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

Dori Pole Lake Home and Cottage Customers are Fun!

     The use of Dori Pole Pennants at lake homes and cottages is growing rapidly in North America. And, lake home and cottage owners are among our favorite customers because they almost always seem to be happy! The fact is, why not?! They’re communicating with us about a fun, unusual product (Dori Pole) for a fun place to be (their lake home)! So, when we have the opportunity we ask them how they found out about us or what prompted them to order a Dori Pole. And, if possible, we ask for a photo of the pole or poles in action.
     Here’s a great example of all that, from new “Dori Pole Friends” near Memphis, Tennessee:

     “We saw the Dori Poles around Clark Lake, Michigan while visiting there and fell in love with them! There was one on the dock of the cottage we rented and we were told it was there to scare off the geese, which really appealed to us, as we have a goose problem here on Walnut Grove Lake.”
     "Then, the next day during a boat ride, we saw lots of Dori Poles in all the different colors and we all decided we had to get them. So, when we got back to the cottage we did some serious Googling and found them on your web site. We each picked out the color we wanted and even contacted a couple of our friends back home and told them they needed to get one, to trust us, to pick out a color for them! Now we have 6 flags on the lake and they look so festive. The 7th will go on one of our neighborhood docks as soon as we have it refinished next week.” (MM, Cordova, TN)

     That's a wonderful story and as "MM" relates, there are two main reasons why Dori Poles are loved. One is the color and motion that happens with the slightest breeze, providing motion and a festive look. The other is the proven fact they the flowing pennants tend to deter geese and other nuisance birds from landing near them. Other reasons that customers give us for buying are that they help friends easily find their cottage on the lake. Also, one of my lake neighbors has four different colors of pennants that she chooses from to install depending on her mood or the seasons. We do the same thing with our three poles and on the 4th of July it’s red white and blue all the way. In fact, here’s a photo of our pontoon boat for our lake’s annual 4th of July pontoon parade. Lots of fun and lots of smiles!
Roger Lepley