LARGE FORMAT INKJET DIGITAL PRINTING

INTRODUCTION

Newer computer design programs allow fast creation of full color, easily changeable designs. Your possibilities for utilizing situation specific, one or short run output has exploded. Several systems have been developed to provide such output. The most cost effective is inkjet technology.

Inkjet plotters produce rich, vibrant colors for type, drawn artwork or photographs. From a normal display-viewing distance, the look is that of a color photo.

600 Dots Per(DPI) Inch Inkjet printing produced with the right quality inks, media, high resotution input, superior RIPs and expeienced operators produces photo quality results. This technology evolved from plotters used in the CAD world. Roll media is used, so length of output is ruled by the computer capacity and software driving the plotter. Sizes presently are up to 60 inches in width by approximately 100 feet maximum length.

Output from modern Inkjet Graphics Plotters is true four color and can be made to a variety of materials, then be laminated or mounted for display. Resolution is up to 600 DPI. From a few feet it normally will appear as continuous tone of photographic quality. Photos captured with high resolution drum scans appear with excellent detail and quality. Lower resolution flatbed scans, photo CD and even jpeg files produce very acceptable display quality results, particularly for larger sizes to be viewed from more than 5-10' distance. Colors are rich, fully saturated and vibrant. The overall quality of  600 DPI Inkjet generally exceeds Electrostatic by about 75%. From longer distances the resolution difference  between Inkjet and Electrostatic is less, but electrostatic colors are just not as rich & vibrant.

This is the highest quality/value for money choice until the number of pieces required reaches a level where screen printing becomes cost effective.

The standard inks used in Inkjet plotters will not resist direct sunlight (UV) for more than a few weeks. Newer UV resistant inks can resist sun for six months up to one year or with pigmented inks more than a year, depending on how the output is finished and mounted.

Large billboard or mural size displays can be achieved by paneling 60" wide strips of inkjet output thereby creating giant wall size, near photographic quality backdrops.

Inkjet output can also be laminated  or mounted to a variety of other materials for application to trade show booths, store displays or other special purposes.

We can mount and cut out inkjet graphics to create dimensional display pieces or standees.

Interfaces with both Mac and PC platforms allow direct digital output with a minimum of make-ready costs. As the media is on rolls, increments in size don't play such a tremendous role in pricing. A 3'x 10' piece costs fractionally more than a 3'x 5' piece.

With inkjet you can use the full size of your display space at a price that is justified. Put up a four color 4'x 8' banner for a one day trade show. Make the message specific to that particular contact situation. The increase in response will be high. The more specific your message is, in any presentational opportunity, the better the results. With inkjet, that message can now be FULL SIZE & FULL COLOR.

THE MECHANICS

If you are working on a computer, set your drawing up to scale on a size you can print out on your printer. We will need a hard copy as well as the computer file to work from. It is best for us to scale the drawing up to final output size, so creating your design scaled to letter size is is not only perfectly acceptable - it is preferred.

Take your design to whatever level of completion with which you feel comfortable. Refer to the following acceptable file formats:

Other than via FTP, we can accept files using the following computer media:

• Mac or PC format floppies
• 10 thru 150 Meg PC format Bernoulli
• 44, 88 or 200 Meg Mac or PC format Syquest
• 100 Meg Mac or PC format Zip
• 1 Gig Mac or PC format Jaz
• 120 and 250 Meg PC format Tape
• Compact Disk(CD) - Mac or PC format
• Kodak Photo CD

Our list of supported Mac & PC Programs is extensive and includes:

Mac Platform:

• Quark
• Illustrator
• CorelDraw
• Pagemaker
• Photoshop
• Freehand
• Canvas
• Painter
• Ray Dream Designer
• Macro Model
• Poser
• WordPerfect

PC Platform:

• CorelDraw
• Illustrator
• Micrografx Designer
• Arts & Letters
• PageMaker
• Picture Publisher
• Quark
• ImageIn
• AutoCad
• Design Cad
• Charisma
• Harvard Graphics
• Power Point
• Word
• WordPerfect
• dBase
• Access
• Lotus
• Excel
• Ventura

For unsupported programs, TIF, EPS, DXF, CGM, PS or many other Mac or PC file formats can be used.

Other Types of Material Accepted:

• Mechanicals
• Flat Artwork
• Photos
• Transparencies
• 35MM Slides, Negatives or Undeveloped Film
• Verbal Instructions, Sketches or a Fax

If you haven't worked with us before, it's best to give us a call and thrash out the latest particulars on getting from your system and software to ours.

If you're working on paper, present us with your layout. You may also give us copies of photos or other items you wish to incorporate.

THE MATERIALS

Inkjet materials range from paper, backlit film, vinyls to synthetic cloth. Some are suitable for outdoor banner use. Careful installation is always required to protect against premature failure from wind. Click Here for relevant info.

Pricing is a function of size, complexity of artwork and cost of materials/labor.

LAMINATION

The ink used in inkjet plotters is alcohol or waterbased. A sweaty palm will streak it completely(except for special waterproof media like banner vinyl). We normally heat encapsulate the output (hot-roll laminate both sides with a heat sealed edge) immediately to avoid moisture or fingerprint handling damage. We strongly recommend against handling unlaminated inkjet without wearing photo gloves. Sneeze on it and it's gone!

Once laminated, the output is very robust and can even stand up to rain. However, three to six months of direct sunlight will severely bleach many normal inkjet colors.

UV resistant laminates and pigmented inks are now available that substantially lengthen useful injket life. They require more testing before realistic guarantees can be made. However, we think as much as two years with minimal fading is possible even in adverse positions recieving day long direct sunlight.

Our regular laminate is either gloss or luster (matte) finished.

• Gloss laminate really makes the colors pop and enhances the photographic effect.
• Gloss laminate does produce reflections and may not be suitable in a highly spot lit booth.
• Luster laminate somewhat tones down the color and does not produce as much reflection.

In addition we offer a dry erase surface laminate for posters or adhesive backed film that may be then mounted to any substrate.

USING FINISHED INKJET

Laminated or unlaminated, the inkjet output may be rolled for shipping or storage. Velcro, magnetic strips or two sided tape can be applied to the back for fastening to a display. It may also be laminated to a variety of substrates as required. These include Coroplast, Sintra, Plexi, Foamcore, Posterboard and Lexan.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction	Mechanics	Materials	Use

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National Phone: 1-800 488-8070
Local Phone: 516 531-9000
Fax: 516 531-9009

Last modified: March 1, 1999

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