Iconic Music Venue Celebrates Half-Century With Vibrant Exhibit of Rock Artifacts

PRINT SHOP: Color Reflections | Philadelphia Office | colorreflections.com
LOCATION: Philadelphia
TOOLS AND SUPPLIES: HP Latex 3600, EFI Vutek H3, EFI Vutek H5, EFI Vutek FabriVu 340i, EFI Vutek 5r+, Canon Colorado M5, Zünd G3 L-3200cv, Zünd G3 L-2500, Zünd S3 L-1200, GBC Pro-Tech Orca III, Miller Weldmaster SEG Sewing Combo, Summa vinyl cutter, PhotoTex adhesive-backed fabric, 3M Controltac IJ180Cv3 film, 3M Scotchcal Matte Overlaminate 8520, 3M Controltac Print Film 40C, 3M Scotchcal Luster Overlaminate 8509, Fisher Textiles Triple White Fabric, Ultraflex Soft Image, Ultraflex SuperSmooth Blockout, Lintec Wincos window film, Jessup Manufacturing Asphalt Art floor graphics, ½-in. Gatorfoam Gator Board, 3-mm Sintra PVC board.

FOR PHILLY CONCERTGOERS from the late ‘60s up to the 2010s, Electric Factory was a must-visit venue. The venue hosted both Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin within three months of opening, immediately cementing its legacy in the local music scene as it moved locations, closed, and reopened throughout the decades.

To honor 50 years of Electric Factory and its sister Electric Factory Concerts music promotion firm, Drexel University curators and Larry Magid Entertainment tapped Philadelphia-based Color Reflections to fabricate and install a vibrant exhibit bursting with music artifacts – including Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” guitar and other original posters and concert apparel.

Working through challenges of staggered file submissions and diverse design sources, the shop crafted a dynamic display with 3,000+ square feet of murals and wall wraps, 1,500 square feet of banners, 1,000 square feet of window graphics, and the most challenging output, 1,500 square feet of printed fabric for ginormous T-shirts. “The creation of the giant fabric T-shirts was a feat of both creative and technical ingenuity, involving detailed deconstruction, upscaling, and custom fabrication techniques, and even bending/shaping metal rods for giant wire hangers,” says Darren LoPrinzi, account manager, Color Reflections.

A handful of the other applications: Color Reflections imaged murals, wraps, and wall graphics using PhotoTex adhesive-backed fabric, 3M Controltac IJ180Cv3 film, 3M Scotchcal Matte Overlaminate 8520, 3M Controltac Print Film 40C, and 3M Scotchcal Luster Overlaminate 8509. More than 800 square feet of Gator Board was direct printed to create didactic panels. The shop leveraged its extensive range of equipment and materials to make the exhibition truly sing.

LoPrinzi says, “This project stands out for its sheer diversity in graphic types, transcending traditional boundaries of wide-format digital print. Each element, from the vivid PhotoTex murals to the custom-sewn T-shirts, was a testament to our capacity for innovation and pushing the envelope.”