S2K Graphics Closes Readerboard Graphics Sale with McDonald’s Nashville Market

S2K Graphics, a division of The Franke Group, officially debuted its Readerboard Graphic product with new features, including brighter and bolder graphics, and improved durability, placing more than 60 units into McDonald’s Nashville restaurants.

S2K Graphics founder and owner, Dan Pulos, created the bright and colorful Readerboard Graphics as an alternative to traditional readerboards with black tile letters to help clients capitalize on P.O.P. opportunities.

“Readerboards provide quick-service restaurants with the highest communication impact for their brick-and-mortar locations,” Pulos said. “They increase visibility of in-store promotions, drawing in street traffic, which can equal thousands of impressions every day. After testing our product at various national locations, results have shown that our use of bright and colorful graphics lifted product sales by 50 percent in the locations we tested. Additionally, the product had a payback in less than a week during testing, increasing sales and restaurant guest counts.”

The purchase, which accounts for more than 60 percent of the McDonald’s market in Nashville, came on the heels of the successful, recent wind tunnel testing to assess durability and shape retention qualities under extreme weather conditions. After testing the graphics in 90 mph high-speed winds in 30-, 60- and 90-degree angles, the results established that the graphics passed the durability test and did not detach under these conditions.

S2K Graphics’ Readerboard Graphics have specially formulated materials designed to fit easily in existing readerboard systems and withstand the rigors of hostile outdoor environments 15-20 feet in the air. They are cost-efficient, easy to install, and can be customized with any promotional offer or product feature.

S2K Graphics wins Best in Category for P.O.P. Materials at Print Excellence Awards

S2K Graphics, an affiliate of Franke Group, was recognized by the Printing Industries Association of Southern California (PIASC) at its annual Print Excellence Awards ceremony held on April 7, 2017.

S2K Graphics was awarded Best of Category in the Point-of-Purchase Materials category for its patented dimensional offset system, which transforms standard, flat graphics into 3-D designs by providing layered dimensionality to promotional displays.

“We’re quite pleased to receive this award from PIASC,” says Dan Pulos, founder and general manager of S2K Graphics. “Daily, we strive to create innovative P.O.P. offerings that disrupt the marketplace, and our dimensional offset system is a testament to the success of our efforts. The entire team at S2K Graphics extends their gratitude for the recognition.”

The Print Excellence Awards competition accepts nominations from all graphic art firms — printers, finishers/binderies, brokers, graphic designers, ad agencies and in-plant operations — located within the service area of PIASC. The judging is done anonymously, and the panel is comprised of a team of distinguished professionals with a minimum of 10 years of experience in the graphic arts industry.

Judges considered the quality of printing, degree of difficulty, technical expertise, and overall visual appearance of submissions in a variety of categories, including books, digital printing, invitations and programs, presentation folders, magazines, point-of-purchase materials, and beyond.

The dimensional offset system serves a variety of S2K Graphics’ clients and national quick-service restaurant (QSR) accounts, such as McDonald’s, and was first unveiled at the McDonald’s 2016 Worldwide Convention in Orlando, Florida. With custom instructional patterns and graphic snaps to ensure a proper alignment during assembly, the displays are outdoor durable, affordable and easy to assemble.

S2K Graphics Receives Prestigious Point-of-Purchase Industry Honor

S2K Graphics, a Franke company and leader in point-of-purchase (POP) design and print innovation, was nationally recognized for the fourth consecutive year as a “Top 50 P.O.P. Company” by Creative Magazine in the publication’s 2016 list. A bimonthly outlet targeted to sales and marketing executives, Creative Magazine has stated that the Top 50 P.O.P. list in the publication’s May edition is its most important feature of the year.

To qualify for this recognition, S2K Graphics, known for manufacturing unique merchandising elements for Fortune 100 companies, had to prove its market share. Prompted by Creative Magazine to complete a corporate background check and demonstrate that the company meets or exceeds the publication’s criteria, S2K Graphics submitted its company profile, total number of employees and its 2015 P.O.P. sales volume.

“We are extremely proud and honored to be recognized by Creative Magazine for the fourth year in a row,” said S2K Graphics’ founder and president, Dan Pulos. “S2K Graphics started in humble beginnings as a small sign shop and I’m still in awe of how far we come. This is a huge honor and the print industry has our full commitment to continue to bring top-of-the-line print innovations to market.”

With plants in Los Angeles and Nashville, TN, as well as a sales presence in New York, Illinois and California, S2K Graphics has charted new territory in its P.O.P. research and development. These innovations include the company’s newly patented dimensional offset systems, which transform 2-D graphics into 3-D, disruptive P.O.P. designs — providing layered, eye-catching aesthetics to promotional displays.

S2K Graphics produces a variety of P.O.P. displays for national accounts, such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper and other market-leading brands, and is one of only seven California companies to crack Creative Magazine’s Top 50 list this year.

S2K Brings A Fresh New Look to McDonald's Windows

'Create Your Taste' promotes fresh ingredients in restaurant windows.

“Is this really for McDonald’s?” one passerby asked as two installers worked on a window graphic promoting the chain’s new fresh ingredients and customizable sandwiches. S2K Graphics provided the signage, printed on an HP Scitex FB7600 onto Contra Vision Backlite perforated film, for two locations in the city.

S2K Awarded Patent on New Dimensional Offset Displays

S2K Graphics, a renowned leader in point-of-purchase (P.O.P.) design and print innovations, announces its patent for a dimensional offset system. The patent, granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, was issued for S2K Graphics’ fabrication technique, which transforms standard, flat graphics into 3-D designs by providing layered dimensionality to promotional displays.

The offset system was developed by S2K Graphics as a solution to replace outdated dimensional systems, such as Styrofoam blocks with double-sided tape, which can be bulky to ship and difficult to install. S2K Graphics’ patented dimensional offset system consists of nylon-based plastic rods that are affixed to studs with adhesive backs for adjoining the graphics. During assembly, these rods fasten to stainless steel plates within the display, producing a snap-like sound when coupled together to let the installer know that they are aligned. The graphics for this patented dimensional offset system are custom-made and available in full-color designs with one, two and three-inch offsets.

“We are proud of our continuous innovations and enjoy developing new ways for our customers to generate attention for their products and positive returns on their investments,” said Dan Pulos, S2K Graphics’ founder and president. “We’re confident that our patented dimensional offsets are the best systems on the market for 3-D P.O.P. displays.”

The dimensional offsets primarily serve S2K Graphics’ national quick-service restaurant (QSR) accounts, such as McDonald’s, and were first unveiled in April at McDonald’s 2016 Worldwide Convention, held in Orlando, Fla. The offsets are durable enough to be used in both indoor and outdoor applications, from drive-thru lawn signs to P.O.P. displays within the restaurant. They are also versatile enough to be used for movie theater displays and brick-and-mortar retail locations.

S2K Graphics’ patented offset displays are weather tolerant, affordable and allow for easy assembly. With custom instructional patterns and graphic snaps, these dimensional offset systems also help to ensure perfect alignment, every time. Additionally, they have lower shipping costs and shorter installation times compared to the traditional Styrofoam block techniques. 

S2K Graphics Recognized for Restaurant Technology Innovation

QSR Magazine names S2K Graphics as an Applied Technology Award winner.

Chatsworth, California (Feb. 3, 2016) –– S2K Graphics, a renowned leader in point-of-purchase (P.O.P.) design and print innovation, has been nationally recognized as a Crew-Facing Tech winner in Quick-Service Restaurant (QSR) Magazine’s 2016 Applied Technology Awards. The awards, which were last hosted in 2010, recognize companies that demonstrate the latest innovations in both crew-facing and customer-facing restaurant technology.

S2K Graphics was selected for its patented P.O.P. Placement Software Program, which is used in thousands of McDonald’s locations across the U.S. The program works by first creating full-color, realistic renderings of each individual restaurant. Based upon these renderings and consumer traffic patterns, both inside and outside of the restaurant, the program then prioritizes the franchisors’ P.O.P. merchandising elements. These elements, from posters, decals and banners to kiosks and drive-thru elements, are then optimally placed into the restaurant renderings to ensure that franchisors maximize their return on investment (ROI) through proper P.O.P. placement at every restaurant.

In the magazine’s feature on the awards, QSR spoke to the P.O.P. Placement Software Program’s ability to improve P.O.P. execution, lessen installation times and reduce merchandising clutter in restaurants.

“We are extremely proud of our product and the benefits it provides to our customers,” said Dan Pulos, S2K Graphics founder and president. “At S2K, we continue to invest in new equipment and develop new technologies, not only to ensure that we provide the most innovative, sales-driving products to our customers, but also to improve the effectiveness of the P.O.P. once its delivered to each store.”