For our first Project of the Week post of 2017, we are reflecting on the past and looking ahead to the future! Our shop saw a lot of change in 2016: rearranged desks, vinyl covered walls, new equipment, and branding adventures around the country (#WhereIsLeeRoy?). Everything that we did opened us up for new opportunities and more creative capabilities for our customers and business partners. 

One of our biggest additions, and the primary reason for our office redesign, is our new Vanguard VR5D flatbed UV digital printer. It's no ordinary printer, and it didn't arrive in a cardboard box. It's big. It's powerful. (It's somewhat noisy.)  

This special delivery arrived in August 2016!

We get a lot of requests for custom yard signs, especially during graduation time and for area golf tournaments and fundraisers. With our new flatbed printer, we can fabricate high quality, double-sided, full-color yard signs from 3mm corrugated plastic sheets. Usually, we print on white coroplast, but we are not limited to just white. Since our Vanguard VR5D uses a CMYK plus white ink system, our capabilities are endless.

Sponsor logos really pop on these yard signs for a local golf tournament.

Window decals and graphics are popular with many of our customers, and the VR5D allows us to create high quality prints for most occasions. For one customer, we created 10" x 9" window seal decals, using the customer's provided art. We printed the seals in reverse on clear vinyl with a removable adhesive made for glass surfaces.

 The VR5D uses air assisted media alignment to make sure that the material stays in place while printing. (It's kind of like an air hockey table...but better.) 

Acrylic in varying thicknesses can be transformed into signs, plaques, and other creative displays. Once the graphics are printed onto the acrylic, the material can be custom cut with our in-house laser into any desired shape.

This project was printed second surface on 1/4" thick clear acrylic. With a max media thickness of four inches, our material options are quite vast. Although we haven't tried all of these, VR5D owners have printed on leather, rubber, stone, brick, and more. We've got some fun ahead of us!

A sheet of 1/2" thick black PVC was digitally printed on our VR5D, and each image was router cut.

We fabricate a lot of signage for area businesses, including real estate agents, construction companies, contractors, and departments within our county offices. Quite often, the signs are fabricated out of aluminum composite panels (ACP) that have aluminum faces with solid plastic cores. The ACP panels are durable and sturdy for outdoor signage that will be moved around exposed to all types of weather.

We printed 12 of these 4' x 4' signs on 1/8" thick ivory ACP panels. 

We can do more than just signage! We've been branching out and trying new things on the VR5D. One project involved custom cornhole boards. We printed the custom design on two unfinished cornhole boards. (Remember, the printer has a max media thickness of four inches!) After a few layers of a top coat, these boards were ready for action, and they were a Christmas favorite!  

The VR5D in action. The wood grain really added a rustic and unique touch to this custom gift.

If it's possible, we are willing to try it! We've even been known to try the impossible. If you have a project in mind, contact us to see how we can help! We are entering this New Year with lots of ideas and anticipation for new relationships and exciting projects. You can reach us at (615) 595-6564 or by clicking on the link below.

We serve all of Middle Tennessee, including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Spring Hill, Murfreesboro, and beyond! We also ship nationwide.