Fresh off our trip to create huge banners for the Blackhawks to honor Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull, we were called back downtown to honor a different team in red and black: Our own Chicago Bulls.

We’ve printed many pieces for the Bulls before, but this time was different. The banner wouldn’t just have to be one piece but transform into many. The team’s mascot, Benny The Bull, would be suspended in the air high above the crowd atop a giant banner. As he released a hinge mechanism, the banner would extend and create a new message on top of the old one.

You can get a sense of the size of this banner by viewing some of these clips below:

After testing a prototype, it was game time. With cables to keep the Bulls mascot secure, Benny released the banner to reveal several different messages. The music kicked in and the crowd went wild.

If a banner with multiple messages is something you’re interested in, let’s talk. It’s not your ordinary effect and your audience will definitely be surprised when one message becomes a lot more.

After our team printed and assembled the multi-message banner for the Bulls off the presses, we were pleased with the result, but also knew that was only our first hurdle. It was time for the real Moment of Truth: Making sure in advance it actually worked.

Watch a testing of the banner prototype that Benny The Bull would operate as he soared above Bulls fans just before tip-off.

It may look simple, but trust us – when you’re hundreds of feet in the air, you want to do a trial run or two to make sure everything goes just right.

Why Black and White is No Longer Black and White.

If you’re interested in more evenly illuminated backlit displays, point-of-purchase displays with dazzling print resolutions or more durable window graphics, you’re really going to like the technology coming to Bloomingdale Signs by Tomorrow in February.

That’s because our newest printer, the EFI VUTEk QS3220, utilizes spot white printing to produce incredible image quality, laser-sharp color matching and text that’s wonderfully crisp.

The VUTEk QS3220. Get ready to see all kinds of displays pop like never before.

Spot white is a style that enables you to fine-tune and modify parts of an image to create richer shades of black, brighter bumps of color in certain sections and more full-bodied color.

In fact, with the VUTEk, you can even create different variations of displays for daytime and nighttime, such as a message that only appears when the image is backlit. POP displays and banners come to life like never before as the VUTEk produces superior images with print resolutions up to 1080 DPI.

The VUTEk’s Series 2 Ink also provides improved adhesion and flexibility, which is especially important for clings and window graphics as well as double-sided banners.

To learn more about this revolutionary flatbed, roll-to-roll printer and how it can provide a truly dramatic effect for your next project, call Gary Schellerer at 630.893.4450, IM “garycschellerer” or email gcschellerer@bloomingdalesigns.com.

Watch this time-lapsed video to see how a standard party room was transformed back into the Rolling 20’s for our holiday party.

For many years in our industry, the manual cutting and trimming side of the process has often been on the more intensive side. We’ve always been searching for a more advanced technological option and we’re proud to announce we’ve found it.

The Zund G3. It's our best digital cutting tool yet.

Coming to Bloomingdale Signs by Tomorrow in January is a digital cutting machine that’s going to make our cutting and trimming functions on every project more efficient than ever. That’s because we’ll be introducing the Zünd G3 into our fleet of machines.

While manual cutting of pieces is still an option for some in our industry, it can be more time-intensive and leave too much room for error – which can negatively impact productivity.

The Zund enables us to enter a digital era in cutting and trimming that takes virtually no time to set up and minimizes mistakes in this phase. It even suggests the best method of cutting and trimming based on the material to be cut. We’re talking one smart machine here.

We’re excited to say there’s no other cutting or routing machine in the world that can be as flexible to our clients’ needs as the Zünd G3.

Imagine yourself as a team’s Marketing Director. It’s game day. Your fans are shuffling near the stadium. They’re fumbling around for their tickets. And just after they’ve entered the general area, they’re looking around to get their bearings for where their gate is among a mass of fellow fans around them.

You’ve probably got about 2 minutes if you’re lucky to get their attention with a merchandising opportunity. How will they spot you in a somewhat chaotic area and decide to wander over to a full array of hats, jerseys and t-shirts? That’s easy: An appealing trailer wrap that boldly signifies where the goods are.

Da Bears. Da Trailer.

The Chicago Bears turned to us for exactly that purpose recently. On a brisk November afternoon, we used our same expertise for wrapping all kinds of cars, vans and even semi-trailers to give the Bears several attractive trailers like this one for their merchandise.

Without a trailer like this, you may be missing out on those extra fans who only intended to walk in for a game but walk out with some extra pieces of merchandise with your logo on it. Talk about a good way to supplement revenue beyond the tickets and concessions.

You don’t have to be in charge of promotions at the pro level to take advantage of opportunities like these. If you’re an Athletic Director at the High School or College level, let’s talk about how in-game vehicle and trailer wraps like the one featured here can keep fan spirit at your school going strong well between seasons.

One question we get from people is: Considering how we’re moving so fast in our day-to-day business serving our clients, when do we ever find the time to work on special things for our own brand?

Welcome to the 20's!

Good question. It’s not easy. But we made the effort come together for the Bloomingdale Signs by Tomorrow holiday party. This “Roaring 20’s” themed event became a fun time had by all that featured dinner, dancing and a casino with “funny money.”

First, you can’t do it all alone.

If you want to do something up right without stressing about it too much, hire an event planner. They’ve done enough of these by now that they consider all the little things you never will. In our case, we couldn’t have pulled off all the details big and small without Bobbi Schellerer of Party Professionals, Inc. While we were focusing on what we do best, namely getting certain pieces printed for the event, Bobbi focused on making sure the venue, entertainment, food and beverage was coordinated smoothly.

Meanwhile, back at the print shop…

To help bring the theme to life of a 1920’s “Speakeasy,” we had to print giant sections of wall backgrounds to set the tone so that every wall in the room was completely covered. It had to look like the kind of place where Al Capone would look right at home.

Enough planning. It’s party time.

On the day of the event, we were frantically putting together everything from craps tables for our “funny money” to making sure we had enough fedora hats for people to wear as they entered.

All in all, we have a newfound appreciation for what some of our clients go through in event and trade show planning – when that happens, it’s nice for us to concentrate just on the signage portion of it all!

A great speech by Alan Schellerer highlighted how lucky we are to be able to enjoy times like these when we can reflect on all our hard work of the past year. It goes without saying but we’ll say it anyway – your trust in us at Bloomingdale Signs by Tomorrow gives us another year to celebrate. We’re poised to do big things in 2012 and look forward to helping you reach your goals in a big way too.

The Schellerer Gang

Click here for a lot more photos of the Bloomingdale Signs by Tomorrow holiday party!

To look at them, you might be wondering, “How DID they get those big banners up there at the United Center?”

Very carefully. Let’s just say it’s times like these you’re glad to have a really experienced installation team. In fact, we’ll be glad to show you with this video.

Watch as the giant banners honoring Blackhawks legends Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita go up, courtesy of the installers at Bloomingdale Signs by Tomorrow.

When you think about choosing to go into one store or another, what’s one of the first things you look at?

Let’s face it. You look up. Because that attractive lettering just above the door is going at least peak your curiosity and more than likely, lead you into the store.

Getting that kind of foot traffic is what great channel lettering is all about. It’s why all kinds of retail franchises turn to us. In fact, when Dyson, the makers of revolutionary vacuum equipment for the home, was opening one of their very first retail stores in the area, we consulted with them on channel lettering design, permitting and installation. The works.

Without getting too ahead of ourselves, let’s just say this is going to only be a bigger and bigger area for us in 2012. So if you’ve got a retail location sandwiched among others that really needs to “pop” from a visual standpoint, let’s talk how one call to Bloomingdale Signs by Tomorrow can get a remarkable look in place before you know it.

For so many years, we watched Hall of Famers Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita light up the old United Center as Blackhawks players, including winning a Stanley Cup in 1961. It seemed only right that one day their organization would provide the same thrill in return by honoring them. That day came when, in a ceremony outside the United Center, bronze life-sized statues of Hull and Mikita were unveiled.

It couldn’t be a prouder moment for a Blackhawks fan. Or for us at Bloomingdale Signs by Tomorrow.

We were honored to be involved with this event in our own special way, by creating two massive banners for both players draped down the sides of the United Center.

“The only thing I can say is it is likely, without argument, the greatest evening of my life.”

-Bobby Hull