It had been a long time coming, but the cornerstone of Kansas City's downtown renaissance was finally completed. On October 13, 2007 this $276,000,000 state-of-the-art structure echoed with the music of Elton John and the giddy screams of more than 18,000 fans. The new Kansas City Sprint Center was now officially open, adorned with large-format signage that was created, developed and produced by none other than Digital Lagoon.

As you might imagine, the large-format printing needs for this 8.5-acre arena were almost beyond comprehension - from small signs created on DiBond that designate areas for VIPs and the press, to large-format logo treatments that were initially presented as 1/4-scale, 3D mockups and eventually built full-size using multiple layers of 1/2-inch PVC measuring 4 feet high and 16 feet across.

Of course, the Sprint Center needed a lot more signs on a lot more substrates, including etched glass, cut vinyl and magnetics. But the most stunning visuals proudly reign on the walls surrounding the arena, and can be seen the moment one walks through the main entrance. These unique, grayscale pictures of athletes and entertainers are printed on 6ml panels of PVC measuring 4 feet by 8 feet. Each section is made up of 12 panels. There are 8 sections in all that surround the arena for a grand total of 96 panels covering 4,608 square feet. In addition to creating, printing, cutting and delivering all 96 panels, Digital Lagoon also designed the special hanging mechanisms needed to securely install each panel.

Yes, it's been a long time coming, but the new Sprint Center is now open for business, complete with large-format printing provided by Digital Lagoon. This particular project was in development for more than two months, but once the creative direction had been solidified and the graphics developed, it took Digital Lagoon less than 2 weeks to print, cut and install more signs than any true blue Elton John fan could imagine.

W+D Machinery Company is a German-based company that manufactures, among other things, envelope-making machines and printing presses. Their U.S. headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas, asked Digital Lagoon to provide large format printing and a live video feed to help them introduce their newest generation of products.

The machines W+D manufactures can be huge, sometimes up to 50 feet in length. So, to better communicate their features, a Digital Lagoon cameraman followed as VIPs described the new machinery and projected their images and audio onto a large elevated screen. This complex shoot also required constant video switching that alternated from the live camera feed to a pre-existing PowerPoint presentation.

Using our large format flatbed press, Digital Lagoon also created various customized banners and posters for the open house, including a Plexiglass sign with 3D lettering. People flew in from all over the U.S., some in their own private jets, to attend this 2-day gala. And each day was topped off with a fabulous lunch that featured real German bratwurst and of course, real German beer.

Since its founding in 1995, Digital Lagoon has been committed to providing clients with the most advanced Internet technologies. Over the last few months, Digital Lagoon has made a significant investment in both people and products to make our Web hosting services the best in the Midwest. Recent infrastructure changes include upgrades in our mail server software, a new testing server, enhanced backup and recovery capabilities, and access to greater bandwidth at our network operations facility.

Our new mail server provides improved throughput of e-mail, reliable client configurability and the latest anti-spam and anti-virus filtering. The clean, responsive Web mail offers a user-friendly interface with a crisp design.

Built on proven Dell technology, Digital Lagoon's new development server is a cutting-edge virtual server with significant redundant storage for creative files and test Web sites. The robust platform extends the latest in Microsoft database and hosting software for faster setups and agility in deploying new sites. And it gives our clients instant access to their sites throughout the creative process.

Our new backup system is considered the gold standard in data recovery, providing high-performance, certified disk-to-disk-to-tape backup and recovery, with continuous data protection for file and database servers. Digital Lagoon has also increased its bandwidth capabilities by a whopping 66%, which allows us to provide our clients with uninterrupted service, even during the most demanding peak usage times.

Looking for a unique gift for a friend this holiday season? Digital Lagoon recently completed a Web site for photodarts.com that allows folks to upload any image, photo or corporate logo and have it placed directly on a regulation-sized, quality dartboard. You can even put two images on both the front and back of the dartboard.

The site also features a Flash animated dart game that allows players to insert their favorite photo on the dartboard and play free online. If they don't have a photo of choice, players can select an image from the image gallery. Each customized dartboard comes with a scoring ring and six brass darts. To learn more about this unique, personalized gift, or to play the online dart game, visit www.photodarts.com.

A Tasty Video for Mr. Goodcents

This year's annual sales meeting for Mr. Goodcents will be held in Las Vegas, and Digital Lagoon was selected to produce the company video. The video was shot at Digital Lagoon's in-house studio and on location at a Mr. Goodcents store in Lee's Summit, Missouri. The video begins with animated Mr. Goodcents figures filling the seats of a "theater" followed by a zoom onto the stage that reveals a beautiful hostess dressed in a red formal gown. Our alluring emcee then proceeds to announce the award-winning sandwiches and bread flavors for 2007, which are interspersed with "man-on-the-street" interviews shot at the Lee's Summit store. The video concludes with an inspiring look at the potential 2008 Goody Award-winning pastas, salads, sandwiches and breads that will hit Mr. Goodcents' stores in the upcoming year.

A Sweeter Suite

Thanks in part to the large format printing capabilities of Digital Lagoon, the Brotherhood Bank Suite at the Kansas Speedway just got sweeter. The folks at Brotherhood Bank asked Digital Lagoon to create, develop, print, cut and manage the installation of various large format printed pieces for their Kansas Speedway suite.

This project entailed a variety of signage in a variety of sizes, including an adhesive vinyl 1-foot by 10-foot banner above the suite's window as well as several photos of racing cars in action that were printed directly on 1/2-inch Gatorfoam. Digital Lagoon also printed a 3D lenticular of a NASCAR photo measuring 3 feet by 4 feet and mounted on DiBond brushed aluminum with brushed stainless steel stand-offs to enhance the 3D effect.

The large format signage in the Brotherhood Bank suite also features the bank logo on a magnetized Plexiglass base adorned with a checkered flag. Digital Lagoon then used their state-of-the-art, optical digital cutter to custom cut lettering in brushed aluminum DiBond. Because the sign was designed for display at shoulder height, the letters were also magnetized so that they could quickly and easily be re-applied to the Plexiglass base, just in case of an unexpected Speedway "collision."