Aviation Graphics Take Off

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Aviation Graphics Take Off"

Leona Dixon
6 years ago
Views:

MAY 2004 www.digitalgraphicsmag.com Aviation Graphics Take Off FOR FAST INFO FROM ADVERTISERS TURN TO PA

1 MAY Aviation Graphics Take Off FOR FAST INFO FROM ADVERTISERS TURN TO PAGE 48 Also in this issue: Making it in the P.O.P. market Navigating the PDF plug-in Jungle Australia-based firm tackles Lord of the Rings Powerful new selling technique Dynamic digital signage threat or opportunity?

Up & Away Up & Away The Lord of the Rings trilogy flies high with full-wrap jumbo-jet graphics. How a high-flying New Zealand graphics company made it happen.

2 Up & Away Up & Away The Lord of the Rings trilogy flies high with full-wrap jumbo-jet graphics. How a high-flying New Zealand graphics company made it happen. BY REGAN DICKINSON The impressive graphics covering this a giant 747 aircraft were created by New Zealand-based Admark Visual Imaging. The job promotes the movie Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King. Regan Dickinson is the former executive editor for Digital Graphics, Sign Business and Screen & Display Graphics, and is based in Kerrville, Texas. The stats are impressive. Sure, the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy brought in almost $3 billion worldwide at the box office, and the third movie in the series The Return of the King won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture, but how about an award for Graphics on the Fly? Consider that Hamilton, New Zealandbased Admark Visual Imaging wrapped a giant aircraft with wide-format digital images jointly promoting the film, Air New Zealand and New Line Cinema with about 8,000 square feet of Scotchprint graphics in just under 48 hours. Perhaps an award is in the offing. Though the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences probably won t add another category to its Oscar list, the skill and tenacity of Admark s team certainly deserves a closer look. 2 REPRINTED FROM DIGITAL GRAPHICS MAY 2004 PROJECTIONS & APPLICATIONS The 747 wrap was actually one of four jet aircraft (which included another 747, a 767 and an Airbus) that Admark wrapped for the trilogy two for The Two Towers and two for The Return of the King. The secret is having well-trained, competent applicators and having a system of procedures and logistics well sorted out so that there s no mucking about or chance of error, says Laurie Pilling, Admark s managing director. We apply quite a lot of aircrafts, so we ve got it down to a pretty fine art. This fine art typically begins with a Photoshop file that Admark sizes to fit the plane. Admark uses scale drawings that it gets from Boeing, fits the graphic, and blows them up into small sections that will make up the hundreds of panels that will eventually be applied. The trick, says Mr. Pilling, is to distort the panels in such a way that the flat representation on a computer screen meets reality on what is essentially a very large tube. It s somewhat analogous to projecting a flat map onto a globe. The panels are 2m x 1.3m. Anything larger would be very difficult to apply. Additionally, registration is meticulously worked into the procedure with overlap and a concise and thorough numbering system. When you re standing on the side of a plane and you re looking at a graphic panel, you haven t got much room to hold it out from you, so you can t see the image on the graphic it s just a whole lot of color, explains Pilling. It is so easy to put a wrong panel in the wrong place. Each panel is printed with an assigned panel number, which is printed on top of the image, by panel number and row. So, for instance, A1 is the first panel on row A, and so forth. It s really quite simple, says Pilling. The panels are screen glossed with a liquid laminate and taken down to the finishing department where the numbers are trimmed off and taped to the backing sheet on each panel. There are double-checks all the way through. When we take the panels up, they are always opened at the top so there are a series of check references all the way through, says Pilling. If you re dealing with something 48 meters long, you have to register the image on the plane to make sure you ve got it absolutely lined up. If you don t get the first panels right, you ve got a problem.

One of the biggest challenges was maintaining proper registration on such a large surface. The aircraft s windows were used as a point of reference during application.

3 The special 3M aircraft-grade film used for the job has built-in perforations to allow the graphic to breath. The film was then screen glossed with a liquid laminate, and seams on the assembled graphic were sealed with a liquid laminate that was brushed on. One of the biggest challenges was maintaining proper registration on such a large surface. The aircraft s windows were used as a point of reference during application. A series of panels are pinned up both vertically and horizontally to make sure both registrations are correct relative to the image and the airplane. We normally use the line of windows, and sometimes the doors, to give us the reference point. Having got those right, we then start applying those and then work out from there, says Pilling. In theory, we start from the rear and work our way forward, but sometimes, depending on the design, we have to get closer to the middle of the plane to get accurate registration. Pilling says the only potential problem area is the 747 s high top with its compound curve. When you re putting graphics up there, if you don t allow a bit of distortion or sufficient overlap, the tiles won t meet and you ll have a gap, says Pilling. EARTH, WIND & FIRE Another challenge is making sure the graphics will retain durability on what is one of the most demanding of durability tests. The temperature range during flight can vary between -70 degrees celsius to 60 degrees celsius, with speeds over 600 mph and relatively severe pressure differentials from sea level to cruising altitudes of almost 40,000 feet. Additionally, the aircraft frame traps air bubbles with the pressure differential between the inside and outside of the aircraft. To handle this, 3M developed a film specifically for aircraft that has tiny perforations, allowing the graphic to breath. If there s any air trapped during ascent or descent it can come out through the perforations. That s why Admark chooses to screen a liquid laminate, as it does not impede or clog the movement of air through the perforations. Once applied, all of the panels edges are sealed with a liquid that is brushed on, particularly the edges around windows, doors and inspection panels. Around these crucial joints, the panels are trimmed back a few millimeters from the edge and sealed an important finishing step as any edge that s compromised can quickly peel away when the aircraft is in flight. As mentioned earlier, Admark has the process down to a fine art... and a science. Pilling says the company did the world s first full wrap of a commercial aircraft in The company has been doing aircraft graphics since the 1980s, when it used to screen print the graphics before it added a 3M Scotchprint 2000 e-stat printer to the mix. Admark has also applied graphics to trucks, busses, ships and trains. For the Lord of the Rings project, Admark also wrapped a commuter train and did some wall murals in other locations. The company is heavily involved in the oil industry, imaging petrol stations, tankers and vehicle fleets, among other applications and industries. As Pilling says, A vehicle is a vehicle, though aircrafts have special issues and require 3M s special film because of the environment they work in. Admark has sales offices in Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton and Sydney Australia, and produces its work out of the Hamilton factory. The company utilizes three major printing technologies screen printing, UV flexo label printing and wideformat digital making it an Australian Jack of all Trades that travels anywhere in the world to apply aircraft graphics. DG MAY 2004 REPRINTED FROM DIGITAL GRAPHICS 3

Once the panels were printed on the Scotchprint 2000, they tended to look like an indistinguishable blob of color, particularly holding it up on an airplane close to your face.

Meticulous directions are mapped out on a grid, with panels marked by their row and number in order. A second aircraft was covered with different scenes from the movie.

4 Once the panels were printed on the Scotchprint 2000, they tended to look like an indistinguishable blob of color, particularly holding it up on an airplane close to your face. Admark went through a series of checks and double-checks to make sure the right panel went in the right row and column as the pieces came together. Meticulous directions are mapped out on a grid, with panels marked by their row and number in order. A second aircraft was covered with different scenes from the movie. The job required hundreds of panels to complete. Double-checking the overlap and registration for an important section of the image (by the way, each section s important). The panels are taped down for placement before the actual application to ensure registration. A view from inside the hangar shows the sheer enormity of the giant aircraft. The job required more than 8,000 square feet of graphics. After the panels are printed, they re screen-printed with a liquid overlaminate and taken down to the finishing area for final preparations. 4 REPRINTED FROM DIGITAL GRAPHICS MAY 2004

Andrew Miller, COO for Air New Zealand, poses with a graphics covered airliners honoring

Application starts as far back as possible and progresses forward, using door and window

Overlaps and edges of windows, doors and other openings are carefully cut and sealed with

5 Andrew Miller, COO for Air New Zealand, poses with a graphics covered airliners honoring The Two Towers, the second movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Application starts as far back as possible and progresses forward, using door and window lines as a guide. Overlaps and edges of windows, doors and other openings are carefully cut and sealed with a liquid for extra protection. Other promotional graphics done by Admark for the Lord of the Rings project included this wall mural and train wrap. MAY 2004 REPRINTED FROM DIGITAL GRAPHICS 5

Creative Suggestions & Billboard Installation

Creative Suggestions & Billboard Installation TMNT CAMPAIGN LOS ANGELES, CA These instructions include creative suggestions as well as handling, installation, and dismantling step by step guides for Light Tape Billboard Installations. R R Creative