New Wall Printing Technology (Vertigraphics) Brings History to Life at Heartland Community College

Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois, has many sustainability and environmental stewardship programs throughout their campus. In fact, a wind turbine generates around 50 percent of the college’s electricity. So when Heartland was looking for a mural to be installed in the new Agriculture Complex, they were excited to learn about Vertigraphics, Latitude’s new zero-waste vertical printing technology.

A Blank Wall = A Giant Canvas

Heartland’s new agriculture building was completed in 2024. The 29,500-square-foot complex is home to the school’s agriculture education and training programs. With that much space, there was a large wall just begging for a mural. In fact, the wall Heartland wanted covered was 8’x33’.

The client had been collecting old photos from around McLean County, where the school is located. Latitude production designer Tim Brown got to work arranging them into a large display, adding sepia tones across the design that would accentuate the historical look of the mural. The photos provided were of various quality, so images with better resolution were able to be enlarged, while lower resolution photos stayed smaller.

Resolution is especially critical to keep in mind for Vertigraphics projects. Vertigraphics can print designs, photos, and texts up to 1200 dpi. It uses high-definition CMYK colors, and gradients and drop shadows can give designs more dimension.

Installing the History Wall Mural

Hamza Daour, Director of Innovation, Inclusion + Culture, and chief engineer of Vertigraphics, personally oversaw the mural installation in February 2025. With the wall at 33 feet in length, it was the longest Vertigraphics project to date, requiring the design to be spliced into two sections so that the mural could be installed over two days. After the first day of printing, the team used vinyl to cover the existing printed portion. This ensured the splice was spot-on when second-day printing began.

Some pivots were needed during installation as the team found the wall was not vertically level. The top portion was deeper by just 22 mm, and with the specificity of the Vertigraphics technology, even small discrepancies can alter the look of a finished product. A quick artwork adjustment ensured the mural matched the approved design the clients signed off on.

Students from all over campus came to watch the Vertigraphics installation.
VIDEO: Watch the process in this fantastic video that Heartland Community College produced on installation day.

Vertigraphics Potential

The marketing team at Heartland oversees the design of all campus environments. In the past, they have had challenges with vinyl wall graphics. After seeing this mural installed with vertical printing technology, they see more opportunities for Vertigraphics throughout the school. They loved seeing how the new technology can design and print around constraints in a way that vinyl solutions cannot.

Heartland spread the word across campus about the new mural, making Vertigraphics the talk of the college. By using innovative, environmentally friendly printing techniques, Heartland was able to pay homage to their past and show their commitment to sustainability.

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