Learn more about the HP Scitex LX850 Industrial Printer used to produce the displays: http://budurl.com/ScitexLX850 Challenge: The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) needed high-quality, life like dinosaur graphics that could be printed and installed on an extremely tight timeline. And, the museum wanted a printing solution that could authentically represent the high-resolution images created by its digital artist and was less harmful to the environment, but didn't know what options it had beyond using solvent inks. Solution: HP Latex Printing Technologies delivered blockbuster image quality that far exceeded the ROM's expectations. Fast-drying HP Latex Inks, odor-free graphics (some substrates may have inherent odor), and the printing and installation expertise of Beyond Digital Imaging (BDI) helped the ROM meet challenging deadlines and introduced the museum to print technology that could help it meet its sustainability goals. Results: The image quality of the ROM's wall graphics is so exceptional that one patron called them the "stars of the show." The ROM's 120 panels covering more than 10,000 square feet (929 meters squared) of exhibition space were printed and installed by Beyond Digital in 2 weeks—the largest HP Latex indoor wall covering project ever completed in Canada. Not only did HP Latex Printing Technologies help the ROM recreate a Paleolithic world, it helped further enhance the museum's sustainability goals by delivering odor-free prints. Story: The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) was established almost one hundred years ago, first opening its doors in 1914. From the beginning it had a dual mandate to cover both natural history and human cultures. The museum recently opened its latest exhibition, "Ultimate Dinosaurs: Giants from Gondwana," to resounding public acclaim. One of the things it needed to do for this exhibit was recreate the world of the dinosaurs in all the different periods. The plan was to put scenes of the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods on the walls using scientific fossil evidence ensuring the plants depicted were correct and the animals pictured were accurate. The environments created on the walls would fill the museum floor to ceiling in lengths up to 100 feet long so that visitors, at any point in time, would feel completely immersed in the dinosaurs' world. Large swaths of wall graphics were printed and installed to help do just that. The museum has never done wall murals of this size and scale before. There was nearly 10,000 square feet of murals overall, comprised of roughly 125 individual panels. The longest mural was almost the entire length of the exhibition hall, spanning more than 100 feet. This was one where the museum said, "we're going to go big, or go home." When the ROM first approached Beyond Digital Imaging (BDI) to produce and install the graphics, the team wanted to have a competitive price. They needed technology and a print supplier that was reliable to deliver the murals with a very short turnaround time. And, 10,000 square feet is quite a bit of graphics to produce and deliver in such a short turnaround time. BDI used its HP Latex Printing Technology to deliver the spectacular graphics the museum needed in the tight timeframe allotted. In fact, the museum reports that the murals BDI delivered were beyond its expectations. "We were unaware of the ability to print these huge murals without using a solvent based process. And when we found that it's a Latex process through HP it was like a double win. Future RFP's in our next exhibits will always take into account best practices within the sustainability world. We don't want off-gassing from toxic materials around these very rare and sometimes very old specimens. The clarity is jaw-dropingly beautiful, so I think we win on both fronts," said Dave Ireland, Managing Director, Biodiversity Programs, Royal Ontario Museum "I've been at the ROM for well over a decade producing exhibitions and this is probably the best graphic installation I've ever seen. I mean I'm absolutely blown away. 'Wow!' 'Awesome!' 'Best exhibition I've ever seen at the ROM.' -- It's been truly a remarkable reaction by our visitors. It makes me feel great. I'm very proud to be a part of this exhibition," said Jason French, Senior Project Manager, Royal Ontario Museum Learn more about Sign & Display solutions used in projects like this from HP: http://budurl.com/SignandDisplay

• published: 07 Aug 2012
• views: 10073