orientation table, enamelled fresco, commemorative plaques : Our achievements
As specialists in the design, creation and production of enamelled lava and stoneware signage, in 2008 Empreinte installed close to 150 projects throughout France, Europe and the world: Belgium, Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Tanzania, Senegal...
Thematic trail signage, orientation panels, commomerative plaques and frescoes are all designed in our graphics workshops. All production processes are carried out in our premises located near Toulouse.
Download : Empreinte, References 2008
Download : Empreinte, a recognized Partner of historic and Environmentally significant sites
Orientation Panels
The most beautiful natural site or outstanding viewpoint will gain a new dimension if represented by an orientation panel. Empreinte's team is involved and quality checks every stage of each project: graphic design, layout and production.
Empreinte conçoit et réalise tout projet de tables d'orientation en lave émaillée ou en grès émaillé.
Notre équipe de graphistes est spécialisée dans le traitement des fichiers destinés à la réalisation des tables d'orientation : adaptation des photos (anamorphose) à votre paysage et aquarelle peinte à la main ou sur logiciel informatique.
Toutes les solutions seront étudiées pour vous réaliser la table d'orientation que vous souhaitez.
Tous les formats et et toutes les formes sont possibles : rectangulaire, lune, demi-lune, ronde... sont réalisables en lave émaillée ou grès émaillé. Les tables orientation d'Empreinte seront toujours adaptées à vos souhaits et au panorama à décrire.
Les tables d'orientation en lave ou en grès émaillés sont intégrées dans le mobilier le mieux adapté. Empreinte peut vous fournir des supports en lave naturelle, en acier,... Empreinte peut également vous accompagner dans la réalisation de supports en pierre de pays.
Une table d'orientation accessible aux non-voyants réalisée pour la ville de Vienne
Vienne, Ville d'Art et d'histoire, a choisi Empreinte afin de réaliser son projet de table d'orientation. Le client souhaitait que nous leur proposions une solution pour rendre cette table accessible aux non-voyants et conforme à la charte Tourisme et Handicap.
Empreinte a proposé une table d'orientation en lave émaillée et une interprétation du paysage et des monuments remarquables gravée sur du laiton. Le payasage a été dessiné par une illustratrice salariée d'Empreinte. Réalisé à l'aquarelle, il a été partiellement mis en couleur afin de mettre en lumière les éléments les plus significatifs du panorama. La table d'une longueur de 1500 mm a été intégrée avec le laiton dans un mobilier en acier thermolaqué et placée au belvédère de Pipet.
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Historical Waymarking
Enamelled Lava Stone and stoneware panels have been produced for historic signifiant sites as diverse as the Acropolis in Greece to historical site of Napoleonic battles of Waterloo in Belgium.
Empreinte is a recognized partner of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Empreinte signe le patrimoine du Pays basque Espagnol
La municipalité d'Elorrio, dans la Province de Biscaye (Pays Basque Espagnol) a choisi la lave émaillée d'Empreinte pour mettre en valeur son patrimoine. Enchassées directement dans le sol pour jalonner les parcours touristiques, intégrées dans des mobiliers ou posées directement sur les murs des monuments historiques, les plaques en lave se plient à toutes solutions de mise en valeur du patrimoine.
Spécialiste de l'interprétation du patrimoine, Empreinte vous accompagne dans la mise en valeur des plus beaux sites historiques.
La ville de Gonfreville-l'Orcher a choisi Empreinte pour mettre en valeur son patrimoine historique et industriel
La Communauté de communes de la Suisse Normande (14) a choisi Empreinte pour emmener les promeneurs sur les traces de son histoire
The town of Falaise (14) chose Empreinte enamelled lava stone to mark out the tourist itinerary around the town
Natural Heritage
Empreinte designs and creates the interpretation for naturel heritage. Waymarking, trail signs, lecterns, information markers : all signage solutions will be implemented by our teams.
Lava stone used by Empreinte is a natural raw material, maintenance-free and features staying power for decades.
Stoneware panels and original watercolours for a nature trail
The marsh of Ecluzelles is home to fauna and flora of great educational value. The General Council of Eure et Loir awarded Empreinte the contract to mark out the trail allowing visitors to discover this rich and original heritage.
For this project, Empreinte called upon the skills of one of its graphic artists, specialised in nature drawing. There was a considerable amount of work: 22 true-to-life illustrations needed to be made. After much research into the animal and plant species to be represented, the delicate work of painting could begin: all the illustrations were done in watercolour in our workshops, with great attention paid to the naturalistic appearance. Once the watercolours were finished, we had to design a sober and elegant graphic layout that would fit perfectly with this particular natural environment, verging on the wild.
The General Council chose extruded stoneware for the creation of its trail. Stoneware requires no upkeep, is resistant to difficult weather conditions (humidity etc.) and is guaranteed 10 years. The enamelling in our workshops required particular care and attention so as to faithfully render the nuances and subtleties of the watercolours. Fitted onto an "Artcorps" lectern, the enamelled stoneware panels have been mounted around the Roselière (Reed marsh) and among the ducks, grebes and herons.
The stonewre panels were fitted onto Artcorps lecterns and blend perfectly into the surrounding nature
Town and Countries of Art and History
A Signage trail through the town of Saint-Omer
Designing, imagining, and manufacturing descriptive signage is an adventure...
It requires considerable investment and the commitment of numerous partners. It must be long-lasting, true to your image and integrated into its environment. Empreinte’s profession is to work hand in hand with you.
When team from Saint-Omer (62), that has been a town of Art and History for 10 years, was drafting its signage project, it took its time, felt the heartbeat of its town, breathed in the atmosphere.
The team progressed step by step, drawing on the skills of various experts.
As time went by, their journey became our journey; an exemplary project that is the pride of our profession and whose story we wanted to tell.
En téléchargement : la plaquette "Une balade signalétique sur les terres de Saint-Omer", ville d'Art et d'Histoire.(A signage Trail through the town of Saint-Omer, a town of Art and History.
Outstanding creations
La lave émaillée raconte l'histoire militaire de la colline de Santa Catalina
La ville de Gijön, située sur la côte cantabrique (Espagne) a choisi la lave émaillée d'Empreinte pour raconter son histoire militaire. Le parcours s'étend sur toute la colinne où se dresse à son sommet une sculpture monumentale"L'éloge de l'horizon", une oeuvre d'Eduardo Chillida.
Insérées dans des mobiliers "Arcorps", les plaques en lave émaillée s'intègrent parfaitement dans ce paysage chargé d'histoire.
L'Île Verte, un joyau préservé de la Méditerranée raconte son histoire sur le grès d'Empreinte
Le Conseil général des Bouches du Rhône a choisi Empreinte pour réaliser son parcours pédestre sur l'Île Verte. Cette petite île, au large de La Ciotat, récèle de nombreuses richesses naturelles et abrite les vestiges d'une histoire mouvementée. L'été, l'île est fréquentée par de nombreux touristes. 
Le Conseil général a opté pour des panneaux en grès émaillé. Empreinte a été chargée de la conception graphique des plaques mais aussi de la réécriture des textes. De nombreuses thématiques ont été abordées : l'occupation de l'île au fil des siècles, la faune, la flore, la géologie, le rôle de l'île pendant la seconde guerre mondiale...
La mise en page moderne et épurée permet une lecture aisée des différents éléments d'informations. L'impression des visuels sur le grès donne au parcours un aspect très contemporain tout en s'intégrant parfaitement dans le paysage de l'île. Empreinte a également fabriqué les supports qui accueillent les plaques : posés à même le sol ou intégrés dans un mur, ce sentier surprend toujours...
Empreinte travels the Impressionists trail
Lastwinter, the “Comité Départemental du Tourisme de Seine-Maritime” (Seine-MaritimeDepartmental Tourist Board) threw down a new challenge to Empreinte: create 22reproductions of the major works of Impressionist painters. From Rouen toDieppe via Le Havre and Etretat, the lava stones clad with Normandy’s mostbeautiful landscapes, as seen through the eyes of the greatest artists of the19th century, have been fitted into place.
Thiswas a major project. The Impressionists’ trail already existed, but the “ComitéDépartemental du tourisme” wanted to renew it for the major "NormandieImpressionniste" festival scheduled from June to September 2010. Six itineraries,each illustrating an Impressionist theme and allowing visitors to discover 15key sites, had to be redone. Theexisting platforms had to be preserved, while giving them a new lease of life.
Pinpoint organisation
Thedeadlines were tight, so Empreinte had to create a strict organisational plan. Whilethe customer put the finishing touches to a sober, contemporary layout,designed to highlight the works, the project was launched. The 22 lecterns weredisplaced and taken to our workshop. The long process of removing the oldelements could finally begin. While the platforms underwent their face-lift (dry-blastcleaning, sanding, thermolacquering), our graphic team began the delicate workon the chroma.
Impressionistworks are famous for the purity of their colours and the transparency of therendering. The objective was to remain faithful to the brushstrokes of Monet,Sisley, Boudin or Pissaro...All the colours, the nuances, the subtleties wereanalysed and broken down so that we could reproduce the works using enamelsbaked at very high temperatures. The whole workshop was involved in the serigraphy for the lava panels (800mm*1000 mm).
Oncethe stones were printed and baked, they were reintegrated into the renovatedplatforms. The re-fitting (in 11 different municipal communes) was accomplishedon-time and the trail is already proving a success with the many tourists wholove visiting Seine-Maritime.
The Cévennes National Park : 3 stoneware viewpoint indicators for the Finiels peak
The Finiels peak, (culminatingat 1,699 m), is visited by many hikers and tourists, as well as localinhabitants. An orientation table could only add to the decor of this baresummit rising above the forest and offering far-reaching views over thecountryside. The Cévennes National Park chose Empreinte for this exceptionalcreation: 3 stoneware orientation tables. In order to give this amazing viewall its splendour, the three tables share the 360° horizon and arepositioned some ten metres from each other. They identify the distant points,including those that can only be seen a few days per year, such as the Alps orthe Mont Ventoux. The orientation tables describe the countryside but alsoreproduce it. They address subjects as diverse as the climate, the geology, therelief, as well as the fauna and flora and the movement of herds...Empreinte producedthe table visuals in watercolour before serigraphy printing on the stoneware.
The Cévennes National Parkdecided to use a local material for the platforms on the site: monolithicgranite blocks. The upper surface of the blocks was cut out to receive theenamelled stoneware panels. The mounting of the overall works required greatexpertise on the part of the local companies.
Toulouse : Frescoes in enamelled stoneware
Empreinte was awarded the restoration of a frescofrom the 30s installed on the pediment of the Jules Julien School in Toulouse:a creation that required considerable research into the colours.
After decades adorning the school’s facade, the fresco’s colours hadlost their original lustre. To ensure its replacement and the integration ofthe new elements into the facade without denaturing the building, it wasessential to do an audit of what existed already. The person in charge ofcolour analysis at Empreinte therefore studied the old fresco in detail beforeit was dismantled. Piece by piece, the colours were reproduced and testscarried out in our workshops. Using serigraphy, the decor was then printed ontothe stoneware panels. The overall structure measures almost 8 square metres.
A technical challenge raised for Switzerland
In October, Empreinte deliveredfour orientation tables to Bernex, in the region of Geneva, Switzerland. Thiswork required all our staff resources and know-how to overcome the technicaldifficulties. This challenge was taken up in conjunction with the Swiss communicationagency "Transphère" and the Brodbeck-Roulet architecture workshop.
Eachtable is over 2 metres long. Produced in three pieces of enamelled stoneware,each one required three days work and twelve serigraphy layers. The visuals,small and precise, were printed with a 125 mesh frame so as to highlightevery detail. The layout required the processing of over 300 pantone coloursinto chroma. The black backgrounds were printed apart, as a 5thcolour, so as to guarantee the required density and colour continuity acrossall the pieces. Finally, the presence of several extremely fine rules requiredextreme precision in the delicate work of setting and marking.
Orientation panel in the San Lorenç Del Munt Natural Park (Spain)
Thirty helicopter trips, almost two tons of lava stone, hundreds ofhours of work involving the whole Empreinte team were needed to create thisspectacular work: an orientation table with a 3 metre diameter at the top of LaMola, in the Natural Park of San Llorenç del Munt, in the centre of Catalonia.
Empreinte was chosen by the Caixa Sabadell (Spain) to design and producethe orientation table. Using photos of the landscape, our graphic team made ahand-painted watercolour. This illustration served as the departure point forthe decor work on enamelled lava stone carried out in our workshops. Then, thesix panels had to be integrated into the platforms made of raw lava rock.Transported as far as the last point accessible by motor vehicle (the car parkarea of Can Robert), the table then had to be taken to the top of the La Mola peak(alt.1,105 m). This required 30 helicopter trips, i.e.3 hours of flight).
The neworientation table replaces an enamelled lava stone table that had been on sitefor 50 years.
