When we think of advertising and promotional images, we usually consider a business’s walls, windows or display units as prime territory. But as retailers have sought to maximize on every square inch of advertising space, many have begun to consider the opportunities on their unused floors, both indoors and outdoors.

当我们想起广告和一些广告图像时，我们通常会首先想到商业墙面、窗口或者是展览厅。但是广告商也一直在寻找一些让广告无处不在的方式，现在已经有许多广告商开始思考将广告印刷在他们之前从未用过的地面上，包括室内和室外的地面。

Thus the creation and continued growth of floor graphics, which you’ve probably already seen in action at your local convenience store or big-box retailer. Their relatively compact size can make them an easy output job for print shops, and with some creative flair and a little technical know-how, they can also be designed to attract customers with a very eye-catching 3D look. Some companies have even created suitable for carpets.

你也许已经发现，这些正在发展和富有创造力的地面图形，在你当地的便利店和零售大卖场已经出现。它们相对小巧的尺寸使打印工作变得更为简单，并且富有独特的创意和技术水平，甚至可以被设计成一个非常棒的裸眼3D效果来吸引顾客。有些公司甚至发明了适合地毯的产品。

Steve Tomas, head of product branding with FLEXcon, a printer and provider of printing films, says the marketing potential for floor graphics is quite compelling, with studies showing an increase of $2 per 1,000 shoppers in lift rate, as a result of those floor-mounted images. That’s good news for printers.

史提夫托马斯说：“ 地面图形的市场营销潜力是非常吸引人的，有研究表明，这些地面图形每增加两美元就有1000位顾客上升的比重。这对打印机供应商来说是个好消息。”

But considering the graphics are also literally victims of foot traffic all day long, proper installation is an especially important skill to learn in order to turn floor graphics into a lucrative sideline.

但是考虑到地面图形每天都会被行人踩踏，如何将地面图形打印业务转化成一项拥有丰厚利润的项目，学习相应的安装技术就显得尤为重要了。

The good news is that adding floor graphics output to your repertoire probably won’t necessarily require new equipment, just a few new skills. David Timmerman, West Coast regional technical specialist with Avery Dennison, says the major differentiations with floor graphics mostly come in the wide choice of substrates, and says work is simple to begin, provided you are already set up to do wide-format printing.

你想进行地面图形广告印刷，不一定需要增添或者购买新的设备，仅仅需要做一些新的改进就可以了。Avery Dennison公司西海岸地区的技术专家David Timmerman 说：“地面图形广告与其它广告的主要区别在于对基材的广泛选择，如果你已经做好了宽版印刷的准备，那么工作的开展就变得十分简单了。”

“Latex, solvent and UV printer technology can all be used for floor graphics, and no special software is needed unless printers are wanting to create more of a 3D shift in their floor graphics,” he says. Given that these are images customers will not be expecting to see, creativity is key, he adds.

他说：“乳胶、溶剂和紫外线印刷技术都可以用于地面图形的印刷，没有特别的软件需求，除非印刷者想为他们的地面图形添加一些3D的图案。”接着，他又补充道：“应该为顾客着想，思考他们是否期待看到这些，毕竟创造力才是关键。”

“You do want to make sure it fits the purpose of the project,” he says. “Are you advertising a product? Can you read the advertisement while walking over it? Or are you printing a wood grain or tile pattern just to change the look of the floor. A customer may not want to invest in the added artwork cost for creating a 3D graphic, so if you have the talent in your design team, always present both options – and both prices.”

他说：“你必须确保它符合项目的目的，你想为产品打广告吗？当你走过一个广告的时候你会想去阅读它吗？或者你印刷一个木头纹理或者瓷砖图案只是仅仅想改变地板的外观？顾客也许不想为了一个3D图案而投资过多的艺术消费，如果你能够提供给客户设计和创意方面的支持，你就需要同时提供两种供客户选择的方案，以及这两种方案的价格。

Design is critical to these pieces, and learning to finesse the details for the specialized work required to create floor graphics can have a bit of a learning curve, according to Holly Coleman, marketing development manager with 3M’s Commercial Solutions Division.

3M公司的市场开发部经理Holly Coleman表示：“设计在这个领域体现得尤为重要，为了更便捷的处理这些专业工作上的细节，让我们可以多学习一些在创作地面图形的专业知识。

 “A factor some shops should consider is the process of scaling the graphics,” Coleman says. “It usually takes designers some practice creating floor graphics that appear as polished as they do on walls, and part of that is because floor graphics are (simply) much smaller than other applications.”

Coleman说：“一些商店应该将对图形的缩放处理列为考虑因素，它通常会让设计师设计出一些与墙面一样光滑的地面图形，原因是简单的地面图形比其他的图形广告小得多。”

Tomas says floor graphics products fall into a few broad categories – clear, white and opaque white base films, plus overlaminates of varying glossiness (in his and other companies’ cases, all satisfying UL 410 standards for slip resistance for flooring material).

托马斯说：“地面图形产品分为透明的、白色的和不透明的白色基材这几大类，再加上不同材质的层压板材（在他和其他公司的案例中表明，所有符合UL 410标准的防滑性地板材料都是可以的）。”

“Anyone interested in printing floor graphics should have the ability to printon UL-classified graphics base films and the ability to laminate the printed base with a matching overlaminate,” he says. “They may also want the ability to cut the final graphics to shape with a plotter cutter or flatbed cutter.”

他说：“对于印刷地面图形感兴趣的每一个人，都可以尝试印刷目前UL分类的图形基材，再将印刷出来的基材匹配层压板材压成薄片。或许，他们也可能希望能够用绘图机或平板切割机将最终的薄片切割成形。”

Popular products include 3M’s Conroltac or Envision print wrap films (available in 60-inch-wide rolls), Avery Dennison’s MPI series printable films and FLEXcon’s base materials, plus FLEXcon’s proprietary Safari embossed clear-finish overlaminate.

热销的产品包括3M公司的Conroltac 和 Envision印刷的包装薄膜（该包装薄膜可以在60英寸宽的屏幕上滚动），Avery Dennison公司的MPI系列可以印刷胶片和富力公司的底板材料，再通过富力公司专有的Safari浮雕完成层压板材的制作。

As Tomas explains, slip resistance is a key issue in the floor graphics field. And since graphics require that extra durability, Tomas says that first-time printers should consider some of the warranty implications for the products they create – and shop around a bit before investing in substrate.

正如托马斯所解释的：“防滑性是地面图形领域的关键问题。”因为图形要求持久的耐用性，托马斯说：“当商场引进了地面图形之后，印刷商首先应该考虑的就是他们的印刷产品的保修问题。”

“New players to the floor graphics market would be wise to understand the variety of warranties and indemnifications available to them and their end customers,” he says. “Small companies must consider the value of risk mitigation with a warrantied and indemnified product versus their own liability for generic products used on the floor.”

托马斯说：“每一个想进入地面图形市场的新手公司，都应该充分了解各种担保措施和赔偿条约，这既是为了他们自己，也是为了他们的终端客户。新手公司必须考虑清楚担保措施和赔偿条约的风险缓解机制，并对他们自己用在地板上的产品进行负责。”

Timmerman reiterates the necessity of getting customers to understand how floor graphics will last, and factoring that into your sales and pricing.

Timmerman反复强调，客户对于地面图形产品有一个充分的了解是非常重要的，因为这直接关系到产品的定价和销售。

“Floor graphics are short-term applications and clients should be made aware of the warranty and the expectations, up front,” he says. “The standard warranty for a floor graphic is six months.”

他说，“地面图形在实际应用方面还存在着许多的不足，客户应该首先弄清楚对它的期待和产品保修问题。一般而言，地面图形的保质期是6个月。”

Once the work is printed (or has come back from an outsource printer, for specialty jobs), the biggest challenge in making floor graphics perfect is the issue of installation. Unlike standard wall- or window-mounted images, floor graphics will be walked on or scuffed by shopping carts and dollies, so it’s important to do a perfect job on the install, the first time.

当图形广告被打印出来（或者是将特殊的图形广告从外包的打印店取回来），那么安装问题将是使地面图形变得更加完美的最大挑战。与墙面图像和窗口图像的标准不一样，地面图形经常会被人踩踏或是因为购物车和手推车的使用而产生磨损，因此，解决好安装问题是最首要的。

“If an installation is done incorrectly, it can hinder the overall appearance of the graphics as well as impede the walking plane,” 3M’s Coleman says. “We recommend that prior to any application, the surface should be stripped of wax, cleaned and degreased to promote adhesion. The last step should always be to re-squeegee the edges so they don’t curl up. Another tip for successful installation is to have the floor graphics waxed over when the entire floor is treated. This will meld the two together and make the appearance even more seamless.”

3M公司的Coleman说：“如果安装失误，它可能会影响到图形的整体外观以及妨碍顾客在上面行走，我们建议在投入使用前，先处理掉图形表面的蜡，清洁和除去表面的油污使其粘附得更加牢固，最后一步再重新刮擦边缘，使其不会卷曲。成功安装的另一个要点是当地面图形拼接完成后，将地面图形整个打一遍蜡，这样可以其外观更加平整美观。”

For bigger projects – such as aisle-wide print jobs – installation work can be a little trickier.

安装工作（比如全部走廊的印刷工作）会有一些棘手。

“Installation of large, paneled graphics also requires careful inspection for wrinkles, bubbles and properly adhered seams,” adds FLEXcon’s Tomas. “Seams on multi-panel floor graphics should be butted together rather than overlapped to minimize the profile of the graphic and eliminate unnecessary raised edges.” 

富力公司的托马斯补充到：“安装工作是非常庞大的，安装地板图形要求仔细检查有褶皱的地方，消除多余的气泡和适当的粘附接缝。地面图形每一个边缘应该对接到一起，而不是将图形重叠缩小它的轮廓，最后要把边缘不必要的凸起部分抹平。”