Brampton, Ontario, Canada - Canadian full-service printing company Still Creek Press recently used Drytac’s ViziPrint Impress Clear PET film to produce a colourful set of interior window graphics for the University of British Columbia. Based in Burnaby in British Columbia (near Vancouver), Still Creek Press is a diversified printing business, specialising in commercial sheetfed, web offset, digital, and large-format print. The company works with a wide range of customers, including many within the local community.

One such client is the University of British Columbia, which approached Still Creek Press to create interior window graphics for the head office of its Department of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies department. The project required applying graphics to glass walls that made up three sides of the office. The main challenge facing Still Creek Press was to address the issue of high traffic in and around the office, and ensuring it worked with a material that was not at risk of being accidentally ripped off by passers-by.

Another challenge for the team was the natural light shining in through the windows and to ensure the graphics did not block this out completely. To negate this risk, Still Creek Press printed several samples with different colour percentages to see how each option performed during the various seasons over a period of eight months. Staff then selected the best option for use in the final piece. Still Creek Press elected to work with ViziPrint Impress Clear film, purchased from approved Drytac reseller ND Graphics, from the very start of the project. A highly versatile solution, the film can be reverse printed and does not stretch or shrink. It also offers excellent print quality with unprinted areas remaining super clear, while installation is easy, with users able to reposition and re-apply the film multiple times.

The graphics featured various elements including partial maps of Europe, ancient text and symbols, as well as wording depicting the department’s name and contact details. Still Creek Press printed the graphics in house on its Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX flatbed LED UV printer.

Bruce Lee, wide-format manager at Still Creek Press, said the company is a long-term user of Drytac materials and was familiar with ViziPrint Impress Clear, having used it in several other projects. For this reason, the team was confident that the film would deliver once again. “We fell in love with the product the first time we used it,” Bruce said. “We currently have all the windows in our own shop covered with this product.

“One of the added bonuses of working with this material is that you don’t need an installer to go back and remove the graphics," noted Lee. “It can be easily removed by the client with no effort at all and it doesn’t leave any residue behind. Plus, it can be applied wet or dry, making it even more versatile.”

As to the customer’s reaction to the final piece, Lee said the graphics have been extremely well received by both staff and students at the university. “The department was the talk of the campus as news travelled about their unique windows,” he reported. “What was once a dark long corridor with outdated images was transformed into a stunning visual that also incorporated the use of natural light.”