Friday, March 12, 2010
Family-Owned Business
A Conversation with Jeff Burt
President and CEO | Eclipse Studios
Business First of Columbus
Husband-and-wife team Jeff and Sandra Burt run three businesses under one roof in Gahanna – Eclipse Studios, founded in 1994; Solar Imaging, founded in 2001; and PageOne, founded in 2006. Eclipse specializes in commercial, advertising and industrial photography while Solar Imaging provides custom digital wide printing and PageOne focuses on color management services. Jeff Burt, 45, has been a professional photographer since 1986 and runs the businesses as CEO. Sandra, 44, focuses on marketing and client services. Jeff is a native of Cincinnati and has an associate degree from Antonelli’s School of Art Photography in that city. Sandra is a native of Whitewater, Wis., and graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Stout with a bachelor’s degree in clothing, textiles and design.
In getting through the recession, do you think being a family business helped in any way?
In any tough time, it’s always your family that gets you through. Not only do Sandra and I support each other through business decisions, we also count on our family of clients and employees to keep us strong and moving forward – we’re all in this together. This mentality has contributed to the strength of our business.
When you first noticed that a recession was setting in, what was your immediate reaction in terms of business planning?
The natural reaction to a declining economy is to tighten up and re-evaluate projections, goals and strategy. But instead of being reactive, we committed to be proactive. We knew we had to keep the bar high by continuing to be smart and conservative, yet progressive and aggressive with new business outreach and marketing initiatives. Instead of scaling back, we pressed forward. We recently purchased a new facility in Gahanna, which allowed us to bring all of our companies together. The appeal to clients is a solution to their own cost-cutting measures - all the resources under one roof for photo shoots, retouching, and large format printing.
You decided to not back down on marketing. What went into that decision?
We wanted to stay top of mind during the recession so we would be in a stronger position as the economy begins to recover. Fortunately, business has been steady and growing despite the tough times. We decided to focus on our strengths and move full-speed ahead. Because we've focused on marketing and new business development, we've experienced more opportunities than ever to grow and connect with more quality businesses and retailers. We have a full pipeline of new and potential business.
How did you convince clients to keep spending?
Our clients are major retailers and companies that have jobs to do. Recession or not, they need quality photography and printing services to meet their business objectives and boost sales.
You have other businesses, too. Did you embrace a similar or different plan for them?
We marketed each one as a standalone service that can be bundled with services offered by sister companies. They feed each other business.
What is the biggest business lesson you've taken away from the recession?
We have learned to stay conservative, yet proactive and focus on our strengths, especially as they relate to solutions that help companies stretch their budget. We've seen when we continue to move forward and provide strategic services, it attracts business. Moving forward, we'll continue to invest in delivering our message to companies outside Ohio's borders.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Nationwide Children's Hospital Project
We can't show you pictures until the project is installed the week of April 1, but it will definitely be worth the wait!
Solar Imaging is creating a 3-dimensional foam display for Nationwide Children's Hospital's Research III Project. The job started out as a simple display of images printed on Gator & cut out. The job has evolved into something much bigger, much better, and with much more "WOW" factor!
Global Manufacturing is producing a 3-dimensional foam building that will stand approximately 44 inches tall by 10 feet wide and be placed on a 30 inch base. Solar will face all surfaces of the foam building with Styrene. Then Solar Imaging will wrap the foam building with printed adhesive vinyl and create the ground structure for the display.
Watch for pictures to be posted the first week of April!
Solar Imaging is creating a 3-dimensional foam display for Nationwide Children's Hospital's Research III Project. The job started out as a simple display of images printed on Gator & cut out. The job has evolved into something much bigger, much better, and with much more "WOW" factor!
Global Manufacturing is producing a 3-dimensional foam building that will stand approximately 44 inches tall by 10 feet wide and be placed on a 30 inch base. Solar will face all surfaces of the foam building with Styrene. Then Solar Imaging will wrap the foam building with printed adhesive vinyl and create the ground structure for the display.
Watch for pictures to be posted the first week of April!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Global Shop 2011
Global Shop 2010 is over. Solar Imaging has shipped their trade show booth back to Ohio. But, plans are already in work to exhibit at Global Shop 2011 in Las Vegas March 28 - 30, booth #721!
Globalshop is the premier Trade show for store fixture, store display, store design and operation, visual merchandising and point-of-purchase industry professionals.
Globalshop offers retail, marketing and branding executives a place to network and exchange ideas while learning about the latest retail design and in-store innovations,products and trends.
Solar Imaging will be there next year.... Will you?
Drive Traffic to your Trade Show Booth
What makes a good trade show booth? It's not just a matter of driving people to the booth. It is also conveying a clear message so that they remember you when they leave your booth. Here are some trade show tips from Solar Imaging...
1. Know what you want your booth to say & say it clearly.
Make sure that you have a clear, concise message that is directed at your potential customer. Less is more. Fewer words can be printed in a larger font and will be read easier. Choose a simple and easy to read font so that from a distance, your message is easily read.
2. Do the images that you are featuring help tell the message that you are sending?
You want to make sure that the message is consistent. The copy and the images used in your booth should work together. You have very little time to compel someone walking by your booth to stop and learn more. Make sure that you are choosing your images wisely.
3. Are your company name & logo clearly visible?
You want to be remembered by your company name - not by your booth description or location. How will they find you after the show if they can't remember your company name?
4. Is your website featured?
This may be one of the most important messages you could include in your booth. If a show attendee is interested in learning more, they can visit your website at their leisure.
5. Make sure that your booth stands out from the rest!
You want to be noticed. You want people to remember your booth. So do something unique. Either choose colors to make your booth stand out. Choose a memorable giveaway. Draw a crowd by showing a demonstration or using an interactive display.
When it comes to comprehensive solutions that generate traffic at trade shows, Solar Imaging has it all. High quality printing, flawless finishing and top of the line hardware are just the beginning.
Solar's wide line of portable banner stands and display systems provide versatility and can be used in multiple environments from retail POP displays, trade shows and sales presentations to special events and recruiting programs.
1. Know what you want your booth to say & say it clearly.
Make sure that you have a clear, concise message that is directed at your potential customer. Less is more. Fewer words can be printed in a larger font and will be read easier. Choose a simple and easy to read font so that from a distance, your message is easily read.
2. Do the images that you are featuring help tell the message that you are sending?
You want to make sure that the message is consistent. The copy and the images used in your booth should work together. You have very little time to compel someone walking by your booth to stop and learn more. Make sure that you are choosing your images wisely.
3. Are your company name & logo clearly visible?
You want to be remembered by your company name - not by your booth description or location. How will they find you after the show if they can't remember your company name?
4. Is your website featured?
This may be one of the most important messages you could include in your booth. If a show attendee is interested in learning more, they can visit your website at their leisure.
5. Make sure that your booth stands out from the rest!
You want to be noticed. You want people to remember your booth. So do something unique. Either choose colors to make your booth stand out. Choose a memorable giveaway. Draw a crowd by showing a demonstration or using an interactive display.
When it comes to comprehensive solutions that generate traffic at trade shows, Solar Imaging has it all. High quality printing, flawless finishing and top of the line hardware are just the beginning.
Solar's wide line of portable banner stands and display systems provide versatility and can be used in multiple environments from retail POP displays, trade shows and sales presentations to special events and recruiting programs.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Soft Parade - The Big Picture Trade Publication
THE BIG PICTURE
The Business of Wide Format
February 2010 Issue
The Soft Parade - Soft Signage and Fabric Graphics evoke a tactile buying response.
In today's world of sensory overload, it's important for print providers to create graphics that will help your clients' work stand out in the crowd. Nothing may do a better job at this than printing on fabrics. Whether you opt for direct or dye-sublimation output, printed fabrics exhibit a flow and feel unlike any other materials - inviting your clients' clients as well as passersby - to not just view the graphics, but also touch them. It's a tactile experience they simply aren't afforded otherwise, which is designed to turn into a buying response.
The Big Picture has tracked down several recent projects created using digitally printed fabrics...
Sock it to me
When the management team at Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio wanted to implement an airport-wide re-branding ad campaign using a variety of different wide-format pieces, the company's ad agency knew just who to call: Columbus's own Solar Imaging (solarimaging.com). Solar Imaging specialized in retail, tradeshow, point-of-purchase, and customized finishing and installations.
For this particular ad campaign, Solar produced 40 Vista System displays (for shuttle buses), 4 adhesive-vinyl wall murals measuring 205 square-feet each, 2 vestibule wall murals at 200 square-feet each, and, of particular note here, 6 fabric "column socks" that zipped up one side.
"These column socks were definitely out of the ordinary for us," says Gina Spring, sales representative for Solar. "We are so used to doing fabric banners with a standard pole pocket that the chance to do some problem solving for the column socks - as well as testing to make sure they fit - was a refreshing change to our daily routine."
Each column sock had to be specially sewn with a heavy-duty separating zipper with exact accuracy. The socks had to be stretched just enough to ensure they would be taut around the columns. "The seamstress at our finishing partner, Banners Extreme in Columbus, showed her skills once again on the sewing part of this project. She had all six done in about a day and a half - no small feat for the amount of work she had to do," Spring says.
Solar produced the column socks using its 80-inch Durst Rho 600 Presto flatbed printer. The company direct printed onto Fisher Textiles' Symmetry Fabric using Durst's UV-curable inks and Cheetah software RIP.
"We used this particular fabric because of the stretch factor and overall look and feel of the fabric, and we used this printer because we could print in one pass without having an extra seam in the column socks," Spring says. The six column socks ranged in size from 103 inches tall x 73 inches in circumference to 110 inches tall x 78 inches in circumference. Solar performed the install in three days.
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