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Printing Industry Exchange (printindustry.com) is pleased to have Steven Waxman writing and managing the Printing Industry Blog. As a printing consultant, Steven teaches corporations how to save money buying printing, brokers printing services, and teaches prepress techniques. Steven has been in the printing industry for thirty-three years working as a writer, editor, print buyer, photographer, graphic designer, art director, and production manager.

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One Sheet Posters at the Movies

Movie theaters seem to be undergoing a transformation. As installers of standees, banners, one sheets, etc., my fiancee and I recently had the opportunity to enter one of the new cinemas to install a one-sheet (a large format print poster for an upcoming film).

The Theater Ambiance

The environment was exceedingly upscale, more like an art film theater than a commercial film venue. The focus in the lobby was on the food (more substantial offerings than the popcorn and candy I’m used to) and the beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages. So it was a bit of a cross between a movie theater, a restaurant, and a bar, with a young-urban-professional vibe.

The Movie Signage

Unlike all of the other cinemas my fiancee and I service (with the possible exception of an art film venue) this theater accepted no standees. No cardboard environments, no giant beachballs for animated films. Nothing but one sheets.

(As a point of information, a one-sheet is a large format print poster. However, unlike most posters, it has an image and text on the front promoting the film, and on the back of the press sheet is the exact same image with all graphic elements backwards, aligned exactly with the image on the front. When placed in the one-sheet frame, which is a back-lit frame covered with a diffusing white glass, the one sheet poster appears brighter and more vivid than usual—presumably due to both the back-light and the double printing.)

The One-Sheet Wall

In addition to a large clock and a wall of film showing times—all presented elegantly—there was a wall of one-sheet frames. Unlike the one-sheet frames along the hallways, this giant mosaic of images comprised 99 frames (I called to ask) showing one huge collage of images, all related to a single theme.

(As another point of information, the eye will join related portions of a single image, even when they are separated by the horizontal and vertical elements of a frame. In fact the eye will even join the sections of the image if they’re slightly separated. This is particularly useful information when you’re designing large format print banner stands. If your image needs to extend across multiple banners, it can still appear to the viewer to be one picture.)

So this giant, 99-frame mosaic extends up the wall at this new, upscale cinema, and each of the 99 frames contains a portion of the overall image.

Another thing to know about one-sheets is that the frames are spring loaded. The top, left, right, and bottom elements of the frame operate independently. You lift one (like a spring-loaded clip on a clipboard), slip the poster and acetate cover sheet under the clip, and then close it. You’re done. It takes me about three minutes to install a one-sheet without smashing my fingers or tilting the poster.

When you multiply three minutes by 99 images, it will take approximately 297 minutes or almost five hours to complete this installation. This does not include the time needed to move the motorized lift, which is a bit like a forklift with a little basket for you to stand in as you are lifted up and down. I’ve also heard it referred to as a “cherry picker.” It’s similar to the equipment used by electric companies to work on overhead power lines.

When I spoke with the attendant at the theater I was told the installation happened at night after closing time and was only a periodic occurrence.

So this is a lot of work and equipment allocated to installing posters.

An Alternative to Large Format Print Posters

Perhaps I’m speaking out of turn here, but this seems to be an ideal venue for digital signage. Just think about the five hours of installation time and the cherry picker that would no longer be needed. Images or portions of images could be created on the 99 screens and coordinated with relevant hardware and software, minimizing the labor and machinery cost (or transferring the cost from a mechanical to a digital process). Granted, whether or not this would be cost effective would depend on the price of the electronics and the frequency with which the images need to be changed.

As an added benefit, the digital images would not need to be static. They could include movement and sound, perhaps even an interactive element as well.

How This Relates to You (and to Printing)

We now live in a multi-channel universe. Prudent design involves knowing which technology to use for which applications. For instance, the one sheets populating the hallways of the theater could be either digitally imaged or printed on paper, as they are now, while the giant poster wall might be a better candidate for digital signage.

In your own work, this means considering how to best present the imagery, type, and overall messaging for an ad campaign. What portions of the job lend themselves to digital large format printing? What portions are better suited to offset printing? What components fit better on digital signage boards?

And—even more importantly—how can you make a seamless transition from one medium to another in such a way that the message and imagery are recognizable as promoting the same brand. Digital, large format, offset—these are just tools. The real challenge is how to use them together to inform and persuade your audience.

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