BIG Images News

The New BIG Images

beebe@big-images.com — 2008-06-05T16:10:55-07:00

A BIG Images photo journal—2 weeks of madness…

Because of the convenience of the internet and next-day FedEx shipments many of our customers never get to see BIG Images’ offices and production facility. Many are even unaware of the work we have put into our new facility (which almost tripled our size!) So, for the curious, here is a photo journal of our remodel and move.

We signed the lease to our new building on September 14^th, 2007. The very next day we started remodeling. The new building had alot of unnecessary offices and old flooring. So the first order of business was to tear out all the old walls and structures that we did not need and remove the old flooring. After all, we are a production facility and we need all the open space we can get.

Day 1: Tearing down the old offices and unnecessary structures.

Here we are at about September 19^th. After the demolition we had to prepare the shop for painting. Printing requires a fairly color-neutral environment so we decided to paint the walls bright white and the ceiling a dark grey. Below you can see Ken, after the walls have been painted, as we cover the walls and floor in preparation for painting the ceiling.

Day 5: Ken preparing the ceiling for painting.

After the painting came floor prep. All our equipment is on wheels so we need a smooth floor to move it around. Also we must have a very clean environment and polished, smooth floors are much easier to keep clean. We kept the look of the old textured cement floor by sanding it down a bit and sealing it with an industrial wax. In the picture below the floors are about to be sealed with wax.

Day 7: The walls and ceiling are now painted. Here is the floor just prior to sealing.

By September 22^nd the shop was painted and we were in the midst of working on the floor. We also rewired the entire shop at this point. Some of the old outlets had char-marks from electrical sparks! With sensitive equipment like computers and inkjet printers we could not risk a shady electrical system. This was probably the single most important thing we did prior to moving in.

Day 8: BIG Images getting all-new electrical wiring.

September 28^th—we are beginning to move in! It was one incredible race to get the new facility prepped and ready in just two weeks, but now we have finished enough of the remodeling, cleaning, and newification that we can move in! Here you can see Ken and Ben as they begin to bring our equipment over from the old shop.

Day 14: Ken and Ben as they move BIG Images into the new facility.

We closed down on Friday the 28^th, moved over the weekend, and were back up and running the next Monday, October 1^st, 2008. Below you can see posters, banners, and rigid photographs in-process. In the production area we installed high quality color-balance lighting, which you can see suspended in the ceiling.

Day 17: BIG Images is open for business at its new production facility, pictured with jobs in-process.

Tools for Web Site Design on Windows

beebe@big-images.com — 2008-05-27T13:11:21-07:00

Tools for Web Site Design on Windows

Some people make fun of me around here, and it’s not just because of my hair, my hygiene or the myriads of action figures I have on my desk. You see, I’m the only one in the shop with a PC back home. I know, I know; I constantly hang my head in shame. But have no fear, my fiancee and I also have an Ubuntu Linux box and a MacBook, but I do most of my freelance web work on a two year-old XP laptop. So when Jon wrote his article last month on the tools we use to maintain BIG Images’ web site, naturally it was all Mac software, and I thought I’d do a little representing and show the Windows world some love.

As with the previous month's article, I've tried to find solutions within the shareware and the free and open-source community.

Web Development Applications:

Stylizer

$69.95
Live preview of sites, view changes to the page as you make them
Amazingly attractive UI

CSSVista

Free
Extract and edit the CSS from any page on the internet
See your changes applied live in both IE and Firefox at the same time
Doesn't save files from within the program, you have to copy and paste it into your editor

Aptana Studio Community Edition

Free
Although initially meant to be a Javascript coding program, it has great support for HTML, CSS and PHP
Syntax hilighting
Relatively attractive interface
Their code assist feature shows helpful hints about code as you type it

PSPad

Free
Very bare bones, but easy to use because of it
Syntax hilighting

Filezilla Client

Free
Simple, easy to use FTP application
Powerful site manager
Drag and drop support

Firebug

Free
An extension to the popular Firefox browser
Edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page

Free
Although WYSIWYG editors aren't my cup of tea (I prefer to hand-code everything I work on, eliminating unnecessary cruft) I've heard this is a decent replacement for Dreamweaver or Frontpage

Web-based software:

All of these will work on any platform because they're frameworks for building websites.

Wordpress

Free
Full-featured blogging engine
Extensive Plugin and Theme Selections available, or build your own
Well-written documentation and very helpful forums to help you out of any snag

Zenphoto

Free
Simple and useful photo gallery
Many themes available, or build your own

WebYep

Free to try, $43.27 for single license, applicable to one domain
Web Content Management System
Allows for users to update text and images on pages without having to switch to an administrative interface

Graphics Tools:

The previously mentioned GIMP and InkScape are also decent solutions for Windows users.

Paint.NET

Free
Photo editing with layers and other effects
Requires .NET Framework 2

Other random applications or resources that are useful:

Open Source Templates

Free css and xhtml templates
Some projects are too small to hire a designer or build a site yourself, and these templates provide a good jumping point to your design

The Font Thing

Free
Manage your fonts
Hasn't been developed since 1999, but still very usable

Typograf

$35
Haven't personally used this software, but it looks like a very powerful font management application

Ben Lawless is a sophisticated yet simple man.

Personalized Birthday Banners at Banner Works

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-02-07T13:27:14-08:00

Create personalized birthday banners online

BIG Images has been hard at work on Banner Works — its innovative online designer. In particular we have been adding many free templates for birthdays and parties. You will find a plethora of free birthday banner templates to start designing from. Start creating your own customized birthday banner today!

How to make a birthday banner at Banner Works

You can create a birthday banner using our free birthday banner templates as a starting point. Browse through our banner templates to get ideas. After finding one you like click “Edit” to customize the banner template to your hearts content. When you’re done simply save it for later, or print it with BIG Images. Its that easy to create personalized birthday banners!

Many of our customers have already created personalized birthday banners in Banner Works. Here are some of their creations:

Create birthday banners for those special birthday years, such as 70th birthday party, turning 40th birthday party, 60th surprise birthday, or 50th birthday celebration. And one of our customer’s favorites: old fart banners.

Advantages of BIG Images’ Banner Works

There are many advantages to using BIG Images’ Banner Works. We designed it with the computer novice in mind, so it is easy to use. Your edits are in real-time so you get immediate feedback. You can save your design to continue editing later, and print it when you want. And perhaps the most fun advantage is our fully customizable birthday templates — every aspect can be personalized for your party.

Banner Works is free to use, so check it out by browsing our birthday banner templates and try creating your own! You don’t even have to sign up to start designing!

Personalized Birthday Banners

beebe@big-images.com — 2008-05-20T14:13:40-07:00

Planning a birthday? Create a personalized birthday banner!

Change things up by printing a personalized banner! BIG Images has just launched the newest version of its birthday banner designer, Banner Works.

Its easier than ever — choose from one of our pre-made templates (or start from scratch). Upload photos, choose art from our vast array of clip art, customize the message, and within minutes your banner will be printing at BIG Images.

Begin creating your own by visiting the birthday banner page and clicking the "Begin Browsing" button. There is no sign-up to try it out, only when you decide to purchase.

Stretching your trade show dollar — Drayage

beebe@big-images.com — 2008-04-19T17:34:00-07:00

Stretching your trade show dollar — Drayage.

So I was filling my car this weekend and it hit me, kind of like a frog who realizes he’s being boiled alive. $52.70 worth of ouch. Now, I know that prices have been going up and the American dollar is about as a strong as a wet noodle, but this weekend at the pump I finally felt it.

So, with financial ruin looming, what do we do? At work, how do we stretch our tradeshow dollar and in the process keep our heads off the corporate chopping block? Let’s begin with a concept called drayage.

For those who don’t know, ‘drayage’ is a service for moving your display from the truck to the show floor, and back again after the show. Drayage also includes removing and storing your empty cases. It can cost anywhere from fifty cents to over a dollar per pound. So for every hundred pounds, that means you're paying $50 to $100 so someone else can transport your display.

Here are a few things that most people don’t know:

Most show contractors have a 200 lb minimum. Even if you only ship a 68 lb pop-up booth to the show, it will cost you at least $100 to $200 dollars in drayage. Read the show rules and see what they say about carrying it yourself.
Drayage is measured in 100 lb increments. If your shipment weighs 208 lbs you will be charged for 300 lbs. If you're toeing the line, it might be wise to consider carrying the brochures in yourself or leaving a stool out.
If your booth is pad wrapped or contains loose boxes you will most likely get a 25% special handling charge.
If your booth arrives at the dock after hours or on the weekend you will be charged drayage plus overtime, usually 25%. Note that this time is factored when they start unloading, not when the truck gets there.
Some show halls charge differently for freight vs. vanline or company truck. In other words, if you ship your booth via a display shipping company, you might get charged 15-25% less than if you decide to ship via common carrier, UPS or even drive it up yourself.
Drayage is charged according to the least common denominator. If you have one thing out of an entire semi-truck that is pad wrapped, the entire shipment most likely will be charged a special handling fee. If one item needs a cart or if it needs to be carried you will be charged an extra 25%.

So here is how it could pencil out:

Let’s say you ship a booth that is 518 lbs and the drayage is $1.00 per CWT, expect to pay $600 dollars. Well, Dominic in engineering threw in a small case as the truck was leaving. Drayage now would be $600 + $150 for special handling. To make matters worse this shipment was unloaded after hours, so we add a $187.50 overtime fee to our total, and the final drayage bill is $937.50. What a nightmare!

So, in short: be creative and keep an eye on your drayage.

Written by the man, the myth, the legend: Ken Pettit.

Window Graphic

beebe@big-images.com — 2008-04-20T17:32:27-07:00

BIG Images Window Graphics — see-through window film for retail and store-front signage.

New print technology can change any window into a sign without obstructing the view from inside. Small business owners, take note: you can turn every store-front window into a valuable marketing opportunity.

In this picture you see window-mounted perforated graphics on BIG Images storefront. From the outside all you can see is the printed image. From the inside it looks like mild window-tinting — you can see through the print as if it was not there.

The Benefits of Window Graphics

With BIG Images Window Graphics, any window becomes an opportunity to attract more attention. These window graphics are engineered so that when viewed from the outside, walk-by and drive-by traffic can’t help but take notice. However, when seen from the inside, the print disappears and you see straight through it. It's inexpensive enough to use for short-term marketing campaigns and durable enough to last for one full year outdoors.

Use existing window area to impress customers
Graphic does not obstruct the view out the window
Still allows for natural light to pass through
Improves security by making it harder to see into the windows

The Features of Window Graphics

Easy to install
Inexpensive, especially when comparing impressions per dollar spent
Bold, vivid graphics
Weather resistant — wont yellow or fade
1 year outdoor life
Easy to remove & replace

Below are two photos that demonstrate the clear view-through nature of BIG Images Window Graphics when seen from the inside.

This first photo was taken from the inside, about 4 ft from the window. The camera was focused on the window graphic itself. When viewed up-close this is what the backside of the perforated media looks like. The material is black with small perforations that allow plenty of light to pass through.

A close-up view of the perforated window media from the inside.

This second photo was taken from the exact same location as the first — inside our shop about 4 feet from the window. This time the camera was focused through the window graphic at the truck across the street. As you can see, the perforated window graphic almost disappears, effectively becoming mild window tinting. This allows for an unrestricted view looking out.

A photo looking through BIG Images perforated window media demonstrating how clearly you can see through the perforations, almost like window tinting.

Technical Details

Installs on the exterior of the window
Expected exterior life: 1 year
Maximum width for single pane print: 53"
Adheres with a removable pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive

To read more about BIG Images’ perforated window media go here.

How do I get it?

Simply call us at 805-781-9301 or email us at info@big-images.com and we will gladly send you free samples and a quote.

Tips on Web Site Design

beebe@big-images.com — 2008-04-18T10:28:59-07:00

Tools we use to maintain BIG Images’ web site.

A friend of mine inquired via email: “What program did you use to design BIG Images’ website?” As I typed out my reply I realized that BIG Images is not the “normal” large format print company. I mean to say we do not just buy the Adobe CS suite because its what everyone else has; we aren’t satisfied with a solution just because it works. We experiment constantly. The workflows we develop, for example to build and maintain our web site, are very unique in our industry.

Our entire web site is home grown and maintained by BIG Images. We are major supporters of the Macintosh shareware community, as well as the free & open-source software community. Often these solutions are:

an order-of-magnitude less expensive than their more established competitors
are more reliable
exhibit faster and more personable customer service

Here is some of the software we use on a weekly/monthly basis to create and maintain our web site:

Web Development Tools

RapidWeaver
- $49.00
- BIG Images’ entire site has been built and maintained with RapidWeaver for the past 2½ years
- One of the beautiful aspects of RapidWeaver is the VERY active community at their forums. Often I can ask a question and have an answer within the day.
- RapidWeaver has alot of plugins ($5.00 - $20.00 each) that enhance its functionality, and I have used most of them throughout the site. You can find a list of the plugins here.
- YourHead software is one of the premier plugin developers. Their products are awesome.
TextMate
- $63.00
- Ideal for custom html/php/javascript coding.
- Incredibly customizable, so it adjusts to your coding style.
CSSEdit
- $29.95
- For writing and editing css there is no better tool.
- Instant live-previews make experimentation a snap.
- This is also a great tool for reverse-engineering other sites to see how they created their effects.
Coda
- $79.00
- A great all-in-one tool for site management and ftp. I do not use this on BIG Images site specifically, but it has been indispensable for other projects, especially on projects that require collaboration with other developers.

Graphics Tools

Of course there is the ubiquitous Adobe CS Suite. However, here are some alternatives that can replace the CS Suite for many tasks and will save you alot of money.

Pixelmator
- $59.00
- A great Photoshop competitor.
- A very clean and elegant interface.
- Almost every filter and effect occurs in real-time, making experimentation much more fluid and natural.
VectorDesigner
- $79.00
- A great Illustrator competitor.
- It has a much simpler and more honed interface so it is often more intuitive that Illustrator, but less versatile.
GIMP photo editor
- Free
- Comparable to Photoshop, but free and open source :)
- Certainly not pretty to look at, but free and very stable.
InkScape
- Free
- Comparable to Illustrator, but free and open source :)
- Once again this is not a pretty application, but it is free and works quite well.

Other random apps that I find quite useful

xScope
- A ruler for your screen
- Provides an overlay for viewing the usable real estate for any screen size
- Provides screen guides akin to Adobe Illustrator’s or Photoshop’s guides
OmniGraffle
- Great for flowcharts and documentation
- Quick and easy tool for documenting the css box model of a web site
- Very easy to learn.
Interarchy
- A full-featured ftp application
- Integrates very well into OS X
- Has nice features for keeping a local folder synced with an ftp directory
CyberDuck
- A free ftp app with fewer features than Interarchy, but still quite nice
- Cyberduck benefits from being free and open-source - updates are released quite often.

If you’re a PC user, you’ll have to wait a month for Ben Lawless’ next article, titled “What am I doing with my life?”

Article written by Jon Beebe.

Large Presentation Charity Checks

beebe@big-images.com — 2008-02-20T09:49:00-08:00

Presentation Charity Checks

BIG Images announces large dry-erasable presentation checks.

BIG Images announces the availability of custom printed full color dry erase checks as an addition to its standard line of products. This products is designed as an inexpensive solution for presentations and publicity events to present money, awards, and donations. With the dry-erase laminate as an available option the product is durable and reusable, saving money and needless waste.

Available for immediate download are 7 presentation check templates. These 7 basic styles, designed at 18" x 36", can be used as starting points when designing your checks. All templates are provided in Adobe Illustrator CS1 “.ai” format. You will need Adobe Illustrator, or a program that can read the .ai file type, in order to edit the check templates. The usual caveats apply — these templates are provided as is, for BIG Images customer’s use only.

Available immediately, this reusable product is recommended for the following applications:

Publicity events.
Presentations.
Donations.
Awards Ceremonies.

To learn more about BIG Images dry-erasable checks visit the dry-erase check product page.

Mesh Banner

beebe@big-images.com — 2008-03-15T09:20:00-07:00

Mesh Banner (9 oz.)

Premium Mesh Banner for use outdoors as wall coverings, on scaffolding, and as backdrops for theater and television.

BIG Images announces the availability of custom printed, full color mesh banner, as an addition to its standard line of outdoor media.

This mesh banner is a 17-mil product made from polyester scrim base fabric impregnated with PVC. This coated construction allows for outstanding image quality and unsurpassed lay-flat properties. The lightweight substrate combined with reduced wind resistance makes it ideal for extremely large graphics being installed outdoors.

One of BIG Images’ mesh banners being installed at the National Historic Park in Guam.

Available for immediate purchase, this product is recommended for the following applications:

Outdoor wall coverings.
On scaffolding.
Murals.
Backdrops.
Outdoor displays.

Textured Wallpaper

beebe@big-images.com — 2008-03-01T09:04:00-08:00

Custom full-color textured wallpaper

Textured vinyl media for interior signage, wall coverings, murals, and interior decoration.

BIG Images announces the availability of custom printed, full color textured wallpaper, as an addition to its standard line of media.

This latest solution for indoor graphics is engineered for eco-solvent printers, so it is naturally fade-resistant and waterproof. This collection of textured/embossed media is perfect for applications such as indoor signage, murals & wall coverings. Derived from the rigorous specifications in the wall covering industry, this wallpaper is designed to stand up in high traffic areas and for ease of installation & removability. This 20 oz. weighted material is rated for CFFA TYPE II durability and passes most critical smoke & flame criteria for indoor applications. BIG Images’ wallpaper is available in the following embossed textures: Cabretta, Pique, Mache, Plaster, Suede, Pebble Sand, Satin Mystical, and Canvas.

Pictured are 8 of the available textures, from right to left they are: Cabretta, Pique, Mache, Plaster, Suede, Pebble Sand, Satin Mystical, and Canvas

Available for immediate purchase, this product is recommended for the following applications:

Indoor signage (ex: hallways, stairwells, and high-traffic areas.)
Wall coverings (ex: Office Lobby).
Murals.
Retail signage (ex: behind the counter and entryways).
Residential interior decoration.

Congratulations Designer Sleeves!

beebe@big-images.com — 2008-01-11T11:11:41-08:00

Congratulations Designer Sleeves!

I love my job! BIG Images often gets to work with companies just starting out, companies that find themselves at the ground level, releasing innovative new products.

Recently we worked with VRS Marketing to produce tradeshow graphics for their booths at the Consumer Electronics Show and MacWorld. They’re a small local company based here in San Luis Obispo County, but they have some revolutionary ideas.

When they debuted their new laptop bags this week at CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics trade show, none of us had any idea they would do so well; amid the chaos and fanfare they have garnered the attention of NBC, Tech Digest, and many online blogs covering the show. Here’s what one reviewer had to say about the new laptop bags:

Fashion-led neoprene notebook sleeves are nothing new, granted, but Designer Sleeves’ offering, launched at CES, are a little bit more than average.

A patent-pending design means the image is printed directly onto the neoprene for a more colourful, vivid result, and you can chose different images not only for the front and back, but for the lining of the outside pocket too.

That’s attention to detail...

So if you are in the market for a shiny new laptop bag, be sure to check out San Luis Obispo County’s hottest new product launch, designer sleeves.

Images of just a few of Designer Sleeves’ custom-printed laptop bags.

Year-end Exercises

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-10-19T08:49:46-07:00

As with anything worth doing, constant improvement is the only way to success. As the 2007 tradeshow season comes to a close, I felt it would be wise to discuss a few methods you can employ to help make 2008 an even more effective trade show season. Serious reflection on your company’s performance this year will allow you to improve next year. You can trim the fat. Turn your weaknesses into strengths. Turn your strengths into industry-dominating forces.

Step 1: Gather data

Your first step is to collect some data about this past season, so here are a few questions to help get you started:

What was the total cost of this year’s program?
Did this year’s program achieve desired goals?

List them out. Get a running tally of successes and failures. It’s probably a good idea to already have these written down from before the show, but it’s never too late to start.

What was the total cost of each show? Leave nothing out:

Pre-show marketing
At-show costs (including staff)
Shipping graphics
Travel
Hotel expenses
Post-show marketing and follow-up.

Did each individual show achieve it’s own goals?
What feedback did you get from the sales department and management?

Think about both the positive and the negative. Was it show-specific?

What kinds of measurable results did you get at the show (leads, sales, brand-building, PR, et cetera)?

How about results one week later? One month? Three months? Six months?

What feedback did you get from your customers?

Step 2: Analyze (and have fun)

Once you’ve collected this data you can start to have fun measuring the effectiveness of each show. Try graphing the data (when you have this much information it’s easier to summarize it visually). I think you’ll be surprised when you see results, for instance which show outsold the others, or which sales members outshine the rest.

Now, question why.

What were the demographics of the attendees at the different shows?
Did the show’s date correspond well with the market’s purchasing calendar?

For example, retailers often buy for Christmas as early as February. If you had a dud show in May, could that be why? Also consider what made your staff more effective. The answer here will allow you to develop best practices you can disseminate to the rest of your staff.

That’s not all. Over the course of the next few months, we will:

Analyze your program’s effectiveness
List out asset damage that occurred this past year
Calculate the program’s return on investment
Look for areas to shave costs
Reflect on what could be done better
Research other options and create a plan for years to come.

Looking at all these details will help you create a successful plan for years to come. And who doesn't want to welcome in 2008 with a hearty dose of successful planning?

Written by the man, the myth, the legend: Ken Pettit.

Step 7 to effective large-format graphics: Plan Ahead

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-10-16T16:01:26-07:00

As in all things, a plan is the only way to minimize disaster. It will save you time, and it's really the only way to ensure you stay within your budget. Although this is the last part of this series, and even though it's a bit of a "no duh!" this is perhaps the most important tip of them all.

Above all, try not to slap something together at the last minute.

Ponder how, where, when and by whom your graphic will be seen. Think about why your audience will want to listen to your message. Get in their heads and poke around a little, because the only reason someone will listen to you is if you can meet their desires or needs. Make it large enough for them to see it and read it. Say it simply.

Above all, try not to slap something together at the last minute. Honestly, if your large format graphic is a hastily-rushed afterthought, consider not getting one. Don’t throw away your money and sales efforts on poorly-made advertising; it just isn’t worth it.

So, relax. Set a realistic deadline and keep it, but make sure your efforts are effective. A great way to do this is to listen to your printer; if they give you advice, follow it. Remember, they’re the last step in ensuring your marketing efforts are top quality. Keep them happy, deliver good files, and maybe bake them cookies once in a while.

Seriously, we like chocolate chip.

Read Ben’s Step 6 to effective large-format graphics: Placement

Ben Lawless started writing this series in January, and in all that time he has felt like we, dear readers, have been dancing a sweet and tender dance. Alas, the last song has ended. Although we weep, he admonishes you to dry your eyes, lovely; there will be a new tomorrow wrapped around a golden dawn. Do you not hear the morning gale...?

Great Color : Equipment

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-10-15T13:47:06-07:00

Great color comes after investing in great equipment and after establishing a habitual workflow that you are willing to maintain.

A large part of BIG Images value to our customers is our predictable and repeatable processes. However, our process is only as good as the files that we recieve from our customers. And that’s where you come in. Responsibility for great color begins the moment an image is captured. That places quite a burden on our customers to maintain their own workflow for predictable color results. So I offer you these thoughts to help start you off towards a more consistent digital workflow.

First and foremost you have to count the costs. Great color comes after investing in great equipment and after establishing a habitual workflow that you are willing to maintain. While the current state of technology does not give us great color for free there are a few products that can really help.

This month I am going to look at some of the equipment that we use at BIG Images within our color workflow and why we use it. Next month I will go into our workflow and how we leverage all these pieces of technology to achieve better color management.

Monitors

Great color requires great computer dispays. It is, after all, the one piece of equipment that your eyes rely on to make on-the-spot color judgements. One of the best computer monitors money can buy is made by Eizo, which displays the full Adobe RGB color space. BIG Images uses Apple Cinema Displays which offer exceptional quality for a more affordable price. While they cannot display the full Adobe RGB color space, they are SWOP certified for soft proofing. That means you can proof your images on screen and they can approximate the brightness and feel of paper. In BIG Images fast-paced world of tradeshows and overnight shipments we often do not have time to offer our customers printed proofs, so we rely on our monitors to show us any color anomalies before they are printed.

Computers

BIG Images uses Apple computers because of their exceptional color management, partly due to ColorSync. According to Apple “Mac OS X is the only operating system that fully supports the ICC version 4 standard for managing color.” This ColorSync technology allows for all your devices, from your cameras to your scanners, monitors, and printers to speak the same color language. As we will see next month, part of your workflow requires calibration of your monitors, input devices (such as scanners), and output devices (such as printers). OS X seamlessly pulls all these profiles together and makes using and managing them extremely easy.

Calibration Hardware

BIG Images uses X-Right’s i1 colorimeter to calibrate its monitors. This device ensures that our displays are showing us the best possible color. Grey is really grey, white is a true white, and spot colors are rendered as close as possible to their true color. It is imperative that you invest in a colorimeter to profile your monitor. Humans’ perception of color is affected by everything from the time of day (the color temperature of the sunlight), the color of the surrounding environment, to the food consumed this morning, so unless you have an unbiased device like the i1 calibrating your monitor you cannot rely on its color accuracy.

Software

Great software is the glue that holds the whole thing together. Without fully integrated color management your images are in danger. High quality software such as the Adobe CS3 suite syncs the color settings of every application within it. As long as your images and designs do not leave your workflow, you can rest assured that they remain in a tightly color-managed environment.

And this leads me to next month’s article which will cover the actual workflow that pulls together all these pieces of technology into a cohesive, repeatable process.

Article written by Jon Beebe.

The move is complete!

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-10-01T09:17:12-07:00

BIG Images’ move is complete!

We are now located at 767 Francis Ave., San Luis Obispo Ca 93401.

Doing Business in San Luis Obispo

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-09-26T09:19:20-07:00

Looking at the big, global picture

Ken Pettit and Jon Beebe were featured in the business section of the Tribune talking about business in San Luis Obispo

We were recently asked by our local newspaper what obstacles we encounter doing business in San Luis Obispo and what are we doing to overcome them. Below is our answer to their question:

1) San Luis Obispo is a great place to live; but what makes it great is also what makes doing business here difficult. As an example our city has some very limiting sign requirements, 49 pages of limitations to be exact. As a business owner that is 49 pages of added difficulty. However, as a local resident, that is 49 pages that helps keep our downtown beautiful, free of clutter and visual pollution.

2) The cost of housing here is insane and supplying enough housing to make it affordable won’t happen in my lifetime. Again, as a business owner this is bad -- as a local this is good. San Luis will never be congested, overcrowded or polluted.

3) San Luis Obispo’s limited customer base is, by nature, a difficulty we face as business owners. Fewer people equals fewer sales...

The list of oppositions facing business owners are numerous. But time and again what I find difficult is also what helps make SLO such an enjoyable place to live.

So how do we at BIG Images overcome these obstacles?

We realized that in-order to succeed here we needed to reach outside the area. We needed to build a global business to achieve local success.

Let’s face it. It costs a lot to live here. So if you want to be here you have to fight for it, you have to innovate. They say necessity is the mother of invention, and San Luis has a long list of businesses and inventions that she has mothered. Ziatec, Jamba Juice, The Grid…

So for the past two years BIG Images has been working hard developing the delicious:suite™ — a set of web-based tools for creating, sharing, and producing creative content for the personal publishing market. In fact earlier this year we launched the beta of our delicious:designer the world’s first web based graphic design application that empowers creativity in common man.

Innovating is how we at BIG Images are overcoming the local difficulties presented to us as business owners. The delicious:suite is our success story we want to add to the long list of success stories birthed from San Luis Obispo.

Bottom line — In-order to thrive locally you need to think globally.

Our answer was published in the Wednesday, September 27, 2007 business section, complete with a photo of BIG Images founders Ken Pettit and Jon Beebe. Until the Tribune archives the article you can read it here.

BIG Images is Growing

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-09-14T11:44:19-07:00

We’re expanding…

A few days ago we signed the lease on a new building! We’re so excited about the news and have been so busy making preparations that this months’ BIG Images Newsletter has been postponed. Have no fear, though — we’ll return next month with some choice words about all this craziness we call “enriching the lives of our readers.” But, for now, let’s talk about the new shop!

BIG Images is moving 3 blocks south to 767 Francis St, San Luis Obispo, Ca 93401. Click here to view this map on Google Maps.

Our new home is at 767 Francis Avenue, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. For those of you who don’t know where that is, it’s only three blocks south from our current shop. Above is a screenshot of Google Maps showing our old location compared to the new one. Click here to view this map on Google Maps.

BIG Images is moving to a new building about 2.5x larger. Here an electrician is installing a new sub-panel. BIG Images will be fully moved by October 1, 2007.

We’re growing into a building roughly 2.5 times larger than our current building. That means we can finally hire more people and get that equipment we’ve had on our wishlist all these months.

All this craziness should be done and we’ll be completely moved in by October 1, 2007. Don’t worry: there will be no interruption to our regular workflow. See you there!

Step 6 to effective large-format graphics: Placement

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-08-28T08:40:56-07:00

Consider Where Your Large-Format Graphic will be Placed

The environment your graphic is going into is very important. In fact, it’s at least as important as its fellow rivals: subject matter, selling point, imagery and layout. And there is an implicit responsibility given to those who advertise: with every ad, poster, banner, or car wrap you produce, you are contributing to the environment around it. I’m not necessarily talking about whether you use green materials (that’s an entirely separate topic). This is about how your graphic adds or subtracts from the experience of your audience in that area.

the only way your marketing materials are going to have any effect is if they are experienced.

Start by asking yourself a few questions: How crowded is the surrounding area? How high will the graphic be placed? Are there any prevalent color themes in the area? Are you competing with other similar advertisements? How is it being mounted? In a window? In a banner stand? On the side of a metropolitan bus? On an adorable puppy?

Okay, perhaps I went a little too far with the puppy part (although that would be a decent way to get noticed...). And yes, sometimes you don’t have any information about the surrounding area of your ad, for example, if you’re working on a national ad campaign. But try to focus on what you do know.

The point is the only way your marketing materials are going to have any effect is if they are experienced. That means your radio ad must be heard, your video must be viewed, or, in this case, your large-format graphic must be seen. Beyond that, you have to make sure that your audience won’t have to fight to see your message. Regardless of where the graphic is placed, determine the most important part of your message and place it on the graphic accordingly, such as at direct eye level. Whatever you do, though, don’t put any important content below waist level of your target audience; it’s like a giant blind spot.

Also, make certain you've got the right material for the right application. For outdoor purposes, consider a solvent print on a vinyl banner. Not to toot our own horn or anything, but BIG Images prints on high-quality banner material that will be lightfast and weatherfast for at least five years. And at $7.50 a square foot, it’s pretty affordable too. If you’re looking for indoor solutions, including posters, window cling, stickers, and many others, we have product for those as well.

However things go, it’s always a good idea to discuss your options with your printer relatively early on in the development stages. They often know a thing or two about these things, and more often than not, with just a simple call you can save yourself time, money and heartbreak.

Read Ben’s Step 7 to effective large-format graphics: Plan Ahead
Read Ben’s Step 5 to effective large-format graphics: Visualizing the final product

Benjamin Lawless knows a little bit about the effect of an adorable puppy on the general population. If you see him downtown with his cute mutt Apollo, say hi. He’ll most likely not run away from you like a lunatic.

Cover Your Assets

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-08-25T08:38:31-07:00

War Stories from the Trade Show Floor — Cover Your Assets

Everyone remembers when Obi Wan Kenobi said to Luke Skywalker “You will never see a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.” He was, of course, talking about Mos Eisley, the spaceport on Luke's home planet of Tatooine. However, had Obi Wan been in the trade show industry, I'm fairly certain he might have instead said “There is but one more wretched hive of scum and villainy, New York City’s Jacob Javits Convention Center”.

You see, several years ago I was managing the installation of a million dollar booth at Javits. Out of all the union run-ins I encountered at that show, this one stands out as the most bizarre.

There is but one more wretched hive of scum and villainy, New York City’s Jacob Javits Convention Center

This was a big project: a 20’ tall enclosed theater, conference room, reception area, themed product presentation areas, and rock concert styled lighting complete with lighting crew. The booth also had four 20’ tall columns that had to be built from the inside. The towers where designed around a very specific lift that could fit inside the column. This specific lift was such a crucial part of the booth’s construction that I had the client buy the $10,000 lift and ship it to all the shows along with the booth.

According to union ‘law’ the Installation and Dismantle Union (I&D) could only use ladders. Any tasks requiring a lift required the Lift Union and their equipment. And, for ‘liability reasons,’ the Lift Union could only use their own equipment.

So here I am with the I&D union unable to work, the Lift union telling me that I can’t use my own lift, and their equipment is too big to bother with. They tried however, but I knew; I had already done the research. That’s why I had my client buy the lift in the first place, along with all of its union approved safety equipment. The other union was sitting around waiting to see what I wanted them to do and my client was getting very nervous as the time clicked closer with no booth.

Finally I told the I&D guys to use the lift. After all, this thing needed to be built. What happened next was amazing: the twenty guys from the lift union who were on the floor at the time came and stood in a grid formation in my booth. It was a stand-in, and if any one of the union guys where bumped they would sue. The lift supervisor was yelling at me for taking food off the plates of his guys, while other guys where yelling, and my client was turning pale. I thought they where going to faint. Security was called in.

At this point, the show superintendent came down to the floor. This was one of the most chaotic events of my career. What did I do? Simple, I pulled out my show binder and showed the show superintendent the lift authorization paperwork I had his office sign. The paperwork that said my I&D guys could use the lift as long as they followed proper safety guidelines, had the correct safety harnesses, and had a rider on my insurance policy naming the I&D union and the convention center.

The point is, read the show rules and regulations. Know before you get there what oppositions you are likely to encounter. If anything in your build does not conform to the show regulations request specific permission for your situation and request it in writing.

In short. Do your homework and be prepared.

Written by the man, the myth, the legend: Ken Pettit.

Adobe RGB vs sRGB

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-08-20T18:26:52-07:00

Over the course of the next few months I will be writing about color, offering some insight into what BIG Images likes to see in computer files, and why. This month I am discussing the difference between two color spaces: Adobe RGB and sRGB.

One of the most oft-debated topics I hear (and take part in) regarding color is which color space to use for images. Before I continue, let me just say that I do not intend to answer this question for all time, but I will offer you the opinion of a professional printer, and tell you why I believe as I do.

BIG Images prefers files in the Adobe RGB color space.

Keep in mind that BIG Images is all about getting the best possible print that technology can offer. To do this we need the best possible input into our workflow. Simply put — the more color you give us, the more we can print. This is why BIG Images prefers files in the Adobe RGB color space (there are a few exceptions, but those are beyond the scope of this article). Adobe RGB is simply larger than sRGB, allowing more color information to be stored in an image. To illustrate this I have included a visual comparison of Adobe RGB and sRGB. The white, outer shape, is Adobe RGB and the smaller shape inside it is sRGB. This demonstrates that Adobe RGB is physically larger and can capture more color information than sRGB.

Adobe RGB is the outer, white shape, and sRGB is the inner, colored shape. You can clearly see the areas where Adobe RGB captures more color than sRGB.

This image demonstrates the difference between Adobe RGB and sRGB. Click on the image to toggle between the Adobe RGB and sRGB version.

So, lets apply this to a photograph. Here as an example photo saved from Photoshop. This image was saved out as two versions, one with the Adobe RGB color space applied, the other with sRGB applied. By clicking it you can toggle the image between Adobe RGB and sRGB to see the difference between the two color spaces. You should notice a distinct difference in the saturation — the Adobe RGB version has more intense colors. This is exactly what you would notice when printing this image at BIG Images — your Adobe RGB images will be more saturated.

Don’t get to excited though. You cannot simply convert an under-saturated image to Adobe RGB and expect it to look more saturated. This is like trying to take a very small web graphic and enlarging it to print on a 4’ x 8’ banner. The end result will be of a lower quality.

And this leads me to the topic of next month’s article. Now you know why I like Adobe RGB for large format printing. Next month I will offer a few workflow tips to help you take advantage of this larger color space to produce better quality prints.

Article written by Jon Beebe.

Step 5 to effective large-format graphics: Visualizing the final product

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-07-17T16:59:54-07:00

When dealing with large-format graphics, there is always one problem that consistently rears it's ugly head: many people can't visualize what the graphic will look like. Most often, it is just too difficult to wrap your brain around the actual size of the graphic. Most computer monitors are between 17" and 24", whereas almost all large-format graphics are 3' x 5' or larger. Sure you can squint at your monitor from across the room, but that can't possibly give you a decent sense of scale when it comes right down to it.

In previous months, I've discussed the importance of legibility and simplicity in large-format design. Unfortunately, without a decent perception of size, you're taking a crap shoot with your marketing campaign. You see, whether it's a client, a boss, or employees and freelancers, everyone involved in your marketing efforts needs to have the same idea for the impact it will have. Particularly if you're dealing with a large-budget marketing campaign, the entire crew should be able to speak using the same visual vocabulary.

…the entire crew should be able to speak using the same visual vocabulary.

This best way to prevent a major marketing catastrophe in this area is to create a real sized mock-up. I cannot stress the importance of this particular solution enough. It doesn't matter what you use, whether it's the actual material you're producing the graphic on, or if it's just a bunch of taped-together butcher paper. It may sound a little childish, but if the graphic isn't too big, grab some markers and draw a rough draft of your designs' layout right on it. This is a good excuse to keep an eye on your text sizes, determining what size the different elements need to be for good effect.

An even more accurate preview can be created using (and yes, I know it's a horrible name), the Rasterbator. This free tool allows you to upload any image, and it will enlarge it, slice it and give you a pdf for download. When you print the multi-page pdf, just place and tape the images together, and you should have a relatively accurate representation of your graphic at a more respectable size.

Read Ben’s Step 6 to effective large-format graphics: Consider where it will be placed
Read Ben’s Step 4 to effective large-format graphics: Use simple imagery for maximum effectiveness

Benjamin Lawless isn't a big man, by any means, but he'll surprise you.

Trade Show Preparation, Plan B

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-07-16T16:50:27-07:00

Let's face it: the tradeshow environment is not a zen garden. There, you will never find balance and peace. Instead, you'll find situations like the Samsonite luggage commercial of old. You know the one: hulking gorillas crash into suitcases with all their might, shredding its contents.

I've seen and heard of all manner of horror stories from the show floor, and they can be truly grisly. 'Bob the tattooed flowerist' drives over your case of graphics while delivering the ferns you ordered. FedEx decides your booth needed a vacation — why else would its last known location be Palm Beach, Florida?

…most of the problems that arise at a trade show are small, but if left unchecked, the sum of them will create overwhelming stress.

The point is nothing ever goes as planned. So, what then? What can be done in advance to minimize the inevitable? You plan for disappointment and heartbreak, and in short, you develop a Plan B. Luckily for you, I've been there, and I've found two objects that will save your hide almost every time.

The first is what I call a Contingency Kit. It's simply a large tool box with the following in it:

Safety pins
Shoe strings
Sewing kit
Lint roller
Breath mint
Deodorant
Aspirin
Pencils and pens
Note pads
Business cards of booth staff
Cell phone chargers: if you get one for Nokia and one for Motorola you've covered the majority of the market
Wet wipes
Paper towels
Shoe kit
White out
First aid
Extra power strips
Extra extension cord
2 to 3 prong adapters
Trash bags: I recommend big Hefty bags
Roll of paper towels
Cleaner: Windex, et cetera
Extra light bulbs: at least 2 of every kind on the booth
Extra velcro
Extra brochure holders
Tape of many kinds: packing, gaffer, electrical, carpet
A dvd with all the booth's graphics: brochures, cut sheets, posters... everything
Avery 6875 full sheet label: if you have a laminate booth, these can be used to print a patch of the laminate to cover holes

Also of immense help is a show binder. It's where you keep all the information relating to this show, and this show only. Within it, you should put:

The phone number and directions to the closest tradeshow display company (bigger shows will have them onsite)
The directions to the closest hardware store
The directions to the closest print shop: Kinkos, Staples, et cetera
3 DVDs with files of all the graphics used in your booth from business cards to the big tradeshow posters: one goes with the booth, one in your luggage and one with you
All show contacts
All Staff information: flights, lodging, cell phone numbers
Show schedule for you and your staff
List of restaurants close to the show
List of restaurants to entertain at
Show rules
Copies of all correspondence regarding this show
Copies of all contracts and agreements

You might find that these lists have more than you need, or maybe not enough. The point is to think of every little thing ahead of time, and plan for the worst case scenarios. With the Contingency Kit and the Show Binder, you know that if you lose your booth, you'll have a place to order a rental, ASAP. If your graphics get ruined, you have the art and can print a temporary replacement. If a light burns out, its covered. Even if somebody pops a button, there's no worries.

And my final word of advice on the subject: NEVER ship the Contingency Kit or the Show Binder with the booth and NEVER ship them to the show floor. If you keep them together and the booth gets lost in shipping somewhere, you're up a creek. Keep your Plan B as safe as possible: ship the Kit and Binder to your hotel. And ALWAYS insure them for at least twice their value. You'll spend at least that much in taxi fares and labor costs should you need something you should have had in the kit.

Now, don't worry: from my experience most of the problems that arise at a trade show are small, but if left unchecked, the sum of them will create overwhelming stress. I hope that these tips will equip you to handle emergencies quickly so you can eliminate the problem and the stress immediately.

Written by the man, the myth, the legend: Ken Pettit.

Large Format Printing for the rest of us

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-07-13T14:11:44-07:00

Large Format Printing has not been on the scene for very long. Outside of a few key industries, the benefits of a company like BIG Images are not immediately obvious to the uninitiated. In this article I am going to describe how a few of BIG Images’ clients have recieved invaluable solutions to their printing needs.

Preserving the Past

An old photo panorama, circa 1920, preserved through BIG Images digital printing process

BIG Images only prints with water-proof and light-resistant inks. Our photo-paper is equally strong, able to withstand fading and preserve its whiteness for years. This enabled a customer of ours to preserve a turn of the century panorama for future generations. Our customer had an old photograph that had been taped together from many smaller photographs. We were able to help them create archival quality, fade resistant prints for everyone in the family, preserving their heritage for future generations. This project was completed using our 10.5 mil photo paper, our uv-blocking luster laminate, and 1/2” thick black gator board for a rigid backer.

Interior Decoration

BIG Images’ printing methods offer a low-cost way to create custom wall-coverings. As an example, one of our customers wanted to decorate her children’s bedroom doors. She brought us images of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, which we were able print full size, as large as her doors. She was then able to simply apply these large stickers to the new doors for a unique look all her own. This project used our water-proof and scratch resistance adhesive backed vinyl.

Display Boards

Tri-fold display board

It is very common for businesses or students to need quick and cost-effective signage for their projects. Businesses need presentation material to market their new products and services. Students need display boards for end-of-term presentations, thesis defenses, and senior projects. BIG Images one-off printing methods allow for quick and professionally printed tri-fold presentation boards that fit within a small business or student budget. Our low-cost photo-paper & Fome Core (used to produce the tri-fold board pictured here) is a perfect solution for presentation boards.

Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday Banner

Everyone has a birthday. Why not celebrate with a huge birthday banner and let your friends and family know just how old they are! With a custom and personalized printed banner you can add that singularly fun and attractive one-of-a-kind feel that guests will not soon forget. Go ahead, embarrass your friends and surprise the guests with a themed banner. All our banners are printed on high-quality 16.25mil vinyl banner.

Article written by Jon Beebe.

Announcing the delicious:designer

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-05-14T15:51:42-07:00

At BIG Images, we’re out to prove you don’t need to shell out hundreds of dollars for fully-featured design software. Producing something worthwhile also doesn’t need to be more difficult than helping a walrus move into a skyscraper. Design is life, and it should be experienced without barrier.

Announcing the delicious:designer 2.0 — powerful design tools for common people.

For the past two years we have been hard at work developing and simplifying complex technology, specifically applications suited for design and print. And this month, we're proud to announce our greatest achievement — the delicious:designer — an easy-to-use cross-platform vector design application. Unlike most design applications, the delicious:designer runs within your web browser, allowing access to your designs from anywhere in the world.
Furthermore, it's platform-independent. That's right; design on your Macintosh, Windows, and Linux computers with equal ease and comfort. It works wherever the internet does.

This is a small screen-shot of vector node-editing in the delicious:designer. Read more about this full-powered creative design app here.

Oh, and it's free. Yes, you read correctly. $0.00. You see, we don't believe that anyone should have to fork over thousands of dollars before they ever start creating. The tools in which you build your creations should be as free as the dreams that inspire them.

Our beta version, to be released on May 25, includes features that are common in most desktop design applications, such as:

A full suite of bezier-editing tools
Bitmap import
Text frames
Font Previews
Export to a multitude of file formats

And the delicious:designer has many features not offered through traditional design packages, such as:

Cross-platform compatibility
Access to your files from anywhere in the world
Embed your vector art directly into any web site or blog
Collaborate with friends and customers

Ancillary techonogies

The delicious:suite of technologies includes two more that will be released on the 25th of May. The delicious:viewer and second:skin. These are based on the delicious:designer technology, and offer benefits for bloggers, web masters, and Second Life residents.

The delicious:viewer

The delicious:viewer gives everyone the ability to embed vector images into web pages and blogs with the ease and predictability of a jpeg. Once the image is online, anyone can zoom, pan, and even edit it, right on the page.

Read more about the delicious:viewer here.

Second:skin

The residents of Second Life know there aren’t many options for tailoring your own Second Life clothing. They typically require thousand-dollar professional design suites or the barely functional free design apps that come with your computer. Based on the same code as the delicious:designer, second:skin gives anyone the ability to create beautiful clothing for their Second Life avatar with ease.

Read more about second:skin here.

The delicious:designer. On May 25, beautiful design will finally be easy.

BIG images would like to thank Benjamin Lawless for the fantastic illustrations.

Step 4 to effective large-format graphics: Use simple imagery for maximum effectiveness

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-04-13T16:53:37-07:00

Tip 4: Use simple imagery for maximum effectiveness.

Figure 1a. With no negative space to give this image room to breathe, the message "go see this movie" is lost in a colossal headache.

Figure 1b. Lending a bit of class, sofistication and impending doom to this horror movie makes this image look a bit more ominous, and far more viewable.

You've all seen it: illegible and completely useless large-format ads that do nothing but give eyesores and headaches to everyone around. What is that poster trying to say? Why do I feel mentally and physically assaulted? How can we learn to never, ever make something like this crime against humanity again?

In previous months, I've discussed the importance of legibility in your advertisement designs. This is especially important when it comes to keeping your text short so that your message is straightforward and diluted to it's core. Well, there is a similar golden rule that applies to imagery, and it's this: Simplicity.

Too much imagery can drown out your message in a crazy whirlwind of galactic proportions. One image is best, and preferably if it has plenty of negative space. Negative space is any portion of the image that surrounds the main subject. Sometimes, it's referred to as the background. Many may be tempted to use the negative space as graphic real-estate for adding text or making graphic elements as large as humanly possible, as you can see in figure 1a, but this gets you nowhere. Giving your advertisement room to breathe gives your product an air of class, refinement and luxury; it makes whatever you're selling desirable. In figure 1b, you can see how I eliminated the unnecessary starburst background and only made the text "watch your brains" large enough to be legible (for an in-depth discussion on this topic, see my previous article: sizing your fonts correctly).

Notice that in figure 1b there's an awful lot of negative space. That's on purpose. For every successful design, negative space has to be considered and arranged almost as carefully as your subject or text. Don't be afraid to experiment with your negative space, and make sure to use it to direct your audience's eyes around the graphic.

On a side note: whatever the application, we seriously advise against the use of collages. Trust us. Since they tend to not have negative space, they’re a pain on the eyes. Think about it: one large spacious picture often will say more than 10 small ones. Leave your ancillary product pictures on a brochure. Just keep your large-format graphic large and pristine. If you absolutely must have multiple product or other photos on it, limit it to a maximum of three, and include bullet points outlining what it is you’re showing. Following with another previous article, keep these bullets short and easily viewable. You'll be glad you did, and so will the general populace.

Read Ben’s Step 5 to effective large-Visualizing the final product
Read Ben’s Step 3 to effective large-format graphics: Contrast is your best friend

Ben Lawless is a sophisticated yet simple man, and he would rather everyone was prepared for the zombie apocalypse. Watch your brains.

Cash on the ground

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-04-12T09:28:03-07:00

I’m sure you’ve all noticed the floor graphics sprinkled throughout your local grocery store. These highly effective and affordable large-format images have proven to increase sales by up to 20–30%. In fact, floor graphics have become part of the standard marketing package at many larger stores and retail chains. The market for printing these floor advertisements is projected to grow to $2 billion in the next 5 years. If your competition is not already marketing with it, they will be.

Benefits of floor graphics

With a price of $13.75/sqft the advertising opportunity is very cost-effective compared to radio, newspaper, and other more traditional methods. Floor graphics are inexpensive enough to use as short-term signage, and durable enough to use as long-term signage.

BIG Images printed this floor advertisement, designed by Whizbang Ideas, for use in grocery stores. Placed strategically at seafood counters, promoting impulse buys.

Floor graphics are an inexpensive and novel way to create brand awareness, especially in retail environments. Most customers don’t choose the brand they’ll buy until they’re in the store — strategically placed floor graphics influence this decision. Typically the image is placed directly in the customer’s line of sight as they look where they walk.

Grocery stores and retail are not the only application. Floor graphics are a great way to improve safety by placing warnings in key locations. They also can act as event signage, helping to direct traffic. We have seen customers use footprints (or puppy-prints) to help guide foot traffic. Other uses include:

Trade-show booth & exhibit marketing
Lobbies. For example — in the entry of a bank to promote a new home-equity loan
Aisle graphics in car dealerships
High-school and college basketball court logos
Subtle enhancements to new museum exhibits
Featured band performances at night clubs
Interior decor

What is a floor graphic?

Floor graphics (or floor decals) are an adhesive-backed product that will stick to almost any smooth, non porous floor (surfaces like tile, sealed concrete, linoleum, hard-wood floors, etc.) They are designed to be used for about 6 months and removed with no adhesive residue left behind.

The surface of a floor graphic is slip-resistant vinyl designed to match the slip-rating of most flooring, so customers will not notice a surface-change as they walk over them.

A contour-cut floor graphic in BIG Images’ entry.

Floor graphics are a very specialized print process — very few print shops have the production capabilities today. BIG Images’ print production facility is an ideal center for producing this medium, and we are proud to offer you this affordable new marketing tool.

Break the square mold!

Floor graphics can be easily contour-cut for interesting shapes that are more likely to be noticed by customers. BIG Images has the capabilities to rapidly contour-cut any floor graphic up to 40” wide. For those designers reading this — simply create Adobe Illustrator paths for the cut lines and our machine will follow them precisely, giving you complete control of the final shape.

More information about BIG Images floor graphics

For more information about BIG Images’ floor graphics give us a call at 1-805-781-9301. Or read about BIG Images floor graphics solutions here.

Article written by Jon Beebe.

Trade Show Etiquette

beebe@big-images.com — 2007-04-10T09:20:42-07:00

So here we are; it’s April and many of you are in the thick of your tradeshow season. With that in mind, I decided to discuss what NOT to do on the tradeshow floor. Without fail, every time I attend a show, I see staff blunders, gaffes, and other faux pas. How do you set yourself apart in this rough and tumble world? Well, let me tell you.

Sitting

The tradeshow environment is a tough one. I know that. By the end of the day your entire body feels weak and numbed. I also know that the next day you’d rather have your legs amputated than stand on them, but buck up! When you’re sitting, you look lazy and less approachable. In that state, lead-generating opportunities will pass you by like grandma getting passed on the highway.

Talking with other booth staff

Remember: this is not the breakroom and you’re not at the show to talk with “Bob” from R&D. Save the conversation for dinner. Otherwise, if you’re in the middle of chumming it up, show attendees will not even try to interrupt your conversation to ask for information. The same goes for the cell phone as well; if you need to take a call, excuse yourself from the booth.

Eating

If you eat at your booth, you’re telling your prospects, “I’m busy. Spend your time, attention and money elsewhere.” Once you’re away from your booth and ready to chow down, avoid food that will cause bad breath. This is no time to to make a reservation at The Stinking Rose (no matter how good it tastes) – your pores will stink for days to come.

Scratching, picking, digging...

Most of us spend our days in semi-private environment. When the need to scratch, pick or adjust arises we are free to address our source of discomfort immediately. Well, being on a show floor is a lot like being on stage. People are all around and watching you. So the odds of being caught scratching are pretty high. Just Don’t Do It.

Talking smack

You only get one chance to make a first impression. At a trade show, you are making that impression on someone at every moment. How will you and your company be remembered?

Several years ago I was staffing a booth with a couple of other people when in walked a very beautiful woman along with her blind husband. They asked a couple of questions and left. A few moments later one of the other staff members started talking about this woman’s features in great detail, then said “it’s a shame, a woman like that, and her husband can’t even see what he’s missing.” At that point her husband made his way back from two booths away and said, “I might not be able to see, but I can hear”

The point is this: whether it’s about other booth staffers, competitors or attendees, your conversations can and will be overheard. Will what you say encourage trust in you as a person? In the end, our decision to buy is based on what we think of you. What you sell is almost ancillary.

80/20

Remember the 80/20 rule – listen 80% of the time and talk 20%. Many people, when put in the show situation, tend to “throw-up” on the attendees. You’ve seen it, I’ve done it. It’s just wrong.

For example, the attendee asks a question, “Does your product do this?” Then you reply, “The product does this and that and my company was founded in 1912 by a farmer and a goose. I started working with the company when Carter was president. Boy, it was a hot summer.” You did nothing but point out that you’re uncomfortable being there.

Listen to the customer. Process what they want to know, then respond with pertinent information. Wait, then ask if your response adequately answered their question. If you’re nervous, take a breath or two before speaking. You’ll be glad you did.

The bottom line

For a successful trade show, make sure you are as approachable and professional as possible. Remember that at any given moment, you will be on center stage. The customer is looking at your booth and asking themselves, “Do I need what they have?” Then they’ll look at you and decide, “Do I want to work with them?” That is not a good time to pick your nose.

You only get one chance to make a first impression. At a trade show, you are making that impression on someone at every moment. How will you and your company be remembered?

Written by Ken Pettit.