Printing for Christmas

We recently completed a 24′ h x 40′ w digitally printed project for Brian Setzer for the current “Christmas Rocks! Extravaganza” tour.  We have worked with this client before and enjoy doing their projects, and in the past have provided everything from traditional textiles to digitally printed backdrops to stage set elements.  But our most favorite time of the year is Christmas - we love to decorate and celebrate - and we always get excited about participating in Christmas shows, so this was a fun print project to tackle.

The project took one week to complete.  We did not design the artwork ourselves - instead it was build by the client’s own graphic artist as a vector file in Adobe Illustrator ®.  This was a cartoon-style graphic - lots of color and bright imagery. 

This type of graphic particularly lends itself to being digitally printed - the blues and bright tones show so well under concert stage lighting.

For this backdrop, we chose a heavy knit for two reasons.  First, in our industry, being flame retardant to national standards (at a minimum) is very important, and this material met the client’s requirements in terms of flame retardancy.  Second, knit type materials are perfect when the client needs to store the pieces folded up - when re-hung, the knit fabric relaxes and the wrinkles tend to hang out fairly well.  As you can imagine, in a stage or concert backdrop, clients don’t want to see wrinkles!

We use exclusively 3M inks with our 120″ Vutek QS3200 printer and use Colorburst for our RIP software.  I think the combination of the inks, the printer, and the software really come together for beautiful colors in the end product. 

For this project, print time took four hours, not including sewing / finishing time.  The piece was finished with webbing, grommets & ties across the top (we use a Jopevi electric grommet machine), which is a traditional backdrop finish.  The sides are durably hemmed (we prefer Consew brand commercial sewing machines) and the bottom is completed with a hidden weight pocket to help the drop hang nicely.

Offering digitally printed textiles in addition to our regular services is a benefit to our clients and allows us to keep the complete show in-house in terms of production.   I tend to post a lot about concert projects we work on - primarily because those are the projects that we can usually get photos of or find videos on YouTube.  However, as a full service sewing shop, we do produce all sorts of textile products for the theatre and stage, including traditional stage draperies, and more and more we are beginning to get request for digitally printed backdrops from schools, churches, and other non-tour customers - they really add a beautiful element to a show, and if the artwork is nice (such as a beautiful snow scene), the drop can be used at the annual holiday show for years to come.

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Swags and Digitals for the Eagles

Recently, both Sew What? and Rent What? had the opportunity to contribute custom stage drapery to The Eagles West Coast Tour, which opened on Monday in Portland, OR.

Production designer Butch Allen send us some rehearsals photos of our drapes on set - and I think they are just amazing!    Take a look at these Silver Swags from Rent What? :

Design: Butch Allen Designs; Photo Credit: Butch Allen

Also included in the rental package provided by Rent What? was a 24′ h x 50′ w backdrop, digitally printed by Sew What? to give the appearance of parchment (see the background in the photo above), as well as black masking pieces.

The tour also purchased a 24′ h x 24′ w custom digitally printed backdrop from Sew What?  Printed on clear vinyl, the clock image is dramatic while still allowing a view of the parchment backdrop behind it (as above).  Clever lighting in another scene makes the clock appear blue:

Design: Butch Allen Designs; Photo Credit: Butch Allen

More clever lighting, and somehow the drapery looks completely different:

Design: Butch Allen Designs; Photo Credit: Butch Allen

I can’t decide which of these three photos is my favorite; all three are just so beautiful.  Butch has created a wonderful set design, and I am so proud that Sew What? and Rent What? were brought on board to bring Butch’s vision to life. 

The show is in Seattle tonight, and then goes to Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles, before finishing up in San Diego on December 21st.  So, if you happen to get to one of the shows - check out the drapery and let me know what you think!

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“Moulin Rouge” comes to life through drapery

A couple of weeks ago, we made a set of custom stage curtains that I thought were so beautiful and innovative that I just had to post about them.  I have seen a lot of gorgeous drapery over the years at Sew What? but these drapes really are something special -  a modern-day re-creation of the original Moulin Rouge stage drapes!

Once the fabric for the drapes was chosen (IFR Crimson 15oz Synthetic Velour), it was time to decide how to incorporate the decorative images that were essential to recreating the iconic Moulin Rouge drapes.  We considered hand-painting the images onto the drape (this would have been the obvious choice as recently as a year or two ago).  Instead, the design team thought “outside the box” and said, “Why not digitally print the image directly onto the fabric?”

John Rios of Grafix Jam was able to re-create the Moulin Rouge imagery into a digital vector file, which our printing staff used to print directly onto the fabric.  This was not an easy process - printing onto colored fabric presents a unique set of challenges - but our design team managed the task brilliantly, printing an under layer of white ink and then overlaying the colored image, to get just the right image color.

Our sewing staff then took on the challenge, sewing together the drapes and adding rich gold bullion fringe and trims.

The finished drapery, consisting of two main drapes at 30′ h x 31′ w, with a matching 8′ h x 60′ 6″ w border, turned out to be absolutely gorgeous - we are so proud to have made this on behalf of our sister company Rent What? Inc. and to know that, as part of their rental inventory, these drapes will be featured in concerts across the country.  As a matter of fact, the drapes are making their debut this month as a key component of the stage design for R. Kelly’s “Ladies Make Some Noise” tour!

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Mixed Media Backdrop? What’s that?

I seem to recall way back in grade school, doing “mixed media” art projects.  The fact is, I can’t really say that any of these “art” projects of mine were very artistic.  The best you could say about them was that they were “crafty” - bits of macaroni glued on a paper plate, bits of ribbon and sequins - something only a mother could love!

Here at Sew What? we have been exploring a new meaning for the term “Mixed Media,” and in my mind it really is a form of art.  In a stage backdrop context, “mixed media” refers to combining a number of different textural elements to make one dramatic piece of stage scenery.

Not sure what I mean?  Rather than trying to explain it, I’ll let some of our recent projects do the talking:

Mixed Media - Lady Gaga Style

• Digitally printed backdrop, with cut elements appliqued to scenery netting
• Attach to that a front projection screen for low res moving imagery
• Embed some LED lights on a basic battery pack, along with some smoke lines, for the gift that keeps on giving
• One backdrop and about 100 looks!  That’s Mixed Media Lady Gaga Style!

Mixed Media - Motley Crue Style

• Translucent poly substrate, digitally printed with bold graphics
• Take out various elements  and fill with mesh
• Add a backside applique in areas to reduce transparency strategically
• Rock it Crue-Style with front lighting looks and back lighting blow through, and then whip it away kabuki-style when you’re done!

Mixed Media - Soulja Boy Style

• All-American Red, White, and Blue backdrop on a traditional cloth substrate
• Step it up a notch with glossy lenses - digitally rear-printed clear vinyl elements appliqued into the design strategically to give the appearance of reflective sunglass lenses
• The result?  A dramatic backdrop that looks back at the audience! 

These are just a few examples of the huge diversity of looks that are achievable with a mixed media backdrop.  In the past, a scenic backdrop was simply fabric and a printed or painted image.  Now, with mixed media, a backdrop can be so much more. 

Mixed media is a concept that was introduced to us here at Sew What? a few years ago, and since then we have run with it and are continually “pushing the envelope” to find better and better ways to achieve the client’s vision in better and more innovative ways.  It’s not just about the fabric anymore!

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Pipe & Drape – It’s Not Just for Trade Shows Anymore

You may not know what it is called, but you have probably seen pipe and drape at some point.  If you have gone to a home or craft show at your local convention center, if you have gone to a convention for your business association and there was an exhibitor hall at the hotel…chances are, you’ve seen pipe and drape systems (also called exhibit supply).

“Pipe and drape” is the common term for the components used to make trade show booths.  Depending on the components selected, pipe and drape can be used to make a single back wall, an individual booth or even a series of connected booths.  And they are easy to put together.  Simply place the bases on the ground, insert the uprights, thread the drapes onto the telescopic drape supports, and insert the drape supports to the top of the uprights.  No wonder they are used for trade shows – they are quick and easy to set up and take down and they are relatively inexpensive.

These same features of pipe and drape make it a great alternative for many applications outside the trade show circuit.  With just a few components, a church can have a 3 foot high privacy screen in front of the choir onstage.  If the choir isn’t singing for a service, the privacy screen can be quickly dismantled and placed offstage.  A high school can use pipe and base to decorate the school gym for the prom.  Instead of looking at gym walls and bleachers, the students could be looking at beautiful satin or voile drapery, easily displayed around the entire perimeter of the gym on pipe and base hardware.  A retail store could use pipe and drape as a backdrop to an open window display.  Radio stations could use pipe and base, along with digitally printed backdrops displaying the station’s logo, to make promotional booths outside rock concerts.

The possibilities are endless.  All it takes is a little imagination.

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Is there such a thing as a “Green” ink for digital printing?

As I continue to explore the question of eco-friendly textiles, I have been thinking about digital printing. As more and more artists become interested in protecting the environment, we have begun to have more requests for “green” custom band backdrops.  We already have some eco-friendly options available for the fabric substrate, but what about the inks used in digital printing?  UV Curable, Water-based, EcoSolvent, Mild/Light Solvent, Full Solvent – which is best, ecologically speaking?

I would assume (based on the name) that a great choice for digital printing would be to use eco solvent inks.  The reality, however, is that these inks aren’t nearly as ecologically friendly as the name implies.  In researching eco solvent inks, I learned that they contain HAPs (Hazardous Air Pollutants) and VOCs (Volatile Organic Components).  Maybe eco solvent inks are better in comparison to other types of solvent inks, but that doesn’t mean they are good for us.

I’m interested in a new type of ink being touted by EFI – Bio-Solvents.  According to a white paper by EFI, bio-solvent Inks “contain no harmful VOCs and have the best health and environmental profiles available”.  EFI does make a bio-solvent ink (BioVu), so they aren’t exactly an unbiased source.  However, their literature does display the Environmental Protection Agency’s DfE logo, so I am feeling more confident (though I will continue to research this new category of inks before making a decision).

If this is all true, then bio-solvents may be the wave of the future.  Right now, EFI’s BioVu inks are only available for use with one printer type – EFI’s VUTEk 3360 product line – but they say that they have plans to roll it out to other product lines in the future.  I’ll keep my eyes out for it and let you know.

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Direct Print vs Dye Sublimation – What’s the difference?

One of the products we offer is custom digital backdrops – the customer supplies the artwork as a digital file, and we print the artwork onto fabric or mesh and then sew it into a fabulous backdrop.  Yes, sometimes for the tours of major recording artists like Kenny Chesney, but many other times for a school or church production or a special event or…

There are the two primary methods of digital printing – direct print and dye sublimation.  In many cases, customers ask, what is the difference between the two?  What makes one method better than another?

Well, here is a very basic primer on the topic.  With Direct Print, the inks are printed directly onto a coated fabric substrate.  Due to the coating, the backdrop tends to be slightly stiffer.  With Dye Sublimation, a paper transfer process is used to convert the ink solid into a gas, which then “etches” the image into the fabric.  As the fabric substrate is not coated, a dye sublimated backdrop tends to be a little softer and more flexible.

So, which is better?  Depends on the individual project.  Direct print can be printed onto fabric up to 16’ in width, allowing larger seamless backdrops or fewer seams on an extra large backdrop.  Dye sublimation, on the other hand, can only be printed onto fabric up 10’ wide, meaning anything bigger would require seams.  However, the image tends to have better resolution and color vibrancy.  Not sure what would work best for your project?  We can help find the right print method and substrate to meet your needs and your budget.

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