Image 4 Uses MPM Material to Sweeten Branding at Lindt’s US Headquarters

When candy manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli AG expanded its North American headquarters in Stratham, NH, the company wanted to make an environmental-branding statement, while adhering to its ironclad goal of a LEED-compliant facility. To achieve this, Image 4, a Manchester, NH-based digital-service provider, collaborated with Monadnock Paper Mills (MPM), Bennington, NH, to produce expansive wallgraphics that cover Lindt’s lobby, offices, elevator landings and cafeteria.

To accommodate the customer’s LEED requirements, Image 4 specified MPM’s ENVI wallgraphics material, which comprises paper made with renewable materials and post-consumer waste that, according to the company, is manufactured through a carbon-neutral process with 100%-renewable electricity. Because Image 4 specified materials that contain recycled content, eliminate VOCs and minimize construction and production wastes – and qualified as a locally sourced vendor per LEED guidelines– Lindt & Sprüngli obtain points towards certification.

“By employing a proactive approach, [service providers] can have a direct effect on the operational sustainability of the customer’s built environment,” Jeff Baker, Image 4’s president, said.

The Envi material weighs 228 grams per sq.m. of sheet, with a caliper that’s 0.24mm thick. He said Image 4 specified the heavy-gauge material because it provides better scratch resistance, retains 15% more ink – which creates dense areas with low tones and smooths out tonal changes – and provides more dimensional stability; allows better workability and blemish coverage than lower-density substrates; cuts cleanly, and wraps around corners or hides imperfections in underlying sheetrock layers; and requires only a Grade 3 wall preparation, which is less labor-intensive and costly than the Grade 4 or Grade 5 treatment thinner wallcoverings require.

The project entails approximately 7,200 sq. ft. of graphics. The largest section, for the cafeteria, entails 208 x 22 ft. of coverage, with panels done in 50-in.-wide, 22-ft.-long sections. The lobby’s treatment entails two, 12-ft.-high sections, decorated with 50-in.-wide panels, with a narrow overlap to encompass the 66-ft.-wide wall. Other decorated areas include an elevator atrium that spans 46 x 10 ft. and was paneled in 42-in.-wide sections, and private-office areas with wallcoverings that measure approximately 16 x 10 ft., with 50-in.-wide panels.

The low-resolution artwork the client provided proved challenging. Initially, the job was printed with
a UV-cure-ink printer, but Baker noted its ink-coverage and detail-pixilation issues. Image 4 switched to an HP Scitex LX850 latex-ink machine, because it enabled higher-resolution printing and better ink coverage due to HP’s higher addressable dot count.

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For the job, Image 4 also printed several 3-D panels that depict Lindt’s delectable products, which were installed on standoffs after the wallcovering’s completion.