What better way to start the new year than by giving ourselves a fresh new look that combines our extensive in-house large format digital printing capabilities with the latest visual graphics technology?

We’ve been in our current home, just outside Leeds city centre in Kirkstall, for 12 years, and we know that there’s no better way to showcase what we can do, than by making sure our state-of-the-art print facility looks as appealing and eye-catching as possible.

So, what have we done?

The first thing you’ll notice across all our branding is our refreshed logo. The sharp corners of the square have been curved off, to give it a softened and tempered look and feel.

This might seem like a small gesture but in our industry, detail is everything and we’re already receiving great feedback about how the logo feels less corporate, which reinforces our credentials as an approachable and friendly bunch!

Signage

This new logo is now the first thing you see on our website and vans, as well as on our brand-new

roadside sign, perched high above Wyther Lane, as you approach our building from either direction. The sign has immediately become a local landmark and features laser cut red acrylic, fixed to a 3mm aluminium composite tray with returns, which again matches the bright shade of red that is synonymous with Digital Plus.

This is then finished with kiss cut vinyl text, which is a lighter cut that only goes through the vinyl decal and not the backing material, like a die cut.

In addition, we’ve also unveiled a large 7 metre long sign on our building, displaying our logo and company strapline. This comprises of a 3mm aluminium composite tray, with returns,wrapped with an exterior grade vinyl. This was then finished with an exterior UV laminate for weather protection and was fully colour matched by our studio and machinery to match our distinctive shade of remarkable red.

We’ve then added a third sign to create a showstopper next to our main entrance. This baby is powder coated and aluminium fret cut with beautiful acrylic lettering and an attractive integrated illuminated system that works on a day and night timer, meaning our brand keeps on shining 24 hours a day!

This is complemented with directional signage and wayfinding step runners to guide visitors to our reception area or collection and delivery points. Again, these feature 3mm aluminium composite, wrapped with an exterior grade vinyl and finished with an exterior UV laminate to give them full weather protection.

Window graphics

Last, but by no means least, we’ve transformed our glass atrium into a powerful marketing tool by creating a stunning large-scale, attention-grabbing window graphic, that looks agonizingly good, even if we do say so ourselves!

To do this we used repositional vinyl, which enables us to swap and change our campaigns on a quarterly basis, in response to products or services that we want to promote, or even depending on seasonal themes or events.

This choice of vinyl is particularly good because it leaves no residue when it’s removed and is finished with an exterior laminate, so it’s ready to face the elements, which made it the perfect material for the job.

Let us know what you think!

We’d love to hear what you think and don’t forget that this is only a small snapshot of the graphics technology and large format digital printing capabilities that we offer clients across all sectors.

If you’d like to find out how we can assist with and add value to your next large format printing project, contact us now at sales@digitalplus.co.uk or call on 0113 2783133.

See more of our signage ideas to freshen up your branding … here

The post New year and a new look for Digital Plus appeared first on Digital Plus.

We are proud to say that despite the event looking very different and being streamed worldwide on the 16th September 2020, that this year was no different, ending with us picking up silver in the printeriors category. A huge thank you to the team at FESPA for keeping the event in the calendar and celebrating not only the fantastic work done by us and our peers in the UK but also worldwide.

We all know that it has been a particularly challenging time of late in the industry, a reminder of why we do what we do and having it celebrated on the world stage was a pleasure to see.

James Watt Exhibition – The Award Winning Project

Tasked with a brief to create a pop-up exhibition feature, utilising a sustainable material. We offered an alternative to PVC that would be light but rigid and eco-friendly. See the case study in full for this winning project here

Let us show you how we can help with your latest project and get in touch

The post Winning silver at The Fespa Awards 2020 world wide event. appeared first on Digital Plus.

As Digital Plus are currently in lockdown due to the current situation in the UK, we thought this would give us some time to introduce you to some of the newer members of staff at Digital Plus.

In the last 18 months we have changed a few key members of personnel as we try to work smarter and deliver a better experience for our customers. The first of the newer recruits (who in fairness has been with us for over a year now) is Lucy

We sat her down (virtually of course) to ask her a few questions.

Q: What’s your background?

A: Initially, I have been in customer service and sales roles. Prior to Digital Plus I worked as a buyer for a rival print company.

Q: What do you do at Digital Plus, was does it entail?

A: I am an estimator. I produce quotes based on a client brief and requirements. I often need to discuss with clients what they’re wanting to make sure the quotes are appropriate. I quote for the majority of project work within the business and really enjoy this aspect of the role. I source all specialist items required for the projects handling a variety of external. I also handle work end to end, from handling the brief, quoting, booking jobs in and even handling couriers and collections!

 Q: What initially drew you to the role at Digital Plus?

A: I wanted to stay within the large format printing sector but wanted to change the role I had. Estimating seemed a great career change, also Digital Plus is a great place to work and knew this would be the case through my interview experience.

Q: Is this your first taste of the world of printing?

A: No, through handling the buying at a rival company I had a good knowledge of the products I would be working with at Digital Plus.

Q: What have you learned so far in your time at Digital Plus?

A: Patience, attention to detail and how customers vary dramatically based on needs and requirements, no job is the same!

Q: What do you enjoy most about the role?

A: I enjoy the large quotes and projects. It is great seeing these quotes and projects come to fruition. Also, when a customer is happy with their goods, I get satisfaction from that. I also like that I have built relationships with customers and can get to know them properly, its great to talk about family and normal life as well as work!

Q: What is your biggest challenge?

A: Patience but it’s getting better

Q: Which of Digital Plus’s products/services interests you the most?

A: I think they are all interesting for different reasons. I particularly like projects because you can see the items and graphics in situ when they have been installed

(You can see a variety of our projects over at www.digitalplus.co.uk/projects)

Q: What makes Digital Plus different to other Large format digital printers?

A: We are always looking at our pricing ensuring that we are as competitive as possible, we are hungry for the work and work really hard to get it. We have a large knowledge base between a number of employees (meet the rest of the team here). We will always endeavour to meet client’s needs whether that’s timescales or advice. We have great relationships with our customers and love it when clients are happy with their orders!

Q: Tell us a little about what you like to do outside of work

A: At the moment its lockdown so not much. But when its not such strange times I like the gym, seeing my family (particularly my nephews) and seeing friends. I also like shopping, reading, watching tv and cleaning – strange I know!

 Other stories

Read our advice on office branding as you consider the types of messages you will be displaying when we all return to work here.

It is important that we all think about the positive things right now so take a look at our 2019 highlights here, we did not envisage the situation we find ourselves in now, when creating this piece!

We hope that you and your families are all safe and look forward to talking with you soon!

Take care,

For any quote requests we are operating a skeleton staff who can be contacted on mail@digitalplus.co.uk.

The post Meet Lucy Garrod, the newest member of the Digital Plus team appeared first on Digital Plus.

If you’ve ever been tasked with producing an office mural or wall display for your business, you may have found it trickier than you first imagined.

Maybe it started with someone saying “Just put something bright and cheerful on that empty wall!” And at first, you thought, “Easy – I can do this. This is a fun idea.”

But then you started looking at ideas and doing some research and there were so many different types of office murals. From fun, creative office murals and beautiful works of art to bland and truly terrible office murals. And that was before you even tried to get buy-in from the rest of the team…

How do you get everyone to agree on a design? Can you make it look great and still mean something to the rest of the business? Will everyone get bored of it?

Many businesses know exactly what they want their wall graphics to say and it’s an easy decision. But, others struggle and don’t have one set idea for what they’d like to display. In these cases, it helps to think outside the box and go less permanent.

It’s possible to create interactive displays that can be altered and added to. You could create an abstract visual background and include boards where your team add images, text, figures, drawings or doodles. You could even make it magnetic so it doubles up as a notice board.

Take a look at this example…

The Big Word provides translation and interpreting services. They bring people together by breaking down language barriers and helping them communicate ideas. It seemed only fitting that their office wall mural should reflect this approach.

They came up with the idea of having a large black and white wall graphic printed on dry wipe material. The design could be coloured in, drawn and written on top of by the whole team, enabling everyone to share their contribution and have their say.

The mural has become a team-building exercise

We installed the full-size mural in their main office. The black and white cartoon-style graphic looks great as a standalone feature, particularly against the blue of their branding behind. And it can be transformed and changed using coloured pens!

Here’s an action shot of the team getting stuck into colouring in the mural one afternoon during summer. Because the graphics can be cleared and wiped down, they’ll be able to have fun with it, sharing messages and getting creative whenever they feel like it. It’s a clever idea that everyone can enjoy.

Do you have an idea for creative office mural, or maybe you’d like some more inspiration? Get in touch on 0113 278 3133 or via sales@digitalplus.co.uk.

The post Thinking outside the box for truly creative office murals appeared first on Digital Plus.

The newest recruit to Digital Plus.

We’ve got a brilliant team here at Digital Plus, with a range of expertise to tap into. Because of this, we’re able to provide large format print that meets the requirement of a huge range of customers.

New to the team is Business Development Manager, James Vickerman. James will be working with new and existing customers, helping them access quality large format print that’s ideally suited to their project.

To introduce James properly, we sat down to ask him a few questions about his previous experience and initial impressions of working at Digital Plus…

Q: Tell us a bit about your role

A: I’m a Business Development Manager, which means I look after existing clients as well as dealing with incoming enquiries and actively seeking new businesses that need our help.

In terms of our clients, I’m a dedicated point of contact – someone they can consult and rely on when they need help with large format print. I keep clients up to speed on the best products and services, as well as making sure their overall experience is always a positive one.

I enjoy being out and about visiting new people and businesses and introducing them to Digital Plus. I’ve already had opportunities to help people with some really interesting and exciting projects.

Q: What’s your background?

A: I’ve spent my entire career in business development and account management. In my younger years, I could be found going door to door in Newcastle and Sunderland. I also spent time in Sydney working for a couple of major banks.

For the last 14 years, I worked at the Yorkshire Post looking after clients’ marketing and advertising needs, both in print and online. I had some great times at the Yorkshire Post and learnt a lot, but 2019 is time for a new challenge.

Q: Is this your first taste of the world of large format print?

A: In this format, yes. In my previous role, I helped clients to advertise their brand via magazine and newspaper print, whereas Digital Plus provide hundreds of different ways to share a message. The overall aim is often the same though – to gain brand awareness via printed materials.

Q: What’s been the biggest learning curve, so far?

A: Without a doubt, the majority of my learning is product knowledge. There’s a vast number of substrates to learn about, not to mention the different printing and installation processes.

Some jobs are relatively straightforward, whereas others are more challenging. I’ve learnt an awful lot in my first few months and every day I’m learning more. Thankfully, I have a wealth of experience to call upon, it’s just a matter of remembering it all!

Q: Does anything about the products or services Digital Plus offer especially interest you?

A: I particularly enjoy the variation that our products and services offer. It’s hard to single out one product in particular, but I’d have to say our Project Plus service.

We’re able to survey, design, print and install large scale graphics for exterior and interior settings. And we can turn boring and bland spaces into eye-catching pieces of art!

Q: How do you hope to make life easier for customers?

A: I want to be seen as the go-to person for our clients’ print needs. I have a great team to back me up, with decades of experience. I’ve already had all kinds of weird and wonderful problems to solve and someone in the team always has an idea of how we can make it work.

By fully managing enquiries from source to despatch I can make life easy for my customers. I’m a firm believer that in the fast-paced world of print, delivering on your promises is of particular importance.

Q: Tell us a little about what you like to do outside of work

A: I have quite a variety of interests and hobbies – I’m not one for lazy days! I enjoy spending time outdoors with my wife and two girls. I’m a match angler which sees me competing throughout Yorkshire and most Sunday’s you’ll find me on a river bank or lakeside!

I love watching horse racing and I’m partway through an adventure with my wife to visit all 60 horse racing venues in Great Britain. I play squash in a local squash league to keep fit and when I get a chance, I like to watch the footie. But that’s only after I’ve finished taxiing the kids everywhere!

Want to hear more from the specialists here at Digital Plus? Sign up to our newsletter for regular updates from the team.

The post Meet James Vickerman, the newest member of the Digital Plus team appeared first on Digital Plus.

For a glimpse of some of the technologies on offer, watch this short promotional clip to see them in action;

FESPA Highlights: review some of the highlights from #FESPA Global Print Expo 2018, held last week in Berlin pic.twitter.com/FX7U9HAUA7

— FESPA (@FESPA) May 24, 2018

We’ve previously won bronze, silver and gold awards, and were delighted to walk away with another silver at this year’s ceremony.

The winning project was the latest in a series titled ‘The Gift of Life’ created for our client, the Hospital Art Studio. The installation was at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and has been created in celebration of organ donation.

(You can read more about the project in our blog ‘Commemorating the Gift of Life with Hospital Art Studio’)

We picked up silver within the ‘glass, ceramic, metal and wood’ category, for printing our 100 butterflies on cut aluminium. The judges were impressed with the accuracy in which we’d recreated 100 true-to-life butterflies, colour matched down to the finest detail.

Aside from the recognition we received, the event was a fantastic chance to catch up with other printers and see what techniques they’d been working on. There were some exciting entries in the ‘decals and printed labels’ category, including the revamp of a corrugated office block in Qatar.

We couldn’t help but be reminded of the mammoth task we had printing for the corrugated exterior of a large aircraft hangar at Manchester Airport recently. We commend the team behind it for realising such a smart looking design on a very tricky surface!

The FESPA awards are always one of the highlights of the year and a great opportunity for the whole team at Digital Plus to recognise the great work we do for our clients. We’re looking forward to next year’s awards and are already anticipating what new and exciting work we might have to share.

Got an upcoming project that needs added impact? Get in touch with our team today and we’ll help you find your inspiration.

The post Digital Plus receive a FESPA award for the fourth year running appeared first on Digital Plus.

Adapting to every canvas

Gone are the days where print = paper. Nowadays, digital printing technology allows us to place words and images on virtually every surface imaginable. We work with a huge range of materials and machinery in order to print graphics suitable for whatever backdrop our clients have in mind.

You could say we make our clients’ digital printing dreams a reality…! While that might sound cheesy, it’s true to say we spend time making sure every client is 100% happy with their printed graphics, no matter how great the challenge.

Take these two projects, for instance. The buildings in question are both for vehicle storage but at two very different ends of the spectrum. Here’s how our team tapped into their collective experience and adapted to both projects.

PROJECT #1: Print for an aircraft hangar

The first was a large aircraft hangar at Manchester Airport. Spanning 80m wide and over 20m high, the hangar is one of the largest structures we’ve dealt with here at Digital Plus. Added to this was the further complication that the surface of the hangar was corrugated.

Our approach was to work out a formula that accounted for the corrugated cladding, meaning the design wasn’t going to be warped when applied to the hangar. With detailed calculations in place, we cut 246 individual sections of vinyl to make up 2 large and 2 small logos.

Preparing the vinyl sections was the straightforward part of this job – the real challenge was ensuring accuracy in light of the size of the finished design. However, by precisely scaling up our templating processes, we were able to apply the gigantic logos successfully first time around.

PROJECT #2: Print for a private garage

The second project in question was a private garage at a client’s home. They approached us because they wanted to renovate their garage with custom graphics to house their collection of luxury Ferraris. This wasn’t just a quick logo job and the client knew what they wanted to achieve, but they didn’t know how to achieve it.

The team spent some time carefully dissecting the brief and talking to the client about their ambitions for the finished room. It was clear that an off-the-shelf solution wasn’t going to fulfil the requirement, so we narrowed down some techniques that might work and began experimenting.

To achieve the leather-look wall coverings, we started by creating a piece of original artwork to simulate the effect. This was digitally printed onto self-adhesive wall vinyl, complete with a protective laminate. We then designed a laser cut, stainless steel Ferrari logo to adorn the wall as an elegant centrepiece.

The finished space is completely unique and has been executed to such a high standard that, at first glance, it could be a Ferrari showroom! The client was completely satisfied with the results, which met their brief without compromise.

The same dedication

Both of these projects serve to illustrate that accomplished digital printing really comes down to the effort you put in. If you spend time working out a plan, testing your theories and refining your processes, you can deliver outstanding results – whatever the original brief.

When dealing with graphics of every kind, for a huge range of clients, it’s important to not lose sight of the individual value of each project. We have a responsibility as digital printers to stretch our capabilities in order to provide lasting results for all our clients, whatever their requirement.

Want to hear more from the specialists here at Digital Plus? Sign up to our newsletter for regular updates from the team.

The post Scalable digital printing – from garages to aircraft hangars appeared first on Digital Plus.

So far, we’ve helped the Hospital Art Studio team create touching displays at 6 hospitals across the UK, with our printed birds for Medway Hospital winning gold at this year’s FESPA awards.

The latest installation is called ‘A kaleidoscope of butterflies’ and features an array of colourful butterflies spiralling up towards the light above. The display guides the viewers’ eye to the central message of the Gift of Life on the ceiling.

We helped Hospital Art Studio to choose exactly the right materials for the 100 individually crafted butterflies. Four different species were chosen to replicate – Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell, Adonis Blue and Silver Washed Fritillary – with two different sizes of each type.

Using laser cut 1.2mm thick aluminium each of the butterflies was individually coated in shimmering colours to both sides and with three coats of clear gloss lacquer to give them an iridescent finish which creates the impression of fluttering in the light.

Each project that we complete with Hospital Art Studio is special not only because of the amazing results, but because of the value it holds for the people close to those it commemorates.

“Digital Plus are a perfect fit for Hospital Art Studio and always push the boundaries to create very special results. With each success, we are pushing each other to do something out of the ordinary and their brilliant team are always up for the challenge! That trust in each other means that together we have been creating multi award-winning projects on a world scale. Not bad for some Yorkshire Lads and Lasses!” 

Karen & Tony van de Bospoort, Hospital Art Studio.

(Pssst! We won Silver for this project at 2018’s annual FESPA awards. FESPA is the Federation of European Screen Printers Associations.)

Got an upcoming project that needs added impact? Get in touch with our team today and we’ll help you find your inspiration.

The post Commemorating the Gift of Life with Hospital Art Studio appeared first on Digital Plus.

Last week we had the opportunity to attend the FESPA awards in Hamburg for the fifth year. We have previously won bronze and silver awards, but we were delighted to walk away with a gold award this year for our project at Medway Hospital, Kent.

FESPA is a global federation for the screen printing, digital printing and textile printing community and the awards bring together printers from across the world to celebrate the very best in print innovation and achievement.

Our winning project was designed with Hospital Art Studio and was the third in a series of installations we have completed in celebration of organ donation at NHS units across the UK.  We topped the glass, ceramic, metal and wood products category with our formation of flying birds installed across the walls of the hospital entrance space.

The judges commended:

‘This entry demonstrated a perfect use of UV inkjet on butler finish dibond to create range of corroded metal effects.’

Director at Digital Plus, Owen Russell, said of the win:

‘It’s fantastic to be recognised internationally within your industry, but even more so when it’s for such a worthy project. It has been so rewarding working with Hospital Art Studio on The Gift of Life projects, helping to beautifully commend the selfless gift that is organ donation across the country.

‘FESPA represents the coming together of our industry’s leading innovators and to be included in the awards for a fifth year running is a real honour and a credit to the capabilities of the whole Digital Plus team.’

Got an upcoming project that needs added impact? Get in touch with our team today and we’ll help you find your inspiration.

The post Digital Plus win gold at FESPA as they attend for a fifth year appeared first on Digital Plus.

This is our fifth project now completed under “The Gift of Life” Each time we strive to get bigger and better than the previous, pushing the boundaries and exploring the delights of what is conceivable from large format print. Digital Plus are continuing to lead from the front, from what was the unimaginable to now, the achievable within our world of large format print.

What was the aim of the Project?

To recreate the concept ideas and designs into an impressive three-dimensional artwork within the Medway hospital atrium, dedicated to all those who have selflessly become organ donors.

The brief was to create various species of birds flocking together and flying to ultimately form a heart shape around the wording The Gift of Life, before soaring up into the highest parts of the wall depicting freedom and new life.
The final design was to portray over a hundred birds from the many species that visit the Medway Estuary.

 How did we meet customer requirements?

One hundred and twenty birds were chosen from over eight species, each one bespoke cut to shape out of composite aluminium, and printed in a selection of aged metal finish effects. Each of the finishes were chosen to give depth and a textured look that replicates the true look of birds in flight. Each one was to a different size along with the centre piece wording” The Gift of Life.” These were then accurately placed to create both the heart shape and flying flocks. Printed and cut vinyl was selected to provide the main heading to run along the width of the finished design. An additional printed plaque illustrating the identity of each bird species of this finished piece of art along with information on how to become an organ donor was also included.

What were the particular challenges?

The first challenge was to recreate the aged metal finishes that each cut out bird would be printed onto. To use actual metals such as brass or copper would make it very expensive and heavy to install. Secondly was the problem of installing in a working hospital, as they were required to fit to an existing wall over four floors high [15mt high x18.5mt Wide]. Each part was required to be fitted in its exact position, creating the three-dimensional look therefore a detailed plan had to be worked out and assessed prior to installation.

What did you do to address them?

Many tests were carried out on various options. The chosen effects were digital images of aged metal effects, and these were overlaid on the outline of each bird to create this unique effect and then printed using UV inks. Each set of stand off fixings were of different lengths to help create the three-dimensional effect of birds in flight, each were topped with a printed vinyl cap to match with its paired bird to blend within its design. Printed templates at finished size were made and laid out on site before final positioning on the wall. A large extendable scissor lift was required as a working platform to reach all the required accessible parts of the atrium wall.

Evidence of the effectiveness of the job

 When the project was competed it was described as “Overwhelmingly positive ” “beautiful” and ‘stunning”. The visual impact caused reflection on the benefits of organ donation as contained in the feedback that follows.

 Feedback from clients or their customers

 “We have always been strong advocates of organ donation at Medway and wanted to commission a large piece of artwork to celebrate the selflessness of those who have donated organs and the courage of their families. We were fortunate to have the support of the Trust’s CEO and Chairman to redecorate our large atrium area within the hospital.

From initial concept design to final installation, we were extremely impressed with the professionalism of the team and the proof of the pudding has been the fantastic mural that we now have in our hospital atrium.

Feedback from visitors, patients, and staff has been overwhelmingly positive with many people commenting on its beauty whilst mentioning friends and family who have received organ transplants or who have donated organs. The artwork stimulates discussion about organ donation and hopefully this will continue to increase the number of visitors who join the organ donor register.

We intend to time our official unveiling of the artwork to coincide with national organ donation week in September and the Trust is now re-configuring the atrium area to benefit from a spacious seating area for visitors to enjoy the artwork.”

Dr Paul Hayden, Clinical Director for Critical Care & Clinical Lead for Organ Donation, Medway NHS Foundation Trust

The post Nominated for the fifth year in a row – Digital Printer Awards 2016 appeared first on Digital Plus.