Big Picture - March 2020 - 22
March 2020
BIG PICTURE
22
technology in their stores. It really was a joint venture at the
time; the brands invested in the aluminum frames in the stores
and the PSPs could deliver the content on textiles with a
silicone edge for mounting. A win-win situation. In 2004, I was
already producing 2400 banners a week for Mexx to be
distributed around Europe.
So, how does it work? It's easier than you might think. But,
if you want to do it right, you need to own the whole workflow,
from the aluminum extrusion lengths to the sewing of the
silicon edge on the fabric. In the early days, you really needed
to do all of this in-house. Today, there are many solutions that
will make your life a lot easier.
ONE STEP AT A TIME
The coloration of the fabric can be done with dye sublimation
in two ways: direct printing on the fabric or via transfer paper.
Today, most soft signage SEG fabrics are printed directly on
the fabric with dye sublimation inks. This means the fabric has
to be pre-treated so the ink will not run/bleed at the time of
printing. If you want to use uncoated fabrics, you have to use
transfer papers. Remember, you can use only polyester fabrics
(minimum 60 percent polyester) with sublimation inks. The
fabrics have a natural stretch of one to 10 percent. You don't
want this stretch, but you get it for free. The stretch comes
from the knitting machines that make the fabrics. Check with
your local fabric supplier to see what the options are (backlit,
frontlit, flame retardant, glossy, stretchy, etc.); they'll help you
find the perfect fabric for your frame.
After the print is made you need to calender it. You'll need
to go through a heat press at 385 degrees for about 30 to 45
seconds. This is needed to fixate the inks to the fabric. The
disadvantage of heating is shrinkage. It can shrink up to five
percent, which is a lot. Now we have the next dilemma: if it
shrinks, it will not fit in the frame. The trick is to know why
and how the shrink is happening. Fabrics shrink differently in
the running side of the roll and the width side. If there's six
percent shrink in the running length and two percent in the
width, then you just add this to the original size. Say it's 106
percent by 102 percent. Even if the print looks deformed, it
will end up ok after the heat press. There are many small
tricks for you to ease the process, like if you get a stretchable
fabric, you can put a bit more tension on the fabric when
mounting it onto the frame. The best way to test the stretch is
to make a three by three-foot box, adjust the line, and
measure the box after it is pressed.
Now your print is finished and the silicon edge needs to be
mounted on the fabric. You'll need 13 to 15 millimeters of
extra material around the image to mount the silicon edge.
This edge will disappear into the cavity of the aluminum
extrusion once mounted.
Big Picture - March 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Big Picture - March 2020
Big Picture - March 2020
Insight
Wide Angle
Upfront
Beyond Décor
Business + Management
To SEG or Not to SEG
Smashing Competition
R+D
Job Log
Big Picture - March 2020 - Big Picture - March 2020
Big Picture - March 2020 - Cover2
Big Picture - March 2020 - 1
Big Picture - March 2020 - Insight
Big Picture - March 2020 - 3
Big Picture - March 2020 - Wide Angle
Big Picture - March 2020 - 5
Big Picture - March 2020 - Upfront
Big Picture - March 2020 - 7
Big Picture - March 2020 - 8
Big Picture - March 2020 - 9
Big Picture - March 2020 - 10
Big Picture - March 2020 - 11
Big Picture - March 2020 - 12
Big Picture - March 2020 - 13
Big Picture - March 2020 - 14
Big Picture - March 2020 - 15
Big Picture - March 2020 - Beyond Décor
Big Picture - March 2020 - 17
Big Picture - March 2020 - Business + Management
Big Picture - March 2020 - 19
Big Picture - March 2020 - To SEG or Not to SEG
Big Picture - March 2020 - 21
Big Picture - March 2020 - 22
Big Picture - March 2020 - 23
Big Picture - March 2020 - 24
Big Picture - March 2020 - 25
Big Picture - March 2020 - Smashing Competition
Big Picture - March 2020 - 27
Big Picture - March 2020 - 28
Big Picture - March 2020 - 29
Big Picture - March 2020 - 30
Big Picture - March 2020 - 31
Big Picture - March 2020 - R+D
Big Picture - March 2020 - 33
Big Picture - March 2020 - 34
Big Picture - March 2020 - 35
Big Picture - March 2020 - 36
Big Picture - March 2020 - 37
Big Picture - March 2020 - 38
Big Picture - March 2020 - 39
Big Picture - March 2020 - Job Log
Big Picture - March 2020 - Cover3
Big Picture - March 2020 - Cover4
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