If you read our blog post on ADA guidelines that print service providers (PSPs) should know, you know that a business can incur fines of up to $50,000 for sign violations. That's a hefty price to pay - especially for a small business - and can be easily avoided when PSPs are thoroughly educated on the guidelines. The same goes for the legality of the signs you make. Cities, counties [...]
Author Jim Hingst, a 42-year veteran in the graphic arts field, recently posted a blog (Hingst's Sign Post) containing an excerpt from an article he wrote several years ago for Sign Builder Illustrated detailing strategies for how best to protect vinyl banners from strong winds. As printers broaden their production of flexible media applications using superwide printers like Fujifilm's new Acuity LED 3200R press, these tips could come in handy [...]
ISA International Sign Expo, the largest gathering of sign and graphics professionals, is being held in Las Vegas on April 19-22. The trade show portion will begin April 20. FUJIFILM will be in attendance with exhibiting partner, Veritiv, an integrated solutions provider for the printing industry. The partnership will take center stage in Veritiv's booth 3994 at the Mandalay Bay Resort. "FUJIFILM customers are accustomed to our best-in-class printing and [...]
As if always being responsible for spellchecking your clients’ print ready files isn’t enough, part of your responsibility as a print service provider is to ensure that your customers’ signs comply with the guidelines outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These guidelines are important because they not only help people with disabilities more easily access and navigate buildings, but if a business violates these guidelines, it faces the [...]
Today’s commercial printers are finding that wide-format printing is opening new doors for their businesses. An article in Printing News (Finding Success with Wide Format, 4/1/16) highlights several success stories, including one business that found success using the Fujifilm Acuity Select 6. “I wanted to be something more unique than a banner flag or yard sign shop,” said Jon Simpson, Vice President of Simpson Printing. “We do those sorts of [...]
As part of a five-part series on trends in product development that impact wide-format printing, Big Picture earlier this year published an article on the importance new breakthroughs in inkjet technology have had in expanding the market opportunities for printers ("Think About Ink," Big Picture.net, April 2016). "Today's users are asking inkjet inks to do more and perform at a higher standard. In response, ink chemists are refining their processes [...]
All companies are subject to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard – and SGIA’s newly developed Right to Know Training (RTK) program helps companies and employees to comply with OSHA’s most recent changes. The RTK program is intended to become an integral part of a company's own hazard communication/PPE program, which is required by OSHA of all industry employers. Companies can further prevent citations and fines [...]
As a Print Service Provider, have your customers ever approached you about applying a pattern on a conference room door or supplying custom wallpaper for a hotel chain to give a room a creative pop? Sounds time consuming. But, what if you could digitally print the design right onto a door or wallpaper instead? Interior decoration is taking the applications of digital printing to a new level. WhatTheyThink.com recently featured the success [...]
As recently reported in the popular Printing Industry blog of WhatTheyThink.com (OSHA Citations Still Cost Money, August 12, 2015), printing and printing-related business paid nearly $750,000 in penalties stemming from violations cited by the enforcement arm of the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). Most of the citations and fines could have been prevented if the printers cited had taken advantage of OSHA's FREE On-site Consultation program. This 100% [...]
As reported in the June/July, 2015 Issue of Big Picture Magazine, national signage provider bluemedia of Tempe, Arizona won a 1-million-square-foot point-of-purchase sign order for the biggest football game of the year (yes, the Big One played every February) even though the RFP called for half the order to be printed in a week, kitted in two days and immediately sent to a variety of locations. As highlighted in the [...]
A case study featuring the Acuity LED 1600 shows how one printer in Germany has turned the platform into a business changing experience. BKS Berantung Konzept und Service GMbH (BKS) located in Wiesbaden is a full service printer with a staff of 40 employees working two shifts at two different locations. Since installing their first Acuity LED 1600 in Fall 2012, BKS has added six more of the presses to their facilities. [...]
A new study by the National Print Owners Association (NPOA) as highlighted in a recent article from PI World reveals the latest pricing practices for 18 of the industry's most popular substrates. “This is an industry first and provides printers with a real-world look at pricing, products and practices they can use to fine tune and build their sign and wide-format business,” said NPOA Executive Director and study author John [...]
When Gregorys Coffee, a high-end coffee shop chain in New York City, needed a visually attractive but more cost-effective chalkboard solution for their internal signs they turned to Visual Magnetics for a solution. Visual Magnetics suggested the flexible, printable and writable new VM-CHALKboard PLUS which convinced Gregorys' Director of Marketing and Visual Merchandising, Kristin Zamfotis, to switch out their signage in every one of their 12 stores. “Before we switched [...]
If you think personalized license plates was the last word in car customization, think again. As featured in a recent GraphicDisplayWorld.com article, Netherlands-based Tismo Products BV is using Fujifilm Uvijet KV thermoforming ink for car dashboard personalization. The new line of Uvijet KV ink helps printers print vibrant colors without cracking or flaking during the thermoforming process. "Demand for personalized consumer products has been growing rapidly, which has created a [...]
According to Stafford Textiles Limited, wide format printers will be transitioning to the benefits of Grandform Eco PE woven polyethylene substrate from traditional PVC for bulletin billboards. Here are five reasons why: Lower Freight Costs. PE weighs 5 ounces, 28% less than PVC vinyl. Freight savings typically range from $.003 to $.012 per square foot when you take advantage of lighter weight PE. Unique Properties of PE. Stafford has developed [...]