Kalamazoo WaterJet is Proud to be Part of ABC TV’s Battlebots!

         

Thursday, June 30^rd at 8PM EST will be the second episode of “Battlebots – Season 2”. And, Consort’s very own Bryan Lepley may be glimpsed on-camera at the Los Angeles ABC studio’s taping of the show. Consort’s Kalamazoo Waterjet division is, for the second year in a row, a major sponsor for the “WitchDoctor” crew and Bryan was invited to attend the competition in late May. But, “Mum is the word about who won and how Witch Doctor came out,” says Bryan. “Everyone signed a non-disclosure so I can’t say a thing! Just watch the show and find out. I can tell you that our Witch Doctor is supposed to appear on episode two, on the 30^th.”

            So, what is Battlebots? Here’s a brief overview: “The homemade robots are back for season two, where they will battle against each other in a single elimination tournament until there is one champion. The ten episode series will feature next generation robots – bigger, faster and stronger than ever before. The show will continue to emphasize the design and build elements of each robot, the bot builder backstories, their intense pursuit of the championship and the spectacle of the event. While there's only one weight class, there are a huge variety of deadly weapons. Forty-eight robots will enter, but in the end, only one will win the final trophy.”

            Until you see these robots in action you can’t imagine what this is all about, but check out this Youtube video of last year’s battle between Witch Doctor and Tombstone and you’ll get the idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4AAIfQD8ew . According to Bryan, all robots were redesigned and are generally tougher and proved to be more aggressive, especially Witch Doctor. Each entry has a weight limit and if there is an accompanying smaller robot or drone with the main entry, the total weight of the two cannot exceed 250 pounds. Witch Doctor has a little buddy, named Shaman, and there are flying drones with other entries. The drones are new for this year.

            The show is ten episodes and you’ll find that it’s somewhat addicting to see how the different designs and structures hold up against each other. “These folks are all nuts, but in a good way!,” says Bryan.

            Through Bryan’s efforts Kalamazoo’s own Schupan and Sons and Good Metals Company of Grand Rapid are also a Witch Doctor sponsors, making Southwest Michigan well-represented at this amazing battleground. 
Roger Lepley

Bacon, High in the Sky!

Well, as we say here at Consort, "What's Next?!"  How about bacon images on your Dori Pole pennants? 'Bet you never thought of that!

Yes, it's true, in Consort's home town of Kalamazoo, the annual 26.2 marathon has been a major community event near the first part of May for many years. For the past four years the inspired and enthusiastic neighbors that live near the halfway point have sponsored what every creative marathon needs, a Bacon Station! With porcine delights of many forms the racers are enticed to drop their racer-motivated diets for just the opposite. Of course, most of the bacon and bacon muffins, cookies, fudge, and so on are eagerly consumed by the cheering spectators. But, a surprising amount of the meat-candy is taken up by the racers,usually to be tossed aside 50 yards later where the neighborhood dogs have taken up their cheering section. Ruff! More! Ruff! More!

A delightful time for all and the racers appreciate the attention and support, even if they aren't into the dubious nutrition being offered them.

The bacon pennants are not a stock item in our array of available pennants, but if you're interested in those or have an idea for a specialty pennant design, contact your Consort sales rep today.
Submitted by Roger Lepley

Consort's Abstracta Shares Silver Award at GlobalShop 2015!

With the recent “Silver Award’ from the juried competition during the 2015 GlobalShop Show, our Abstracta Modular Display System is once again recognized as a world player! GlobalShop, the world's largest trade show for retail design and shopper marketing, is held in Las Vegas each March. The competition has become a much-anticipated event for showcasing outstanding recent retail-oriented projects around the world.

Our Abstracta system was the primary display medium for the Herman Miller “pop-up” store in New York City during May, 2014 where the large Michigan-based contract furniture company presented a striking, colorful and textural retrospective of Alexander Girard’s significant contribution to Herman Miller’s decades long success as an industry innovator.

In the words of a Metropolis Magazine editor, “The new Alexander Girard pop-up exhibit in New York’s Meatpacking District is a three-part celebration of all things Girard. The showcase highlights the architect and designer's fabric work, developed during his time as design director of the textiles department at Herman Miller from 1952 to 1973. Then there are the lounge pieces Girard produced for Braniff Airlines in the late 60s, a small number of the 17,000+ items he designed for the project. The third element is the striking exhibit installation, a Girard-esque living room, bursting with color and populated with period affects.”

The store layout was designed by Michael McGinn and his team at Standard Issue Design, of Brooklyn, New York and featured Girard’s most significant designs and patterns. For Consort, this was our second opportunity to work with Michael for a Herman Miller project with the first one

involving a 1,000 square foot portion of the company’s showroom at their massive showroom in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart in 2012.

Abstracta was chosen for its simple and classic features that inherently take a back seat to displayed objects, such as Girard’s work, to be elegantly featured.  It was the perfect choice for the incredibly eye-catching array of Girard’s brilliant work. 

Thank you Michael and Herman Miller for again choosing Abstracta!

Roger Lepley

Outdoor Ground Mounted Banner Stand (GMS) Has a New Size Feature!

Bank and credit union drive-throughs have been around for decades and most bankers will tell you that drive-throughs continue to be their customers’ preferred method for on-site transactions. Much like with the fast food industry, customers would rather wait in their cars. So, while they’re waiting…

Our popular specialty banner stand, the Messenger® GMS, can provide important information about bank services. And now, banks have the option to alternate banner lengths from 48” to 72”, as they please. The new standard Messenger® GMS will accommodate either of those sizes simply by moving the bottom bar up or down. 

Why is this good idea?  Well, sometimes we have more to say than other times. Sometimes the message is short and sweet like, “Thank you for
choosing Fifth Financial”. And, sometimes, we want to include more information about new services for example, along with images. Also, a 48” banner is a bit less expensive than a 72” banner.

Of course, this new feature isn’t just for the financial industry. Shopping centers, automobile dealers and service stations, drive-through lanes for restaurants and many others can now take advantage of the new banner size option. By the way, the "GMS" stands for Ground Mount System and widths of stands can be ordered to fit 16", 18", 20", 22" or 24" banners.

Thank you for your interest in Consort products! Please contact your sales representative for more information.

Roger Lepley

Tabletop Beer Menus Help Patrons Make Quick, Informed, Beer Selections!

Next time you visit a brewpup or bar, take a look at how they tell you about all the beers they offer. If they have to verbally recite the never ending list that numbs your brain or they point to some chalk board 15’ away, tell them they’re missing a super opportunity to make beer ordering simpler and quicker.

They need “Podia®Tabletop Display”!

Our Podia Tabletop Menu Holder is quickly becoming popular with breweries, brewpubs and bars because they’re durable, instantly changed and encourage customers to pick out their next beer before they finished the last. Simple and easy, right?! Servers and wait staff are often barraged with
questions like, “What’s on tap” and “Any

specials? “What’s Olde Frothingslosh taste like?” “Is that a strong beer?” and so on.

With Podia, the daily beer list can be printed and displayed in an a two-sided, unbreakable capsule to detail the type of beer, cost, alcohol percent and whatever information would help to have bar patrons make quick, informed decisions.

What's more it's unbreakable! Check out the Demo videos HERE and see for yourself.

Please tell your local brewpub about Podia.


Roger Lepley

Custom Shape Banners on FlagTrax

Here is a FlagTrax installation at the First Baptist Church of Troy, MI. The system is our standard FT-3096 (34.5"W x 9'6"H) and is powder coated black. The banners are 29.25"W x 47.25", vinyl, printed on both sides. Looking great!

FlagTrax Flags and Banners Materials

When the Kiwi company Nexus Developments created FlagTrax, it was in first place to fit single sided polyester or nylon flags. These materials are more commonly used as street side messages in New Zealand and Australia.

Since Consort Display Group started manufacturing and distributing FlagTrax on the North American market, a lot of customers have asked: can FlagTrax fit vinyl and acrylic (i.e. Sunbrella®) banners as well?

After doing some tests with these materials, the answer is yes!

Please see the different looks below :

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Single-sided bleed through flags.

These flutter with the wind and the sun gives them a certain "glow". They provide a more festive look than other materials thanks to their light weight. The artwork and text have a "mirror" effect on their opposite side.

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Double-sided flags with blockout liner.

Due to their 3 layers (flag, blockout liner, flag), they don't flutter as well and tend to wear out quicker than the other materials. They allow for the messages to be readable on both sides without the "mirror" effect of a single sided flag.

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Screen printed Sunbrella® acrylic banners.

These flutter but not as much as a single sided polyester because of their heavier weight. They allow for the messages to be read on both sides and their colors have a longer lifetime.

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Digitally printed vinyl banners.

These don't flutter a lot because of their heavier weight. They allow for the messages to be read on both sides and have the vivid color look that digitally printed vinyl banners offer.

How to change your FlagTrax flag or banner

In just 10 easy steps we will explain how to change your FlagTrax flag or banner. This process takes an average time of 90 seconds.

Insert the FlagTrax Key into the keyhole in the Locking Cap at the bottom of the PushPull Rod to release it.

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With the key inserted, pull the PushPull Rod a few inches out of the track. Remove the key and store in a safe place.

  

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Pull the rest of the PushPull Rod out of the track. The best way is to coil the rod as you remove it. Do not coil less than 2’ or bend the PushPull Rod as this would damage it.

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At the top of the PushPull Rod, pull out the top flag clip.

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Remove the flag or banner by pulling the rest of the Sliders and bottom clip out of the PushPull Rod.

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Attach the new FlagTrax flag or banner to the PushPull Rod by starting with the bottom clip, sewn to the tape at the bottom of the flag. The ‘wing’ on the side of the clip will be caught by the stainless steel Flag Tensioner positioned on the track. Ensure the ‘wing’ is on the correct side as the clip can be rotated if necessary. Some FlagTrax systems are assembled with two Flag Tensioners at different levels so different size of flags or banners can be used.

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Insert all remaining sliders into the PushPull Rod.

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The top flag clip must ‘click’ into place into the hole at the end of the rod.

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Insert top flag clip and the PushPull Rod into the track, and push the flag or banner to the top of the track. The flag or banner will then tension correctly as the ‘wing’ on the bottom flag clip catches in the Flag Tensioner.

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Ensure the PushPull Locking Cap locks into place at the base of the track.

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Your flag or banner change is now complete!

For more information, please download our Installation Guide or check our video.

New FlagTrax Street Flag System Allows For Rapid and Less Costly Changes

Consort introduces FlagTrax®, a whole new genre for street-side communication. From the wonderful folks (us!) who first brought colorful street banners and durable hardware to communities across North America, comes our newest outdoor system for providing information, color and festive delight to exciting places like your town or special event.

The new genre is Street Flags, as opposed to the ever-popular Street Banners that we see in thousands of communities. So, what really is the difference of a street banner versus a street flag? To us, a street banner is like our standard light pole banner that is stretched top and bottom with our BannerFlex hardware. It’s typically a vinyl digital banner or a screen-printed acrylic marine fabric banner.  Great system, durable, super longevity and all good. They are installed using bucket trucks and the banner is changed using the same trucks. See the video here.

A FlagTrax Street Flag is similar as it’s installed on the same type of city or shopping center light pole but once it’s installed using a bucket truck, all the flag changes can happen from the ground, saving thousands of dollars every year on a typical municipal street communication program. And, the fabric is generally a light weight dye sublimation or nylon flag material that waves, glows and flutters in the breeze.

How does it work? The secret to the system is a track that is mounted vertically onto the pole or wall into which a flexible “Push-Pull™” rod is inserted that carries the banner or flag up to the final mounting height. Access to this tamper-proof track can be mounted at shoulder height for maximum convenience or the six or eight foot level above the ground where added security may be required, alleviating the need for anything more than a small step stool.

Street pole banner changes in urban areas, in particular, are normally expensive and difficult with traffic concerns, as bucket trucks weave their way around, sometimes stopping traffic or diverting it with traffic cones. FlagTrax changes can be done by one person at any time of day in just a matter of minutes, often saving up to one hundred dollars per change in some of the larger cities. An additional benefit is that it will encourage more changes, more often, allowing event organizers greater flexibility to promote more events within a city, significantly adding to the sense of the area’s vitality and activity.

Because Consort’s Kalamazoo Banner Works Division has been the pioneer and innovator with street pole banner hardware since 1983, FlagTrax fits our core expertise perfectly. Our KBW BannerFlex® hardware literally is the standard of the industry and we are constantly researching new concepts. So, we were excited when the patented FlagTrax system was presented to us by the New Zealand inventors, Nexus Developments Limited, and we were given the opportunity to be the exclusive North American manufacturer and distributor.

Street Flags can now be economically and quickly changed from the safety of ground level without the hassle of bucket trucks or traffic management concerns. Roger Lepley

Street Flags: A New Way To Use Your Light Pole

Consort Display Group introduces FlagTrax®, a whole new genre for street-side communication. FlagTrax is our newest outdoor system for providing information and adding color to light pole and buildings. 

The new genre is ‘street flags’, as opposed to the popular street banners that we see in thousands of communities. So what really is the difference of a street banner versus a street flag? A street banner is like our standard light pole banner that is stretched top and bottom with our banner hardware. It’s typically made from a vinyl digital banner or a screen-printed acrylic marine fabric banner. The banners are installed and changed using bucket trucks.

A FlagTrax street flag is similar in that it’s installed on the same type of city or shopping center light pole but once it’s installed using a bucket truck, all the flag changes can happen from the ground, saving thousands of dollars every year on a typical municipal street communication program. The fabric is generally a lightweight dye sublimation or nylon flag material that waves, glows and flutters in the breeze, similar to a regular flag you would see on any flagpole.

How does it work? The system operates on an aluminum track that is mounted vertically onto the pole or wall into which a flexible Push-Pull™ rod is inserted that carries the banner or flag up to the final mounting height. (watch the video) Access to this tamper-proof track can be mounted at shoulder height for maximum convenience or the six or eight foot level above the ground where added security may be required, alleviating the need for anything more than a small step stool.

Street pole banner changes in urban areas, in particular, are normally expensive and difficult with traffic concerns, as bucket trucks weave their way around, sometimes stopping traffic or diverting it with traffic cones. FlagTrax changes can be done by one person at any time of day in just a matter of minutes, often saving up to one hundred dollars per change in some of the larger cities. An additional benefit is that it will encourage more changes, more often, allowing event organizers greater flexibility to promote more events within a city, significantly adding to the sense of the area’s vitality and activity.


The FlagTrax street flag system was very well received at the annual Specialty Graphic Imaging Association and took home Product of the Year honors for Finishing and Display Exhibit Hardware. “SGIA's Product of the Year Awards showcase digital imaging products that keep the specialty imaging industry moving forward," said Jeff Burton, SGIA's digital printing analyst. "Winners have benefited from worldwide recognition and the ability to market their product as a winner of this valued competition."

For more information about FlagTrax, visit our website. 

Streetlight Banners Hold Up in High Winds—Even Hurricane Force

The following is an article published by the American Public Works Association's APWA Reporter in July 2013:

    “Communities are increasingly using light pole banners to add excitement and community spirit to events and occasions.  Yet many communities in high wind and hurricane zones face challenges using banners due to risks of light pole damage from the extra wind resistance created by large banners, in addition to worries of damage to the banners themselves. 

     While some neighborhoods find various forms of outdoor advertising amongst the debris following large

storms and hurricanes, towns and shopping centers that use the KBWBannerFlex have not only saved time from clean-up, they have saved money.          

     David J. Cangemi, in charge of General Services for the City of Hallandale, FL was especially impressed with the banners’ performance saying, “A tropical storm came blasting through south Florida. Debris and banners were dispersed all over the city.  I used KBW and not one of our banners was lost.”  

     For more info, call 800-525-6424, email info@consort.com or visit http://www.kalamazoobanner.com 

Roger Lepley

Simple, Inexpensive Trade Show Solutions from Consort Display Group!

Eye-catching, inexpensive options for the standard 10’ x 10’ booth.



Display One 8' digital panel

Today, trade show presenters prefer simpler, easier to setup and more cost-effective displays. And, in this digital age, you can now display “up-to-the-minute” products and services with the right trade show products and creative talent from Consort. We can help you customize each show’s images for specific audiences to maximize your trade show dollars.

Look to Consort for a dependable array of RTR™ Retractor Banner Stands, Display One® Messenger®-X Banner Stands, Table Throw Covers, PortFolio® Tabletop Displays, and more, for the simple 10 x 10 or 10 x 20 booth. With most products manufactured and printed in Michigan, you’ll receive the utmost in customer care and service. Need graphic design assistance? Consort has been in the design business since 1984.



Digitally-printed Table Throw Cover

 In our opinion, your product or service should be the “shining star” and the object of attention in your booth – not the fancy booth hardware! With wide-format digital printing, great lighting and simple podiums, for example, you can tell your story and capture the interest of your audience without lots of expensive hardware and quirky fixtures. Typically, those more complicated booths are expensive to purchase, expensive to ship and time-consuming to assemble. They may even require professional set-up labor. Our suggestion is have a few easily assembled and dis-assembled pieces that fill up your booth space with large digital images that help you tell your story.



33" x 86' Retractor Banner Stand

 Once your Consort trade show display is up and ready, probably in 30 minutes or less, the rest is up to you! We can’t supply the enthusiasm, bright-eyes and energetic sales force who will look each attendee in the eye and tell your story, but we can help you get noticed and help you visually get the ball rolling!

"Tradeshow exhibiting can be an effective and rewarding marketing tool. But, they can be more cost effective and enjoyable with displays from Consort Display Group."

Roger Lepley

Abstracta Featured in Herman Miller's Chicago Showroom to Exhibit Alexander Girard's Work

     Once again our unique and versatile Abstracta Modular Display System is an integral part of an impressive exhibit of design talents. Abstracta is now featured in Herman Miller’s Chicago showroom on the 3rd floor of the Merchandise Mart. The photos here show our 13mm (1/2") tubing in white powder coat recently installed as part of NEOCON 2012. NEOCON - “where the design world comes together” - is the annual design event for the contract furniture industry. And, most anyone who visits NEOCON, visits the Herman Miller Showroom.
   Abstracta was chosen as the display medium by Michael McGinn Design as the “natural setting” to display the history of one of Herman Miller’s earliest and most formidable designers, Alexander Girard.
     In the words of the Herman Miller blog:

“Trained as an architect, but proficient in all manner of activities, Alexander Girard was introduced to Herman Miller through Charles Eames and George Nelson. He established the Herman Miller Textile Division in 1952, and served as its Director of Design until 1973. From his outpost in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he designed over 300 textiles in multitudes of colorways, multiple collections of wallpaper, decorative prints and wall hangings, an expansive group of furniture, and both decorative and useful objects.”

     His textiles and objects, although wonderful and intriguing on their own, seemed even more dynamic and brilliant in the thoughtful, seemingly simple (although very complex!) setting of the slim, white Abstracta forms and “just right” spot lighting and traffic patterns throughout the exhibit.

     The Girard exhibit comprises about 1,000 square feet of the extensive Herman Miller Showroom. The exhibit will be up for almost one year and may travel a bit after that to other venues. The 1,400+ Abstracta tubes and 800+ connectors were all pre-cut and finished prior to being delivered to the site and the McGinn Design team had the entire structure up in about three days! An impressive and amazing feat.

     We at Consort are also pleased with Michael McGinn's thoughtful words when we saw him at the exhibit on opening day: "I would say that for this audience the second most popular thing about the exhibit, after Alexander Girard, is Abstracta. I overheard many remarks about its simple beauty."

Thank you  Michael  for choosing Abstracta!

Photos courtesty of Bright-Lyons, Brooklyn, New York.

New BannerFlex Banner Bracket Online Store!

Consort’s new http://www.bannerflex.com/ banner bracket online store is now up and running. The new store makes the ordering of our street pole banner brackets easy and swift. There are two ways to go through the site and the products depending on how much you do or do not know about ordering the proper banner hardware for your project.

If you’re familiar with our BannerFlex® products it may be quicker for you to use the “Shop by Products” link at the upper left on the home page. If you need assistance on which brackets might be best and you would like to be guided through to the other accessories to consider, you can choose the “Guided Purchasing” option the menu bar at the top of the page.

The “Guided Purchasing” process is pretty impressive, actually! It begins with asking the type and size of light pole or utility pole and asks what size of banners you are considering. Once you’ve made those choices, the bracket options which are appropriate for your pole and your size of banners are shown with information attached to each bracket to help you make a selection. You can also choose regular aluminum color brackets or black powder coated at that time. After the brackets are chosen, attachment methods are given and, depending on your previous choices, either screw gear banding and/or tool-applied banding may be shown. Both of those options will be shown in both regular stainless steel color and black.

Other accessories are shown on the store which may be of interest. For example, the Wall Mount Plates are becoming more popular for folks wishing to mount vertical banners on buildings or large columns. Check out the three different shapes that we now offer.

We hope you’ll visit the new store soon. As always, if you have questions about these or any Consort products please email or call us at 800.525.6424 or 269.388.4532 and we’ll respond immediately. If you have any suggestions or comments about the new store please let us know!
Roger Lepley

View KBW Banners on Your Street Poles Before You Buy!

     Do you have a potentially new light pole banner project and you’re just not sure how the banners will look on your poles? If so, here’s some information for you. Our KBW/Consort art staff can show you exactly how those banners will “welcome” folks to your designated place.
     First, let me show you some actual before-and-after photos to get the idea rolling and then I’ll show you some “Photoshopped" images on poles with banners added digitally. The campus photos here are from Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Again, these are actual photos, not enhanced in any way. As you may be able to discern, the photos showing no banners were taken in late summer and the photos of the same locations, but with banners, were taken in early fall. Although the Hope College campus is in itself a wonderful place without banners, the addition of banners in certain locations adds a confident “invitation” to visitors and perhaps even a “sense of pride” for the students and the campus in general.

     Now, back to the question of how your location will appear or be enhanced prior to actually installing banners let’s look at the City of Monona, Wisconsin. The City supplied some photos of the intersection of Monona Drive and Broadway where they were considering adding banners to invite folks and show that sense of pride and place that is so important to all of our cities. In this case, Monona is a wonderful lakeside community adjacent to Madison. In order to assist in sustaining and promoting its own heritage and attributes, Monona has used light pole banners for many years in other areas, notably the well-known Monona Terrace. However, in helping to determine if larger banners were to be installed on a major thoroughfare, the city supplied our in-house sales representative, Corey Rolfe, with photos showing the “bare” light poles. Then, our Industrial Designer, Eastan Bakka, “installed” the single blue banners digitally onto the photo using Photoshop® - notice how the perspective and lighting is especially “real” with the four banners – pretty good, eh?! Yes.

     As it turns out, the city decided to purchase the banners, and our BannerFlex hardware, but made the change for single banners on many poles to double banners on less poles. They did not need us to show them that presentation.
     I hope this helps to explain the option of “mocking up” potential banner projects and how light pole banners can increase the look of success and pride in a neighborhood or campus.

Roger Lepley

Consort Adds to Waterjet Machining Capability

     Consort is pleased to announce the newest addition to our family. No, it’s not a baby! It’s an OMAX 80X WaterJet Machining Center. This amazing machine has a cutting bed of 13 feet long by 6.5 feet wide and will cut virtually any material including aluminum, steel, iron, titanium and high-tech composites as well as marble, granite, glass, tile, stone, wood and plastics.

     This new machine joins our smaller version, the OMAX 55100, that we’ve had for the past five years. Both machining centers are under the care of our in-house waterjet expert, Bryan Lepley, who attended the OMAX training center in Kent, Washington and who supervises the operation and maintenance. Also, our in-house design staff has been integral in joining Bryan with designing and programming for the machine.
     We purchased the first machine to assist us with manufacturing our own products but word spread that we possessed this capability and now we are pleased to be doing subcontract work for many Michigan-based manufacturing companies. Due to increased demand, we felt it necessary to increase our capability and this new machine is just the ticket! It’s an amazing device and we invite you to contact us for a tour.
     Some of the more unusual custom projects have been aircraft parts, huge steel tank parts and gaskets, many prototype components for local manufacturers, parts for Stanley Steamer automobile reproductions, granite and stone landscaping pieces and many others.

     For our own product lines, we’ve shown our restaurant-oriented line of hostess stands, chalk boards and logo wall signs at the past three National Restaurant Shows in Chicago in May and have enjoyed designing many projects for restaurants and  hotels around the US and Canada.
     In further explanation, a waterjet machine is simple in concept but, of course, the machine is an extremely complex, high-tech machine. It’s basically a very fine stream of water under pressure of up to 55,000 psi (your kitchen faucet is probably 50 to 100 psi, for example). And, garnet abrasive, a powdery sand-type material is streamed along with the water. The high pressure water combined with the abrasive will cut up to 6” thick solid steel. And, it cuts the material slightly underwater to minimize splashing. You need to see it to believe it!
     Please check out our custom waterjet site and let us know if we can interest you in using this amazing technology.
Roger Lepley

Introducing “QU™" - The Designer’s Tabletop Display and Signage System

     Beginning today, we are placing our durable little tabletop display into the eyes and ears of top designers around the world under the new brand “QU™”. The name is a takeoff of “queue”, meaning “list of data, to stand up in line” and so on. The strikingly simple name and logo design is the brainchild of our good friend, Thomas Mills, of MillsIdeas, LLC in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
     The product was born as “Pōdia Tabletop Display” in 2004 and has been widely accepted in the hospitality business in the US under that name. But, now it’s time for the rest of the world to know about this wonderfully durable display product and we are starting with designers. The reason for this approach is simple. QU perfectly displays an 8.5” x 11’ standard printed paper. And who makes the best looking printed pieces of paper? Designers!
     The designer simply and easily composes the graphics into a standard two-column format using any graphic program, including MS Word, prints the document, folds it lengthwise and inserts it into the QU capsule for an instant display.
     The better looking the graphics the better QU looks, for the capsule totally takes on the look of the document’s design.
     How would designers use QU? For virtually any and all smaller graphic and communication needs. Of course, because they’re easily changed they’re perfect for menus, communicating hotel and resort services and welcoming guests. But, also, they’re wonderful to display photos and messages about designer’s works for self promotion, client use for trade shows, case studies and special events.

     Also, the QU model with the built-in wall mount bracket allows QU to be easily mounted horizontally on any surface where a nail or screw is installed. Please see our http://www.meetqu.com/ website for more information and to order your QU today!
Roger Lepley

Digital, Digital, Digital! Doesn’t Anybody Screen Print Anymore?!

     Yes! For exterior vertical streetscape banners, Kalamazoo Banner Works by Consort, continues to offer both screen print and digital printing. And, although the process of digital imaging on vinyl media continues to grow, the screen printed textile banner is almost in a come-back mode, according to our in-house sales force here at Consort Display Group.
     Interestingly, many of our customers have never ordered digitally printed street banners because they like the textile look, and many have ordered digital but have sworn back to the acrylic marine fabric screen printed banner. We are seeing the second category grow.
     “Screen printed is just richer looking”, says a long-time customer from Battle Creek, Michigan. “The Sunbrella® fabric colors are warmer and more vibrant than vinyl. We’ve had both digital and screened up at various times, but there is definitely a difference. We especially like the screened marine fabric at the waterfront area where the look just seems more natural."
                                     

     "Normally customers who order screen print don’t stray from that type of banner. They are a pretty loyal customer base," says Consort Sales representative, Suzy Triesenberg. 
     There is no argument that digital has some distinct advantages for more complex designs, with detailed photographic images being possible. But, as I’ve written in previous blogs (click here) sometimes designers get carried away with complexity to the point of unreadability. With screen print, the images tend to be simpler and bolder and typically easier to understand from a distance.
     For a better understanding of the look of digital versus screen print images, please view our gallery of both methods on our KBW custom banner sites: click here for digital and click here for screen print. For specific questions please contact us at Consort.
Roger Lepley

Banners in Wauchula, Florida Celebrate the City’s Sandhill Crane Heritage

     The Kalamazoo Banner Works division of Consort was pleased to be asked by the Wauchula, Florida “Main Street Wauchula” (MSW) program to assist in designing and manufacturing their new street banners in mid-2010. Earlier this year, we received some wonderful installation photos showing the fun and somewhat whimsical banners up and greeting folks to this unique and historical town.
     Our KBW Florida dealer, Cynthia Roberts of Banner Works of Florida, was our main contact who handled all the details. And, our in-house Consort design staff fielded the design concepts and requests and came up with three versions showing a sandhill crane in action.
     Here’s a portion of what the local paper had to say in explanation of the designs:

     “When Main Street Wauchula’s Design Committee set a goal to get new banners for downtown, they decided they wanted banners that were unique to Wauchula and that would welcome visitors and educate them about Wauchula’s heritage. Wauchula’s name comes from a Miccosukee Indian word meaning ‘land of the sandhill crane.’ Appropriately, the sandhill crane would become a downtown icon and the focal point of the banners.”

     To carry the theme further, the MSW Design Committee states, “This year the committee has been working hard on the sandhill crane sculpture project. This project will place 2 life size sandhill cranes in the fountain located in the Heritage Park in downtown Wauchula.
     For all the planning and effort, MSW was given the Honor Award for “Outstanding Image Campaign or Promotional Material” at the Florida Main Street Conference last fall.

Congratulations to all involved!

Roger Lepley