message and your brand image.
• Present new info or update info about your company to your customers and prospects.

Brochures have a lot of capabilities, if you design them right. If you haven’t created a brochure, or want to improve your current brochures, read on for some tips to add creativity to the brochure printing process.

1. Decide on your brochure’s purpose. Do you want to let people know about your new product line? Do you want to inform customers of your new location and all the amenities there? Create one brochure for one purpose. If you mishmash a lot of information just to fill up the brochure of if you think you’ll save money by combining all your brochure purposes into one brochure, you’re brochure will not get read. Too much clutter turns people off and they won’t even look past the cover of your brochure.

2. Choose your target audience. The potential buyers for your product or service should have some characteristics that identify them as prospective customers. Don’t just send your brochures out to everyone in the phone book. That’s a waste of money. Carefully target your audience so that you can craft your message for that audience. Brochure copy that is targeted toward a Baby Boomer audience should differ from copy that is target to teens. You need to appeal to each group individually since they won’t both respond to the same motivations.

3. Next, create a plan. Bad or decent brochures can be written and designed in a few hours. Awesome brochures that have higher readership take weeks or even a couple of months to create. Some development timeline rules of thumb: Give the writer 3 to 7 business days. The designer gets 7 to 14 business days. Add the printer’s timeline of 2 to 14 business days and you’ve got about a month before your brochures can get to your customers.

If you’re planning a brochure for your store’s grand opening or a new product launch, give yourself at least a month to prepare the brochures and then another week or so for mailing, if necessary.

4. Implement your plan. Hire a writer and designer if necessary. Compare different brochure printing companies and don’t forget about online printing companies. They can often beat out your local printer with sales and specials.

Of course, this is a simplified step. There’s many more details to implementing your plan, but I just wanted to give newbies the gist of what takes place when creating sales brochures.

Xerox Says Net Falls 19% But Confirms Outlook

Xerox Corp.'s second-quarter profit slid 19% on a restructuring charge and lower margins, but the copy-machine and printer company maintained its 2008 profit outlook despite concerns about the weak U.S. economy.

Xerox, based in Norwalk, Conn., reported net income of $215 million, or 24 cents a share, down from $266 million, or 28 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. The latest quarter's net was diminished by five cents a share in restructuring charges. Revenue climbed 8% to $4.53 billion, helped by a 19% gain in developing markets. Gains from currency conversion contributed four percentage points of the revenue growth.

The latest quarter was boosted by the acquisition of Global Imaging Systems, an office-equipment chain that sells to small businesses, during the second quarter of 2007. If Global Imaging had been part of Xerox for the full quarter in 2007, revenue would have risen 5% from the year-earlier period.

"It was a pretty solid quarter," said Shannon Cross of Cross Research. She said many commercial printers held back on buying digital presses because they wanted to compare offerings at the Drupa trade show in Germany in June. Xerox's sales of production equipment were down 7% world-wide.

Xerox unveiled six new printing systems at the show, and said it received 33% more orders than it anticipated. "Drupa was a huge success for us," the company's chief executive, Anne Mulcahy, said in a conference call with analysts. However, she said that many orders were for products that won't be available until the end of the third quarter.

Xerox's gross margin decreased 1.1 percentage points to 39.2%, and it said it expects margins to be between 39% and 40% for the full year. It blamed revenue weakness in the U.S., especially in sales of black ink. The U.S. sales weakness was offset by strong revenue growth from services and developing markets.

Xerox also reiterated its full-year earnings forecast of $1.26 to $1.30 a share. Ms. Mulcahy said Xerox doesn't anticipate a strong rebound in machine sales in the U.S., but was looking for solid revenue from service contracts, sales of ink and lease payments. She called these follow-on sales an "annuity-based business" that "is our driver of profitable growth."

In 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Xerox shares fell 76 cents, or 5.4%, to $13.27.

By: William Bulkely
Wall Street Journal; July 25, 2008

Why Label Printers Are Good For Retail Businesses

Label printers are very useful for people who own their own shop or retail unit. When designing your own labels through an external agency, this can cost more than what you had originally intended to bargain for. This is why it is easier to design the labels yourself and invest in a label printer. These can help to transport the data onto a special machine, which prints the data onto self-adhesive paper that you can then use to label products and packages.

Label printers work very differently from normal printers, as these require a specific type of paper, which is self-adhesive, and they have a special feed mechanism to withstand large rolls of paper. They use two different types of technology, one of them is a direct thermal printing that is used in fax machines. These use heat sensitive paper, however, like some fax machines these can last from 6 months to a year. Once the labels have been printed, if exposed to direct sunlight they can fade away and have a shorter life. These are only useful for shipping operations and short term application.

Thermal transfer is another type of label printing which works by using ink from a ribbon to print onto the label for a permanent print. This can also be used on direct thermal printing. These are better for long-term usage. The different types of label printers available are desktop printers, commercial printers and industrial printers. The desktop printers use four-inch wide rolls, are relatively cheap and is used for light usage.

Commercial printers are used for medium volume usage and can hold up to eight-inches of roll. These are good to keep on sight for use on larger brands and products. Industrial printers are the most expensive of all label printers, as it holds much bigger rolls and are used for heavy-duty label making. These can be programmed to accommodate for printing on data that use different languages, roll size, permanent printing and in wide format.

Having your own label printer means, you can have it ready to use as and when you need it. When changing logos and designs often it can take up a lot of time to find a good place to have them printed. This will add to the cost of producing the labels, whereas, the only added cost of owning a label printer is maintenance or replacement. This does depend on the kind of printer you buy, which should always have a manufacturers guarantee.

In short these little boxes are good for staying on top of all of your marketing needs, no matter how big or small your company may be. These will also save businesses money so there would be no need to go to external agencies for their services.

Inkjet Printers Get Set to Turn the Page

New Technology Battle Xerox In Commercial Jobs

Inkjet-printing technology that dominates inexpensive desktop printers is about to enter the world of commercial print shops. If the new technology succeeds, it could spell trouble for Xerox Corp. and lead to expanded business for Eastman Kodak Co., Hewlett-Packard Co., Ricoh Co. and other inkjet makers.

The world's printing industry gather Thursday at the Drupa trade show in Dusseldorf, Germany, where a host of companies are showing new inkjet presses touted as the wave of the future. Giant offset presses, which cost several million dollars apiece, dominate the $400 billion-a-year printing business. But inkjet and laser technologies are nibbling at market. The new presses challenge Xerox, which laser-technology iGen3 and Docutech presses account for more than half of all digitally produced pages world-wide.

These inkjet presses, costing as much as $2.5 million apiece, are more expensive than the $500,000 Xerox machines but cost less per page to operate. Inkjet machines produce a page for a penny, versus about four cents for the laser technology used by Xerox. As with desktop printers, the digital-printer makers expect to earn the bulk of their profits by selling ink.

Inkjet makers said their technology makes digital printing competitive in price and quality with offset printing, which produces 95% of all printed pages world-wide. Digital presses account for only 2% of offset pages, or $8 billion annually. That share is expected to triple in the next three to four years as quality and speed improve. With digital printing, every page can be different. That can mean customized textbooks for each professor's class, beautiful brochure printing national magazines with local restaurant ads or glossy calendar printing with color pictures and elaborate catalog printing with detailed photographs of your business' products.

Matthew Troy, a Citigroup Inc. analyst, cautions digital printing won't supplant offset as fast as digital photography replaced film. But he said the move to digital printing provides a significant growth opportunity, especially for Kodak, of Rochester, N.Y.

Kodak has been building a printing-equipment business for the past four years by buying smaller companies. At Drupa, it will demonstrate its Stream inkjet technology, which will be available as a fully functioning press in 2010. Kodak said Stream can print at a speed of 500 feet a minute, about half the speed of traditional offset. Analysts who have been given advance looks at Stream's output said its quality fits glossy clothing catalogs, opening a potential new market for custom catalogs. Kevin Joyce, chief marketing officer for Kodak's graphiccommunications group, said Stream will produce "offsetclass output" in terms of price, reliability and appearance.

H-P, of Palo Alto, Calif., will show its Injet Color Web Press, which prints at 400 feet a minute and will be available for sale next year. Analysts sais the $2.5 million price tag is lower than they expected for its speed. H-P's laser-driven Indigo press already is used by printers for specialty jobs, and a new version will nearly match the speed of Xerox's iGen3.

Japan's Ricoh moved into the production arena last year when it reached a deal to buy the InfoPrint unit of International Business machine Corp. InfoPrint's $2 million inkjet printer went on the market in February.

Xerox President Ursula Burn s dismisses inkjet technology as suited "for relatively low-quality, high-throughout documents." Ms. Burns said she is confident commercial printers will keep buying Xerox's iGen laser presses for prducts like personal photo books and directmail adverstisements. She said Xerox, of Stamford, Conn., is unveiling a new iGen4 printer that will increase quality and productivity for commercial printers.

By: William M. Bulkeley
Wall Street Journal