Creating a high impact graphic can be a challenge. How do you support the image, how do you produce the image, and most importantly, how do you ship something that BIG?

Almost all of today’s aluminum extrusion makers (Octanorm, AGAM, etc.) have a gasketed graphic retainer. This is a small groove in the extrusion that accepts a silicone rubber gasket. The gasket is sewn into the perimeter of a fabric graphic which can then be inserted into the extrusion retainer. Kind of like making a window screen, or for you old-timers, me included, like stretching a screen for screen printing.

The beauty to this system is that it breaks down for shipping, and your graphic ships folded in a small package vs rolled onto a long tube. “But it will wrinkle!” you say. All the fabrics used in this process must have a small amount of stretch to make the system work. Wrinkles, if any, will fall out in a few hours after installation.  The graphic shown here shipped folded in a box that was 24″x18″x18″. It took 2 men 1/2 hour to install it, and that was mostly being moved around, up and down on a forklift. (3 men if you count the forklift driver).

Don’t shy away from gigantic images and don’t think that printing on fabric is less than desirable. Fabric ROCKS! The advances in fabric printing have been outstanding. Look to your vendors for samples of the latest fabrics and printing techniques.

Happy graphicing!

This is what you get when you spend $40 on a banner stand. This after one use. The aluminum on this unit is so thin that I can twist the stand by holding each end. What has happened in this photo is the receptacle that holds the pole upright, is now bent out of shape. When placed into the hole, the pole now wobbles and the graphic will lean back too far. Spend your money wisely. Spending a little more up front will save you a lot in the future.

You can perform mathematical functions in the dialog boxes in Illustrator. For example, double click the Rectangle tool and when you enter your sizes you enter something like 41.5-12.125 and your rectangle will be 29.375. Add, subtract, multiple (use * not X) and divide with /. Enjoy!

When setting up your files for output, try to work 1:1. If you can’t, at least add a note in the margin or edge of the file stating the scale factor the file has been created in. For example, “This file is 1/2 actual size”. This will help us in determining the final output size more easily.