Photo Blog: Pike Township Ambulance Wrap

Last week, much of Indiana shut down due to subzero temperatures and almost a foot of snow. Most counties posted a red Travel Advisory Alert, which limits travel to emergency vehicles. As we watched the local news, we saw road crews, utility personnel, and first responders working under nearly impossible conditions. The first responders included fire fighters coaxing frozen gear, equipment, and water supplies to save lives in our community, state, and across the nation despite the danger to themselves. We saw emergency personnel—EMT’s and ambulance drivers responding to the needs of others regardless of snow covered roadways and arctic conditions. We heard the behind the scenes team members answering phones, advising those in peril, and dispatching crews where they were most needed. And we saw the Pike Township Ambulance Wrap in action. We we’re awed and proud. The men and women who do this aren’t praised enough.

Pike Township Township Fire Department

The department is headquartered at located at 4881 W. 71^st St, Indianapolis. Besides emergency services, they offer many community initiatives such as fire prevention and safety education. Their mission is, “To safeguard our community through services designed to protect life and property.”

Have You Said Thank You?

TKO Graphix is privileged to work with emergency teams all over the state including the outstanding Pike Township Fire Department. Our hats go off to all of you and what you do. Because we don’t think it can be said enough—thank you. So, join us and take a minute or two today and show your appreciation for these remarkable public servants by saying thank you. So, like what you’re reading? Join us on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and let’s continue the conversation.

How Wall Graphics Create Workplace Excitement

This video shares how we helped PERQ create visual excitement in their workspace. They had the vision—we helped make it happen. With a vast amount of empty wall space, much of it concrete block, it was a golden opportunity to create something impactful.

How Can YOU Add Visual Excitement to Your Workspace?

Muhammad Yasin, PERQ Director of Marketing, advised to begin by asking, “What’s the culture of your company? What cultural characteristics do you promote and support?” In the video Muhammad goes on to outline how asking this question began the process for his team. PERQ identified four characteristics, which marketing design specialist Blake McCreary, with advice from TKO Graphix designer Alisha Nail, translated into visual excitement.

The Four Aspects of the PERQ Culture

Magnetism
Depicted on the rock concert wall. “People are drawn to self-confidence and enthusiasm.”

Competitive greatness
Shared on the basketball wall. “Sometimes your very best is required, and when those times come, those who are great really shine.”

Savvy
Shown on the library wall. “Marketing isn’t magic. There’s a lot numbers and science that go into ensuring a marketing plan is going to be successful.”

Grit
Portrayed on the rock climbing wall. “Perseverance pays off. We reach long term goals through resilience and a desire to achieve greatness.”

Determine the characteristics your culture represents then open up to the creative possibilities of the space you have available. PERQ’s wall space was an empty canvas waiting to be filled. So if you don’t think adding visual excitement makes a difference in the work atmosphere and environment—ask PERQ or better yet, stop and pay a visit. I think you’ll be excited by what you see.

If you’d like some ideas about how to add excitement to your workspace contact our wall graphics specialist, Azure Smith at (asmith@tkographix.com)

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Photo Blog: Liquid Transport Tanker Decals

Looking at the attention to detail of this application, how the decals fit the curves, the care taken around equipment. I can’t help but think about the many vehicle graphics I’ve seen that don’t live up to these standards. In vehicle graphics, you have to know what you’re doing to make it look easy. From making certain the materials are right for the job to knowing the tools needed for proper installation. It takes a lot to keep it simple.

The Lowest Price May Not be the Best Value

In business, we can all share stories of customers opting for something less than what they need. For example, there are hundreds of adhesive vinyls available, 3M offers over 100. But many are specialized for specific applications, which may not suit your needs. Opting for a cheaper material only to save money may cost more in the long run. The decals on the Liquid Transport vehicles were chosen to fit the needs of the customer and the application—not for price alone. If price was the primary consideration, less expensive materials, not manufactured to conform to the curvature of the tankers, might have been used. Using materials not designed to withstand the daily rigors of a transport tanker would’ve been a mistake—one that would reflect poorly on both provider and client. My father says, “Someone can always offer something cheaper by making it worse-er.”

Liquid Transport is an Indiana based company that has specialized in chemical transportation and distribution for over 75 years.

Applying graphics to a vehicle transporting chemicals calls for special consideration of materials. Take a lesson from this—when adding graphics to your vehicles be certain all your needs are being met. If you’ve thought about vehicle decals, wraps, or graphics removal let us know we’d be happy to sit down and figure out your best option.

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5 Easy Steps to Installing a Vehicle Decal

In this video, TKO Graphix installation manager, Bill Moss, shares step by step instructions on vehicle decal application. It shows Bill installing a Millennial Transport Services door decal on a tractor trailer, but the method will work on any vehicle in good condition with a flat surface area for the application.

The 5 Steps

1. Clean and dry the area using isopropyl alcohol and a clean, nonabrasive cloth.

2. Using a straight line as the starting point measure and position the decal then tack the corners.

3. Apply masking tape across the entire top of the decal then lift the decal and remove the backing.

4. Squeegee the decal beginning in the middle and working out.

5. Remove the pre-mask starting at the top and maintaining a 180 degree angle to avoid removing any part of the decal. After checking the decal for any bubbles or wrinkles, clean the surface.

There you have it, 5 easy steps to installing a brand new decal on your vehicle, if you have any questions, please contact us. Now go install that new decal—you got this.

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PERQ: Creating a Community Wall with Adhesive Vinyl Graphics

Is your organization committed to giving back to the community? If the answer is yes, do you recognize your team’s efforts and celebrate their accomplishments? PERQ does, and in more ways than one. PERQ contributes financially to local charities and encourages their team by allowing employees to volunteer during business hours. Their philosophy has always been that it’s their responsibility to support the community that helped them succeed. With that in mind, they wanted to encourage their staff and applaud their efforts with visual evidence—a community wall.

What is a Community Wall?

In its simplest form, it’s any space sharing the organizations charitable contributions both financial and volunteer. For PERQ, it meant taking their existing community board and expanding it to include an entire wall covered with images of their team in action supporting charitable events. The wall is a collage of photos with a large screen monitor looping the team in action sharing their most recent efforts. To stay on top of things, the adjoining wall acts as a calendar for upcoming actions.

How to Start a Community Wall

If you have the resources you can do what PERQ did, but keep in mind, they didn’t start there. You can begin much simpler and still be effective in sharing the message.

• Place a white board in a high traffic area, such as a break or lunch room, and announce charitable actions
• Use a bulletin board to post images of employees volunteering, flyers from charities, and thank you cards
• Create a simple video by asking employees to take a few seconds of video at events on their smart phones. Share the video on social media and monitors throughout your organization

If your culture is one of giving back, reinforce this charitable behavior by recognizing your team’s accomplishments. One way to do this is by creating a community wall for all to see, enjoy, and share in the pride of being part of a team who cares. How do you share your businesses charitable efforts?

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FAQ: What Graphics Are Best for One Time Events?

That’s a great question, and the answer is there are quite a few options depending on the event and your budget. Banners are a traditional low cost option for short term use, but there are other affordable ways to send a message with graphics. Instead of relying on traditional hanging banners, consider using a pop up display. There are lower cost pop up options durable enough for short term usage. Another consideration is—could the graphics be reused? For a conference this year we produced retractable banners and several larger banners, including a step and repeat, with only the events name. In the past, we had included the year of this annual event, but by leaving the date off they may be used year after year.

You Have Options

Decals using less expensive adhesive graphics manufactured to be easily removed are another option. Window clings are used by many retailers and add a nice affordable touch to any event. Magnetics may be placed on any flat metallic surface for varying lengths of time and can be especially cost effective if they may be reused. Floor graphics are a great way to capture someone’s attention and may cost less than you think. Materials such as Photo Tex, which are designed to be reused, are a practical alternative, as well.

Be Open to Change

One of the keys to designing engaging graphics for a one time event is staying open to new ideas. Just because a method is cheap, and it’s what you’ve always done, doesn’t mean there aren’t other low cost options. For example, you can add life to your event with pop-up displays, show some creativity with floor graphics, and dazzle your audience with imaginative window clings.

If you’d like some ideas on taking your one-time event to the next level, contact us we’d be happy to share ideas—this one time.

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HP Scitex FB700: Print Directly to Wood, Metal, or Plastic

Our new Hewlett Packard Scitex FB700 Printer can print on virtually any flat surface, rigid or flexible, including wood, metal, and plastic. This flatbed UV printer can accommodate substrates up to 2.5 inches thick, 98 inches wide, and 120 inches long. UV printers are digital printers that use acrylic inks exposed to ultra violet light to print directly to media. So—what do you want printed, your front entry door, ceiling tiles, or a two inch thick dimensional company logo?

It’s Adaptable to Many Applications

The HP Scitex FB700 is the state of the art in flat bed UV printers. Loading is improved with an onboard camera that shares the position of the material with the operator. An automatic alignment bar eliminates the need for masking and speeds up the positioning process. Unlike some printers, the 700’s automated service station maintains the print heads during operation reducing costly down time. Speed and DPI (dots per inch) can be adjusted to meet the price and quality needs of the consumer. A sign seen from 50 feet away may not require the highest density DPI, whereas your organizations lobby sign, one of the first things visitors notice, should be of the highest quality. You should have the choice; one size doesn’t fit all—the FB700 offers the options to do the job you need.

White Ink Option

What is a white ink option? Hewlett Packard shares, “This printer provides an easy, convenient white ink option. The process of adding or removing white ink is a simple one. And a unique HP White Ink Homogenizer maintains the stability of the white ink, preventing pigment sedimentation.” This process has many uses including the creation of beautiful images like the one to the left, which was printed all in white ink on a black substrate.

The versatility of the HP Scitex FB700 is a welcome addition to our complete accompaniment of digital and screen printers. If you have a flat surface you’d like to print directly to, as long as it fits the printer—the sky is the limit. Let’s see… we could print on cabinet doors, table tops, regular or oversized yard signs, wall dividers, billboards, magnets, signs, or? What do you want printed?

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Why Are We Showing You this BMW?

(click image for larger view)

This BMW is a great car. It’s a stylish high performance vehicle with the latest in creature comforts and amenities. Although the finish doesn’t look standard – It’s an excellent color choice for a unique ride. But what does all this have to do with TKO Graphix, vehicle wraps, and decals?

The Finish May Not be What You Think

This BMW isn’t what it may first look to be. It doesn’t look like a standard finish because it’s not. It’s not paint; it’s a wrap. The entire car was wrapped in a 3M series 1080 adhesive vinyl material. With 50 matte, gloss, carbon fiber, and brushed metal finishes to choose from, any vehicle can be transformed into something special. These materials may be used to wrap all or part of a vehicle, or combined to create a one of a kind show stopper.

You May Have Seen This Before

And we bet you’ll see more. We’ve previously shown a different photo of this matte black finished BWM, as well as this matte finish vinyl wrapped Mini Cooper, but we thought it was worth showing again. When you first looked at the photo above, did you wonder why we were showing it? Did you have any idea it was a vehicle wrap? When considering vehicle painting, or other special treatments, matte wraps should be part of the conversation.

As professional as the photo is, it can’t replace viewing a matte or carbon finished car in the wild. Seeing the light shimmer and move across the vehicle, how the color changes with perspective, and the way it seems to be shifting before your eyes can only be experienced up close and personal. If you’d like to explore a one of a kind wrap for your vehicle, we have plenty of ideas we’d love to share.

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FAQ: Can I Reuse My Banners?

Yes you can, and with a few simple precautions, they may be used repeatedly. There are varying levels of quality in banner material. If banners are to be re-used, a higher quality material should be chosen. The next consideration is where it will be used. If a banner is used outdoors and exposed to wind, temperature changes, moisture, and sun for the long term, it will wear sooner than one used indoors. After quality and exposure, the two biggest factors in a banner’s life and usefulness is how the banner is installed and stored.

Banner Installation
• Banners should be hung tightly with rope, bungee cords, or snap hooks.
• Strong, stable supports should be used to attach the ropes, such as fence posts or buildings.
• For larger banners, a guide wire is recommended.
• Ropes should be installed horizontally, not at an angle.
• Tension should be even on all corners to reduce flapping.
• Remove banners during extreme weather.
• It’s preferable to mount banners in areas protected from the sun and weather.

Banner Storage
• Before storing, clean the banner with soapy water (not recommended for paper banners).
• Thoroughly dry the banner.
• Lightly roll the banner with the printed side out.
• Store in a protected, cool, and dry area.
• When storing for extended periods, place banners in a box and mark the box.

Improperly hung banners may allow movement, which can and will damage banners. Flapping can harm adhesive vinyl graphics, causing them to become loose, wrinkled, or torn, and the banner material itself can rip, stretch, and tear. Likewise, improper storage can ruin a banner by permanently creasing the banner material, or damaging the applied graphics. With proper installation and storage, banners may be preserved and re-used. If you’d like to learn more about banners and their many uses, just drop us a line. Here’s some additional information about banners and other retail graphics.

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Case Study: Graphics Solution for Poor Color Match

The Challenge: TKO Graphix national account manager, Chase Yocom, visited Quest Global. They’re a refrigerated freight shipping company out of Cartersville, Georgia. Although they had a vehicle graphics provider, they were willing to keep an open mind to Chase’s standing offer of help. Not long after Chase’s visit, Quest experienced problems with their vehicle graphics and asked for his expert advice. Quest had two challenges with the graphics on their trucks. A recently wrapped vehicle was damaged, and the replacement graphics didn’t match the undamaged areas. The age and condition of graphics can make color matching difficult, but this wasn’t the case. Color matching can be a problem when digital printers aren’t regularly color calibrated. Quest was also dissatisfied with the “graininess” of the image.

The Solution: Chase inspected the repairs on the damaged vehicle and offered Quest one solution to both concerns—screen print. Even a Pantone color will drift on an improperly color coordinated digital printer, but mixing color for screen print is an accurate procedure. As for the graininess concern, screen print is not a collection of colored dots creating an image—it’s applied one solid color at a time with no pixelation.

The Result: Chase printed a test set using TKO Graphix’s large format screen process. Being an experienced installer, Chase joined the crew in Statesboro, Georgia for the initial installation. The outcome was nearly perfect—color matched screen printed graphics with solid images. TKO went on to the complete more than 80 refrigerated tractor trailers for Quest this year.

What are your vehicle graphics challenges? Our team of experts may have a solution to your problem. With our one stop approach, which includes in-house design, fabrication, and installation, we’re able to suggest remedies others may not offer. You can contact us (and Chase) at 1-888-544-8051.