In-plant Transforms Pool Walls From Boring to Brilliant

By Bob Neubauer

Bronco Printing Solutions, Fayetteville State University’s in-plant, has done it again. A year after giving a graphics facelift to the North Carolina university’s Charles W. Chesnutt Library, the three-employee in-plant has decorated the bland cinderblock walls of the school’s aquatic center in FSU colors and logos.

All told, the in-plant printed and installed 1,048 sq. ft. of vinyl, says Gary Warren, print and document supervisor, using Arlon DPF 8000 Ultra Tack vinyl, which adheres better in a high-humidity environment. The shop printed and cut the graphics in advance on its Mimaki UCJV300-160 UV-LED roll-fed printer, laminated them on a Royal Sovereign RSC-1402HW, then installed them in sections.

“We took about a week to do this, on and off,” says Warren. Most of the installation was done by new employee Chance Bicker, who came to the job with extensive installation experience.

Chance Bicker uses a blowtorch to make the vinyl pliable so it will adhere to the uneven cinder block surface.

To get graphics to adhere to the uneven cinder block surface, Bicker used a blowtorch to make the vinyl pliable and a RollePro — a spongy roller — to push it into the crevices. The decorations included several 25-foot-high vertical stripes with the FSU Broncos logo in the center. The stripes were installed in two sections with the logo added last. Due to the humid environment, the work involved some minor hardship.

“When we were up on the 26-foot lift, it was really hot up there,” says Warren.

Also installed was a 62-foot-long banner along one wall saying, “Welcome to Bronco Country.”

“We had to do that in six sections,” says Warren.

The in-plant used 3M 180 Cv3 film to create window graphics for the glass doors of the aquatic center, and used its Mimaki JFX200-2513 UV-LED flatbed to print a sign on Dibond material to install over the door.

Gary Warren (left) and Chance Bicker show off the window graphics printed and installed by Bronco Printing Solutions, along with a sign above the door printed on rigid Dibond material.

The in-plant is already gearing up for its next big wide-format job: decorating the walls and windows of a hotel being leased by FSU for temporary student housing. The shop will also print signage, pictures, and elevator graphics.

Wide-format printing is quickly becoming the dominant type of work being produced by Bronco Printing Solutions.

“Our wide-format jobs outnumber our copier jobs,” says Warren.

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Bob Neubauer Author's page

Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 170 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.