Voodoo Designworks used Metamark Etch Effect films to decorate large windows at its Bristol site
Take in the View
While creating colourful and eye-catching print is one thing, if you can produce applications that serve more than one purpose, then this will make you and your services even more attractive to existing and potential customers.
One such application type is window graphics. While the primary role of these graphics is to provide decoration on the interior and exterior of buildings, it can also be used to offer privacy to those inside, as well as serve as a marketing tool for businesses. To put it simply, you will help the customer kill two, or perhaps more, birds with one stone, saving them money in the process.
With this in mind, SignLink picks out some recent examples of window graphics work and takes a look at the companies behind these imaginative applications to find out more about the methods and technologies they used to produce the graphics.
New Opportunities
A brand synonymous with window graphics is Drytac, which provides a range of materials for use in these types of applications. The latest addition to the Drytac range is ReTac Duo, a new, double-sided mounting adhesive that can be used for wall graphics, double-sided window graphics, and removable posters.
O Factoid: Drytac’s ReTac Duo, a new, double-sided mounting adhesive, is now available to purchase in regions around the world O
Previously only available in North America, the product is now being offered around the world, including in the UK. ReTac Duo has a permanent adhesive on one side and ReTac ultra-removable adhesive on the other. The permanent adhesive side of the film sticks to the desired graphic, while ReTac ultra removable adhesive on the other means the graphic can be applied, repositioned, and removed for repeated use.
“We are delighted to extend the availability of this innovative solution to our customers all around the world,” says Dennis Leblanc, senior business development manager for North America at Drytac, adding: “ReTac Duo is a highly effective product that is suitable for use in a range of projects, and we look forward to seeing how our customers use the film to produce all manner of creative applications.”
ReTac Duo is a highly effective product that is suitable for use in a
range of projects, and we look forward to seeing how our customers use
the film to produce all manner of creative applications”
As for existing products, Drytac is not short of examples of customers using its materials in creative ways to produce stunning window graphics. Over in Canada, the Kitchener-Waterloo branch of the FASTSIGNS franchise network worked with Drytac’s Polar Smooth 150 matte white polymeric to create window graphics promoting a major development project in the local area.
FastSigns Kitchener-Waterloo used Drytac’s Polar Smooth 150 for these windows
FASTSIGNS Kitchener-Waterloo partnered with HIP Developments on a project in the Gaslight District, focusing on the transformation of an older building and making more commercial space available for lease. Here, the company created 32 window graphics, each measuring approximately 3ft wide x 6ft high.
The main challenge for FASTSIGNS Kitchener-Waterloo was ensuring that the graphics would perform well in the harsh Ontario winter. After consulting with Drytac, it opted for Polar Smooth 150, printing the graphics in-house on its Epson SureColor SC-S60600.
“The customer was extremely happy with the final application,” FASTSIGNS Kitchener-Waterloo’s owner Rob Richmond says, adding: “The punchy designs that the agency came up with were great and the Drytac product performed exactly how we wanted it to, with no edge curl or lifting following such a cold installation.”
Another project featuring Drytac materials comes from Carbon Graphics Group, also based in Canada, which used ViziPrint Deco + to produce window graphics for the nearby Norquest College.
Carbon Graphics Group worked with ViziPrint Deco + from Drytac to produce window graphics for the nearby Norquest College
This formed part of a wider signage project at the college, with Carbon Graphics Group being tasked with printing and installing 38 panels, each measuring 58” x 130”. Working with the Drytac material, the company used its Canon Arizona 460 to print the graphics in a three-layer process: CMYK + white + CMYK.
Carbon Graphics Group’s general manager Gord Olsen says that this approach allowed the company to meet required colour standards and ensure consistency with the other elements of the wayfinding package.
“We chose this product based on our history of using ViziPrint on past projects,” Olsen says, adding: “We find that the material performs exceptionally well from a print perspective and our installers find that the material is easy to work with on-site. The installation was completed over three days and the customer was extremely pleased with the outcome.”
Out of This World
Also heavily involved with this sector is Metamark, which, like Drytac, has a wide range of products on offer, with these being used in many creative ways. One such customer is Bristol-based Voodoo DesignWorks, a design-led signs and graphics producer that used Metamark Etch Effect films to decorate windows at its own facility in Aztec West.
One of the stairwells at the company’s site features floor to ceiling windows, which Voodoo chose to decorate with graphics to create an architectural statement from the building’s exterior. Several ideas were floated as to what the graphics should look like, with the team eventually settling on a clever design, depicting an astronaut floating in space, in a way that mirrors a traditional stained-glass effect.
“The team at Voodoo decided that the window could be pressed to another purpose and set about obscuring the view to the A38 outside with etch effect film,” Metamark says, adding: “Somewhere on the journey, it was suggested that the etch film could be printed and thoughts veered instantly to something that might look like a stained-glass window. In the event, the creative team settled on a design that has mural-like dimensions and design - it depicts an astronaut floating in space.”
Voodoo worked up the design and used Metamark Etch Effect films, printed on an HP Latex 560 printer, in its own production department to make the graphics. The Voodoo installation team then fitted the finished article on the interior of the windows.
“Voodoo is modest to the extent that it claims that the effect the graphic delivers is an accident but despite that, it’s quite the event,” Metamark says. “To anyone coming up the stairs, it’s never the same feast twice. Prevailing weather on the outside and the time of day affect the whole mood of the piece. Sometimes the astronaut floats in murky gloom, at other times all the vented gasses in the mural are alive with bright sun and coloured tones.
“Whatever the weather, it’s better than a view of passing traffic and only hints at the full potential of printed Etch Effect films.”
Premier League Performance
Meanwhile, Contra Vision, which also supplies materials to the market, offers up an example of its products being used for window graphics, but perhaps not in the most traditional sense. Embrace Building Wraps created an all-over wrap of a portable cabin outside Premier League football club Crystal Palace, integrating window graphics as part of the design.
Embrace Building Wraps used Contra Vision Performance White on Black to decorate a portable cabin for Crystal Palace
“The purpose of this installation was to transform the unsightly cabin from an eyesore to a stunning, high impact display of the Crystal Palace brand and players to excite and impress visiting fans and supporters,” Contra Vision says.
The purpose of this installation was to transform the unsightly cabin
from an eyesore to a stunning, high impact display of the Crystal Palace
brand and players to excite and impress visiting fans and supporters”
“Working to a very short deadline, Embrace’s solution comprised of using solid vinyl across the solid areas of the cabin and Contra Vision Performance White on Black in 40% transparency on all glazed elements to seamlessly extend the design from the outside while maintaining a view out for users of the cabin.
“Our 40% (40/60) transparency material is our most popular option as it offers a good balance between image impact and through-vision, making it particularly suitable for vehicle windows and full building wraps.”
Here’s to You, Joe DiMaggio
Aside from materials, those in this market should also consider what sort of hardware and consumables they are going to work with to ensure high quality results when producing window graphics. HP works with customers around the world on these types of applications, providing kit to create all manner of window graphics applications.
Over in the US, Florida-based Binick Imaging used an HP Latex 700W and HP Latex R2000 to print and install graphics on over 100 glass doors and across four floors of the Joe DiMaggio hospital in Miami – all in the space of just two days.
The hospital, named after legendary Major League Baseball player Joe DiMaggio, was looking to refresh and outfit part of its facilities with new windows, doors, and graphics. While the initial brief only covered a few rooms, this was soon extended to cover new graphics across several floors.
Binick Imagine worked with HP Latex technology to create window graphics for the Joe DiMaggio Hospital in Miami
Incidentally, the project, and indeed its extension, only became available to Binick Imaging due to its use of HP Latex technology and HP’s water-based Latex inks. Odourless, with minimal chemical emissions, HP Latex inks are UL ECOLOGO-certified and meet UL Greenguard Gold criteria, allowing for unrestricted full room décor, even in sensitive environments such as hospitals.
In total, Binick Imaging installed four floors of brightly coloured graphics using its HP Latex 700W and HP Latex R2000, both of which are also equipped with white ink. As an additional benefit, HP Latex inks dry instantly, meaning it was able to deliver hundreds of prints in a matter of days.
“Leveraging the versatility of this growing line up of devices has allowed Binick to deliver a greater array of applications, go beyond our core car wrapping offerings, and expand into new verticals,” explains Nick Castillo, continuing: “This has allowed us to win work by seeking out new clients in industries we had previously not been able to reach, diversifying our business.”
This has allowed us to win work by seeking out new clients in industries
we had previously not been able to reach, diversifying our business”
Todd Cromwell, formerly vice president for large-format printing solutions at HP Americas, adds: “It’s always exciting to see how HP Latex technology allows our customers to unlock new efficiencies and produce breathtaking work for their end customers.
“HP has been leading on sustainability for years, so it’s great to see how the eco-credentials of HP Latex have contributed to helping Binick Imaging win and execute this fantastic project at Joe DiMaggio Hospital. The results are stunning.”
From the projects featured here, one thing is for sure – there is certainly no shortage of examples of innovative and eye-catching window graphics work. While some projects may seem relatively simple in what they achieve, delving deeper into these applications reveals the true level of work that goes into creating the application.
Whether it is working with materials that can stand the test of time in extreme conditions or those that meet strict health and safety criteria in sensitive environments, considerations such as these make what are already impressive applications even more commendable.
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