Introducing 3M’s new revolution in wrap films

3M are launching Envision Film IJ480 this week at SGIA Expo in Las Vegas and they say: “This changes everything.  Again.”  Putting aside the lack of marketing originality (that was the same slogan Apple used for the iPhone 4) 3M’s new Envision wrap film (IJ480Cv3) which was called The Dark Horse during its development stage, promises to revolutionise the vehicle wrap market, and we think it looks pretty sweet.  Here’s the low down…

It’s a non-PVC film which means it qualifies under the sustainability banner.  That is nothing new in itself, previously 3M dabbled in polyolefin films, which no one ever bought, and even Hexis have a wrappable Latex Film that screams tree-hugging hippy but the difference is, no one buys that either.  Why?  At first I thought it was because no one really gives a flying toss about being environmentally friendly when it comes down to it (especially if being ‘green’ means paying double) and although cost is a huge part of that the reality is environment is one thing, being able to perform on the job is another.

3M Envision film promises high performance technology with a sustainability edge.  For the first time a non-PVC film is going to hit the market with a breakthrough in attributes.  They say it even outperforms their current (and pretty awesome) offering of IJ180Cv3 and IJ380Cv3.  Here’s a direct quote from the brochure:  “We didn’t just invent non-PVC wrap films.  We revolutionized wrap films.  Period.”  Well…no, you didn’t invent non-PVC wrap films because, as mentioned, Hexis have had one for well over a year, but the 3M Envision by comparison boasts a remarkable life:  11 years unprinted!

It also boasts (compared to 3M’s current offering) better conformability and lifting resistance, installs easier and offers faster removal.  It will stretch up to 150% and will not lift.  They even say it’s smart, only stretching when you want it to, and not before.  After a while, it even makes you a coffee when you need one (just kidding about that last part).   But it does allow application in any temperature, so if it’s too hot it doesn’t go soft and stretchy, and if it’s too cold it doesn’t become brittle and tear.

The overlaminate, made of the same material, has the same gloss level as 8518 except it has better scratch resistance during installation, so you don’t have issues with squeegee marks.  They’ll even warrant it on a car bonnet.  In fact, the warranty period is pretty impressive, up to 7 years printed.

So, what is it exactly?  We’re not sure yet.  But it’s non-PVC and made in part with bio-based materials using 60% less solvent.  It’s about as ‘green’ as you can get without compromising performance.

When is it available in New Zealand?  Probably not until 2013, so watch this space.  We can’t wait to test it out.  Click here for more about IJ480.

New heat press films from HEXIS

Some like it hot, and so do we!  Computaleta recently introduced an exciting new heat press vinyl called FLEX, made in France by HEXIS graphics.  FLEX 200, FLEX 300 and the digital print version UFLEX3 are premium quality products at a very economical price point.  They come in range of 31 colours, including metallic, ultra metallic (sparkle) and fluorescent, as well as soon to arrive colours for nylon fabrics, ideal for sports t-shirts and garments.

Sales of the product are going strong with sign companies in New Zealand, as well as many in the textile market, readily adopting the new film.

“The film goes down like a dream and is really easy to weed and handle.  The price makes it no contest: the HEXIS iron on films are the best we have ever used,” says Niki from Signmax, an Auckland-based sign company.

Computaleta are the largest distributor in the New Zealand sign market, with five branches nationwide and offer three global brands in HEXIS, 3M and Arlon.

Arlette Morrison, Director of sales and marketing, says the family is proud of their sign writing history.

“It’s our 30^th birthday this year and we are a strong family company with the signage industry in our blood.  In fact, great grandad was a sign writer during the depression, and even his great grandfather was a paint and brush merchant in London.   So I guess you could say that, 200 years later, here we are in New Zealand merchants of a similar ilk.  It must run in the family!”

Since 1982 they gave up making signs and now help customers make incredible signs by supplying them with some of the world’s best and most innovative products.  They started supplying HEXIS products alongside their other ranges in 1996 and the brand has a loyal following.

For more information about HEXIS Flex products, go to http://www.computaleta.co.nz

And now for something completely different…

Someone sent me this amusing comparison between the imperial and metric systems…read into it as you will. Click on the image to make it larger.

Want it now? Meet 3D Printing.

So you just got yourself the latest and greatest flatbed printer rolling off a gazzillion prints every three seconds and you think your pretty hip huh? You stand there in your delicious flatbed smugness while you churn out a production speed to set your rivals teeth on edge and you think, I got it going on! If you think your new flatbed is the bees knees brace yourself, I am about to blow your freaking mind. It’s called 3D printing and it is a 2012 reality.

Imagine if you will, your surfing the web and you come across an amazing object of your desire. I dunno, maybe you’ve spent your life, like me, drinking too much coffee and red wine and you’ve found the most amazing toothbrush to brush all your binge drinking nights on red wine away. So you want it. You covet it. But you discover it’s made by some obscure manufacturing plant in Timbucktoo or wherever and it’s going to take four weeks, a train, a ship and six donkeys to get it to your slice of New Zealand paradise. Your disappointment is complete. But not to worry, I suppose you can always wash it away with a nice glass of Central Otago Pinot Noir, or will you….

On the other hand, you are also a genius and you also bought a 3D printer. Oh yes. You hit go (I am sure it is vastly more complicated than this) and you print that lovely delicious coveted toothbrush, and pick it up like a real live toothbrush, as if you had just walked into the supermarket and selected it straight off the shelf. You can literally download its product data from the web, and have that information sent to a desktop 3D printer that will build it for you. Perhaps even tweaking your own preferences. Maybe you always wanted a neon pink toothbrush with tassles, well you can have it, and you can have it right now.

The technology is called additive manufacturing and its been around for almost 30 years, but its only just filtering down to you and me as manufacturers attempt to make them affordable for the first time.

You essentially take the data of the toothbrush in 3D (CAD data) and that goes into the machine along with the material, and layer by layer your toothbrush comes to life.

So who’s using them right now? Product designers are the main gang, using them to create prototypes of products but the opportunities for people to create one-off designs is huge, rendering economies of scale obsolete. Architects are another obvious choice, in order to create small scale models of their designs, which would normally be impossible to create by hand. You could also use online sketch tools to create products from scratch. You could even build spare parts no longer in production for your broken down household appliances, the ideas are endless.

You can pick one up for about US$300. And doesn’t it sound better for the environment as well? Sending data instead of goods. I feel a manufacturing revolution coming…if not, at least you can get exactly what you want.

Print is not dead, it’s evolving.

Print is not dead fool, it’s evolving. And it’s getting it’s cool back.

A while ago I was talking about QR codes, but they are like, so two years ago man.  2012 is all about augmented reality (AR) and big brands like Tesco, Mini, Audi, Coca Cola and Nestle are all getting stuck in.  You can now find AR on the back of cereal boxes and even Visit Hawaii are using AR to lure holidaymakers to their shores, all thanks to the spread of iPhones and Android smartphones and tablets (and the associated apps that go with them).

Augmented reality basically allows a smart phone or tablet to read encoded messages in print – kind of like an invisible watermark – that allows you to interact with those images.  In the case of Visit Hawaii, they ran a month-long campaign in Seattle and Chicago placing print advertisements (with a digitally encoded message) throughout a downtown subway station.  Users then take their phones, and using the right app, simply point their camera at the printed poster on the wall and watch while the Hawaii islands come to life.  I don’t know about you but in the middle of winter in a crammed subway station, watching waves lapping gently on a pristine beach screams ‘take me there!’

Across the ditch even the Commonwealth Bank of Australia ran a mobile-driven AR print ad in MX newspaper in Sydney, Melbourne and Brissy, check out the link.

Although AR brings one dimensional images to life, how likely is it that consumers will use it?  Well, you have to have the right app, but it’s pretty cool huh?

How do you succeed? Just ask Amundsen

Business today is so unpredictable.  The economists it seems can never get it right. The only thing certain in 2012 is the continued volatility across the business cycle as a whole.  The only constant underlying message is that growth will be modest, and you’re going to have to work very hard for it.

If nothing in business is predictable, how therefore do you mitigate the unknown?  How do you thrive in uncertainty when you don’t know what kind of obstacles will be thrown in your path?  You’ve probably heard it a hundred times before:  “it all comes down to good planning.”  But what does that even mean?  Well, let me tell you a story…

In 1911 two adventurers were planning their separate quest to reach that pinnacle as yet unconquered: The South Pole.

Roald Amundsen’s expedition arrived at the eastern edge of the Ross Ice at a large inlet called the Bay of Whales on January 14, 1911.  Leading up to that point Amundsen had tried his best to prepare for the journey.  He lived for a time with Eskimos, learning how it is that they survive on the ice, even opting to give up the usual heavy wool clothing in favour of Eskimo-style skins which were looser fitting and he watched and learnt how they used dogs to pull sleds.  Dogs, he thought, ate meat, and therefore he would have a fresh supply of seal with which to feed them.

Their ski boots, specifically designed by Amundsen, were the product of two years testing and modification.  He poured over other explorers historical reports of the area, analyzing and studying and making his decisions based on what indicated were his best chance of success.  It was a path previously unproven.

By early February he had started to lay his supply depots at regular intervals on their projected route.  This became a practice run too in their bid for the Pole, to test out his boots and his clothing and his dogs.  He laid three tons of supplies for five men, and marked each depot with a line of bamboo flags laid out transversely every half mile for five miles either side in case he missed it in a storm.  This enabled him to travel on ‘bad’ days, knowing he could still hit his target.  And he made some modifications too, to ensure everything ran smoothly when they finally went for the big push.

Captain Robert Falcon Scott, by contrast, landed 320km to Amundsen’s west, only had one ton of supplies for his men and he marked them with a single flag.  Where Amundsen laid seven depots, Scott laid only two.  The greater distance between his depots and lack of route marking meant he couldn’t travel in bad weather, forcing him to stay huddled in his tent consuming his ever diminishing rations while he complained of bad luck.

Scott also used ponies instead of dogs (nine of which were lost before the journey even began).  Ponies don’t eat meat, which meant he had to carry their food with him.  He also took three new motorized sleds, but chose to leave behind the engineer who had created and trialed them and they failed relatively early due to faults, with no one to fix them.

Both ponies and motors proved to be useless and Scott and his team found themselves having to man-haul their sleds across the ice, and as a result the food they brought contained only half the calories required to do this.  They had skis, but they were untrained in their use.   “Skis,” Scott said, “are the thing, and here are my tiresome fellow countrymen too prejudiced to have prepared themselves for the event.”  Amundsen on the other hand, had recruited a team of experienced skiers.  Where Scott had only one navigator per team, Amundsen had four.  Not only that, Scott dismissed requests for navigational training before the journey even began.

Scott also had the problem of a shortage of fuel from leakage.  This was a well known problem that had occurred on previous expeditions, but Scott chose to ignore it.  Amundsen on the other hand, had learnt from the failures of others and had his fuel cans soldered shut.  As a result, Scott ran low on fuel and was unable to melt enough water, and with his team man-hauling the sledges due to the failure of horses and untried motors, they suffered from dehydration and exhaustion.

Despite all of this, Scott was charting the same route that Shackleton had taken previously until 88⁰ 23’ S.  He had therefore, a decent account of the route and should have been able to mitigate the known problems they might face.

Amundsen’s route on the other hand, was totally unknown.  He had no idea what lay before him.  He could not know the elevation he would get to or the sturdiness of the ice.  He didn’t know if his path was blocked by insurmountable crevices or mountains.  But he was thoroughly prepared for any eventuality should it arise, even if out of his control.

Amundsen and his team reached the South Pole on the 14^th December 1911, 34 full days ahead of Scott and returned to home base on the 25^th of January the following year with zero causalities.

Scott, well…you know what happened to him?  He and his team died on the return journey only 18km short of his supply depot.  What if Scott had laid more supply depots like Amundsen?  What if he had marked them clearly so to travel in poor weather?  What if he had only chosen dogs instead of ponies?  What if, what if, what if.  It’s too late for ‘what ifs,’ Scott had perished.

Amundsen said afterwards of his journey to the South Pole: “I may say that this is the greatest factor—the way in which the expedition is equipped—the way in which every difficulty is foreseen, and precautions taken for meeting or avoiding it. Victory awaits him who has everything in order — luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck.”

So how can you create your own ‘luck’ in business?

1/ Prepare for contingencies.  You don’t know what’s ahead so prepare prepare prepare.  Make sure you have enough in your supply depot.  How much working capital do you have if an unforeseen disaster struck and is it enough to help you pay every debt and still have some leftover?

2/ Know the math.  What happens if your business hits an obstacle?  Scott planned predominantly on the use of horses and mechanized sleds and only carried enough food for the journey.  But the horses failed and the sleds broke down and they had to haul the sledges by hand.  He didn’t account for having enough food to cover the extra exertion this required.

3/ Don’t be afraid to change what doesn’t work.  Don’t be like Scott, don’t flog a dead horse.  Test your idea first with minimum risk before throwing yourself in boots and all.  Amundsen tested his dogs and clothing and boots before he even got to the ice, and again when he was on it.   Scott had no experience with horses until he was on his way to the Pole.

4/ Learn.  If you don’t know something, learn it, or hire people who already have the knowledge.  Amundsen recruited experienced skiers.  Scott’s team were bad skiers.  When it came down to it, skis were critical.  Don’t get caught with inexperience when the life of your business is at stake.

5/ Be clear on your goal.  Scott’s primary objective was the South Pole, but his financial backers saw it as having a scientific basis and therefore Scott spent a lot of energy surveying and dragging rock samples along with him.  Amundsen’s expedition goal was to reach the South Pole.  That was all.  Nothing else mattered.

6/ Make sure everyone else is clear on your goal. Scott had outlined his plans for the push to the South Pole with his shore party without being specific about precise roles and he gave conflicting orders so that his subordinates were unsure of his intentions.  Speak plainly, and make your intentions clear so everyone is headed in the same direction.

Top Pic:  Amundsen studying.  Bottom Pic:  Scott and his team at the South Pole next to a tent left by Amundsen.

References include Living Adventures in Science, by Henry Thomas & Dana Lee Thomas.  The South Pole, by Roald Amundsen.  The Last Place on Earth, Roland Huntford.  Scott’s Last Expedition, and Wikipedia.  Wiki as a reference might not get you an A on your essay but surely it’s ok for a blog?!  If you want every single point sited, le sigh, it can be done otherwise it’s all in the aforementioned references.  Also check out Jim Collin’s book Great By Choice which makes great comparisons between the two in his theory on ’10Xers’.

Arlon-wrapped mobile classroom hits the road

Whangarei Life Education Trust’s mobile classroom was wrapped recently with the help of Computaleta and Arlon, who supplied all the wrap film for the epic task.

The Life Education trust is a charity that provides children with the knowledge to make informed choices about their health, to respect others and learn to appreciate their uniqueness.  They tour around the schools and take children on an adventure in a mobile classroom that is equipped with sight and sound equipment designed to capture children’s imaginations.  Their mascot, Harold the Giraffe, ensures their journey is fun as well as educational, reaching 225,000 primary and intermediate school children every year.

Whangarei’s mobile classroom recently underwent a refit, and Computaleta was happy to grant the Arlon wrap films to help make this happen.

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“The Whangarei Life Education trust reached over 5,500 school children in Northland this year and with their fun lessons they help reinforce a positive message to children about respecting themselves and others, which is so important in helping these kids reach their full potential,” says Arlette Morrison, from Computaleta.

The trailer was wrapped in Arlon 6000XRP and matching gloss laminate 3220.  6000XRP is a 50 micron (2-mil) gloss white cast film with X-Scape Technology, which basically means you can install it bubble free.  It is also repositionable with a tinted adhesive to prevent show-through.  Repositionability allows for speedy installations while maintaining high enough tack for long term bonds. The adhesive provides excellent opacity, easy installation and superior conformability around rivets, curves, and contours.

Charles Hoare from Syndicate Signs in Whangarei printed and wrapped the trailer unit, and was impressed at how well the Arlon film applied.

“The Arlon 6000XRP with 3220 laminate is always our first choice when longevity and a fast, efficient application time is needed, which is every time!” says Charles.

Find out more about Arlon 6000 XRP here.