B&B puts the show on the road with wide format mural installation at California RV shop
The B&B Print Source team completed a recent large-format installation that gives new meaning to the words “Go big or go home!”
Johnson RV was looking for a way to inspire their customers from the moment they walked in the door. They chose to install murals of their recreational vehicles exploring the great outdoors. The difference at the Gilroy, California, office was stunning.
Yet for B&B, breathing new life into a business in a big way is all part of a day’s work. Large-format wall murals are a standard deliverable for B&B and a rapidly growing specialty for the commercial printer.
“These murals were printed on our new Canon Colorado Gel UV ink roll-to-roll printer,” said B&B Wide Format Manager David Henderson. “The gel inks are very durable and do not require a laminate. This keeps costs down and reduces production time. We’ve used and tested many products over the years on our test wall at B&B and have settled on the Arlon 8200 material for our murals. It has performed very well.”
With a high-quality, proven product, B&B next had to overcome the unique challenges this project presented.
“The first challenge with large murals comes on the front end in getting the walls prepped correctly,” said David. “With the introduction of low-VOC paints, wall preparation is key, especially in California where you can only get low-VOC paint. Ordinarily, nothing will stick to it, and the murals will fail and be on the floor by morning.”
The team did a huge amount of research and ultimately settled on a low-VOC primer they knew could stand up to the Arlon 8200. The project was completed at the end of September and is still standing strong. Far from being on the floor the next morning, the team expects the murals to serve the company until Johnson RV is ready for a refresh.
The second challenge in a wide format project like this is getting images with the correct resolution, which in this case were supplied by Johnson RV’s vendors. B&B lays out and proofs the murals and double checks the resolution of each image at size. The team notes any issues on the proof and alerts the client.
“Once we have images sorted out, we panel out the mural for print with a 1” overlap on the seams,” said David. “The murals are then quality-controlled, rolled onto a core, and boxed up for shopping.”
The third challenge unique to this project was finding an out-of-town installer. Johnson RV chose Portland-based B&B because of a relationship at the company, but finding an installer nearby who could do the whole team proud? That was a concern.
B&B has a process for this. “We will reach out to local wide-format shops similar to B&B in the area of the project and review the project with them, and they will let us know if the project is a good fit,” said David. “The wide-format community is a supportive group and they are always willing to help with a project.”
B&B ultimately teamed up with New Direction Sign Service based in Morgan Hills, Calif, who met the expectations for a flawless installation of 637 square feet of murals in the building’s office, lobby, and lounge.
Johnson RV was over the moon about the office’s new look. The murals are meant to enhance the customer experience and inspire drivers to take to the road in their new or recently serviced RVs. It even pleased the most discerning of judges—marketing directors Kareem Omar and Danny Dragomir, also director of eCommerce.
“The murals look great!” said Kareem, while Danny noted, “Nice work!” And they mean business.