HP Sets the Scene for Royal Ontario Museum’s Ultimate Dinosaurs Exhibition

HP today announced that floor-to-ceiling, life-like graphics produced on HP Latex Printing Technologies are helping visitors dive into the world of dinosaurs at an exciting new exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).

The exhibition creates a view of the world during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods through the use of scientific fossil evidence. The details are accurately brought to life with more than 100 print panels covering approximately 10,000 square feet with rich colors and a size that lives up to the incredible grandeur of the dinosaur age.

The longest single mural within the exhibit is more than 100 feet long. No matter where a visitor stands within the exhibition, the effect is an overall feeling of being transported to a lost world. To transform the distant past into realistic life-sized color images for its new Ultimate Dinosaurs: Giants from Gondwana exhibition, the museum turned to Beyond Digital Imaging, a print service provider (PSP) from Markham, Ontario. The ROM’s key criteria for a PSP extended beyond getting the best image quality and cost. The ROM also needed a product that would easily come off the walls, without damaging them, after the exhibition ends. The ROM also considered sustainability and environmental impact when making their choice.

“The success of Ultimate Dinosaurs: Giants from Gondwana depended on creating a captivating lost world for our visitors that would entertain and educate people of all ages,” said Dave Hollands, head, Design, Royal Ontario Museum. “Working with Beyond Digital Imaging and their use of HP Latex Printing Technology was an easy choice for us as we knew they could deliver astonishing graphics that were durable and faithfully showcase our enormous, scientifically accurate, mural art. We also are always on the lookout for products that are odorless and environmentally friendly. We’d definitely look to specify using latex printing in future RFPs.”

Technology plays an ever increasing role in the way the ROM’s galleries and specimens tell stories. Creating an authentic experience using large-scale visuals at 1,200 dots per inch is unique in this scale of an exhibit and was integral to the exhibition’s impact.

“It’s no small feat to change the world around us and that’s just what HP Latex Printing Technologies do—both literally and figuratively,” said Mark Lehmann, vice president, Large Format, HP Canada. “Beyond Digital Imaging’s work showcases the dynamic opportunities to create graphics that engage and delight viewers while also focusing on a technology with proven environmental benefits.”

Beyond Digital Imaging considered several key factors to determine the best approach for creating the exhibit graphics:

• Limited timeline to print and install the graphics

• Huge file sizes (up to 10 gigabytes for a wall 16 feet high by 130 feet long)

• Strong emphasis on using a wide color spectrum

• Preference for an environmentally sustainable print medium

“Choosing the right materials is essential for any job we consider,” said Larry Chan, owner, Beyond Digital Imaging. “When considering the needs of this busy and high-impact exhibit, we knew HP’s Latex Printing Technology was the best choice for three main reasons: quality, durability and environmental sustainability. We’d like to see latex specified in request for proposals; it’s the future of interior commercial design.”

HP Latex Inks are water-based, do not require special handling and are designed to reduce the impact of printing on the environment. They are ideal for wide and super-wide applications such as signage used in event spaces, and indoor and outdoor applications.

About The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is an agency of the Government of Ontario. Opened in 1914, the ROM is Canada’s preeminent museum of natural history and world cultures with six million objects in its collections and galleries showcasing art, archaeology and natural science. Ultimate Dinosaurs: Giants from Gondwana is a world premiere – the largest exhibition of southern dinosaurs ever mounted in North America and the largest dinosaur exhibition in the ROM's history. It features dinosaurs virtually unknown to North Americans, most unearthed in the last 20 years and never been displayed before in Canada. It also featured more multi-media than any exhibition in the ROM's history, including Augmented Reality and reactive walls that use body-scanning technology. For 24-hour information in English and French, please call 416.586.8000 or visit the ROM’s web site at www.rom.on.ca. About HP HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society.

The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.