A trek in the woods is a popular pastime in Finland, where two-thirds of land is forested. To ensure the safety of walkers navigating the often hazardous terrain, the Finnish Forest Commission developed 80 detailed, directional maps to be posted at sites throughout Finland and its sparsely populated Lapland region. The maps had to remain clear and readable, even when weather conditions turn ugly.
To produce the graphics, the Forest Commision turned to Mainospyora, a large-format graphics firm that has evolved from screen-printing to electrostatic transfer to inkjet printing. Mainospyora used their new 10.5-ft wide, 8-color VUTEk UltraVu? 3360 EC to print the signs, which varied in size. A typical forest map was 1 x 2 m. Some signs were output at the machine's full 10.5 width. The UltraVu's ability to run two rolls of substrate simultaneously resulted in faster throughput. Each map took about two minutes to print and another 20 minutes to adhere to the aluminum sign blank.
Founded in 1964, Mainospyora is a family-run business based in Epso, Finland. The company has 80 employees and offers screen-printing, digital printing, die-cutting, and signmaking services. (Mainospyora: www.mainospyora.fi)