Demanding schedules are often the norm for large scale graphic projects.  San Bernardino County with more than 20 of its departments staged a resource fair at Victoria Gardens.  The one day event took place on the main street and throughout the Gardens leading up the cultural center.

A Variety of materials and formats were required, from direct printed Sintra, Mesh backdrops and sunshades, to double face vinyl on pole banners. All the completed prints were delivered just in time for the county installers to assemble the event structures the evening preceding the weekday event.

Close coordination between Hector Rosado the B3DigiGrafx Account Executive responsible for the project and the San Bernardino county representatives made for a successful installation.  All the materials and prints were done in-house taking advantage of the extensive capabilities of B3DigiGrafx.

Visit our Applications Gallery to stimulate your imagination, or stop by our Rancho Cucamonga facility on Lion street for a tour. We have a number of customer service personal who can help you with your large Format Print needs, or just learn more about the process.  Give us a call 800-624-1691 we look forward to seeing you here.

High speed as well as quality print pays off when you need large format step and repeat banners on the evening of your event. The Nur Fresco solvent ink jet printer makes large jobs both fast and affordable, meeting the craziest schedule for event organizers.

Successful trade show and charity events rely on a special relationship between the print supplier, and an event organizer. Sponsorships for an event are solicited from prospective donors until the day of the event.  Some sponsors may not come on board until after the event has started.  B3DigiGrafx has been working with trade show exhibit builders and special event coordinators for years.  Your account executive supported by our customer service representatives, will shepherd your work through from artwork to delivery. You can rely on them to see that your presentation is everything you hope for your sponsors.

Step and repeat signage is not limited to vinyl or fabric materials. With the 6’ x 10’ flatbed print capability almost any material including doors and barrier panels, serve to promote your image.  Here special attention was given to sponsors on barrier panels printed on MDF (medium density fiberboard). The panels are mounted in Testrite Mightee Mount steel bases, reusable mounts for free standing graphic panels.  Rigid materials as thick as 2 inches can be printed, even irregular surfaces like paneled doors.

The VAF Classic will be seen by thousands of television viewers around the world. Having sponsor brands recognized prominently and clearly in the photo and camera work is imperative for the events success. Collaboration between the print supplier and your event coordinator pays dividends when quality backdrops fill camera frames.

B3DigiGrafx continues to offer its customers the highest quality print products with its conformance to 3M stringent standards.

• The Certificate of 3M™ MCS™ Warranty affirms that 3M will  stand behind graphics made with 3M products and processes–a promise that extends to us, the graphic manufacturer, and our customers.
• The Certificate of 3M™ MCS™ Warranty demonstrates our commitment to providing you with quality 3M graphics that stand the test of time.
• The Certificate of 3M™ MCS™ Warranty provides assurance that we can offer you a comprehensive, preferred warranty solution for finished graphics.
• The 3M™ MCS™ Warranty set the industry standard more than 20 years ago and is still solid gold. It covers finished graphics using products designed and tested for optimal compatibility and performance for jobs that demand the very best.
• As a graphics manufacturer, we are proud to be certified by 3M as being able to offer the 3M™ MCS™ Warranty on finished graphics that meet their exacting requirements. While this Certificate is not required by 3M, it does demonstrate our commitment to excellence, and helps give you greater peace of mind. We can supply you with a copy of the Certificate, or you can go to www.3mgraphics.com/WarrantyRegistration and enter our serial number to download or print a copy of our current Certificate.
• As a graphics manufacturer, we are proud to be certified by 3M as being able to offer the 3M™ MCS™ Warranty on finished graphics that meet their exacting requirements. While this Certificate is not required by 3M, it does demonstrate our commitment to excellence, and helps give you greater peace of mind. We can supply you with a copy of the Certificate, or you can go to http://www.3mgraphics.com/WarrantyRegistration and enter our serial number to download or print a copy of our current Certificate.

The ink systems used by ink jet printers along with the different substrates produce different results from the same design files. B3DigiGrafx prints individual color charts encoded with a reference number for each of its printer ink systems, on every material substrate offered. The color matching charts represent the result achieved for the full range of colors in the Pantone Color matching system.

Now take the case of Ralph Kramden. After sending his designer “Alice” to the moon (To the Moon Alice), Ralph was introduced to color printing. Fortunately Alice brought her Pantone CMYK color book with her to the moon.  Alice while there designed a new logo for Ralph’s lodge and wants the color she sees on her proof printer to be matched by B3DigiGrafx back on earth.  Alice takes the Pantone book and finds that the red 185 matches her example.

Ralph takes her design to the B3DigiGrafx for printing and specifies that the logo be PMS 185.  The B3 color chart for the material and print system to be used is compared to another identical Pantone reference book.  Our print operator selects the best match between the Pantone book and the printed sample on our color chart.  That code is used to produce as close a match to Alice’s 185 red as can be produced on the printer and material used.

The common reference Alice has on the moon, with B3Difgigrafx on earth enables them to communicate enough information to achieve the color desired.  Alice will never see the printed result but she can be confident that the result will closely match her intent whatever material or printer combination B3DigiGrafx has used.

For more in depth exploration follow this link to the Pantone Color Matching System (PMS).

Two elements together in POP display that really Pop! Wood and White Ink, bright rich color printed directly on wood.

When you want to upscale your POP display or branding in general, consider natural materials like wood and glass.  Direct printing with white ink backgrounds will make your project stand out from ordinary print jobs.

Large format printing has been in the exclusive realm for white substrates, where all the color and black in an image is provided by the CYMK process.  These inks are translucent and rely on the white substrate for brightness.

The attraction of printing on rich natural textures for POP displays kept B3DigiGrafx hunting for a method to print rich color directly on wood.  Until white became practical, direct printing on wood was limited to muted color and highlights were out of the question.

You can illustrate the effect of white ink printed backgrounds with your inkjet printed and ordinary transparent velum.  Print your color image on the velum and then place the velum on a white background. Compare the velum image with and without the background.  The brighter the background white the brighter the color image.

Without white ink, printing on wood for decorative effects such as wall coverings and artistic images was commonplace. POP displays call for more robust imaging.  POP on wood is seen closely by the viewer, more so than decorative elements.  Direct printing on natural material like wood and leather for POP displays present richer, more durable images than applied vinyl.  White ink in the process makes bright rich color imaging possible on wood substrates.

Transparent materials, glass, polycarbonate (Lexan), and acrylics lend themselves to full color imaging with the addition of white ink. Highlights and bright colors are now possible with the addition of white printed backgrounds.

Until a few short years ago printing white was not practical with ink jet printers. No point going to the gory details of inks and why white was such a problem, but if you really want to know you can read this white ink US Patent 6989054.

The Huntington, in partnership with the Gamble House, USC, presents the most comprehensive exhibition ever undertaken on the work of Arts and Crafts legends Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene—the first such exhibition to travel outside of California.

B3DigiGrafx Museum Exhibit in Smithsonian from Pasadena CA

Kelly Sutherlin McLeod the principal of KSM contacted B3digiGrafx to provide graphics that would meet the strict requirements of the Huntington.  The graphic wall panels were to fit into the gallery space in Pasadena CA. without permeate fitting to the wall. The entire exhibit was designed to move to additional galleries with its final site in the Smithsonian.  Given the movable requirement along with budget constraints direct printing on styrene panels was the B3 solution.

Several 4’ x 8’ Sintra were printed on our flatbed HP FB6100 (Tempo) high resolution printer.

Panels were fitted to the museum gallery wall completing the “blueprint” effect desired by the exhibit designers. B3’s large format flatbed capability was critical in meeting all the demands of the project.

Similar to a large scale puzzle built to scale matching the interior architecture and the repositionable function to move these wall pieces to additional locations.

This exhibit was located in the Bandini Gallery. The exhibit featured architecture in the Los Angeles area. Kevin Murphy , Jessica Smith, Elizabeth Clingerman of The Huntington and Kelly Sutherlin McLeod of KSM Architecture were the inspiration behind the project.

After the successful completion of this exhibit, it was then moved to the Smithsonian Museum.

If you’re designing banners, or more complex projects you can take advantage of this free software from Opensorce.org

B3 just added some new personal and needed to have access to design files.  There were also some simple design projects where we needed a vector graphics editor.  The standard graphics editor in our industry is Adobe Illustrator, a powerful full featured product.  The problem we encounter is many users need some of the basic features of AI but do not justify the expense of additional licenses.  The solution can be an Open Source program called InkScape .

InkScape is an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format.

Many will find the program familiar and easy to use.

There are extensive help and tutorial resources available, also free of charge.

Screencasters.Heathenx can get you started quickly with video tutorials along with links to other resources on the web.

Inkscape is not a complete substitute for having the latest applications in a prepress operation.  What it can do is save you a lot of money in tough times while extending capabilities to many more on your staff. The program works on Microsoft XP, Mac OS and Linux.  I have only used the program running on Win-XP where it works just fine.

The only problem I have encountered in viewing some EPS files, where the accompanying AI file worked just file. InkScape can import AI, SVG, and PDF files. There are extensions available for a number of other formats including EPS.

Digitally printed on polyester fabrics, and then hand cut and sewn to a near invisible mesh, the effect of streamers and confetti was realized.

As you see almost any project you can imagine may find a solution in our fabrication department.

In this example one of the frames was for an exhibit was built to print.

The most complex section was delivered to B3Digigrafx for precise fitting. High resolution graphics were printed on fabric sections and sewn together using integrated zippers to join the elements and completely enclose the structure.

The finished structure is easily disassembled and shipped to the exhibition without the risk of damage to rigid panels that often occurs.

The printed fabrics are removed for shipment protecting the visual elements until show time.

This exhibit is the handiwork of Soest & Associates of Riverside CA.

Grand Format Printing wall mural

Here you see a 16 foot x 60 foot vinyl banner printed as a single unit on one of our 16 foot machines. The backdrop was used in the 2000 Olympic coverage. Printing at resolutions up to 720 dpi for applications where close viewing is in order. This vinyl banner has remained brilliant in appearance for almost 10 years.

Large format printing makes high definition custom graphic images practical for indoor and outdoor application. Museum quality presentations are now affordable for any graphic presentation.

Grand Format Banner Printing

Grand format banner installed on a building make great use of the space for messaging. The 30 foot x 60 foot banner is constructed with one sewn seam and coated with a UV inhibitor.

Wall coverings are now High Definition murals using 3M Controltac Films. The film is easy to install without added adhesives and can be removed cleanly. Grand format printing can turn your wall space into a story board for you message.

For additional examples of B3 applications visit our Gallery here:

Some Grand and Large format applications previously printed and mounted can now be printed directly on a flat bed printer. This process will accommodate irregular surfaces as illustrated on this Spiderman image directly printed on a paneled door.

Direct printing on a panneled door

One of our favorites is this ceiling tile print made on our 6 foot by 10 foot flatbed printer.

There is a complete listing of the equipment available at B3DigiGrafx here: