Pacific Print Works

Flip Signs

Morgan Cox — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:06:28 +0000

Of course we can do flip signs. Sometimes they have handles, most often they do not. We use 10mil (3/8″) PVC and direct print it to keep your costs down. We do both sides so anticipate that with your art prep; each side has to be uniquely setup. Anticipate 0.5 inch bleed and we’ll cut the wedge on the end at no extra cost.

For jobs over 75 total square feet our pricing gets VERY aggressive. Call us to get an immediate custom quote. If your designs calls for it, we can even do custom routed shapes done on a proper CNC routing system. For example, guitar shapes can make for an entertaining attention getter.

Window Graphics Demand Attention

Morgan Cox — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:47:32 +0000

Window graphics are an excellent way to get noticed and get your message across in a unique way. There are 2 common solutions with a few variations. One of the most popular material choices is perforated vinyl, sometimes called one way view vinyl. This has lots of little holes that allows light through, you can see through from the back side and almost not notice there is a graphic there at all, and you still get a great looking graphic on the glass. The other option is to use a white, translucent vinyl without holes. This allows the best image quality, still allows some light through, and you can see the graphic from the back side (although it is backwards when viewing from the back).

Both of these solutions are applied to the outside of the glass and face out. If you need your graphic on the inside facing out, consider hanging a smooth banner or a Gator board print just off the glass instead of applying something with an adhesive to the inside surface. This keeps the cost down compared to having to use an optically clear adhesive, and will cost less for installation in most cases.

Generally we’d use a removable, low-tack adhesive vinyl with no laminate if the graphic is to be up for a measure of weeks or months. For longer term installations, we strongly suggest using a laminate, maybe even a graffiti resistant laminate that allows cleaning with harsh solvents to remove paint and marker. The perforated vinyl certainly lasts longer with laminate as well. But does not last as long as a solid vinyl without holes.

When designing for big window graphics, don’t get sucked into trying to load it up with lots of information. Think of it more like a billboard that has to get noticed and be read and understood in a few seconds. Less is certainly more for these applications.

Recent canvas prints

Morgan Cox — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 04:11:31 +0000

Fine art reproduction on archival giclee canvas

We recently printed some giclee canvas prints that had been shot with an average point and shoot camera. The images had more jpeg compressions than would be ideal, but they were close enough to usable given the 24″ x 24″ print size they wanted. We did some color edits to remove the color cast imposed by the lighting condition when the pictures were taken and improve the overall contrast. They were very happy with the results and ordered an additional set. Next time around, hopefully they’ll let us take the digital capture to further improve the end product.

Corrugated Plastic Yard and Event Signs

Morgan Cox — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 03:43:17 +0000

Direct print on corrugated plastic

Internal flute construction of corrugated plastic signs

With advancements in direct UV printing technology, shops like ours can compete with jobs that have traditionally been done with screen printing processes. Instead of being confined to choosing a number of colors for your corrugated plastic job, you can have a full digital print for pennies more. Of course our pricing is far better than screen printing for short run corrugated prints.

Corrugated signs fulfill many needs; yard signs, golf event hole sponsor signs, inexpensive temporary signs, or like some of the huge batches we’ve done lately, political signs. They can be printed single or double sided and we have 2 materials to choose from, one shows the flute construction on the surface and the other is much smoother and totally opaque. The opaque material has been popular for golf event signs where the event organizers give the signs to the sponsors after the event. The surface of the material is almost completely smooth and the opaque construction makes double sided printing work perfectly.

The most common thickness is 4mil (3/16 inch) for yard and event signs and 10mil (3/8 inch) for “spinner” flip signs you see on street corners.

Eco Board

Morgan Cox — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 04:30:38 +0000

We love this stuff. It is very rigid, flat, and prints like a dream through our direct UV print system. The majority of the board is made from post consumer product that completely biodegrades and recycles. If you are looking for a green alternative to conventional foamcore or gatorfoam solutions, this is it.

We had tested and used a version from a manufacturer that was made in South Africa. It worked well at first, but later batches were not flat enough for our demands. Plus, shipping something almost half way around the world is not the most eco friendly solution. Then we tested a similar product that was made in the US. But it would fall apart when we cut the edges. It left a messy, fuzzy edge that really worked against our strict clean shop efforts.

Now, we think we’ve found the best solution. It is available in 0.25″ and 0.5″ thicknesses, lays flat, prints and cuts great, and is still made from a huge majority of post consumer product.

Dry Erase Laminate

Morgan Cox — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 04:16:33 +0000

Adding dry erase laminate creates a clever solution for event, training, presentation, and directional graphics. Very often it is applied over foamcore, gatorfoam, or PVC prints that are done through our direct print system. We can also apply this laminate to poster or adhesive back vinyl prints. This allows you something that can be rolled up and taken with you wherever you go with the poster, or applied to whatever you need with the adhesive back.

Different markers tend to behave a little bit differently. If you ever get any “ghosting” of your marking, just use some alcohol to get the last little bit off and bring it right back to looking like new.

Office Lobby Canvases

Morgan Cox — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 04:02:46 +0000

Here are some pictures of a recent job we ran for a dentist’s office. They had seen some gallery wrapped prints and loved the look. So, when they went to do some “signage” for the office, they chose the gallery wrap solution on the fine art canvas.

The purple color really popped. The clean design worked really well and the thickness of the 1.5″ frames gave the the finished prints an interesting dimension.

Car Magnets

Morgan Cox — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 03:53:33 +0000

Digitally printed graphic magnets are a great solution when you don’t want full time decals on your car. If you don’t plan on removing your magnets on at least a weekly basis, consider doing decals instead. The most common question for vehicle magnets is size. There is no “standard” size, but 12″ x 18″ up to around 18″ x 24″ are common. The best solution is to actually measure the flat space of your doors to get the size that fits best. They are always custom made, so don’t worry about conforming to a predefined size.

We use 30 mil magnet material that is specifically made for vehicles and we mount 5 year adhesive back vinyl instead of direct printing to the magnet material. We tried direct printing to the magnets and just we not happy with the results on a regular enough basis. With the adhesive back vinyl solution, we get great looking magnets every time, first time.

For proper finishing, we round the corners to a 0.5″ radius to avoid a pointed corner from lifting off on the highway. In cooperation with this, try not to design a border line or graphic features that will clash with the rounded corners.

Car magnets are almost always sold in pairs or small quantities. To make sure you have a good margin, we have very aggressive pricing. Call today for a quote. I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Fine Art Giclee

Morgan Cox — Wed, 05 May 2010 03:22:07 +0000

HP 3200z Fine Art Printer

Fine art reproduction that’s done with inkjet printers is often called giclee printing. I find it a bit amusing that our industry acts as if this defines some standard or specification. In fact it is purely a marketing term that implies some common characteristics.

archival, non fading color in indoor conditions
use of art type materials like canvas, rag papers, or watercolor and photo papers
typically framed or stretched around wooden “stretcher bars”

We have a wide variety of materials to use in this printer and many have been tested by the Wilhelm Institute. We offer stretching service to help finish the print.

Each print is meticulously cared for from loading the material, to spraying multiple coats of protective coatings. The color management is crafted for each individual material to make sure you get the best results possible.

For photographic output, we can use archival photo papers that rival Lightjet and Lambda output. Depending on paper choice, they can be archival into the hundreds of years – even without laminate.

To take full advantage of this print system, convert your scans or digital captures into a large gamut RGB Working Space like Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RGB. Beware of taking digital images through the RAW filter. It is very powerful and can be used for good or evil. If you’re trying to gain experience in image editing with the RAW filter, be sure to save the original to allow you to experiment and make mistakes. Also, don’t get focused in on one or two small areas or details. I often see images destroyed with the RAW filter in the interest of something simple like better contrast or lightness. Here is one of many tutorials and online help for using the RAW filter.

Retractable Banner Stands

Morgan Cox — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:26:40 +0000

Retractable stands come in all shapes, sizes, and quality levels. There are dirt cheap, flimsy stands that barely hold together to high end, expensive, slick stands that are over-built and over-priced. The trick is to find the proper balance. After using a half dozen different sources, we’ve found that balance.

Width sizes for indoor stands include 24″, 36″, 48″, 60″. The graphics can be anywhere from 69″ to 92″ high. We include a travel bag with each stand and can ship to anywhere in the US so you don’t have to travel with your new stand.

These stands are as simple as it gets to setup and break down. The indoor stands telescoping pole hooks into the top bar and fits into the base easily.

The outdoor stands are intentionally small to keep the windage to a minimum and keep them on their feet.

Econo retractable banner stand. Graphic size: 33"W x 80"H

Retractable stand extention pole (not available for Econo stand)

Retractable banner stand made from Tradeshow Film and textured matte laminate.

Retractable banner stand made from SuperSmooth banner material.

Water base snap frame. Graphic size: 23.5"W x 32.5"H, 22.5"W x 32.25"H viewable

Outdoor water base snap frame closeup

Zephyr outdoor banner stand. Graphic sizes: 24" to 36" width, 60" to 72" heights.