With the FIFA World Cup in full swing a giant, six-metre, soccer ball has been erected outside of Crown Towers on Melbourne’s Southbank.
Inside the ball is a fully contained apartment where the winner of the competition can watch all the matches live for the duration of the Cup.
The enormous Adidas soccer ball was wrapped by Melbourne signage company Fleeting Image. Produced on the HP Designjet L25500 with HP latex inks the 50 metres of vinyl required for the job was printed in sections as John Evans, Managing Director Fleeting Image explains.
“We had to be very exact with this job on number of levels. Firstly we had to match the corporate colours of FIFA and Adidas. That was critical. But we had no issues achieving the right colours with the HP Designjet and the latex inks, which are fantastic. Then we had to print the graphics in sections”.
Laid out on the factory floor the pattern looked relatively simply, says Evans, but the challenge really began when he and his team began to cover the ball.
“Wrapping a round object and ensuring there are no bubbles or glitches in the seams is difficult enough, but when the object is six metres in diameter and you are up on scaffolding and the weather turns against you, it becomes very tricky”.
On the day the ball was to be covered Evans and his team battled gusty winds up to 55mph and attempted to cover the ball in between rain showers. “We had to keep wiping down the ball before we could put the vinyl on. In retrospect we must have been quite a sight, hanging onto the scaffolding so as not to be blown off, and manoeuvring these larges sheets of vinyl, but we got there. And the client is extremely pleased”.
The ball will remain at the Southbank site for the duration of the Cup.
Fleeting Image, located in the Melbourne suburb of Braeside, installed the HP Designjet L25500 three months ago. The printer is used predominantly for the company’s car-wrap work, but because of its versatility Evans is already taking on new jobs, such as the Adidas soccer ball.
“Anyone who wants to buy an HP Designjet latex ink printer, point them in my direction. It is the best innovation in printing for a long time and I’m thrilled with it. I’d buy another one in a heartbeat,” Evans concludes.
HP Australia
http://www.hp.com/go/graphic-arts
