LexJet
Encyclopedia
LexJet Corporation is a manufacturer and direct provider of materials and equipment utilized in wide-format inkjet printing. LexJet's primary markets are wide-format commercial print-for-pay companies, companies and organizations with in-house printing departments and digital photographers. LexJet employs more than 90 people, mostly in the company's Sarasota, Fla. headquarters, with a handful of employees operating from remote offices in Chicago, Charlotte, Denver, Los Angeles and Vancouver, Wash.
In addition to its own line of laminates, adhesives, and printable films, photo and fine art papers, vinyl, and plastics, LexJet carries 23 OEM brands of printers, laminators, software, printable materials, laminates, adhesives, and other digital imaging equipment.
LexJet is a privately-owned company based in Sarasota, Fla., with a West Coast office/distribution center in Los Angeles
, and additional distribution centers in Albany, New York
; Birmingham, Alabama
; Charlotte
; Cincinnati; Denver; Kansas City
; Milwaukee; Minneapolis; Phoenix
; Portland, Oregon
; Reno
; Dallas; Jacksonville, Florida
; and Wilmington, Delaware
.
who initially launched a sign company in the early '90s in Sarasota, Fla., called Intelligent Signage Inc. (iSi). The sign company's primary business was the production of ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Braille
signage
for public facilities.
At the time, one of the production methods for ADA signage was to subsurface screen print Lexan
material, emboss the Braille, and apply raised text to the surface of the Lexan. The Lexan would then be applied to a thicker-gauge substrate, such as acrylic, and finished with square or rounded corners, or framed.
The printing portion of the process had drawbacks, mainly that intricate logo details were often lost or impossible to produce. Moreover, the screen-printing process was costly due to the intricate and time-consuming setup required, demanding large production runs that made it economically unfeasible to provide a custom, short-run sign program.
Lambert and Simkins worked with Tekra, a GE Lexan distributor, to develop an inkjet-printable coating for Lexan from which iSi began to produce custom, short-run ADA signs for hospitals and other public facilities. First available in 8½" × 11" sheets, iSI began to sell 100-sheet boxes of the new material to other sign manufacturers. As iSi moved from sign production to sales of the new material, a new company, LexJet, was formed in 1994.
The second-generation product was manufactured in 50" widths and was primarily targeted to the trade-show graphics market. LexJet Clear is currently in its fifth generation of development, LexJet Clear PreLume HD. Previous generations addressed compatibility with Hewlett-Packard
wide-format printers and various inksets, as well as the incorporation of PreLume. PreLume, licensed by LexJet, is an additive that is designed to eliminate yellow and gray casts caused by printable papers and films. It utilizes Optical Reflection Technology to offset color shifts, and is incorporated in a number of LexJet printable materials, laminates, backers, and adhesives.
Since 1994, wide-format printing technology has developed and expanded beyond the original water-based inksets and into solvent-based and UV-curable inks. LexJet's product development mirrored these developments with material lines for each printing technology and ink set.
), and fine photo printing; LexJet replacement ink for HP 5000/5500 printers; aqueous inkjet paper; aqueous specialty inkjet media; solvent inkjet media; UV-curable inkjet media; laminates, adhesives, and backers; display hardware; accessories; finishing equipment; laser media; canvas stretcher bars and pre-made photo frames.
, EFI, Epson, Expand International banner stands, FLEXcon
, Foster Keencut, General Formulations, Hahnemuhle, Harman, Hewlett-Packard, Ilford Photo
, Kodak, LaCie, Mutoh, Neschen, Nik Software, OKI Printing Solutions, Onyx, Oracal, Photo Tex, RotaTrim, Seal, 3M
, Tensador, 3P Inkjet Textiles, UltraFlex, Wacom
, Wacom, X-Rite
, Vertus, and Unibind
.
In September 2007, LexJet launched the Great Output Seminar Tour, a nationwide seminar tour covering color management, workflow, and marketing for professional photograhers who print their own photography. The seminar tour traveled to 16 cities across the U.S. The follow-up seminar tour, co-sponsored with Canon, began in Pittsburgh on Sept. 15, 2008, concluding in Orlando on March 25, 2009.
LexJet expanded its Inkjet Cartridge Recycling Program beyond the HP 5000/5500 printer series of cartridges, and added all cartridges for printers wider than 17 inches to the program as part of its Environmental Initiatives. The program allows wide-format print shops and other users of wide-format inkjet cartridges to send their cartridges to LexJet for recycling, either to be processed into recycled materials or for use in new consumer products.
In January 2009, LexJet launched a Banner Recycling Program in partnership with Trex Company. The program allows users of LexJet 3R DuPont Tyvek SUV, a solvent and UV-curable ink compatible banner material, to bag up used banners in a recyclable bag and send it to Trex to be directly recycled into Trex Company's line of decking, railing, and fencing products.
In January 2010 LexJet introduces the Simple line of adhesive vinyls for various applications in the graphics market including multi-textured surfaces, vehicle graphics, floor and carpet advertising, backlit displays, window graphics and wall murals.
LexJet updates its line of laminates and backers in February 2011, grouping the products into three distinct lines: Elite, Performance and Specialty.
Also in February 2011, LexJet moved its headquarters about two blocks away from its Fruitville Road location in Sarasota to 605 Main Street, Suite 400, Sarasota, FL 34236. According to LexJet's CIO, Pete Petersen, the new space allowed LexJet to incorporate WiFi and digital signage technologies for a more efficient and economical operation.
In addition to its own line of laminates, adhesives, and printable films, photo and fine art papers, vinyl, and plastics, LexJet carries 23 OEM brands of printers, laminators, software, printable materials, laminates, adhesives, and other digital imaging equipment.
LexJet is a privately-owned company based in Sarasota, Fla., with a West Coast office/distribution center in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and additional distribution centers in Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
; Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
; Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
; Cincinnati; Denver; Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
; Milwaukee; Minneapolis; Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
; Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
; Reno
Reno
Reno is the fourth most populous city in Nevada, US.Reno may also refer to:-Places:Italy*The Reno River, in Northern ItalyCanada*Reno No...
; Dallas; Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
; and Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
.
Background
LexJet Corporation was founded in 1994 by Art Lambert and Ron Simkins, two senior executives from ZenithZenith
The zenith is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the imaginary celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction opposite to the apparent gravitational force at that location. The opposite direction, i.e...
who initially launched a sign company in the early '90s in Sarasota, Fla., called Intelligent Signage Inc. (iSi). The sign company's primary business was the production of ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
signage
Signage
Signage is any kind of visual graphics created to display information to a particular audience. This is typically manifested in the form of wayfinding information in places such as streets or inside/outside of buildings.-History:...
for public facilities.
At the time, one of the production methods for ADA signage was to subsurface screen print Lexan
Lexan
Lexan is a registered trademark for SABIC Innovative Plastics' brand of polycarbonate resin thermoplastic. Polycarbonate polymer is produced by reacting bisphenol A with carbonyl dichloride, also known as phosgene. Lexan is the brand name for polycarbonate sheet and resin in a wide range of grades...
material, emboss the Braille, and apply raised text to the surface of the Lexan. The Lexan would then be applied to a thicker-gauge substrate, such as acrylic, and finished with square or rounded corners, or framed.
The printing portion of the process had drawbacks, mainly that intricate logo details were often lost or impossible to produce. Moreover, the screen-printing process was costly due to the intricate and time-consuming setup required, demanding large production runs that made it economically unfeasible to provide a custom, short-run sign program.
Lambert and Simkins worked with Tekra, a GE Lexan distributor, to develop an inkjet-printable coating for Lexan from which iSi began to produce custom, short-run ADA signs for hospitals and other public facilities. First available in 8½" × 11" sheets, iSI began to sell 100-sheet boxes of the new material to other sign manufacturers. As iSi moved from sign production to sales of the new material, a new company, LexJet, was formed in 1994.
Founding
LexJet then began the development of a wide-format version of its product, called LexJet Clear, in conjunction with the emergence of viable wide-format inkjet printers from Encad (now owned by Kodak) and LaserMaster (MacDermid ColorSpan, now owned by HP). LexJet Clear is printed in reverse so that the ink is protected by the textured, polycarbonate surface, and is typically backed with one of LexJet's white backing materials, which is applied to LexJet Clear with a laminator.The second-generation product was manufactured in 50" widths and was primarily targeted to the trade-show graphics market. LexJet Clear is currently in its fifth generation of development, LexJet Clear PreLume HD. Previous generations addressed compatibility with Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
wide-format printers and various inksets, as well as the incorporation of PreLume. PreLume, licensed by LexJet, is an additive that is designed to eliminate yellow and gray casts caused by printable papers and films. It utilizes Optical Reflection Technology to offset color shifts, and is incorporated in a number of LexJet printable materials, laminates, backers, and adhesives.
Product line development
During the development phase of LexJet Clear, LexJet began designing and manufacturing other LexJet-branded materials for wide-format printing, from films to papers. At the same time, LexJet built a portfolio of related products from other OEMs in the market that it sells direct to the end user.Since 1994, wide-format printing technology has developed and expanded beyond the original water-based inksets and into solvent-based and UV-curable inks. LexJet's product development mirrored these developments with material lines for each printing technology and ink set.
LexJet product lines
LexJet's branded product lines include: Sunset Media for photographic, fine art (gicleeGiclée
Giclée , is a neologism coined in 1991 by printmaker Jack Duganne for fine art digital prints made on ink-jet printers. The name originally applied to fine art prints created on IRIS printers in a process invented in the late 1980s but has since come to mean any high quality ink-jet print and is...
), and fine photo printing; LexJet replacement ink for HP 5000/5500 printers; aqueous inkjet paper; aqueous specialty inkjet media; solvent inkjet media; UV-curable inkjet media; laminates, adhesives, and backers; display hardware; accessories; finishing equipment; laser media; canvas stretcher bars and pre-made photo frames.
OEM products
LexJet sells and supports products from Canon, Clearstar Corporation, ColorByte Software, D&K, Dahle, Daige, DuPontDuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
, EFI, Epson, Expand International banner stands, FLEXcon
FLEXcon
FLEXcon is a worldwide manufacturer of pressure-sensitive film products for applications that include indoor and outdoor advertising, product identification and safety/hazard labels, bar coded labels, primary labels and bonding/mounting....
, Foster Keencut, General Formulations, Hahnemuhle, Harman, Hewlett-Packard, Ilford Photo
Ilford Photo
Ilford Photo is a manufacturer of photographic materials known worldwide for its black-and-white film and papers and chemicals, as well as its range of Ilfochrome and Ilfocolor colour printing materials. Ilfochrome was formerly called Cibachrome, developed in partnership with the Swiss company...
, Kodak, LaCie, Mutoh, Neschen, Nik Software, OKI Printing Solutions, Onyx, Oracal, Photo Tex, RotaTrim, Seal, 3M
3M
3M Company , formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation based in Maplewood, Minnesota, United States....
, Tensador, 3P Inkjet Textiles, UltraFlex, Wacom
Wacom
in Krefeld, Germany. Wacom is a Japanese portmanteau: Wa for "harmony" or "circle", and Komu for "computer". Wacom tablets are notable for their use of a patented cordless, battery-free, and pressure-sensitive stylus or digital pen...
, Wacom, X-Rite
X-Rite
X-Rite, Inc. is a manufacturer of color matching products, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Their products include those used for matching paint colors. They also create products that regulate quality in the processing of film and x-rays....
, Vertus, and Unibind
Unibind
Unibind is a subsidiary of Peleman Industries, a company that was founded in 1939 in Belgium. The Unibind brand name is associated with thermal bookbinding machines and supplies.- Unibind machines :...
.
Recent corporate initiatives
LexJet expanded its distribution network to ten warehouses across the United States in 2005, and to 15 in 2011 with the addition of Charlotte, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Portland, Ore. LexJet also ships related products of its corporate partners – such as Canon, HP, Epson, Hahnemuhle, and FLEXcon – from 30 additional distribution centers. In 2006, LexJet acquired Sone Systems, a Los Angeles-based wide-format imaging supplies distributor, opening an office on the West Coast.In September 2007, LexJet launched the Great Output Seminar Tour, a nationwide seminar tour covering color management, workflow, and marketing for professional photograhers who print their own photography. The seminar tour traveled to 16 cities across the U.S. The follow-up seminar tour, co-sponsored with Canon, began in Pittsburgh on Sept. 15, 2008, concluding in Orlando on March 25, 2009.
LexJet expanded its Inkjet Cartridge Recycling Program beyond the HP 5000/5500 printer series of cartridges, and added all cartridges for printers wider than 17 inches to the program as part of its Environmental Initiatives. The program allows wide-format print shops and other users of wide-format inkjet cartridges to send their cartridges to LexJet for recycling, either to be processed into recycled materials or for use in new consumer products.
In January 2009, LexJet launched a Banner Recycling Program in partnership with Trex Company. The program allows users of LexJet 3R DuPont Tyvek SUV, a solvent and UV-curable ink compatible banner material, to bag up used banners in a recyclable bag and send it to Trex to be directly recycled into Trex Company's line of decking, railing, and fencing products.
In January 2010 LexJet introduces the Simple line of adhesive vinyls for various applications in the graphics market including multi-textured surfaces, vehicle graphics, floor and carpet advertising, backlit displays, window graphics and wall murals.
LexJet updates its line of laminates and backers in February 2011, grouping the products into three distinct lines: Elite, Performance and Specialty.
Also in February 2011, LexJet moved its headquarters about two blocks away from its Fruitville Road location in Sarasota to 605 Main Street, Suite 400, Sarasota, FL 34236. According to LexJet's CIO, Pete Petersen, the new space allowed LexJet to incorporate WiFi and digital signage technologies for a more efficient and economical operation.
Awards and recognition
- 2000: LexJet ranked first in the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Fast 50, fastest growing technology companies in the Tampa Bay area, and was also ranked 175th on Inc. Magazine’s fastest growing privately-held companies in America
- 2001: LexJet ranked 48th on Inc. Magazine’s fastest growing privately-held companies in America, and 13th in the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Florida 100, which ranked the fastest growing businesses in Florida
- 2005: LexJet named by the Tampa Bay Business Journal as one of the best places to work in the Tampa Bay area
- 2006: LexJet named Technology Company of the Year by the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County
- 2007: LexJet recognized by PCMag.com's 10 Ways Technology Can Make a Difference for its Inkjet Cartridge Recycling Program
- 2009: LexJet named by Florida Trend magazine as one of the best places to work in Florida
- 2010: LexJet CFO Gina Mascio named as a finalist for CFO of the Year by the Tampa Bay Business Journal
- 2011: LexJet named for the third year in a row by Florida Trend magazine as one of the best places to work in Florida, coming in first among medium-sized companies in Sarasota