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![\"1e06bf55b073150519865bb6161cedb0_f306\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.graphicdisplay.3acompositesusa.com\/2015\/05\/1e06bf55b073150519865bb6161cedb0_f306.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\u201cThey felt like they were missing a rare opportunity to be creative,\u201d said Currier. \u201cThese guys are pretty resourceful. If there\u2019s a way to get a job done, they\u2019ll find it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fortunately, VUTEk is at the forefront of providing large-format inkjet printers that are capable of high-quality digital direct printing to substrates. This process allows a complicated, intricate job like the clock designs to be completed quickly, saving both time and materials.<\/p>\n
The clock components were direct printed on sheets of 3mm white Sintra\u00ae and 3mm Dibond\u00ae Brushed Silver graphic display boards by 3A Composites USA with the VUTEk PressVU 200\/600 digital inkjet printer. The images were router cut with MGE i-cut digital die-cutting software.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth materials (Sintra and Dibond) are easily printed on a flatbed printer,\u201d said Currier. \u201cWhen combined with a cutter, these jobs are completed quickly. It\u2019s so much more efficient to be able to print directly to a rigid substrate instead of mounting a printed image to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The VUTEk application specialists assembled a dozen clocks in three different designs that measured 16 inches in diameter and featured multiple layers of Sintra glued together to create a total thickness of \u00be inch and a three-dimensional effect. \u201cWhen we build three-dimensional designs, we focus on Sintra for its durability,\u201d said Currier. \u201cIt\u2019s a perfect material for a lot of applications, including cutting, drilling and shaping. The Dibond Brushed Silver offered its own sophisticated look.\u201d<\/p>\n The clocks were set up in the VUTEk booth conference rooms at SGIA \u201904.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were a big hit,\u201d said Currier. \u201cWhen we make a practical item that really shows what the printer can do, it really gets the point across.\u201d<\/p>\n The clocks were so popular, in fact, that when sent to VUTEk\u2019s next trade show \u2013 a sign show in Italy \u2013 the booth materials package came back without them.<\/p>\n Sintra is a lightweight-yet-rigid expanded PVC material that is available in a wide range of thicknesses from 1 mm to 19 mm in various sheet sizes and a rainbow of colors. Sintra cuts cleanly, creating smooth edges. It can be direct printed and accept vinyl graphics. Sintra fabricates easily without special tools and can be heat formed and laminated to other materials.<\/p>\n Dibond is a rigid, durable aluminum composite material consisting of two pre-painted sheets of .012-inch aluminum bonded to a solid polyethylene core \u2013 a unique composition that makes it approximately one-half the weight of aluminum. Dibond Brushed Silver features polyester clear-coat applied over the brushed aluminum finish. Dibond, the flattest panel on the market, offers a superior surface that protects expensive digital and screen-printed graphics.<\/p>\n
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\nInexpensive battery-operated mechanisms were attached to the clock backs.<\/p>\n