Lone Eagle has the Roland 545ex printer/cutter which is used to make all of the vibrant & durable graphics mentioned above.  In this post, I’ll show you how the same equipment can be used to produce hundreds of custom printed & cut decals quickly.  A recent client ordered 1600 wine labels printed onto adhesive-backed vinyl & contour cut around the perimeter.  The machine deftly does a “kiss cut” around each printed label that cuts only the adhesive-backed vinyl but not the underlying release liner.  The client then only needs to peel them off of the backing and apply them to the bottles and/or boxes.

In this example, simple rectangles were cut around the printed labels.  But any intricate 2D shape can also be produced with this printer/cutter.  The applications include things like window & wall decals used for interior design, retail/POP graphics, vehicle graphics, etc.  The trick is to use Adobe Illustrator to include cut lines in your graphic design.  These cut lines are non-printing lines that are recognized by the printer.

This video shows you what I mean.  After about 100 labels were printed, the machine pulls the media back into the printer and starts to cut around each label.  Check it out:

But wait!  There’s more!  It’s even possible to print your design, remove the print from the printer, zip it thru the laminator to add a clear protective laminate, and then re-insert the media into the machine for contour cutting.  This is a great way to produce durable contour-cut graphics for vehicle wraps.  I like to use reflective vinyl for the cut lettering that goes over a wrap.  It really adds an awesome effect.

“Good afternoon, Lone Eagle.”

“Hi Rick, it’s Eric Olsen…..got a minute?”

“Hey Eric, how’s it goin’?”

“I know it’s late notice, and I understand if you’re not able to do it, but I’m announcing my candidacy next Wednesday and I was wondering if you could make me a big banner.”

A big grin slowly came across my face. First of all, I love it when clients call with tight deadlines & they’re not sure if I can deliver.  I’ve never missed a deadline…. never…. not once….. no matter how tight. Second, Eric is a friend of mine and the thought of helping him by doing what I do best made me very happy.

He emailed me some thoughts on what he wanted his graphics to look like and I got to work right away.  About 90 minutes later, I emailed him a low-resolution version for his approval.  (Would have been sooner but, hey, it was dinner time….. a guy’s gotta eat).  He approved it Saturday morning and I started printing.  About 30 minutes later I was busy punching grommets into his beautiful glossy campaign banner.  It helps to have awesome ICC profiles ready to go for a huge range of media.  It’s one of the things that allows Lone Eagle to fly thru jobs with both high quality and speed.  My local FedEx shop had it by lunchtime and Eric had it in his Fredericksburg, VA home by Monday afternoon (two days before the event).

Here’s a photo that Eric emailed me after his event.  That’s Eric on the right:

Put yourself in Eric’s shoes for a minute and imagine how he felt.  I’m sure he was relieved to find the package on his doorstep Monday afternoon….two days before his event.  Later, he told me how “awesome” his graphics were and how happy he was.  A great big smile came across my face.  That’s how we roll at Lone Eagle.  Now what can we do for YOU?

After he left, I thought to myself “LUCKY?! Hmmmmm….maybe I WAS lucky.”

• ‘lucky’ that I had purchased a $30k, state-of-the-art mild-solvent inkjet printer.

• ‘lucky’ that I had made a beautiful ICC profile for the media he wanted.

• ‘lucky’ that I had enough ink & media on hand to complete his entire job quickly.

• ‘lucky’ enough to know to print at 720dpi, 16-pass (i.e., high-quality mode) in order to get the high print quality necessary for display at a tradeshow.

• ‘lucky’ enough to have on my website a method for him to conveniently upload his eight 380MB files to my shop overnight (www.YouSendIt.com).

Well, as you may have guessed by now, none of this is luck at all. All of the capabilities listed above were the result of careful forethought and preparation. The other shop didn’t have a decent ICC profile (they didn’t even know what an ICC profile IS!!). And they printed in “production mode”, i.e., low resolution & low number of passes in order to just crank the job out fast. As a result, there was absolutely NO control over color, ink limits, linearization, etc…. a sure recipe for terrible print quality.

The title of this blog entry is a quote from Samuel Goldwyn, the filmmaker. I’m not sure exactly what he was referring to at the time, but I’m willing to bet it was in response to someone accusing him of being ‘lucky’ upon seeing his success.

Some new materials from 3M allow digitally-printed graphics to be applied to cinder block walls, concrete walls, stone work, even brick walls; places ordinary adhesive-backed vinyl would no doubt fail. 3M has developed their rough surface wall wrap materials that are “sticky” enough to adhere to these irregular surfaces and “soft” enough so that when applied, they conform to all the little nooks & crannies. The end result is that the graphics look like they were painted onto these surfaces. The trick is in the installation process. A heat gun and a soft, heat-resistant roller are used to “push” the graphics into the surface features. These materials are being used now in sports stadiums, schools, public buildings, fountains, monuments, restaurants….. anyplace where a rough, hum-drum surface needs some sprucing up.

I recently installed a 6′ x 5′ school mascot logo in the gym of The Toppenish High School, a beautiful new high school in WA state. The vector graphics were printed on 3M’s 8524 media and then laminated with 8624 clear, glossy laminate. These were then contour cut around the perimeter of the logo to give the look we wanted. The following photos show the finished graphic installed on a painted cement wall and the happy school administrators.

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