OEM Archives - Modernistic

The Beginner’s Guide to Floor Graphics

March 7, 2023 by cole

Welcome to the wonderful world of custom floor graphics. Floor graphics are a unique and effective way to enhance your brand visibility and engage with your audience. We have been assisting big brands with making powerful floor graphics for over 40 years, but there are some nuances to putting printed media on the floor. Let’s break it down.

1. What Are Floor Graphics?

Floor graphics are a specialized form of printed media that are meant to be stepped on. They are most commonly used to direct foot traffic, promote products or services, convey safety messages, provide instructional information, or simply enhance the visual appeal of a space. They are designed to withstand heavy foot traffic and resist damage from spills, dirt, and other environmental factors.

2. Advantages Of Floor Graphics

Advantage 1: Increase in consumer retention rate
Apart from looking cool, a study by 3M found that floor graphics have a 5% higher retention rate than other types of advertising, such as aisle violators or standoffs.
Advantage 2: Added engagement
According to a study conducted by the Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI), 70% of buying decisions are made in-store, and 30% of shoppers are more likely to purchase a product when it is advertised with floor graphics.
Advantage 3: Proven to reduce accidents
A study done by the UK government found that floor graphics can reduce the risk of accidents up to 90%. This study even helped the University of Warwick implement floor graphics to help reduce the spread of infectious diseases in hospitals by reminding staff and visitors to follow proper hand hygiene practices.
Advantage 4: Differentiation from the competition
The majority of print media is not found on the floor. This inherently creates an opportunity for dramatic distinction from the competition, regardless of the market saturation.

3. Types of Floor Graphics

Since there are new, innovative substrates developed every day, we categorize our floor graphics by purpose. Generally speaking, there are 4 distinct categories based on the purpose: promotional floor graphics, safety floor graphics, wayfinding and informational floor graphics, branding and decor floor graphics, or some combination of these

Promotional Floor Graphics
These are the most common floor graphics. Promotional floor graphics are printed onto vinyl or other durable materials and placed on the floors of commercial or public spaces to advertise a product, service, event or brand.

Safety Floor Graphics
Instead of promoting a product to increase sales, these graphics are designed to increase the safety of the environment. They can be printed on anti-slip materials or other durable materials, and placed on the floors of industrial or commercial spaces, even vehicles, to enhance awareness of potential dangers.

Wayfinding & Information Floor Graphics
Wayfinding floor graphics are visual cues, usually in the form of markings or signage, placed on floors to guide people through a particular space. In addition to improving user experience, these graphics can also be used to highlight important information or messages, such as social distancing reminders, safety instructions, or promotional offers.

Branding & Decor Floor Graphics
Want to promote your brand or elevate an environment? Decor floor graphics are decorative graphics applied to floors in commercial or residential settings to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the space.

Hybrid Floor Graphics
Hybrid floor graphics are a combination of different kinds of floor graphics. You don’t have to be stuck using one or the other type of floor graphic. For example in the picture below the client used wayfinding signage to also enhance their brand experience.

4. Applications / Examples

Due to Modernistic’s comprehensive all-in-house manufacturing capabilities, we are well positioned to print a wide variety of products – including floor graphics! Typical settings include retail stores, airports, grocery stores, gas stations, hospitals, schools, sports facilities, and vehicles.

Indoor Floor Graphics
These can be long-term or short-term, but the sole purpose is that they are meant for indoor spaces. Indoor floor graphics tend to be more cost-effective because they do not need extra print finishes, extreme adhesives, or special materials to hold up against the weather.

Outdoor Floor Graphics
Outdoor floor graphics can stand up to demanding use and environments. These are far more durable than indoor floor graphics but require more expensive substrates to handle outdoor challenges.

Short-Term Floor Graphics
Short-term floor graphics are meant to be removed within a couple of months and are typically cost-effective.

Long-Term Floor Graphics
Floor graphics won’t last forever but there are methods and materials utilized to provide a longer life.

Vehicle Floor Graphics
Vehicle floor graphics are often printed on an anti-slip material which helps the operator keep their balance.

Anti-Slip Graphics
Custom anti-slip graphics are an effective prevention aid in the dangerous world of slips and falls. These can be tailored for any size, shape, durability, or color (even luminescent and transparent) Learn more here.

Stair Graphics
Stair floor graphics are printed graphics that are applied onto the treads (horizontal part) or risers (vertical part) of a staircase to create an eye-catching and unique look. These are becoming increasingly popular, as they are hard to miss during the shopping experience, fairly cost-effective, and are typically free promotional real estate.

Display + Floor Graphics
Incorporating floor graphics into your promotional display can be a powerful way to enhance its impact and engage customers in a unique and memorable way.

Interactive Floor Graphics
Want more customer engagement? Give them a tactile objective within a floor graphic. In the example below, a remote is underneath a floor decal that triggers a display model.

3D Floor Graphics
While not actually 3 dimensional, 3D floor graphics give the illusion through effective angles in the design phase. Just another trick up our sleeve to capture the attention of a customer.

Standard Floor Decals
Standard floor decals are extremely versatile and effective. They get the job done and the only limitation is the imagination.

Custom Anti-Fatigue Floor Mats
Custom anti-fatigue mats are specialized printed floor mats (no adhesive) designed to reduce fatigue and discomfort for people who stand for extended periods of time (while also promoting your brand or product).

Custom Floor Mats
Custom printed floor mats are non-adhesive backed floor graphics. Typically printed on rubber or nylon these can be used for a variety of purposes, including promoting a brand or product, providing directional information, displaying safety warnings, and adding decorative accents to a space.

5. Facts

In a study conducted by Sign Research Foundation, researchers found that floor graphics can increase brand awareness by up to 64%.
According to a study by 3M, 96% of respondents said that floor graphics were more eye-catching than other types of advertising.
In a study conducted by the Department of Psychology at the University of California, researchers found that people are more likely to pay attention to floor graphics than other types of advertising, such as posters or banners.
A study by the University of San Diego found that floor graphics can increase sales by up to 20% in retail stores.
According to a study by Nielsen, 72% of shoppers said that they noticed floor graphics, and 80% said that they found them helpful in making purchasing decisions.
In a survey conducted by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, 82% of respondents said that they have entered a store or business because of an outdoor sign or graphic, including floor graphics.

Grow your company’s revenue while personally enhancing your career! Floor graphics are awesome, but they take more than good artwork or a well-structured design to entice a consumer to buy a product. It’s a balanced recipe of great design, affordable manufacturing cost, clever placement, and judicious use of resources. Stay tuned for next month’s knowledge drop to learn more!

On the other hand, if you can’t wait or want to cure your floor graphic issues RIGHT NOW – click here, and we’ll talk today!

10 Tips To Save Money When Buying Fleet Graphics

January 6, 2023 by cole

Fleet graphics are inherently one of the most cost-effective forms of advertising, passively driving your message home to millions while you transfer goods.

64% of US drivers notice vehicle graphics
– Nielsen Out of Home Advertising Study 2019
One Truck With Fleet Graphics generates an average of 30,000-70,000 impressions per day (10-14 million per year)
– “Measuring the Value of Vehicle Wraps” by ARD Ventures
Vehicle marketing results in a 97% message recall, compared to a 19% retention for stationary signage
– RYP & Becker Group
Out-of-home advertising generates nearly 4x more online activations per ad dollar than TV, radio, and print
– Nielsen March 2017 OOH Online Activation Survey

Memorable fleet graphics have great potential to increase engagement and revenues. Modernistic can provide cost-effective solutions for your next project – further increasing ROI to your bottom line. With fifty years’ experience printing, cutting, and installing major brand vehicle wraps, we’ve developed the following 10 tips to save money on mobile media programs.

1. Online Ordering

Ordering your fleet graphics from an online portal saves you time and keeps the buying process simple and organized. You can track orders and even let franchisees purchase the fleet graphics they need. Check out our easy-to-use online print ordering system here.

2. Know Your Fleet Graphic Coverage Options!

There are a lot of different graphic coverage options available to fit your budget and advertising goals. With the right graphic, it’s possible to achieve high-quality results that meet your unique business needs. Below is a quick guide.

Spot Graphics / Decals

Spot graphics includes simple logos and/or cut lettering to help customers recognize your business.

Partial Wraps

A partial wrap typically covers at least 1/3 of your vehicle makes your company stand out and enhances brand awareness.

Full Wrap

Reflective Accents

Full Reflective Wrap

3. Utilize The OEM Vehicle Color

Expenses can be minimized by ordering vehicles in the color you plan to use for your fleet graphics and then adding eye-catching graphics! Dialog between fleet graphics managers and vehicle purchasers often miss this no-brainer idea.

4. Make Your ROI Count By Standing Out

Sometimes you gotta go big or go home! A unique fleet graphic will promote more brand awareness than a simple one. A slight upgrade to design and coverage may dramatically enhance that eye-popping effect. Take time to determine how the desired outcome will best be achieved within the scope of your budget.

5. Die-Cut Only

A common misconception in fleet graphics is that they must be printed products. This is not the only option! If the material comes in the desired color, we can simply die-cut it to your desired shape. Another great way to save money is to utilize laminates. For example, we applied anti-graffiti laminate on city buses that were constantly being tagged [spray paint]. Once installed, graffitied buses simply go through the bus washing station for removal – saving thousands in repainting costs.

6. Choose The Right Fleet Graphic Material

There are thousands of fleet graphic materials, film types that you can get lost in. We examine the application and the expected service life of your graphics to properly determine what substrate and process should be utilized. The risk of selecting the wrong material is not only a loss of time and money but could damage your brand’s reputation. When you’re talking about the essence of a company’s brand, the performance of a material is of the utmost importance.

7. Efficient Design

As is true in any marketing program, efficient foundational design can reduce the total cost of a project. In the example below, partial graphics are utilized on a white trailer, however, it gives the appearance of a full wrap. This not only reduced costs for the client but by utilizing creative art, their brand awareness intensified and resulted in improved ROI.

8. Think Outside The Box

Let’s face it; this is an overused business cliché. But the principles it stands for – approaching problems in innovative ways, conceptualizing problems differently, and understanding your position in relation to any particular situation – is our goal with every project.

Don’t overlook approaching a fleet graphics project with a unique idea. Below is an example of a creative solution, printing on banner material for a large scale, durable portable storage container fleet graphic campaign.

9. Design With Safety In Mind!

50% of traffic deaths happen at night – National Safety Council
Visibility decreases by 95% at night – U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration

Creating a culture of safety with your fleet graphics is more than reducing hazards; doing so can also increase morale and productivity, and decrease insurance premiums for your business. We have helped hundreds of fleets implement this by manufacturing and installing reflective graphics, keeping drivers safe and their brand at the top of mind, no matter the hour. For reflective best practices, we highly recommend reading the U.S. Department of Justice’s Study on Emergency Vehicle Visibility and Conspicuity.

10. Curveball! Custom Paint Masking

There are times when a printed/cut fleet graphic isn’t the most practical solution. Custom paint masking can improve your bottom line if you have a paint process, need extreme durability, deploy a high quantity of vehicles, or utilize a complex painting assembly. Here’s a great example of how we helped save a motorcyle brand millions of dollars through our custom paint masking.

Grow your company’s revenue while personally enhancing your career! Fleet Graphics are awesome, but they take more than good artwork or a well-structured design to entice a consumer to buy a product. It’s a balanced recipe of great design, affordable manufacturing cost, clever placement, and judicious use of resources. Stay tuned for next month’s knowledge drop to learn more!

On the other hand, if you can’t wait or want to cure your fleet graphics issues RIGHT NOW – click here, and we’ll talk today!

What is an Ink Drawdown/Press Check?

July 26, 2022 by shawn

Have you ever been asked to request an ink drawdown, press check, or color drawdown? These are all print industry terms for the same thing. Essentially, an ink drawdown is testing how the colors appear on the material you want to use. Think of it as a paint sample you would get when deciding what color to paint your room. Except, in an ink drawdown you are also testing the material it is on as well.

These samples are important because ink is extremely capricious and will be affected by even the smallest changes (like a change in the material). Understanding these changes will help us create an updated ink recipe to combat those changes so that the ink on the new substrate looks exactly how you want it to. Knowing how the colors will react to the material before performing a full production will also decrease chances of rework and cost. This is why we always perform internal drawdowns even if our customers do not request one. This is not always the case for printers and print management companies, make sure to advocate for yourself or utilize an attentive printer. We are extremely confident to say that we have the best ink formulation team in the nation so if you have any questions feel free to contact us.

What is Die Cutting?

July 22, 2022 by shawn

Cutting techniques can make or break a project budget. That is why it is important to learn when to use the right machine for the job. Otherwise, you could be losing unnecessary money. We will look at what die cutting is and when you should use it!

Simple Answer:

In its simplest form, die cutting is essentially just a large cookie cutter for your design. It’s meant to pump out parts fast and precisely. Similar to screen printing, the setup for die-cutting takes longer but is faster on the production end. Its sweet spot is large quantities with substrates less than .5” thick. If you have a thicker substrate or smaller quantities that’s okay! There are plenty of other cutting options and we have even die-cut foam up to 3” thick! That is why it’s important to have a printer with the knowledge and alternate cutting capabilities in-house.

A die-cutting project has 3 elements.

1. The Die Line

The die line is essentially the guide for us to make the cuts or creases. These die lines can be very tricky to read, but it is imperative that they are correct.

2. The Cutting Die / The Die

A die can either be curved or flat. We typically used a curved die (aka a rotary die) when the parts are small and there is a dramatically higher volume (think sticker size). Every cutting die has a base with blades sticking out of it. Some of those blades are sharper to cut straight through and some are duller to score the material in case you need it to fold or bend. The rubber pieces are to help the blades cut evenly.

3. Die-Cutting Machine

There are 3 major die-cutting machines: roll fed die-cutting, sheet fed die-cutting, and rotary die-cutting. Typically, a die-cutting machine is 4 feet wide so you would want the dimensions of the die-cut part to be less than 22” x 32”. We don’t believe in being held back and that is why we have some of the largest format die-cutting machines in the US.

The more you are under budget, the more revenue you produce. It is important that you are using the most efficient method based on your project specs and not constrained by machine capabilities. Otherwise, it can limit your budget and weigh down your bottom line. Shameless plug: If you want to know if your project is as efficient as it could be, we would be happy to give you a 2nd opinion! Our scope of equipment ensures that you are using the best method for your project.

Tips for Utilizing Stair Graphics Effectively

July 20, 2022 by shawn

Plan and implement a winning strategy by utilizing Stair Graphics to communicate your brand
and/or messaging!

Create success with every step

Promotion companies, marketing, and advertising agencies along with specialized media companies are always on the lookout for innovative concepts for making advertising campaigns as effective as possible. The objective is to create a targeted and simultaneously extensive advertising presence, by locating the campaign on the attractive and mostly underutilized / unexpected advertising format. Both a design element and a branding opportunity, stair graphics are being used for events, premier parties, and galas.

On the commercial side, brands have been popping up on heavily traveled staircases all over the world displaying massive ads for their products and services.

Schools allow the transformation of ordinary flight of stairs into a striking visual that reinforces behavior expectations, supports school spirit, and promotes student success.

Transform an arena from average to a standout amongst its competitors, by taking away blank space and turning it into art. Possibilities include championship teams photos, alumni images, opening days or other seasonal events. Additional options for stair messaging includes murals, motivational quotes, along with core value messaging.

Stair graphics do not have to be used for athletics and can be functioned to fit all projects a school desires. Graphics can be used on any staircase, including residence halls, dining halls, academic buildings, and dorms.

Add the unique, yet not over the top design, that turns a blank space into a completely different point of interest. The attention drawn from the graphics can take an average, or even outdated part of a venue, and create what feels like a newly renovated area.

A stair graphic treatment is surprisingly affordable and can be completed with no harm done to the structure itself.

While stair graphics are dramatic, the product itself is economic, easy to install, clean and will last for years.

Do not overlook the option of “Stair Graphics” – especially when your audience needs to go that direction every day. It’s a great use of space that definitely gets noticed!

Top 3 Ways to Cut Down Shipping Costs on Your Print/Converting Project

July 18, 2022 by shawn

At Modernistic, we often get asked by our customers “how are you able to cut our shipping times down by so much?” That is why I want to go over the top 3 ways you can cut down shipping costs on your print/converting project. This is more important than ever now as the supply chain gets more bottlenecked and more unreliable. Let’s jump right into it.

1. Design

The first way is also the first step in the process. Design! We design our products to ship efficiently, that way you start with a healthy foundation right from the start. Just like in a house, if you start with a healthy foundation the rest will be set up for success. A lot of shipping costs can be reduced by engineering the design with shipping in mind.

For example, a large fashion retail brand came to us with this huge fixed-box display. The first thing we noticed is that it could be easily redesigned in a couple minutes to be more efficient. This affected how it broke down, was able to ship flat, etc. It cut the shipping cost by 50%, saving thousands of dollars, just through a couple simple steps. *We would love to share a picture of this project but due to proprietary designs and our customer’s wish for privacy, we are unable to share this project.*

2. Efficient Kitting

The second way to reduce shipping costs is efficient kitting. I can’t stress enough how often we see extremely inefficient kitting setups. We always use precise and lean kitting techniques because we know they are proven to help reduce costs.

Another example, one of the tools we utilize is a custom box maker. This helps us maximize the purpose of every inch of space in a kit. Whether we are shipping to one location or 1,000 we are able to quickly create custom kits to exact specifications so every inch is utilized. Eliminating any extra space, size, and weight. It also indirectly makes the contents more secure because of
everything more tight.

3. Location, Location, Location!

The third way to reduce shipping cost is location. Having a neutral location is extremely helpful in reducing ship time and cost. Our location in the midwest situates us perfectly to keep fast, affordable, and reliable shipping lanes for anywhere in the US. This can make or break a project budget and can’t be overlooked.

These are just a couple examples of how small, efficient steps can affect so much of the overall project cost. It even affects sustainability, you are using less fuel, less box inventory/waste, and less bubble or microfoam. (Side note: if you are still using bubble wrap, you should look into switching to sustainable packaging material). This is just the start of how we are able to reduce cost, minimize waste and maximize value, quality, and speed.

Let us know if you have any questions or want help on your next project by contacting us.