Earlier this afternoon, the TechCrunch office got some new additions: a collection of massive stickers, ranging from giant TechCrunch logos (you can see them on the CrunchCam) to various animals, a big donut, and even a surfing alien. They come from a new startup called Larger Than Life Prints, which is best described as a CafePress or Zazzle for humongous stickers. The company allows users to design their own oversized wall graphics, which can then be ordered in one-off runs or sold to other visitors through an integrated store.
The site is still fairly new, but’s already beginning to attract some top talent, including Susan Kare, who is famous for designing the on-screen graphics of the original Macintosh computer and many of Facebook’s popular virtual gifts. LTL Prints is featuring many of these artists in a collection of ‘big wall art‘, which includes art curated by the Start Soma Art Gallery.
It’s hard to really get excited about stickers, but these are actually pretty impressive. They’re made out of a study fabric-based paper that’s really hard to tear (we tried), and it can also be applied many times on various surfaces, like walls and glass. You can roll the sticker up in a ball, and it will pull apart without any lasting damage. Contrast that with most other large stickers, which are typically made of vinyl, and it becomes clear that these are truly some high grade stickers.
Prices for the stickers range from $20 for a 2ft sticker to $165 for a massive 7 ft tall sticker. From there you’re free to charge higher prices if you sell your sticker in the site’s integrated marketplace.
I just ordered a giant sticker with Techcrunch’s logo and the words “Did you pay for the Pre?” underneath it.
Is there really enough of a market for these giant stickers to devote an entire website to it? Probably.
sigh.
Billionaire entrepreneur Dan Gilbert should employ this strategy to FatHead (fathead.com) or possibly buy these guys one day.
you say you ordered one and the next line you start thinking if there is a market for this business :p
+1
+1
=2
I don’t consider my behavior to be that of the “normal consumer.”
Niche markets are still markets….
There would be a huge market to designers.. both for themselves and for their clients. Depending on pricing, this could be a good promotional tool..
Kind of like Fathead’s custom product http://www.fathead.com/custom/
I find it It Hard to say FatHead with a Straight face in a serious conversation
Sure would be great if they would give Techcrunch readers a discount.
10% discount on SUSAN KARE Big Wall Graphics to TechCrunch readers with the discount code: TechCrunch09 for the next 48 hours.
http://www.LTLp...s.com/susankare
Kendall Schoenrock
http://www.LTLprints.com
Seems like a great idea if it was slightly more affordable
I agree. Most US printers charge hundreds to thousands percent mark-up, because it’s normal and accepted. If you can wait a little longer, I’m sure China will have some great deals, as they have done for 4-color fliers and brochures.
http://homokaas...rg/rasterbator/ (link down)
http://www.arje...net/rasterbator (never used but looks like the same thing but in application form)
free.
John,
the output for RB is designed to be printed on a number of small pieces (8.5 x 11 sheets) of paper, not one large seamless print on a removable fabric. Still cool stuff though…
Thanks,
Kendall Schoenrock
LTLprints.com
Interesting idea.
http://www.wallbangers.com has been doing this and advertising on TV for years.
Bad website. Can’t find pricing or customer login or anything.
Gak! HORRIBLE website. How do I place an order? Somebody send them a copy of “Don’t Make me Think” please.
Unfortunately, there are way too many sites that suck like this.
Donna @thewebcoach
How timely! I have been needing some giant stickers.
This will be perfect for huge video game maps.
Play the game and whenever you need to see where something is, look up on the wall.
Cool concept. Wallhogs.com offers both the same product using the same material material at half the price. I’ve also used their vinyl product with much success. Not surprising that others have started to offer these.
It would be cool if they actually included the Zoom In/Out Magnifying glasses icons with the faux 8 bit stickers. That would be pretty funny.
Looks interesting. Bonus to LTLP’s marketing folk for creating and sending the custom (and humorously over sized) samples to TC. IMO smart marketing compared to those that send one medium* t-shirt to 300 people and then expect a positive article in three days. That will be the last positive thing I’ll ever say about marketing. =) Clean and concise article too.
I’ll give them a spin on a laptop cover soon.
* A medium? This is a high-tech-large-only world and mediums just piss us off.
These stickers are great for apartment dwellers like me. I have a phat head on my wall and it looks great. One thing, is if your wall has marks, bumps, or blobs of paint on it. The stickers tend to make those features really stick out.
Philadelphia-based start-ups, FTW!
looks just like customizedgraphics.com except not as good
Removable wall art/decals like this are big on etsy right now, so I imagine this will provide people their own outlet for producing images.
Congrats Kendall and Carsten!
Pretty neat company – you should check out sticviews.com. They also do custom printing, large and small any shape. They have a pretty sweet fabric material as well. I also have a laptop skin from them that I got for less than $10 – they seem cheaper than LTL Prints.
Awesome! Ordering some immediately. How is the quality when sticking them on painted walls? Are they staying put?
Mike, yes – LTLprints do no damage to painted walls – so no worries!
Mike – they stick perfectly on painted walls and won’t damage. So no worries…