The Avery Dennison TrafficJet Print System is the No. 1 selling, most accepted digital traffic sign printer for specification-compliant and warranted traffic signs around the globe.
Watch how one shop uses this unique wide format printer from MUTOH.
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Graphic design can have many challenges. From being creative to working with poor quality customer artwork. In this blog article, let’s talk about THINKING a job through before we even begin.
In fact, sometimes it comes down to the simple things. Spelling, punctuation, grammar are all items in a design that we must THINK through. By THINK I also mean we need to SLOW DOWN enough to allow for that thinking to take place! Not doing so could be very embarrassing!
Well, why do you think Santa keeps a list and checks it twice. The wrong toy to the wrong child could be disastrous! LOL! But seriously, it’s good advice to make a checklist that you use on each design. What should that list contain? Well, to better answer that question, maybe we should go through all the consideration in design.
The best way to begin thinking about design is to start by knowing what the final product is supposed to do and how it will be constructed.
This is a really important question to consider. Remember, you are the professional, so it’s important that you “guide” your customer to a better design, but they pay the bill so ultimately, you may have to bend a little. This is where you may have to allow your customer to “design” what they want, but perhaps you may have to come up with 2 or 3 “alternatives” to show the customer to perhaps help them consider other factors like the ones previously described.
Now, this is a bit of a tricky subject since design tools and a lot like choosing a car. Everyone has their own opinion of what make and model is the best choice. So, what I am sharing here is my opinion and I want to hear yours in the comments. That said, let’s jump in with both feet!
o in my opinion, the answer could be both.
Now that you have many of the design factors in mind, it’s time to consider the relationship between your software choices and your output device choices.
When designing, it’s a good idea to know the features and capabilities of your output devices so you can design for those devices.
Of course, there are other cutters with similar options, but the point is if you as the designer did not know this feature was available, you might spend hours trying to get a perf cut to work properly.
That’s not only design time that could be used on other projects but also cost for your company in design time and maybe even materials used to test your perf cut settings.
Hopefully, we have covered many of the considerations in creating a great design. At this point, you should develop a checklist for yourself and be sure to use it. Once you hve one done, or if you already have one, why not share it with the rest of our community so we all get better at design?
January 2019 – PHOENIX – Mutoh America, Inc., a leader in wide-format inkjet printers and cutters, today announced they have launched a new Mutoh Manufactured ink “DH-21” for select Dye-Sublimation ValueJet printers.
“Mutoh’s new Dye Sublimation ink, DH-21 is a cost-effective, high load performance ink designed to achieve high-density colors with less ink consumption while providing superior color rendition with reduced metamerism” shares Brian Phipps, President of Mutoh America. “It’s fast drying formula enables printing on thin and light papers while minimizing transfer times.”
MORE ABOUT MUTOH’S DH-21 INK:
Pricing and Availability
It is now available for sale through authorized Mutoh resellers across North and Latin America. For pricing, sales inquiries or free print sample, contact your authorized Mutoh reseller or find one at http://www.mutoh.com/dealers.
| About Mutoh Mutoh Industries, Ltd. founded in 1952 in Tokyo, celebrates over 60 years of business beginning as a manufacturer and distributor of mechanical drafting products. Since then, ISO 9000-certified Mutoh Industries, Ltd. & has become the world’s foremost manufacturer of large format piezoelectric printers. In April, 2007, Mutoh Holdings Co, Ltd was established as a holding company of affiliates including Mutoh Industries, Ltd. Mutoh has engineering, manufacturing and distribution centers in Japan, Belgium, Germany, Singapore, Australia, China and Phoenix, Arizona. Please visit the websites:www.mutoh-hd.co.jpfor Mutoh Holdings Co, Ltd and www.mutoh.com for Mutoh America Inc., call 1-800-99-MUTOH (800-996-8864) or e-mail us at sales@mutoh.com.
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Wrap Nation Finishes a Vehicle Wrap at NBM Long Beach 2018
In this article I’m not going to cover installing a vehicle wrap. That you can learn from others. What I am going to write about is getting started in vehicle wrap design. I want to answer the following questions:
When a customer wants a vehicle wrapped, no doubt they have some sort of idea of what the want for the outcome. But to be sure, meet with the customer and ask as many questions as you can about the design, the car and even the purpose of the design.
They may bring artwork to you. Right…. from Word!!! Make sure your software can open the images. You’ll also need to examine each image for size and resolution. Put a folder on the desktop and start saving information like the customer details, conversation notes, drawing and images.
Ask the customer for pictures of the vehicle or even better have them drive it to this meeting and YOU take those pictures, the more the better! Every angle. Look for irregularities, added or customer hardware etc. Basically do a vehicle inspection of the entire body of the car.
Finally, after you have this information, form a plan for the design. Ask yourself, what do you lack? What do you need to get started in the design? Who will be doing the install? How fast does this REALLY need to be done? What printer is being used to print the design? What media does the installer use? How difficult is the design the customer wants going to be?
To keep track of all this preparation, it would be good to develop a vehicle wrap checklist. A few years ago Sign & Digital Graphics magazine had a nice article with things to add to the checklist and an example. If you want tot take a quick trip over there to read it, just use this link: https://sdgmag.com/tips/create-vehicle-wraps-checklist.
If the customer has not brought you ideas, how do you get your inspiration? I suggest spending quality time on your computer with your friend and mine, Pinterest! You thought I was going to say Google didn’t you. Well, both might work, but Pinterest seems to be an easier way to “see” stuff. Here’s one suggested place to start: https://www.pinterest.com/conraddesign/design-vehicle-vinyl-graphics/.
Don’t look at just the “wild and crazy guy” designs, but also look for the more subtle designs. After a while you’ll develop your own style. Keep in mind that the time spent on the design is related to how hard it will be to install the design and that’s all funded by your customer. So you might want to find 3-5 design ideas that might work and then rank from easy to difficult which translates to low price to high price.
Let’s hope by now you’ve got some good photos of the customers vehicle. Let’s also assume you have an idea in your head about what you are going to do for a design. Here are some suggestions for mocking up the design on your computer so you can have a sit down with a customer. Just always keep in ind that vehicle wraps are a balancing act. You need to balance, design with installation, the vehicle itself, price and timing.
Photoshop is a great program for mock ups because you can use the actual photo of the car or truck to show off your design. Remember, we are just at the mock-up stage, so keep in mind that after something looks pretty good to you, you’ll still need to make certain that it can actually be done. (This is where the installer can assist.)
If you’re going to use Adobe, there are lots of YouTube videos that can walk you through the entire process. Here are some of my favorites:
So I love that fact that you can show off an actual picture of the vehicle with a design. What I don’t like is the learning curve here. Keep in mind you’re going to have to spend time learning this process. I can’t say how long because every person is different. Also keep in mind that you’ll also need to print the wrap.
One of the things to be careful about is the output may not match the colors you see on the monitor. We’ll discuss that later, but what I’m trying to say is don’t go over board here! Remember, it has to be printed and installed! That means you’re going to need a RIP software to run that wide format printer. ONYX, VersaWorks and FlexiSIGN & Print come to mind. My favorite is Flexi. Here’s why.
MUTOH VJ1624x is the “Wrappers Choice”
While Flexi does not have all the bells and whistles of Adobe products, it was created not only for design but for output, so it has many features that you may need for the little things a wrap deserves, like making decals or print & cut components. In addition, it can be used with just about any wide format printer. Of course, you’ll want to try the MUTOH 1624x first since it is known as the “Wrappers Choice”. More later.
Also, keep in mind that your choice of design and production software is a matter of learning. MUTOH has a DVD that gives you over 10 hours of instruction on FlexiSIGN & Print! Spend the time to really learn your design software, it can make a big difference in the time it take to design and print your wrap.
Look, there are literally dozens of choices for wide format printers for printing wrap designs. However, MUTOH is actually KNOWN for the right choice and now we have several of them for you to choose. The reason wrappers prefer MUTOH printers is because they operate flawlessly and MUTOH even offers numerous wrap classes in partnership with leading wrap artist Justin Pate and wrap media maker AVERY.
Mutoh’s ValueJet 1638X high speed, Eco-solvent printer has a staggered dual-head design that blows the competition away! With print speeds over 1,000 sqft/hr. no one comes close to its production capability.
And with Mutoh’s Smart Printing technology like; Intelligent Interweave (i²) print technique that virtually eliminates banding, ColorVerify for process control and ValueJet Status Monitor (VSM) an app for remote printer monitoring make, the ValueJet 1638X is the smart choice for today’s serious print professional.
Speed, the right width, and a reliable take-up system all add to the capability of the MUTOH Valuejet 1638x with regard to wrap workflow.
The MUTOH VJ1627MH, recently introduced at the 2018 SGIA trade show uses a Multi-Purpose Ink based on a corn-based solvent that is greener that the printer above, but still offers 3+ years outdoor durability and can be used for wraps with no issues whatsoever.
The nice part about this machine is it can not only print roll-to-roll but also on rigid substrates, so when you are not doing a wrap you can print building signs and more!
Yep, you’ve got some homework to do, but it will be worth every penny once you get started in vehicle wraps. If you are reading this blog, remember that MUTOH wrote it! We want to give as much assistance to you as we can so be sure to come back and learn more.
Visit the mother ship at www.mutoh.com
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UV-LED printers are wide format printers that use UV curable inks that can print on many, many surfaces. For that reason, they are quickly becoming the printer of choice for sign shops, specialty graphics shops and print providers worldwide. UV inks allow fre a great diversity of printing media and thus can be sued to create an almost infinite number of applications.
Maybe items like smartphone cases, or pens or luggage tags come to mind what you think of UV-LED printers, but I’m here to tell you there is more. much more!
In a recent article about what can be created with UV inks, Flaar-Reports.org wrote a nice article that you should read: Creative materials you can print using UV-curable inks where they describe in much detail many, many items that can be made with uv devices. As stated at the beginning of their article:
“First and before getting into all the media and substrates you can print with UV-curable inks, we should consider the fact that UV-curable ink printing offers a variety of advantages and benefits:
With all these advantages over other types of inks, even if they more costly than the rest of the inks; many people choose to print with UV-curable inks.” (Images in the slider at the top of this blog are from this article)
From wine labels to 4 x 8 ft signage, UV inks are making a splash these days.
MUTOH makes the widest range of UV-LED devices for the print market. Here are a few examples.
Print directly to create custom promotional items, awards, mugs, signage and much more. The ValueJet 626UF offers up to six color capability, including white and varnish ink and Smart Printing technologies such as Intelligent Interweave print technique.
This is a great choice and if you add the option rotary unit to it, you can even print cylindrical items such as candles, bottles and more.
Need a little bigger printer but not yet ready for a true flatbed? The MUTOH ValueJet 1638UH may be your answer. It’s considered a hybrid device since it can print roll-to-roll or rigid media.
Print on material up to a half inch thick and save valuable floor space with its dual function and multiple application design. The CMYK plus white and varnish ink options are ideal for printing packaging prototypes, POP displays and indoor signage.
The all new performanceJet is a true UV-LED Flatbed that is 4 ft x 8ft and can handle many projects. It‘s standard staggered four print head design – 
Field upgradable to six heads when adding white and varnish inks, provides high print speeds and the dual UV lamps on both sides of the carriage provide exceptional cure times allowing for higher production capacity. Print media up to 4” thick and use the CMYK x2 or CMYKx2 plus white & varnish to create stunning applications with outstanding durability and color gamut.
We all get pretty busy on our wide format printing shops. Lot’s of jobs coming in, lots of things to manage and lots of interruptions. Here’s a nice podcast and article on how you can be more productive and maximize you time. Of course, you’ll save lots of time with a great wide format printer that works all the time! Check out MUTOH AMERICA‘s line of wide format printers.
In addition, we also offer lots of training & education on numerous topics: design software, color management, printer maintenance and more. Be sure to set aside some time to attend one of our live sessions held throughout the USA.
Enjoy these great tips!
Do you feel stressed and flustered by an overwhelming to-do list? Do you often feel distracted by what seems like a million things demanding your attention? Despite being busy all the time, do you feel like you’re getting nowhere? If so, you’re not alone. We all have the same 24 hours in the day. To get the most out of your time — doing more of what truly counts in less time — try these 7 simple tips to be more productive.
Ways to Listen:
“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” – Dwight Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States
In this episode of BioTrust Radio, Shawn and Tim talk about the difference between being busy and productive, and with a big assist from David Miller and his super article on getting more done in less time, they’ll reveal a list of strategies to help you be more productive — at work, at home, and in life.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the show:
We’ll discuss what it means to be more productive, take a deep dive into these 7 productivity hacks, and much, much more…Enjoy!
Enjoy the show? Please leave a 5-star review on iTunes or Stitcher.
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Have a comment or question on this episode? Comment below.
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MUTOH AMERICA had a great show at the recent NBM trade show in Long beach, CA. The booth was packed with people for all three days and they did a great job teaching the crowd tips and tricks in vehicle wrapping. The wrap was done by Wrap Nation. All printing was done on the MUTOH ValueJet 1638x wide format printer, the “wrapper choice” as its come to be know in the industry.
In addition to the show booth, MUTOH’s Mark Rugen, Dir. Product Marketing & Education presented two 1-hour seminars for NBM. “7-Tips Every Sign Shop MUST Know to Solve Image Problems!” had over 200 registered and over 60 attending. The seminar demonstrated several free and commercial software programs for getting designs done faster.
In this seminar we demonstrated 7 tips and programs that will accelerate everyday workflow by handling the following issues:
Attendees will walked away armed with tips that will change their workflow forever! If you didn’t attend, you can still get a copy of the presentation by going to the whitepapers menu and downloading your personal copy.
The second presentation was attended by over 60 as well and had nearly 200 registrations. Attendees learned how to put together a system of hardware and software that will allow them to create and produce craft & specialty type items that will sell like crazy. This seminar showed them all the items needed to get started but also give them some idea of the various products they can create, what they sell for and how to get a return on your investment in just a few short months. We showed all attendees how to get into this lucrative business with minimal investment and maximum returns. If you are just starting into business or just want to add another profit center to your existing one, then download a copy of the whitepaper.
Overall, this was a great show for both the exhibitors as well as the attendees. WRAPSCON, the wraps convention was held in conjunction with this show and was a huge success as well. Hope to see you in Long beach next year, we will be there with some surprises!
In business, you must become uncomfortable to get comfortable. To truly grow your company, you must do things that feel uneasy. Maybe you need to take that step of investing in new equipment. Maybe you need to hire that design artist. Maybe you need to upgrade all your computers and software.
These can all be significant financial investments but they can in the coming months afterwards result in even more growth in profits. The problem is that when you think about what you are about to do, you get uncomfortable and that can make you hesitate. Hesitation can kill a business.
Francesco Molinari just won the Open in Golf. What did he do before the last round that set him on that path of success? He got uncomfortable! Read about what he did to get his mental game set for a stressful last but winning round.
The practice green on the final day of a major championship rarely evokes the pressure-cooker feeling that golfers face once their round begins. It’s a place to warm up and get a feel for the speed of the greens, free from worry about the cost of a miss.
But in the moments before his final round at Carnoustie on Sunday, Francesco Molinari gave himself a very particular test.
He challenged himself to make precisely eight 5-foot putts from various spots on the green in as few attempts as he could. That he required only nine tries was less important than the idea behind the exercise.
“Do you want to be comfortable or do you want to be ready?” said Molinari’s performance coach, Dave Alred. “They’re not necessarily the same.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-uncomfortable-practice-habits-of-a-champion-1532689201
After you read about how he prepared for his greatest victory in golf, think about how you can apply those mental exercises in your shop.
Get Uncomfortable to Be Comfortable and grow your business.
If you are looking to improve your profits, why not consider MUTOH AMERICAS ValueJet wide format printers. We make them for every industry with our offering of Dye-Sublimation, Eco-Solvent and UV-LED solutions. You won’t be uncomfortable for long!
Visit the mother ship to find out more about the entire line of wide format printers from MUTOH.
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Wide Format Printing? Think in Terms of Dog YearsYou’ve heard it I’m sure “Every year of a dogs life is like seven humans years.” That’s kind of how it feels to me when it comes to how fast technology is evolving in the wide format print business. Seems like every year that goes by there are leaps in technology.
But what do we mean by technology? The wide format printing industry is very broad and includes wide format printers, inks, media, finishing equipment and much more.
Seems like you buy a component and in the next year or two you are already behind in technology. But is that something to be concerned with? Not usually. I think most equipment is fine for a good 5 years. Remember, that’s like keeping it for 35 dog years! After that, yes it’s time to look for an upgrade.
Now some of you I have become acquainted with over the years, take great pride in keeping equipment and software as long as possible. I know a few of you that still love to run Windows XP or Vista and older software for instance. Well, okay, I certainly won’t stop you and you have the right to exercise your freedom of choice.
Me? I’m a technology freak. Over the decades of service to the sign & print market, I’ve seen how new technology helps shops to get faster and more efficient and most importantly to grow. However, as that technology is needed, your computer and Windows operating system must keep up.
If you are like me, you hate paying that insurance bill. Seems like you pay and pay and rarely if ever use it. The exception might be life insurance, since at some point we will all use that one. But we get insurance on our house, our car,and our health. That said, we simply know month to month that we need to budget some of our money for that cost.
If you are going to be keeping up with technology, it’s going to take some planning and it might feel a bit like insurance, but you’ll need to save a little of your profits each month to apply to upgrades when you need them. Like I said previously, that might not be for 3 years or so, and that can give you a great budget when you need to use it. Put away just $100 and month and you’d have $3600 for upgrades, $200 and you’d have $7600 in just 3 years!
Another way to budget monthly is to use subscriptions. I now it may feel like you don’t own a software using this method, but many times when a software company offers a subscription form of payment, they include all upgrades for free or at a very discounted rate.
One example of this system is FlexiSIGN & Print from SA International, www.thinksai.com. They offer the option of “buying” their software in two forms. You can purchase the software and then pay for upgrades. Buying it would cost yu between $3000-$4000, and upgrades can be $200-$700 or more depending on how long you wait. Hoever, if you subscribe to the software, you can get the highest level of it for about $50/mo. if paid yearly and they will give you the updates for “free”. The subscription is not such a big blow to your budget and of course can fee up money for other technology.
Adobe products also offer the subscription model, but there is no option, you MUST get it on the subscription bases.
As far as equipment, wide format printers, laminators, heat presses, etc. probably the wide format printer is the most rapidly changing piece. Today there are printers with Eco-Solvent inks, Latex, UV, and Dye-Sublimation as well as water based for direct to textile printing. The fastest growing market is in dye-sublimation and UV printing. Print equipment is getting both smaller and larger. In other words, you can get smaller format printers for the craft and specialty markets and larger for the more industrial applications.
First to the market, first generation printers typically have a premium price, because they satisfy a market demand. Second and third generation printers typically will have competitors and while they may be better than the first generation, they may also be less expensive in order to compete.
For instance, MUTOH is going to release its new PJ2508UF PerformanceJet 4×8 ft. UV-LED in September of 2018. One of the advantages to you is that others have already released similar technology but MUTOH has studied the issues from other machines as well as the market demands and therefore it’s release will have many improvements and advantages over competition at a cost savings to the buyer. Basically you get more for the money!
The MUTOH RJ900x has been wildly popular due to the low price for such a high quality dye-sublimation printer. The RJ-900X incorporates a new generation “Wide Model” print head (4 color sections, 360 nozzles/color), which will enable the highest resolution printing for Aqueous, 2880 dpi. The RJ-900X delivers superior line sharpness and photo quality with continuous tones, smooth transitions and a wide color gamut. Offering various print resolutions for different applications, the RJ-900X delivers a high speed 360 dpi printing 676 sq/ft/hr. The CMYK printer can be utilized with a variety of ink sets.
With the market headed toward more and more dye-sublimation for products, this may be a great choice for taking your shop to the next level of profits.
As you know, things change fast in this market. There are rumblings of better inks, faster wide format printers and even eCommerce solutions on the horizon. If you haven;t dome so, start that monthly saving for the updates and check back here for news on advances!
You may also want to read some great information about industry advances at these great site:
https://www.sgia.org/ Specialty Graphic Imaging Association
https://www.signs.org/ The International Sign Association
Grunge is a term used to indicate a slight form of wear and tear on an object. The effect if used in design should give the item a warns, old, torn sort of look. If clothes could rust, they would automatically be grunge, but instead fashion designers use other methods to make something grunge, like purposely putting holes in jeans. FlexiSIGN makes it easy to use this concept in your design.
In signage, the grunge look is popular and can easily be made in FlexiSIGN. In fact, the method that is described in this video lesson can be used for a number of great custom textures.
