Overview

Over the course of the next few months I will be publishing a series on up-and-coming technologies that will impact printing, and in a broader sense, imaging. Here I use “imaging” to refer to everything from posters to trade-show displays to power-points — anything created to communicate a message.

Current research and development is transforming the tools and media used to print and display imagery. This includes

• new print hardware such as super-fast inkjets
• new print methods such as ink-less printing
• and digital print replacements such as electronic paper

These new developments will have a direct impact on how we design, produce, and interact with the imagery that surrounds us.

I offer this series to educate you, our customer, on the future, in hopes that we are all poised to take advantage of the changes ushered in by these new technologies.

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Two rocket-powered Mark-1 X-Racers competing Grand Prix-style.

The Rocket Racing League™ is an aerospace sports and entertainment organization that combines the competition of racing with the excitement of rocketry. The RRL was established by X–Prize founder Peter Diamandis and two–time Indianapolis 500 champion team partner Granger Whitelaw to advance the technology and increase public awareness of space travel. The NASCAR–style racing league features rocket–powered aircraft that will be flown by top pilots through a ‘three–dimensional track way’ at venues throughout the world. With millions of fans who enjoy racing and air shows, and an even wider audience enthralled with humanity’s next step into space, rocket racing is destined to become the future of racing! —From the Rocket Racing web page.

The Challenge

The Rocket Racing tent at AirVenture Oshkosh, 2006 with double sided banner stand and tent headers.

Rocket Racing and the X–Prize Foundation approached BIG Images to supply banners for their co–branded booth at AirVenture Oshkosh. With attendance between 200,000–300,000 people, it is the largest civilian airshow in the United States. 

The co–branded booth required banners of matching proportions, double-sided banner stands, tent headers, and large banners to cover the inner walls of their tent. 

In addition, we were able to push the extreme edges of the CMYK color space to deliver the bright and vibrant colors found in the Rocket Racing brand. 

Double sided banner stand beneath the wing of a C-130 Hercules.

The Solution 
BIG Images had the perfect media solution for them: our durable vinyl banner allowed for quick production, easy transportation, and great reusability for future shows. To reproduce the vibrant reds and blues of their brand, BIG Images used it’s new ink-system which dramatically increases the color gamut available on outdoor vinyls. Furthermore, our ink-system creates a stronger bond with the material, making banners last longer in the rigorous trade-show environment.

“Big Images has become an important asset to our advertising. They are fast, economical, professional, and most important to me, produce excellent quality work. I’ve also found their advice on image preparation and presentation to be very helpful. Usually, you have to go to a fairly large city to get this kind of expertise. Having Big Images here allows us to have better interaction and turnaround but still get a professional product.” —Kirby Spencer, Zoo Med Labs

Our DesignJet HP5000 printing posters for Zoo Med Laboratories. The computer on the right is soft-proofing the image, informing our print-manager of any color-shifts before the image prints.

Challenge 

Zoo Med Labs needed a supplier that could provide consistent results for their point–of–purchase banners. The challenge was that these images contained intense vibrant colors that are difficult to produce because they are out of gamut—meaning they are not physically printable. So how does BIG Images print colors that cannot be printed?

Solution
We have invested heavily in our color-management system, spending hundreds of hours calibrating our monitors and print–media, and learning the technology behind color management. Using this cutting edge color knowledge and technology BIG Images is able to accurately soft–proof colors before printing, thus predicting color shifts. This allows us to customize our workflow for optimal performance. For Zoo Med this meant they knew they were getting predictable, repeatable results each time we printed their images. 

About Zoo Med Laboratories Inc.
Zoo Med is the worlds #1 reptile product company worldwide producing an array of accessories for any reptile enthusiast. To learn more about them visit the Zoo Med Laboratories web site.