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2015 PICA Awards

Producing a high quality product is very fulfilling,
recognition from your industry peers is tremendous!

On April 16^th at the PICA Awards 50^th Celebration we gathered with many of our printing peers to celebrate “Accomplishments in Print” for the year 2015. Only one “Best of” may be given in each category. One or more “Special Judges Award” or “Award of Excellence” may be given in each category, limited to no more than one third of total entries per category.

A panel of out of state judges with extensive experience in printing and print production was brought in to examine the work. Each entry was judged on its own merit in a category with similar printed pieces. The judging criteria included: registration, crossovers, clarity and neatness, sharpness of halftones and line drawings, richness and tonal qualities of color, paper and ink selection, ink coverage, difficulty of printing, effective contrast or softness, finishing, bindery, and overall visual impact.

5 of our Heritage Printing, Signs & Displays team members, accompanied by 2 wives (Lisa Smith and Allison Gibson), represented Heritage Printing, Signs & Displays & Graphics at the 2015 PICA Awards. The evening event was held at the Embassy Suites, one of the poshest hotels in Concord, NC. Their enormous ballroom was filled with 750+ entries, with over 250 printing representatives in attendance.

The winning entries were an impressive array of samples from: commercial print, custom packaging, interior and exterior signage, event signs and banners, custom displays and wide-format printing. At the reception, I escorted my wife (Lisa) through the winning entries, explaining the complexities and variations of “Print”, how it’s applied, the equipment needed to produce the impressive samples and how Heritage Printing, Signs & Displays competes in the industry. She was amazed at the imagery and creativeness of the work, she commented on how expansive the “Print Industry” truly is.

The Presentation of Sponsored Awards was precluded by the acknowledgement of the PICA Board and the 50 years of service PICA has dedicated to the printing industry and serving our peers. Numerous recognition awards were presented to present and past leaders of PICA amongst a boisterous round of appreciative applause.

The Sponsored Award Winners included:

Arzberger Stationers won 5 Best of Category Awards and 5 Special Judges Awards and also won the Athens “Most Creative Use of Paper” award
Classic won 13 Best of Category Awards, 20 Special Judges Awards and 7 Awards of Excellence and also won the KBA “Best Catalog” award
Heritage Printing, Signs & Displays won 14 Best of Category Awards and 2 Special Judges Awards and also won the FujiFilm “Best Wide Format” award
iTek Graphics won 11 Best of Category Awards, 13 Special Judges Awards and 4 Awards of Excellence and also won the Manchester Industries “Best Process Color Printing” award
Loftin & Company Printers won 4 Best of Category Awards and 3 Special Judges Awards
Mullen Publications, Inc. won2 Best of Category Awards and 2 Special Judges Awards
Print Management Group LLC won 4 Best of Category Awards, 3 Special Judges Awards and 1 Award of Excellence
ImageMark Business Services won 4 Best of Category Awards, 3 Special Judges Awards and 2 Awards of Excellence
Subtle Impressions Inc. won 1 Best of Category Award
Westmoreland Printers, Inc. won 1 Special Judges Award and 1 Award of Excellence

Our FujiFilm “Best Wide Format” award was in recognition of the project we participated in for Google’s celebration of the 25^th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We printed and installed 10 portrait murals on the stairs at 6 different historic landmarks in Washington, DC. Click this link to learn more…

Heritage Team — Heritage Signs & Displays Team

The official PICA press release announcing Heritage Signs & Displays:

PRINTING EXCELLENCE IN THE CAROLINAS RECOGNIZED

Heritage Printing, Signs & Displays Announced as
Award Winner in the 2015 PICA Awards

Charlotte, NC — The Printing Industry of the Carolinas (PICA) has announced that Heritage Printing, Signs & Displays, Inc. of Charlotte is an award winner in the 2015 PICA Awards Competition. The announcement was made April 16, 2016, during the 2015 PICA Awards Banquet in Concord, North Carolina, with more than 270 industry professionals in attendance.

The PICA Awards competition is celebrating its 50th season and continues to be one of the largest printing contests in the nation.

This year, the PICA Awards attracted more than 630 entries from 47 printing companies, along with more than 125 entries from 5 graphic arts high schools and 7 college graphic arts programs from across the Carolinas.

Heritage Printing, Signs & Displays won 14 Best of Category Awards and 2 Special Judges Awards. Only one “Best of” may be given in each category. One or more Special Judges Award or Award of Excellence may be given in each category, limited to no more than one third of total entries per category. Heritage Printing, Signs & Displays also won the FujiFilm “Best Wide Format” award.

A panel of out-of-state judges with extensive experience in printing and print production was brought in to examine the work. Each entry was judged on its own merit in a category with similar printed pieces. The judging criteria included: registration, crossovers, clarity and neatness, sharpness of halftones and line drawings, richness and tonal qualities of color, paper and ink selection, ink coverage, difficulty of printing, effective contrast or softness, finishing, bindery, and overall visual impact.

For more information, call Brent Thompson at
Heritage Printing, Signs & Displays at 704-551‐0700

Since 1931, The Printing Industry of the Carolinas, Inc. (PICA) has been dedicated to advancing the success of the Carolinas’ printing and imaging industry. Working together with Printing Industries of America, the world’s largest graphic arts trade association, PICA provides training, resources, and a voice of advocacy on both a state and national level.

PICA is a trade association representing the graphic communications industry in North and South Carolina. North Carolina ranks as the 18th largest state print market in the United States with $3.5 billion in sales, 1,326 total printing establishments and 21,187 employees. South Carolina ranks 32nd in the nation, with $1.2 billion in sales, 525 establishments, and 7,776 employees. PICA is headquartered in Charlotte, NC. For more information, visit www.picanet.org.

The PICA Awards Competition, owned and managed by The Printing Industry of the Carolinas (PICA), is an annual event established in 1966 that recognizes and rewards printing and imaging companies who combine fine craftsmanship with technology in order to produce outstanding finished products. The award‐winning companies are honored each year at the PICA Awards Banquet.

Click here to watch the video

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Heritage Signs & Displays adds Mimaki Extra-Wide Flatbed Printer

Post author By admin
Post date February 22, 2016
No Comments on Heritage Signs & Displays adds Mimaki Extra-Wide Flatbed Printer

Sometimes you get on a good roll and things just seem to fall into place, almost like a dream, that’s what I’ve been on since last summer! Today I’m proud to announce that we have added another impressive piece of technology to our unsurpassed arsenal of signage equipment.

The Mimaki JFX500-2131
EXTRA-WIDE Format
Flatbed UV Printer!

Career Move

It all started in August of 2015, when I made the decision to make a career change and was welcomed on as the full time marketing manager at Heritage Printing, Signs & Displays, to work at the Charlotte office. Heritage Printing, Signs & Displays was in the process of acquiring another print shop and relocating the Maryland facility to its current address in Waldorf, MD. My career move was, as expected, an exhilarating and refreshing change of pace and it has proven to be much better than I originally anticipated. We continue to improve our products, services, equipment, employees (yes, we are always looks for exceptional people, click here) and technologies.

Waldorf

The trip to our nation’s capital (Waldorf is just outside the Capital Belt) to visit my new coworkers and learn about the world of commercial printing and mailing services was without a doubt an unmeasurably educational and fun experience.
Read my post about Waldorf

NEW Envelope Press

Almost the same day I returned to our office in Charlotte, the new Xante’ Impressia envelope press arrived at Waldorf. I knew the envelope presses we own and operate are awesome, but the Impressia puts them all on the back burner.

I did the math: with the new Xante’ Impressia envelope press, we can print up to 78 FULL Color #10 envelopes per minute. THAT’S: 78 envelopes x 1440 minutes in a day = 112,320 FULL Color Envelopes printed in 1 day!
Read my post about the Impressia

BOSSLASER

I knew for some time that we were researching Laser cutting/engraving technology. In January the laser research ended and shortly thereafter, our new BOSSLASER arrived! The BOSSLASER carbon dioxide (CO2) laser provides exact cuts with smooth edges. The BOSS (as we like to call it) provides the ability to cut acrylics and other substrates that our CNC router wasn’t able to cut. We now have custom sign capabilities above and beyond any Charlotte Sign Company!
Read my post about the BOSSLASER

THE MIMAKI!

Now we really turn it up with the Mimaki! While setting the flatbed printer up in our shop, there were no less than 20 Ricoh sales representatives in and out of our office that day. The JFX500-2131 is the latest and greatest, cutting edge, flatbed printer available and most of these East Coast Ricoh representatives have seen only one and it was at the Print Expo in Atlanta. (that’s where we saw it too)

Now Heritage Printing, Signs & Displays is the showcase for Ricoh!

So what’s the BIG DEAL??

Simply, the Mimaki prints on wider, longer and thicker substrates than any of its competitors. All this with higher quality and faster print speeds! THAT is a big deal! The typical high-end flatbed printer will print 4’ x 8’ boards at thicknesses not to exceed 1 ½”, our Mimaki can print boards up to 7’ x 10’ up to 2” thick! (and all sizes in-between)

FAST TOO!

Having the BIGGEST horse in the race doesn’t always mean he’s the fastest, not true with our Mimaki. This flatbed printer can produce print speeds up to 646 Sq Ft per hour! That’s 20 boards (4’ x 8’) an hour, our previous flatbed printed a maximum of 7 boards an hour. That’s almost a 3 to 1 improvement. When you need it now, you know who to call!

Quality

BIG & Fast is one thing, quality is another! The first thing I learned about Heritage Printing, Signs & Displays is QUALITY!!! It’s in the people we hire, facilities we own and the equipment we use, we’re not always cutting edge like this Mimaki, but we firmly believe:

Quality People + Quality Equipment = Quality Products

Anti-Banding Technology

Variable drop printing, combined with Mimaki’s Advanced Pass System (MAPS) technology ensures precise and accurate print quality throughout the printing process. The MAPS technology greatly reduces the appearance of banding and the result is a smoother image.

What we can print with the Mimaki JFX500-2131

Acrylics
Aluminum
Backlit Signs
Foam Board
Glass
Metal
Point of Purchase Displays
Polycarbonates
PVC
Signs & Posters
Styrene
Wood

What’s Next?

Well, there’s a lot on the horizon for us. We are currently seeking enthusiastic, self-motivated individuals to add to our team, both here in Charlotte and our Waldorf facility. Re-read the quality comment and visit the careers link (1^st link in this post) to see what’s currently available. But don’t stop there, if the positions listed aren’t in your preferred list, send us your resume anyway. We are firm believers in improvement and the way to improve is to surround yourself with people better than yourself. Let’s see if you qualify!

WOW!

Suffice to say, few people have witnessed the level of professional change that I have since the summer of 2015. To most people, change represents turmoil and upheaval. I hope those people will read this post, follow my digital journey and enjoy a refreshing point of view: Change is GOOD!

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Tags Charlotte Sign Shop

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Photography Backdrops Charlotte

Post author By admin
Post date December 11, 2015
No Comments on Photography Backdrops Charlotte

What’s on your Christmas Wish List…a new camera, how about a new smartphone! This year has witnessed an enormous advancement in smartphone technology, maybe the largest since the introduction itself, that’s up for debate. There’s no doubt that today’s cell phones have incredible capabilities, slow-motion videos, who would have guessed?

With “Mobile” becoming such a day to day (who am I kidding….moment to moment) part of our lives, many things have improved dramatically, especially photographs!

With the flash comes the subject and the backdrop… how many great pictures have been reduced to mediocrity because of a bad background?
How many memorable moments have been obscured by the unfortunate inhabitants in your background?

Professional photographers utilize portable backdrops to create the ambience they envision prior to the flash. With smartphone photography advancing to such a high level, many amateurs are just as pleased with their phone pics so why invest in the bulky, expensive and complicated cameras and equipment?

If it’s a photography backdrop you need, we have the selection to satisfy any amateur, professional or smartphone photographer. Our extra wide format printers produce immaculate photo backdrops, couple that with affordability, value and portability and you have the best backdrop available! Click here to visit our Photography Backdrop web page.

Hi, Kevin Smith here again, todays post is about photography backdrops. I hope you visit the link above and check out some of our work. Most backdrops are printed on fabric, the flexibility, durability and ease of use make it almost a unanimous choice for a video or photo shoot. We also print a lot of vinyl, which is a significant cost advantage but is much less compactable and must be rolled around a tube for storage.

We cater to a variety of photographer’s needs, our very affordable 8’ x 8’ portable fabric backdrop is a favorite among all Charlotte photographers, and it works great with 2 subjects. The 8’ x 10’ will easily provide backdrop coverage for 3 people, with most professional photographers ordering one of each. We also have the larger 8’ x 12’ photo backdrop for larger shoots with groups of people up to 4.

Custom lengths are available with a variety of options for erecting the backdrop. Your Heritage Printing, Signs & Displays account specialist will gladly describe all aspects of the backdrop in a professional and pleasant manner.

We offer a variety of fabrics for various photographic backdrops:

One Sided Print
Two Sided with No “See Thru” Print (unique on each side)
Portable and Reusable (easy to assemble & disassemble)
Soft Touch Fabrics
Durable Fabrics
Wrinkle Free Fabrics

Your photographic needs determine the mounting hardware we utilize for your backdrop. We stock a high quality aluminum hardware that will stand the test of time and will easily display your backdrop shoot after shoot.

We create the photo backdrops you need
@ a price you can afford!

Need help with a unique backdrop for a special photo client? Our creative services team work with you or your client to create any original backdrop you can imagine.

#PhotographicBackdrops