An example from my personal life has nothing to do with graphics; it’s about shoes. Whenever I’ve needed a new pair of running shoes, I’ve tended to look for the model that gives the best performance and then look for the best price. First I would look for the best fit, support, comfort, traction, durability, etc. Then, and only then, was it time to look for the best price for that specific model.  Sure, I end up paying more for top-quality shoes. But in the long run, I know they’ll perform really well, they won’t cause me some weird pain or injury, and they’ll last longer than “El Cheapos”.

A recent example from my large-format print shop comes to mind. An amateur artist wanted to know what it would cost to get prints of her paintings.  (Ah, see? The first question was “how much?”  My Spidey senses started tingling).  I explained that the first step was to scan her art at a high resolution and then retouch it in Photoshop so that my proofs would match her original. My charge for this is $225. She indicated that she would shop around for a ‘reasonable price’ and then have me produce her prints using the digital file she would supply. (“Hmmm…. I guess that makes me UNreasonable” I thought to myself.)  I diplomatically explained that slapping her work down onto the glass of a scanner at the library was NOT going to produce a scan anywhere close to acceptable.  Also, any scan would STILL require retouching in order for the prints on my combination of printer, media, ink, & other settings to match her original. For her sake, I hope she doesn’t waste her time & money going the “el cheapo” route.

Think of value as performance divided by price.  Now compare the value of the high-end running shoes to the low-end El Cheapos.  Even though the cost of the high-end shoes was higher, what I got for that price was much higher, so more value.  If I had spent less for the El Cheapos and gotten big blisters (or worse), you can bet my first thought would NOT be the money I had saved.

Sometimes I’ll be asked why I’ve spent so much on something.  My standard reply is that I always try to get the best quality I can afford, take good care of it, and make it last…. that goes for shoes, cars, and wives!  So far, my strategy has worked out really, really well.

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?

I was recently contacted by a local architectural firm to produce a wall mural.  Over the years, I would occasionally stop in to this firm’s office to give them various print samples used for window graphics, non-slip floor graphics, wall murals, etc.  So one day, when one of their clients asked about getting a big wall mural, they thought of Lone Eagle.  Nice!  So the local architects were my first partner.

Typically, a new mural job involves working with the client to determine what kind of image they have in mind for their space.  Then it’s time to hunt down the right stock photography, or hire a photographer, or design the proper vector graphics, or some combination of those.  In this case, the client had already picked out the image they wanted from the stock of a local photographer.  Luckily, he had shot it using 6×7 medium format film.  Whew!  So, now I had identified my second partner in this job.

The next step was to get the photographer’s med-format film into the hands of a high-end professional with a drum scanner.  In this case, the film was scanned at 11,000 ppi, using the proper bit depth and color mode which then gave me a beautiful digital file to work with.  So now my third partner successfully completed his portion of this job.

Now it was my turn.  The 10’ x 25’ wall mural was printed in seven ten-foot long strips at 720dpi, 16-pass using a Roland 545ex eco-SOL printer.  The media used was Dreamscape’s vinyl wall mural media.  The client picked out the “Mystical” texture – good choice.  After printing & drying overnight, each panel received two coats of Dreamscape’s Protex3 satin-finish liquid laminate.  This gives the prints a beautiful surface finish as well as protection from water, dirt, pollution, smudging, fade, etc.  So I guess you could say that my media supplier was my fourth partner since I’ve asked them lots of questions over the years and buy lots of my supplies from them.

My fifth and final partner in this job was the installer.  It’s easy to image everything going well up to this point but then turning out terrible if the installation wasn’t right.  My partner here was a local wallpaper hanger and he did an outstanding job.  Man, this guy knows his stuff.  I inspected the mural when he was done & I was impressed that the seams were so smooth and the image lined up so well.  Partner #5 rocks!

Here’s a photo of the end result.  When the client gets some time, they’ll build a hardwood border around the perimeter to frame it in.  When I get some time, I’ll forward the link to this blog post to all of my partners and say “thanks” for a job well done – by ALL of us.

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.

A series of overlapping photos that span the entire scene can automatically be stitched together to produce one big, beautiful, contiguous image with no trace of seams. But there a few tips to keep in mind. Here they are:

First, make sure that the images overlap each other by about 25% or so. The software does its magic by matching up image elements in the scene, so lots of overlap will tend to produce better results. I’ve noticed I tend to use maybe a little bit more than is necessary. But I’m very happy with the results I’ve been able to achieve.

Second, a tripod will help you align the images properly. Without the tripod, you may have too much vertical offset between images. This will ultimately reduce the size of the final image since non-overlapping areas will get cropped away near the end of this process.  But I have been able to get great results handheld.

Third, using a consistent exposure will make it easier for the software to smoothly blend the component images into a single image. This will be easier if your scene has an even tone. With larger tonal shifts, this will get trickier to control. Photoshop will perform a tonal blend as well as image element alignment between neighboring images. And you don’t want depth-of-field differences among the photos. If you feed Photoshop higher-quality images, it will be happier.

Once you have 3-5 overlapping images, fire up Photoshop and select File – Automate – Photomerge. You can then import the images to be blended. Next choose one of the blending algorithms Photoshop will use to make your panorama. I’m usually amazed at how well ‘auto’ works, but you can also choose ‘perspective’, ‘cyclindrical’, ‘spherical’, etc….. Experiment until you find one that you like best. Your image will be generated quickly and each component photo will now be on a separate layer. At this point, I usually flatten the image, crop away the unwanted areas around the perimeter, and then start playing with levels, curves, saturation, sharpening, etc…..  (If you have CS5, the “content-aware fill” will produce amazing results).

Here’s an example using some photos I took 9-19-10. This first image shows the four component images all placed next to each other. You can tell that each image overlaps its neighbor by at least 25%. The sky was darker in the left image but the tone in the areas of overlap in neighboring photos was pretty consistent.

The second images shows these same four photos overlappped “manually”. That is, I merely dragged each photo into place based on my perception of lining up image elements. You can now see clearly the amount of overlap between neighboring images. You can also now get a sense of what the final panorama will look like.

And now…. the moment you’ve been waiting for. Here is the result of using Photoshop’s Photomerge command:

With a little planning and keeping a couple simple tips in mind, big, beautiful panoramic images are possible. Don’t forget to try capturing a number of images in portrait mode too to get more sky and/or foreground in your panorama. Hope this helps you get the images you want. Happy shooting.

Home:

Children’s Rooms—Watch your kids beam with delight when they enter their special room for the first time, and every time after that. Enchant your daughter with a wall of horses grazing in a meadow, or inspire your sporty son with a wall of his favorite baseball players in action. Kids’ rooms can be transformed into a tropical jungle or an underwater paradise, all with the use of vibrant and durable wall murals.

Scenery—Looking to add some urban edge to your abode? Perhaps a black and white image of your favorite city skyline will offer that punch you’ve been looking for. Interested in bringing serenity into your home? A sweeping Tuscan vista could be the perfect fit. Wall murals can turn plain hallways into lush forests, mountain ranges, or soothing tropical beaches. Scenic wall murals don’t just add beauty to a room; they’re also wonderful conversation pieces.

Personal Photographs—You’ve always thought that stunning sunset photo you took on vacation would look amazing as a mural. Make it happen! Turn your digital images into art and your walls into representations of the people and places you love. For example, a mundane laundry room would be much more pleasant space when its walls showcase a larger-than-life tribute to, say, the family pet or last summer’s trip to the lake.

Art/Design—Abstract designs and artistic images are just as good at conveying mood and atmosphere as photographs. Incorporate your favorite colors and motifs into your home with an artistic mural suited to your personality. Decorate your bedroom with a whimsical mural of parrots in flight. Impress guests with a cubist painting filling up a space in your entryway. And why not make your breakfast nook ceiling look like a calming summer sky? The sky really is the limit when it comes to wall designs, so let your imagination run wild.

Business:

Promotional—Do you want to get the word out about your company’s tech expertise? Are you proud of your company’s history or your new logo? The walls of your business can easily be transformed into a captivating, promotional medium that will show your customers or clients exactly what you do best. You can convey a message and visually delight visitors at the same time.

Ambiance—How do you want people to feel when they visit your business? If you’re a dentist and want to instill a sense of calm, you could turn a wall in the lobby into a serene, bubbling brook. If you own a restaurant, you might add atmosphere with a wall showing a scene from your cuisine’s heritage. When you’re hosting customers, you’re in the marketing business. Give people a reason to drop in—with bright, beautifully printed wall graphics that people will remember.

Don’t want to cover an entire wall? You can still add small, contour-cut accent pieces to spruce up what’s there now. Beautiful fall leaves, whimsical snowflakes, or bold, flowing abstract designs are just a few of the possibilities. Because they’re so versatile, wall murals and contour-cut wall graphics provide an effective and visually exciting solution to any interior design challenges you might have. Think of them as a unique way to add character and atmosphere to any room. From serious and subtle to playful and bold, wall murals are the new secret weapon in interior design.

Imagine being a vendor at the World Travel Market in London. It’s the world’s biggest tradeshow for the travel industry and features over 5,000 international companies displaying exhibits for over 45,000 discerning participants. How do any of them hope to stand out? A great-looking booth is the first step.

Whether you’re in advertising, retail, interior design, or any other industry that uses tradeshows to spread the word about your company’s innovative products, you’ll need to distinguish yourself from the crowd to be successful. Carefully crafted, superior quality visual displays are a great way to give your company the edge. If you have excellent graphics to add impact to your message, people will be more likely to notice your exhibit at the show and, more importantly, remember it later. It’s vital to choose the right combination of media and printing technology to deliver colors that pop and crisp visuals that capture every detail. Here are a few options that will make your next trade show display attention-grabbing and unforgettable:

Retractable banner stands

Seeking a solution with maximum vibrancy and durability at low cost? Try graphics printed on polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) banner material. They’re made from recycled bottles and printed with water-based inks. And lamination will add protection as well as a variety of finishes including glossy, luster, or semi-matte. Try positioning three or four of these low-cost banner stands together to build one big, knockout image that won’t break your budget.

Graphics mounted to display boards

Keep your graphics looking fresh by mounting them onto sturdy, light-weight display boards. A variety of materials are available. Choose light-weight Gatorboard for ease of transport. Or Sintra for maximum durability. Or try Eco-Board; a strong corrugated display board made from 94% recycled cardboard. Pair that with graphics printed with water-based inks onto our FSC-certified coated paper and you’ll be the greenest exhibitor at the show.

Fabric table drapes

Every aspect of your tradeshow booth should highlight what’s great about your products. Fabric table drapes offer a unique way to give your display a high-end finishing touch. A number of fabrics are available for large-format inkjet printing of your logo and branding message. Egyptian Sailcloth and Venetian Heavy Canvas are two popular polyester fabrics that have the look and feel of canvas.

Non-slip floor graphics

Want to take advantage of a high-traffic yet under-utilized space for getting your message across? Just look down. Use your floor space to your advantage and give passersby something interesting to look at in an unexpected spot! And don’t worry; they’re non-slip and won’t damage the floor when removed.

Backlit displays

You’ve seen these lighted displays at the airport and the mall. They’re a great way to add that extra ‘punch’ to your message. Backlit display boxes for tradeshows are lightweight and allow for easy changing of the graphics. So now you can keep your message fresh from season to season, show to show, or even hour to hour.

Your business is to wow the crowd.

Our business at Lone Eagle Digital Imaging is to help you to do it with flair.

Not convinced? Here’s an example. I’ll describe a traffic accident scene to you and see if you can picture it in your mind. Or maybe even try to sketch it out. Here we go:

“There was a three-car pileup on an icy road. A small, black car skidded on the ice and was then rear-ended by a red car. That car was then rear-ended by a white van which left long skid marks on the road before coming to a rest. There were no injuries but the left lane was partially blocked for about an hour.”

OK…. how’d you do? Pretty easy to get an image in your mind, right? But was the image you conjured up exactly like the real accident scene? At what angles were your cars positioned? What portion of each car got hit? As you can imagine, conveying the actual events to a jury in court (and having them remember all that in the deliberation room) can mean the difference between a conviction and an acquittal.

Here’s an illustration of the scene created by a graphic designer from a sketch and photos provided by the officer responding to the scene. This illustration leaves very little open to interpretation and is much easier for the jury to remember & discuss.

Courtroom graphics can be a valuable resource in the courtroom. Got the picture?

Fine art reproduction requires a number of steps to be done properly. The first step is the scan. High resolution flatbed scanning is one way to digitize original artwork. The first ‘trick’ is to use high enough resolution so that you’re feeding enough information to Photoshop in the retouching stage and ultimately to the printer in the printing stage. Typically, scans at 300 – 360ppi (pixels per inch) at the full dimensions should suffice. Higher resolution will be required if the artist would like prints larger than the original. The second ‘trick’ is to use the RGB color mode. If you use any other color mode, then the printer will make a conversion that may introduce color shifts. The third ‘trick’, if you’re really meticulous, is to use 16bit color instead of 8bit. This will give very fine gradations in color that may be required for some pieces. The downside is that this results in 2x larger digital file sizes.

The fourth ‘trick’ is to include a grayscale taget within the margin of the scan. This is a small 12-step grayscale piece that allows you to adjust the white point, black point, and neutral gray once you move the image into Photoshop. This step is critical.

Once in Photoshop, the “levels” command makes the white, black,and grayscale adjustments a breeze. As with any fine tuning done to the image, make sure to use adjustment layers. This allows you to tweak the adjustment, change its blending mode and opacity, or delete it without altering the original file…. very handy. These adjustment layers may include things like saturation, hue, levels, curves, etc. If you’re looking at your image on a calibrated monitor (you are calibrating your monitor, aren’t you?) then these adjustments will help you to tweak the digital file so that ultimately the print looks like what you see on your monitor.

ICC profiles for your printer, ink, media, & print resolution are also required to get great results. You may be able to download generic profiles but the best option for high-quality fine art reproduction is to create your own. There are a number of hardware/software systems available. A final step in the retouching process is usually adding a small amount of sharpening. Don’t overdo it.

Now it’s time to print a proof. Usually a small print on the intended media will suffice. This will allow you to check the tone, color accuracy, color saturation, etc. At this point, it’s important to compare your proof to the original under proper lighting. A sneaky, sinister thing called metamerism is lurking in the darkness, waiting to trip you up. Metamerism refers to the fact that a color may look different under different types of lighting. The original and the proof may ‘match’ under the (ugh) flourescent lights in your office but they may be way off under natural sunlight or in the gallery. If you don’t have a 5000K light booth, then just take your prints outside in the natural daylight. At this point, you may need to adjust the saturation, tone, etc. to get a better match.

I recently completed a very successful fine art reproduction job for a local watercolor painter, Dr. William Robinson. Bill is a very talented, self-taught portrait artist. His most recent work was a very cute portrait of his granddaugher, Miranda. All of the steps outlined above were followed in order to translate his original watercolor painting into a digital file that could be printed quickly and accurately onto Epson Somerset Velvet Fine Art Paper using an Epson 9600 inkjet printer. This printer uses the Epson 7-color UltraChrome inkset which will resist fading for many decades. Various sizes were printed according to the client’s wishes. See Bill’s website for more examples of his beautiful work.