PUBLICATION CENTER

A big part of McDaniel's wide-format success has been in finding additional applications and profit centers for his Canon iPF5000 and iPF8000 printers. One recent application is a need many small business owners have for relatively inexpensive, changeable signs.

Because of McDaniel's abilities as a photographer, color expert, and artist, he is able to offer alternative advertising products that exceed the print quality small business owners would be able to get elsewhere.

McDaniel has devised a post-and-panel sign system that he's currently using for the studio's main identity sign. The components, which are basically two plastic fence posts and a plastic panel that can be secured between the posts and easily swapped in and out of the posts, are readily available at home improvement stores like Lowe's.

The graphics are printed on LexJet Extreme AquaVinyl, which provides about a year of outdoor durability. The vinyl is self-adhesive and applies easily to the plastic blank.

"The goal is to be able to swap the signs out whenever you feel like it. Initially, we printed and installed our primary sign, and when people became acclimated to that message, we would go out on a monthly or bi-monthly basis and slide in a new one. It becomes a mini-billboard, and every 30 days because of the inexpensive nature of the material we're printing on, we can change the sign. People get so used to seeing something that they just blank it out after awhile, so you have to make it fresh and exciting," says McDaniel. "You have about a year of durability with the material, but the key to it, just like any other industry, is to get people used to the idea of switching it out regularly so that you're pushing more product out the door."