The six metre-high replica Adidas FIFA World Cup Soccer Ball, known as a Jabulani will house one lucky competition winner for the duration of the World Cup

Fleeting Image used its new HP Designjet L25500 with latex inks to print the 50 metres of vinyl required for the job.

The team had to contend with winds up to 55mph and rain showers when it attempted to cover the ball in the printed panels.

Fleeting Image, which is known for its vehicle wrap work, won the commission by Melbourne-based design agency Mothers Art.

Managing director John Evans said the Designjet, which it bought last year, had been up and running for the past three months doing predominantly car wrap work.

“I’m definitely sold on the technology. If we need another machine at some point in the future I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another HP,” he said.

Fleeting Image has worked on similarly tricky projects before, such as its work for experimental sculptress Patricia Piccinini’s.

“We’ve carved a bit of a niche for what we do,” says Evans. “Generally when all else fails, people find us.”

The giant Adidas Jabulani ball is located outside Crown Towers in Melbourne and will be on display for the duration of the World Cup.

Adidas enlisted the help of football magazine FourFourTwo – also published by ProPrint‘s publisher, Haymarket Media – to find the winner. Adam Santarossa, 23, from Menai in NSW will watch all of the games from inside the ball and blog about them online.

Adidas marketing director Simon Millar said: “The FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world and what better way to celebrate this than by creating a bold and exciting concept, that will help showcase the passion of Aussie fans towards the World Game.”

To read Santarossa’s blog ‘Man in Ball’ click here.

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