August 19, 2005 -- The centerpiece of the “Life's a Beach” exhibition in Newport News, The Mariners' Museum, has just been printed on a VUTEk PressVu 200/600 installed at the Graphics Gallery in Glen Allen, Virginia, USA. ‘Riding the tube of a ferocious wave is an experience that you will never forget,' comments Mike Elrod, President of Graphics Gallery. ‘Part of our brief was to capture that experience in a giant printed wave with bold and rich color reproduction, that literally makes the sea come alive.' Graphics for The Mariners' Museum had previously been printed using digital laser printers as requested by the client, but this time, Mike states, ‘We provided proofs from our PressVu UV 200/600. The client looked at the incredible text sharpness, boldness, depth and dimensionality of color and durability of VUTEk's UV inks, and decided straight away to use the VUTEk printer for the job. The Life's a Beach exhibit creates a visual timeline of how beach life has evolved in both local Virginia seaside destinations and international coastal getaways. Visitors meet the exhibits centerpiece “wave wall” within the Surf and Recreation area, which looks at the evolution of surfing, windsurfing, parasailing and body boarding. Mike comments, ‘We printed the wave wall directly onto self-adhesive vinyl and applied it to a pre-fabricated frame. The exhibit was designed with the wave break at one end being smaller than the crest at the opposite end, it was imperative that the concave image would look flat from every angle, to eliminate picture distortion. We digitally manipulated the appearance of a surfer riding the wave to counteract the curve of the wall, the museum is delighted with the effect and visitors comment on how fantastic it looks.' Graphics Gallery also utilized the PressVu UV 200/600's extensive tonal range and high quality text reproduction to authentically recreate smaller items such as postcards, panels and graphic cut outs from original historical designs. These items were printed on a variety of substrates including MDF board, Sintra and self-adhesive vinyl. Mike continues, ‘Thanks to the flexibility of our PressVu UV 200/600, there were no problems in fully realizing the designers' ideas, and completing The Mariners' Museum job.' Mike continues, ‘We had been looking for over two years for the right digital flatbed printer, and spoke to a number of other VUTEk users who were all extremely positive about the PressVu UV 200/600 and the impact it had on their businesses. The productivity benefits of our VUTEk printer means that our new large format area requires only two people, compared to the nine in our other production department using alternative digital technology. The PressVu UV 200/600 is now our key tool for the production of exhibition graphics.' Established in 1987 as an offset type house and film setter, Graphics Gallery switched to specializing in large format printing six years ago. Currently employing 22 people, it provides a range of services including photographic manipulation, retail POP, dimensional letters, indoor and outdoor mural graphics, exhibition and tradeshow graphics. Clients include the Smithsonian Institution, AMF Bowling, Capitol One Credit Cards, University of Virginia, Virginia Science Museum and AT&T. Mike concludes, ‘When we turn on our printer first thing in the morning, we can begin printing almost immediately with full confidence in our printers consistency of print and color reproduction. This has enabled us to target the most challenging jobs requiring the highest quality of print. Because of this, our revenue is already 30% ahead of where we were at this point last year, and we are only just scratching the surface of our PressVu UV 200/600's capabilities.'