By Olivia Cahoon
Part 1 of 2
The latest digital presses create quality applications from annual reports, mailers, labels, and table cards to retail displays. Today’s digitally printable compatible substrates allow print providers to expand their offerings.
Part one of this two-part series profiles Bennett Graphics, a Tucker, GA-based print provider that has grown its business from a small niche to a one-stop shop. We spotlight its foray into wide format printing, especially point of purchase (POP) work and a unique job for a local museum.
Established in 1969, Bennett Graphics offers a range of applications, including annual reports, business pitch documents, collateral, dimensional mailers, direct mail, fundraising materials, labels and packaging, point of purchase, and wide format graphics.
The shop started with four family members in a residential garage, offering only one- and two-color printing. Today, the print provider has 63 employees stationed in a 60,000-square foot facility, serving national and international clients.
The company’s facilities include a customer resource center with materials for planning. The center features dry erase walls for brainstorming and a client idea gallery decorated with window graphics, wall graphics, clings, and exterior signage.
For digital applications, Bennett Graphics’ equipment portfolio includes an HP Indigo WS6800, 7800, and 10000; an HP Scitex FB700; and an HP latex printer.
POP Focused
Since 2013, Bennett Graphics has excelled at POP applications, adding them to its service offerings after hiring a sales manager with 40 years of POP experience.
Bill Gillespie, VP, sales, Bennett Graphics, believes that this application is popular because it suits many types of clients, including c-stores, flooring mills, hospitality, medical practices, restaurants, sales, and school campuses.
Gillespie says the most important factor regarding POP applications is media. “Substrates are where the intellect lies in POP,” he says. Print providers should consider durability for these types of applications, as they need to withstand up-close and personal human traffic.
While Bennett Graphics is vendor-agnostic when it comes to media, Gillespie offers the example of one POP product they look to, Neenah’s Endura. It is a bright white premium cellulose-based wet strength durable print media. It is saturated with latex for indoor and temporary outdoor durability. The media folds without cracking and is tear-resistant and flexible. The Endura Satin-TR material is a 10 pt non-woven print material intended for retractable banners, POP displays, and posters.
“The application has everything to do with what we select—interior, exterior, walls, floors, free standing, windows, high traffic, low traffic, freezer safe, refrigeration tolerant, and moisture tolerant,” says Gillespie.
Atlanta History Center
Bennett Graphics produces a range of applications for retail settings, but its capabilities aren’t limited in commerce. The company recently created a large job for a local historical center.
Atlanta History Center approached Bennett Graphics with its plans to decorate the interior and exterior of its building. Founded in 1926 as the Atlanta Historical Society, the Atlanta History Center celebrates early stories of Atlanta with a mission to preserve its history.
The center features exhibits surrounding Southern history including folk art, Bobby Jones, and the American Civil War. In addition to creating signage for the museum’s interior and exterior walls, the job included hanging banners and removable signs and posters.
The shop chose multiple media selections for the historical center. The outdoor banners included logos reading, History Happens Here. Inside, vinyl lettering wall decals lined the walls with exhibit information and welcome messages.
Bennett Graphics used HP UV and latex printers to produce the signage. “The exterior is probably the most impressive portion from a technical perspective,” admits Gillespie.
The job took ten days from submittal to installation. It was completed on time and Gillespie says the client was thrilled.
Quality Prints
Print providers like Bennett Graphics offer a range of applications to clients. From its expertise in POP to its detailed work for local clients like the Atlanta Historical Society, its lineup of digital printing equipment supports new customer demands.
Next week, we look at another print provider that offers wide format printing services.
Click here to read part two of this exclusive online series, Print for the Kids.
Jul2017, Digital Output
