Being pulled from an athletic event with an injury could be enough to wrinkle any high school athlete’s brow. But for members of the Vicksburg High School “Bulldogs” athletic teams in Vicksburg, Michigan, a visit to their athletic department’s training facility is no reason to permanently take on their canine mascot’s prominent pout.
Instead they’re encouraged to “turn that setback into a comeback” in colorful signage designed by Portage, Michigan-based Agio Imaging (www.agioimaging.com), a large-format custom print solution provider, which direct printed the motivational messages and graphics on Dibond® graphic display board (www.GraphicDisplay.com) by 3A Composites USA.
Marc Androsky, account executive, Agio Imaging, who is a Vicksburg High School parent, approached school leaders about “sprucing up” the training facility with bulldog mascot-inspired signage highlighted in Vicksburg’s red-and-white school colors, according to Davina Logan, director of sales, marketing and administration, Agio Imaging.
School athletic department administrators readily agreed to the training facility upgrade with Androsky—who Logan describes as “very creative and extremely knowledgeable”—taking the lead in signage design and the school agreeing to paint the facility’s walls and cabinetry.
“The idea was to transform the plain white space with the school’s colors and branding,” said Logan. “Marc wanted it to be a motivational, fun place to be. Even though students may be hurt when they enter the training room, we wanted to inspire them and to promote school spirit.”
Agio Imaging chose 3mm white Dibond supplied by the Grand Rapids, Mich., branch of distributor Laird Plastics (www.lairdplastics.com) for direct printing display graphics with a super-wide format UV printer. A CNC router was used to contour the signs to various sizes and shapes, including one circular sign and one arched sign with lettering.
(Note: Dibond is an aluminum composite material consisting of two pre-painted sheets of 0.012-inch aluminum bonded to a solid polyethylene core—a unique composition that makes it approximately one-half the weight of aluminum. As the flattest panel on the market, Dibond offers a superior surface for direct digital printing; it also can be routed and returned to add dimension or roll-formed to deliver sweeping curves. Dibond offers outstanding durability in outdoor applications and won’t bow or oil can.)
The five signs created for the training facility ranged in size from 47.5 inches-by-47.5 inches to 95 inches-by-47 inches.
Graphics were designed to recognize all Vicksburg High School athletic teams and to promote school spirit, including a large circular sign featuring a bulldog mascot caricature. “Vicksburg” lettering tops an arched sign describing the VHS Training Facility as the space “where Bulldogs mend their paws” and punctuated with a paw print.
“We chose Dibond for its rigidity and extreme durability in creating these large signs,” said Logan. “Dibond routes exceptionally well with clean, sleek edges and allows us to cut out custom shapes.”
Agio Imaging used stainless steel standoffs to install the signs on the walls of the Vicksburg High School Training Facility in October 2015. “The school loved these signs,” said Logan. “It was a complete transformation of the training room for them.”
For more information about Dibond, call (800) 626-3365, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.GraphicDisplay.com.
