Trade Show Graphics - The Inside Scoop

Display graphics are graphic images used for illustration or "display" purposes. Display Graphics are usually printed on paper, vinyl or fabric using a "large format" printing device. Normally display graphics are over-sized graphics printed on paper or some other material, and then mounted or hung on a graphic display unit of some sort in a conspicuous place.

One-off display graphics are used in vinyl banners, trade show displays, or as backdrops for a convention, press conference, or special event such as an athletic event or tournament.

Multiple units of display graphic items are often required when a company has numerous sales outlets or franchises. In that case the producer of display graphics will produce a number of units such as posters, mounted displays, banner stands or vinyl banners so the company can mount a consistent promotional campaign.

**Indoor vs. Outdoor Applications

One of the most important distinction is between display graphics used for indoor displays and display graphics used for outdoor display purposes.

Indoor products are usually set up in trade shows, retail stores, malls, and conferences. Outdoor items are things such as vinyl banners, signage, adhesive vinyl used for vehicles or window graphics, large outdoor posters (usually printed on vinyl or fabric), and streetscape banners.

Outdoor items are exposed to the elements and require special inks in order to be UV resistant and waterproof. The usual procedure is to use special solvent inks that do not fade nearly as quickly in bright sunlight, and are also water resistant. Some suppliers attempt to "cheat" by laminating items printed with water-based inks, but this is not a satisfactory solution.

It is often desirable to use solvent based printing for some indoor items as well. For instance, banners that you expect to use a number of times will have to be rolled and unrolled, and water-based inks are much more likely to scratch and break down with this kind of handling. Or if you want to hang a banner across the front of your display table at a trade show it is likely to be bumped and have coffee spilled on it. The more durable you make it, the better.

**Artwork Considerations

Most experienced suppliers of display graphics will know exactly what kind of images and illustrations you should or should not use in your designs. Digital printing devices can print from photographs and illustrations, so you can include logos, maps, text or anything normally printable from a program like Quarkxpress, Illustrator, or Coreldraw.

One major consideration is the resolution of your original images. Offset printing (brochures and magazines) requires a resolution of up to 300 ppi (pixels per inch), but display graphics can be printed with resolutions as low as 50 ppi (pixels per inch). Keep this in mind when shooting your original photos. Make them as large as possible and you should not have any problem blowing them up for a banner, popup display or roadside sign.

Find a display graphics supplier who can advise you in simple, straightforward terms. If you have a bit of experience dealing with images and layouts, you will find that creating display graphics is relatively easy. One important thing when designing your display item is to keep your design simple, and focus on one or two main elements. Many suppliers, such as Canada Display Graphics will even make minor adjustments to your files for no extra charge.

Printing On The Dark Side: Four-Color Or Simulated Process?

Printing a full color image on a dark shirt is one of the hardest jobs a screen printer faces. Regular four-color process uses transparent inks: Cyan (sky blue), Magenta (hot pink), Yellow and Black) which print in various percentages, blending together to form a wide range of colors. While this process works beautifully on a white shirt, the results can be disappointing on dark shirts, requiring a white underbase and multiple passes of colors ending up with a thick ink layer and muddy color. While good four-color process can be done on a dark shirt, to do so takes a great deal of experimentation, time, and tweaking during the print run. But there is another way to achieve similar results much more easily.

Simulated process uses opaque inks and in more than just four colors, often between six and eight (usually White, Red, Yellow, Green, Dark Blue, Light Blue, Gray, and Purple). Simulated process colors are usually printed wet-on-wet, with few flashes (a drying process while the shirt is still on the press). For example, to create a flesh tone simulated process would use a mixture of tan, opaque yellow and possibly white. Since the colors are opaque, the dark background becomes a non-issue (or at least much less of one). And if individual, particular colors are needed (for example a exact shade of red for a business logo) they can be mixed to specification and individually printed.

So why would you want to use four-color process at all? When done correctly and successfully, it is the most accurate version of full color reproduction. And for shops with smaller presses with fewer heads available, the multiple colors required for simulated process may not be possible at all. Also for subtle, nuanced art with slight changes in tone, such as pastels, the bright, solid colors of simulated process do not work well.

While screen printing images on dark shirts may be difficult, the results can be amazing and are worth the time and effort involved regardless of which type of printing you use.