PUBLICATION CENTER

The in-house printing department at Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Stores, a family owned and operated company with headquarters in Oklahoma City, finds a great low-tack solution for its window graphics.

With 276 stores in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas, Braum's is a Southern staple in cities and small towns throughout the region. Known primarily for the homemade taste of its ice cream, Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Stores also serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and provides fresh groceries in its Fresh Market, including fresh-from-the-farm dairy, bakery, meats, produce, and more.

This winning and delicious combination requires graphics that correctly convey the goods inside to the passersby outside. Toward that end, Braum's relies on its in-house printing department.

Rick Stafford, Assistant Print Shop Manager, has been with Braum's for the past 17 years, which was when Braum's began printing in-house. The print shop has an HP 5500, a ColorSpan 72UVR flatbed UV-curable printer, ColorSpan DisplayMakers, and two GBC laminators.

Stafford says that since the addition of the UV-curable printer, most of the shop's production has gone to UV-curable, though most of the backlits are produced with the HP 5500. The print shop also has a screen-printing press for longer runs and to lay down a layer of white or a clear coat on digitally-printed graphics when it's needed.

For instance, Braum's prints window graphics on FLEXmark V 400 H Clear V-327 Low Tack Vinyl for Window Advertising, and coats out white around the picture with the screen press, instead of die-cutting around the image.

Stafford says that Braum’s is using the low-tack clear vinyl as a substitute for static cling since it strikes the right balance between durability and removability for short-term promotions.

"For the window murals we're doing, we're extremely happy with the FLEXcon material we're using on the UVR. It looks great out there and enhances the stores quite a bit," says Stafford. Specific profiles for the material are available at LexJet's website.

Stafford says they usually print the graphics in two pieces since many of the windows have panes that separate the graphics. The graphics are positioned with soapy water, which makes them "fog up" a bit at first, but clear up quickly.

Other applications for the print shop’s 72 UVR include direct printing on cardboard window posters, and on double-sided white card stock. The screen press also comes in handy for these applications, as it allows them to screen a coat of clear gloss so that the colors shine and pop.