Soft signage, hard profits

The sign and graphics industry continues to be digitized, yielding improvements in speed, quality, price, performance and substrate versatility. One of the most exciting opportunities to arise from this ‘digital transformation’ is the ability to print on a wide array of textiles, either directly or through a transfer-paper process.

+ Read More

Setting standards for colour accuracy and ink consumption

Wide-format digital inkjet printers are a new replacement technology for older, analogue screenprinting. There has been a strong pattern of market demand, adoption and implementation of both flatbed and roll-to-roll models, and the technology is already being used for all mainstream signage applications, such as point-of-purchase (POP) displays.

+ Read More

Expanding the glass canvas

In the past, when architects wanted to add printed design elements to the glass ‘skin’ of a building, they were limited to one- or two-colour screenprinting or digital printing technologies with difficult organic-based inks.

+ Read More

The Bear Facts: Interpreting pandas

In May, the Toronto Zoo unveiled its newest guests, Er Shun and Da Mao, two giant pandas on loan from China. As part of a long-term conservation agreement, the breeding pair (female and male, respectively) will be hosted in Toronto for at least five years.

+ Read More

Routers: Expanding business with a CNC machine

Many signmakers find themselves contemplating the purchase of a computer numerical control (CNC) router for their business, but feel too unsure to make a decision. It is time for them to ‘pull the trigger,’ as CNC routers have proven themselves a relevant piece of equipment in sign shops everywhere.

+ Read More

Last Impression: Worth the wait

Public-facing facilities are an opportunity to combine architecture and signage for multiple purposes. When the new MacNab Street Transit Terminal opened in 2011 in downtown Hamilton, for example, it represented more than an upgrade to the city’s public transit infrastructure by replacing an older building.

+ Read More