In celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of Bucknell University’s iconic Sigmund and Claire Weis Center for the Performing Arts, members of the university’s Publications, Print & Mail Department wanted to do something that was larger than life. The team decided to commemorate the honorary milestone by installing graphics on the Weis Center’s 20 windows, each 65-by-75 inches in size and covering 677 total square-feet, with creative and visually stunning photographic images of season-featured Weis Center performers.
Working on a recommendation from Lindenmeyr Munroe, a supplier of wide format graphic materials, the team printed its photographic display on Mactac’s IMAGin WindowVIEW Perforated One-Way Visibility Window Film (WV139). By choosing this film, which has a 70/30 perforation, the window graphics offered a colorful and engaging welcome for those outside the building, while continuing to provide those on the inside the ability to see out.
The team designed and printed the graphics in-house using the university’s Roland VersaCamm 540i wide format eco-solvent printer.
After thorough research and a small-scale trial installation, four university employees completed the entire install in just three-and-a-half days.
Because of the exceptional design, print, and installation, the project was awarded the 2018 Association of College and University Printers (ACUP+) Gold medal and Best-In-Show award.
“We were really impressed with Mactac’s media and now WindowVIEW perf is one of the products we stock regularly because we love how it prints and installs,” says Tom Lydon from Bucknell University’s Publications, Print & Mail Department. “Initially, the graphics were only intended to be up for one year, but because of the project’s great success, we print and install new WindowVIEW perf graphics on the Weis Center every year. Additionally the rest of the campus departments have also requested graphics.”
The Marketing & Outreach Director for the performing arts center adds, “Our patrons have been impressed, stunned even, by the visually impactful window graphics. We often see patrons and campus visitors stopping to gaze at the windows and take pictures. This is exactly the kind of interaction we were hoping to achieve.”
Mactac’s IMAGin WindowVIEW WV139 is a 6.0-mil intermediate soft white vinyl film with a black reverse side that features 70 percent print surface and 30 percent open perforation with a 1.4 mm hole diameter for one-way visibility. It is coated on one side with a removable, clear acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive and supplied with a 6.0-mil paper release liner. It is designed for solvent-based inkjet printing for window graphics that are viewed from one side and “see-through” from the other side.
—Press Release
