Static Cling Window Graphics

Entice new customers and enchant passersby with big, bold and colorful Static Cling Window graphics, available with full-color printing services from BIG Images. Static Window Cling is temporary, safe and quite affordable. Companies like Gap and Express have already realized the benefits of temporary window cling graphics. If big-box retailers are using quicker and less expensive marketing tools, why can’t you? Set the trend amongst your competition instead of following it.


In this shifting economy where the old methods are beginning to lose their magnetism, smart retailers and point-of-purchase marketers are looking for the next trends. It’s easy to see the baby boomers are ebbing out and the Millennials are on their way in. Now is the time to find new marketing solutions and get the attention of this new generation of customer, and Static Window Cling is a perfect
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Tags: outdoor, indoor, window, media

Announcing Over the Street Banners!

BIG Images’ over the street banners are the perfect way to spread excitement about your upcoming event! They’re a great solution for announcing:

• Festivals
• Concerts
• Local Fairs
• City Events
• Farmer’s Market
• Theater Productions

Over the Street Banners garner the attention of drive-by and walk-by traffic. As a proximity-marketing tool they raise the public awareness of your event and keep it top-of-mind.

Benefits of Over the Street Banners

• Naturally wind-resistant
• Naturally weather resistant
• Bold & vivid full-color graphics

BIG Images’ street banners are created specifically for the outdoor environment. They are waterproof, capable of withstanding rain and dew. They are also bright and vivid, staying colorfast even in the harshest sunlight.

Our mesh banner is naturally wind resistant. This offers a few benefits: increased safety because wind can pass through the entire surface area of the banner, and better readability because there are no wind-slits interrupting the image.

BIG Images’ years of experience and industry contacts allow us to quickly and inexpensively produce banners that meet the strict sign regulations of your city.

Gallery of BIG Images street banner media

Tags: media, outdoor, solutions, banner, products

Set your business apart

When most people think of the marketing tools BIG Images offers they think of posters or some other form of eye-level marketing. But the world of large-format marketing is much broader than the customers’ eye-level. If you really want to make an impression you have to look both up and down.

Most customers use BIG Images’ products to market at the eye-level. Posters, banner stands, window graphics; all these get displayed at the eye-level. But this is a very competitive space! By making wise decisions about placing marketing materials, you can inexpensively remain at the forefront of every potential customer’s mind. Read the full article...

Tags: media, outdoor, solutions

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.

Tags: about us, birthday, delicious, ideas

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

New print technology can turn any window into a sign from the outside while leaving the view unobstructed from the inside. This inexpensive media gives small business owners an edge by turning every store-front window into valuable marketing opportunities.

The Benefits of Window Graphics

With BIG Images Window Graphics any window becomes an opportunity to attract more walk-by and drive-by traffic. Window graphics are engineered so that when viewed from the outside you see the printed image. However, when seen from the inside the print disappears and you see straight through it. Its inexpensive enough to use for short-term marketing campaigns and durable enough to last for one full year outdoors.

• Make new customer-impressions from existing window area
• Does not obstruct the view through window from the inside
• Still allows for natural light to pass through
• Improves security by making it harder to see into the windows

Read the full article...

Tags: large format, media, solutions, products

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.



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

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

Tags: products, media, trade show

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.



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.

Tags: media, products, ideas

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.

Tags: media, products, trade show, ideas

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… Read the full article...

Tags: color, solutions, workflow, jon beebe

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.

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… Read the full article...

Tags: color, workflow, technology, jon beebe

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

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. Read the full article...

Tags: large format, printing, products, jon beebe

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… Read the full article...

Tags: delicious, technology, about us, bannerworks, ben lawless, software

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…
Read the full article...

Tags: printing, products, jon beebe, media, sales, solutions

In most sectors of the printing industry, Adobe's PDF file format is king. It deserves accolades, because for most applications, a PDF will reproduce art and text amazingly well while delivering a decent print-ready file in a relatively small file size. These features have made PDF a staple of the small format print industry. Although the PDF is great, BIG Images’ preferred file format for large format printing is the Tiff.

The benefits of the Tiff file format in the large format print industry are threefold:

1. Financial Savings
   • Tiff files saved with LZW compression use anywhere from 50% to 99% less disk space than competing file formats
   • The time required to open & save a Tiff is less than that of a PDF or other competing file formats
   • The time & resources needed to transfer the file to BIG Images is reduced
2. Time Savings
   • Faster processing time for both the customer and BIG Images equates to a faster turn around time
   • Smaller size is faster to open, close, and transfer via FTP or email
   • More predictable results mean fewer errors to chase, resulting in faster production time
3. Better service and product from BIG Images
   • Elimination of common errors means faster production & fewer pre-press expenses. BIG Images can produce a better, more consistent product, faster.

Read the full article...

Tags: tiff, pdf, technology, about us, jon beebe, workflow

“Is it solvent?”

As many of our customers are aware, BIG Images produces prints on huge inkjet printers. In fact, the posters, trade show graphics, banners, and other materials offered by Wide format and Large-format printing companies depend on the same Ink Jet technology found in the office.


The Ink Jet printer is a relatively new phenomenon, replacing dot matrix only 15 to 20 years ago [1] (although the first thermal Ink Jet printer was actually invented in 1977). Two varieties of Ink Jet exist: Thermal and Piezoelectric [2], but ultimately, the principle behind the two are the same; a drop of ink is propelled from the ink head and onto the media at precisely the right time to produce a recognizable image at increasingly impressive speeds.

While the mind tries to wrap around the possibility of such perfect timing, let's focus on what is important when purchasing a BIG image. Interestingly, it's not the manner in which the ink happens to arrive on the media, but the particular solution in which the ink is contained. Anyone who's ever tried to combine oil and water knows that the two just don't mix, because water is a polar molecule while oil is non-polar [3]. Aqueous inks are dissolved in water, a polar substance while solvent inks are dissolved in, well, solvent, a non-polar substance [4]. Paper is polar, plastic is non-polar and this is where it becomes important to the consumer.

Trying to apply a polar-based ink to a non-polar surface or vice versa achieves the same unhappy results Read the full article...

Tags: printing, technology, color

BIG Images is proud to announce the release of its new FTP upload tool. This new tool, located at www.big-images.com/ftp, allows for customers to upload their files right through BIG Images web site. You do not need to own FTP software, you do not even need to understand what FTP is! Just drag your files onto the target area and they are uploaded without any more effort on your part.

There are a few technological caveats and adendums. Your computer must meet the following requirements to use BIG Images’ web upload tool:

• Operating System: Mac OS X, Linux, or Windows 95 or newer
• Software: Java Runtime Environment 1.4
• Browser:FireFox, Safari, Internet Explorer 7, or comparable browser with JavaScript enabled

Also, as the FTP tool loads, there is one security precaution and you will be prompted to trust the page or not. You must click trust for BIG Images’ FTP tool to have access to the files on your computer, otherwise it will not be allowed to access the files that you drop onto it.

Tags: technology, solutions, about us

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!

Tags: design, birthday, ideas, bannerworks

BIG Images is announcing the adoption of new outdoor large format digital banner and adhesive backed vinyl that increases color gamut & product quality.

In our continuing quest to improve our large format products and services we are proud to announce the immediate release of new outdoor print media: large format digital banner and adhesive backed vinyl. Each of these improves upon the qualities of the media they replaced and offers customers distinct benefits in color quality, durability, and longevity.

Outdoor banner

Our new outdoor large format digital banner offers a higher thread-count — in fact it is the industries highest — so the banner is incredibly strong and tear-resistant. It also has one of the highest white-points on the market. In addition it is more compatible with our new ink set so the colors are brighter, the blacks are blacker, and the over-all color gamut is greater than its predecessor. Its superior white-point and darker black-point give it a dynamic range far superior to our previous banner vinyl. The smooth surface allows for tighter dot-control, thus increasing image sharpness and resolution. As always the banner is waterproof, fade resistant, and can last up to 5 years outdoors. This new banner is an ideal match for our outdoor banner stands and indoor banner stands.

Adhesive Backed Vinyl (ABV)

Our ABV has an improved adhesive for better adhesion in extreme weather and temperatures. It is also more compatible with our new ink set so the colors are brighter, the blacks are blacker, and the over-all color gamut in greater than its predecessor. The strength of the ink’s bond is great enough that it can be used without lamination to replace laminated photo paper in many situations. As always the ABV is waterproof, fade resistant, and can last up to 5 years outdoors.

Tags: outdoor, banner, media, solutions

Every December, the “big boxes” and national chain stores suck away precious customers from small business. To whom can small business turn to remain competitive amidst the holiday season’s multi-million-dollar marketing frenzy?

Look no further than BIG Images! This December you need to maximize your sales. The most effective and inexpensive way is to breathe new life into your storefront — capture customers’ attention and pull them in.

Thousands of potential customers may pass by your storefront everyday on their shopping quests. With BIG Images as your ally you can reach out to those customers by utilizing your store front effectively. Convince them that you provide what they’re looking for. Make your message too large to ignore. Turn foot traffic into dollars.

BIG Images will help you accomplish this with the following effective products… Read the full article...

Tags: sales, planning, team, ken pettit

Dry-Erase Laminate: Custom Dry-Erasable Graphics Increase Effectiveness and Visibility

A dry-erasable surface is now a standard finishing option on all of BIG Images print media. This option can be added to almost every type of product BIG Images offers, from Banners to Photographs, Presentation Boards to Charity Checks, and Sandwich Boards to Sidewalk menus.

A dry-erasable finish is now a standard option on all of BIG Images print media. Any type of large-format print can be finished with a dry-erasable laminate that allows for temporary marking on the write-on and wipe-off surface. The benefits include increased re-usability of the image, better communication effectiveness, and increased productivity & visibility.

Large-format print buyers want to increase the effectiveness of their marketing, trade-show, and presentation materials. For some this means having the flexibility to change and/or adjust the content at will. The possibilities offered by dry-erase laminates — to be able to change out the message daily, or to discriminately highlight areas for increased communication & marketing effectiveness — mean prints will remain more useable and flexible in the unforeseen future.

Here are some quotes from… Read the full article...

Tags: media, solutions

New Inks increase color gamut and image strength.

BIG Images recently completed the conversion to a new ink system for its outdoor solutions. These new inks bring a few direct benefits to our customers. These include:

• Increased color gamut—we can now produce better color encompassing about 15% more of the Pantone color range.
• Better weather resistance—waterproof and lightfast outdoors for up to 5 years.
• Increased strength—the new inks stick to the material better, meaning more scratch resistance and longer life

All of BIG Images outdoor solutions are using this new ink starting immediately.

Tags: color, technology, outdoor