PCI Graphics in Rockville, Maryland, has always been a company at the forefront of the industry’s technological advances. From its founding in 1977 to its evolution in the 2000s into a digital provider of graphics for tradeshows, corporations and museums, PCI has always sought out the best and most innovative technology.
Recently, PCI added DG DIMENSE’s Dimensor S textural printer to its busy production floor. We talked with PCI President Ryan Lombard about why they chose the Dimensor S, what trends he believes textural printing will enable, and what he sees for the future of interior graphic design.
SBI: Please tell us about PCI Graphics today.
Ryan Lomarb (RB): PCI has long been in the corporate interior décor market. We also provide interior and exterior event and tradeshow graphics. All of these markets require temporary graphic installations, ranging from graphics meant to last a single day to those installed for the five- to 10-year duration of a corporate lease.
There’s not much we can’t do in this segment of the industry. We produce graphics that run from floor to ceiling, including floor graphics, dimensional logos, wall murals, SEG fabric, display graphics, and even large exterior building banners.
SBI: Who are your clients?
RB: Our client base is wide-ranging, corporations, association, design agencies, event décor consultants, museums, architects and artwork consultants.
SBI: What made you decide to invest in the Dimensor S? What capabilities were you looking for?
RB: We have always tried to stay one step ahead of where we see the tech going in
the industry.
Interestingly, the Dimensor S was an impulse buy for us. Two years ago, at the PRINTING United Expo, our team came back from walking the show floor and said, “You have to see this.” We talked to the representatives at the booth and then did our homework. We were familiar with Roland DG and the quality of its printheads.
The Dimensor S’s output is totally different and game changing. It’s the next thing for our industry. We totally embraced it and knew our client base would take to it.
Our DG DIMENSE printer helps us position our company as a producer of high-value output for discerning clients. It provides differentiation for our company and helps us be a leader within the marketplace.
We’ve found that our art consultant clients immediately understand the potential of being able to print texture and color simultaneously – they already have creative license and the freedom to install cutting-edge, one-of-a-kind pieces. Other clients need more hand holding to understand how to use its capabilities in their designs, but the interest is strong.
SBI: What types of projects are you producing on the Dimensor S?
RB: These days we are printing a lot of art installations, which are essentially individual prints that are being framed as one-of-a-kind artwork. We’ve also done wall murals, including one that runs 300 linear feet with patterns and textures. We also did a corporate interior that had a product-based spin to it. This is a very appealing product for super high-value environments like trophy spaces or five-star hotels.
SBI: What do you think your clients appreciate most about your output?
RB: How unique it is. Our clients are designing unique interior environments for their own very discerning clients. Dimensor S output is not for everyone – it’s a high-end product and takes some effort to create. More than anything else we produce, it’s viewed as a piece
of artwork.
SBI: Overall, what trends for interior design are you seeing these days?
RB: The corporate office space market is going through a transformation. There’s a move toward soft surfaces for acoustic dampening in open spaces. We’re also getting requests from companies that are converting offices into recording studios to develop content which further adds to the need for soft surfaces and textures.
We are definitely seeing a push toward texture in general. Whether it’s DG DIMENSE output or pre-textured vinyl, textures are engaging and draw people in.
Overall, when approaching a project, we look at the Dimensor S as well as our other equipment and try to provide ideas to clients to help them create a multi-faceted environment. We believe we are producing our best work for today’s clients when we provide options for different surfaces, colors, and textures in a space. In corporate environments or public spaces, these multifaceted designs prove to be the most engaging ones.
In hallways, for example, there’s more visitor engagement if there is a textured wall surface, especially if that texture incorporates a subtle branding play like a logo icon that can be stepped out very subtly on a textured wall.
We still install lots of vinyl on smooth walls, but something like vinyl on brick which brings the underlying texture through is a great enhancement – it’s something that causes somebody to want to touch the wall and also warms the space.
SBI: What lies ahead for PCI Graphics?
RB: I’d like to see Dimensor S textural output spec’d into corporate and environment architectural plans. Once Dimensor S textural output is incorporated into the buildout renovation and design plan, that will be the next big shift in the architectural universe.
