Providing graphics can encompass more than printing onto vinyl—it can involve the cutting of thicker materials as well.
For example, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo held every March in Texas is not only the largest indoor rodeo in the world but it’s also one of the city’s biggest charity events, with yearly pledges to youth education of about $26 million. In fact, it has raised over $400 million since its beginning in 1932.
This year, SpeedPro Imaging Sugarland Owner Kirby Ducayet was awarded the opportunity to provide a variety of signage and wall murals for the three-week event.
Kirby had long desired to gravitate toward a career that spoke more to his artistic side, so last year, he and his son opened up their franchise location in Houston where they’ve successfully produced large/grand format graphics. “Our primary clients are mostly corporate and small businesses,” says Kirby.
In addition to his son, there are three other employees—a designer, a designer/fabricator, and his marketing manager (who also happens to be Kirby’s ex-wife!). In fact, it was the efforts of said ex-wife that snared the opportunity for Kirby to get his foot in the door with the Rodeo. “She’s been involved with the rodeo for the past ten years and knew some contacts over there. I’m glad I hired her,” he laughs.
Rodeo officials wanted to replace twenty-five die-cut silhouettes of various characters, as well as a hanging four-foot-diameter vinyl-decorated medallion for the Committeemens Club area. All had been used for many years, and all had seen better days.
The silhouettes are hung from the ceiling while lights shine onto them from the floor, in turn amplifying their size. “We took photographs of their old two-inch-thick foamboard silhouettes—a calf roper, a chuck wagon, a small calf, etc.—and imported them into design software as vectors. We had to do a lot of hand-tracing with a mouse,” says Kirby. “But fortunately, Rodeo officials allowed to modify these designs to reflect a style that’s more current. And we did.”
Since this is a volunteer-oriented organization, Kirby recognized upfront that they were on a strict budget, so he mapped out his substrates and materials accordingly.
SpeedPro Imaging Sugarland exported the vectorized images to their CNC router and cut them out from half-inch poster board stock.
The Committeemens Club badge was router-cut from the same poster board material while the full-color name and emblem were output onto 3M 180-IJC vinyl. “We laminated them for protection,” says Kirby.
They hung the silhouettes and badge with a 100-pound clear truss-head nylon to accommodate their size. “We don’t want anything coming down on their own,” says Kirby.
Attesting to their graphics specialties, SpeedPro Image Sugarland also printed and installed a 10-by-12-foot wall mural that featured a countryside scene of a barn with a flag of Texas painted onto it.
The end-result is an updated appearance for the cut signage, and the opportunity to do additional print and dimensional work for the Rodeo (and other committees) in the future.
“We feel extremely privileged because it’s probably the largest event that goes on in the Houston area,” says Kirby.
This was Kirby’s first time working for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, but it wasn’t his first experience with charity work. Kirby has worked with other local charities, including providing Neo-Natal helmets for infants with under-developed skulls.
“We donate 5 percent of our annual profits to charitable events,” says Kirby.
By Jeff Wooten
All photos: Speedpro Imaging Sugarland.
