Part 1 of 2
By Melissa Donovan
Digital Output’s bi-annual Application of the Year awards represents innovative projects completed by print service providers (PSPs). The August issue of the magazine dives into the first place winner, FASTSIGNS of DTC of Centennial, CO for its work at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater’s visitor center in CO. Chosen because of how versatile the project was in terms of application range, FASTSIGNS of DTC created 15 different types of signage from commemorative plaques and wall graphics to outdoor pylons and rotating artist posters.
With many PSPs submitting entries into the Application of the Year contest, it made sense to highlight the projects that earned second, third, and honorable mention as well.
Above: About 9,000 square feet of Drytac ReTac Textures—canvas finish—was printed using the GetWrapped’s HP Latex 800.
Impact for Art
Oshawa, ON, Canada-based GetWrapped was nominated for its work on the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit held at Pier 36 NYC, a 75,000 square foot waterfront space located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. What struck our judges as notable—and why it won second place—was the physical scope of the project. The total square footage of installed media equalled nearly 22,000 square feet of printed material.
In business since 1992, GetWrapped is no stranger to large projects. The company works out of a 6,000 square foot space designing, producing, and installing large format digital prints like event graphics, rebrands, vehicle and aircraft wraps, and XXL exterior graphics for most major event spaces in Toronto, corporate office spaces, and national programs. Supported by a full-time staff of 14, when needed it relies on Auto Trim Group, a national contractor network that comes in handy for jobs like the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit.
The company was commissioned by Starvox Entertainment to produce and install large format graphics for the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit, specifically the limited engagement in NY at Pier 36 NYC.
Initially, the request was for graphics applied on inside walls, build faces, and stairs as well as graphics applied to outside painted aluminum panels. About 9,000 square feet of Drytac ReTac Textures—canvas finish—was printed using the PSP’s HP Latex 800.
Then, about two-and-a-half weeks before the exhibit opened, Starvox asked if GetWrapped could design graphics and wrap an additional wall outside with a collage of Van Gogh self portraits. The goal, attract tourists and potential attendees traveling by boat in the East River.The 31 feet high by 400 feet long wall consists of brick, painted wood, glass, siding, and fiberglass.
“It was time prohibitive and too dangerous to map out all these sections made up of different materials and print on multiple vinyls, not to mention installation challenges. Our solution—one file, one print. While we were designing and producing, our install team wrapped unprinted base vinyl—Drytac Polar Grip—to the various surfaces, so we could wrap the entire wall with ReTac Textures, RIPped and printed as one continuous file spanning the entire 12,400 square foot surface,” explains Niek Ermes, owner, GetWrapped.
Expanding on the last minute idea, Starvox also requested glow in the dark graphics to draw extra attention at night. “There was no time to look for fluorescent ink sets so we had to switch to finding vinyl that could glow in the dark just unprinted. The winner was Drytac SpotOn White M50,” says Ermes.
Drytac SpotOn White M50 features a biochemical composition that makes it pop well under blacklight, so the GetWrapped team adjusted the design to include a lot of white, which gave SpotOn White a chance to literally shine.
To help GetWrapped meet the deadline, it utilized the Auto Trim Group network, with colleagues printing 13,267 square feet of Drytac SpotOn White using an EFI VUTEk GS3250, which eventually was installed on the flat metal surface portion of the riverside wall.
The client was pleased with the final result. The goal was to create impact and allow for potential attendees to see the graphics from across the river, enticing them to visit the exhibition. The NY event had the best attendance out of all of the U.S. cities that hosted the exhibit, so “mission accomplished,” quips Ermes.
Aug2026, Digital Output
