In Focus Vol. 3 No. 11

Decorative Advertising with LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth

In keeping with the spirit of the times, or at least these specific election-year times, the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (DCCA) held its annual fundraiser at its headquarters in Wilmington, Del., with the theme Vote Art: Express Yourself.

DCCA development committee chair Carson Zullinger – who runs his own photography and fine-art studio in Wilmington, Zullinger Studio – did just that with a giant banner backdrop that served as the focal point for the fundraiser.

Zullinger enlisted the creative genius of DCCA member Ken Mabrey to come up with the image that would be used for all of the event’s promotions, from invitations and the website to the backdrop signage at the event.

Initially, Zullinger didn’t have any real plan to include the image as part of the fundraiser signage, at least in a big, wide-format way. Since it was a costume party coinciding closely with Halloween, Zullinger was looking for fabric he could print for his costume.

Zullinger’s account specialist, Cody Scherer, sent some fabric samples his way, and Zullinger settled on LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth. Once he received the roll and did some test printing, it struck him that the material would make a perfect backdrop for the band that was playing at the event.

So Zullinger set about planning the setup and installation of the super-large version of Mabry’s signature image on the Water-Resistant Satin Cloth. Zullinger decided to print the full image in three 42-in. wide x 16-ft. long panels that would be installed Japanese-scroll style.

In other words, two poles (electrical conduit in this case) would run through top and bottom pole pockets Zullinger created by folding the ends over and taping them to the back of the material. Zullinger decided not to seam the three panels together, preferring instead to let them move in the breeze of the air conditioning.

Zullinger printed the images on his Epson 9800, choosing the Photo Black inkset over Matte Black. Typically, with Water-Resistant Satin Cloth, Matte Black is the best choice, but Zullinger says this particular image printed very well using Photo Black inks.

“It was easy; there were no glitches. I got the color saturation and contrast I was looking for from my test and just ran it one print after another. The only trick was getting the material loaded because of the suction of the machine, but I opened up the cover and adjusted it so it would run smoothly,” explains Zullinger. “It looked fantastic, and people were astonished by it at the event. And, we raised about $75,000-$80,000 for the organization, so it was a big deal.”