Expand Vol. 3 No. 11

Stretching the Sign Limits at Illinois State

Mike Gross has been working at Illinois State University for almost nine years, and has been running the university’s full-fledged sign shop for the past five. What began with a small vinyl cutter has turned into a full-fledged wide-format print shop, and one which pushes the boundaries of materials and applications.

Recently, for instance, Gross, who’s the retail services manager for the university, decorated a Corvette with the school’s colors and mascot using an adhesive-back fabric, Photo Tex PSA Fabric – Solvent Printers.

At first blush, this may seem like an unlikely use for a material that’s typically used for repositionable die-cut wall murals, but Gross wanted it to remove quickly, easily, and cleanly.

Plus, it wasn’t a full wrap and would only tag along on the sides and hood of the car for a few days.

“Photo Tex is real easy and simple to work with. We printed on a regular Roland setting of LBV, which is the lightweight banner material setting, and it printed perfectly. Plus, the cost of it, which is a big deal here since we’re going direct to the university is one of the reasons I went with Photo Tex for this application. I want something with great print quality, but I need something economical because I sell to student and university groups that don’t have big department budgets,” says Gross.

“You have to be careful about how and where you apply Photo Tex on a vehicle, because it doesn’t stretch like cast vinyl. The hood is arced, so we had to do some clipping to get it on the hood properly, but other than that it installed easily enough. It was on the car for two days, then they removed it and stuck it up in the copy room,” adds Gross.

Beyond the usual flow of special event and promotional banners that are printed and then installed across campus, Gross has been experimenting with privacy window films and other specialty materials. These “experimental” applications pay off because they draw attention to the print shops, creating demand throughout the university.

The library, for instance, sits on multiple floors, which are all encased in glass. One area in particular was a bit of a sore spot, so to speak, because it’s a storage area and students were constantly trying to get in thinking it was an open access point.

So, Gross installed a 60-foot long swath of LexJet Glacier Window Film to provide opacity and decoration to that wing of the library.

“We also used the window film for our front door and have installed the LexJet Rice Paper Window Film as well. Because of these projects, we’ve received numerous comments from people who wanted to know how we created that effect,” says Gross. It’s simple to apply; it’s not difficult at all. Each semester the library wants to decorate another level, so for the next one they want to use FLEXcon’s perforated window film.”

Gross also plans to produce more décor-like work to give parts of the university a classy hotel feel with items like canvas gallery wraps created with Hahnemuhle’s new Gallerie Wrap System.

The shop also has a vinyl cutter and a laser engraver. Gross says the laser engraver personalizes awards, trophies, glasswear, plaques, pens, picture frames, golf divot tools, and just about any other material or promotional product that can be engraved.