As ever more sectors realise the benefits of using textiles for their large format display graphics installations, so the market continues to flourish. We’ve seen significant global growth and now the UK’s retail and exhibition markets have caught on, it’s showing no sign of abating.
As ever more sectors realise the benefits of using textiles for their large format display graphics installations, so the market continues to flourish. We’ve seen significant global growth and now the UK’s retail and exhibition markets have caught on, it’s showing no sign of abating.
Display graphics made from textile are the stars of the show at the moment, with switched-on high street retail giants draping their stores almost entirely in fabric graphics, the demand for this type of print has never been greater. Whilst the ability for a textile graphic to cover large spaces with a lightweight, easy to install and difficult to damage print is unquestionable, it’s lightboxes that are really standing out as the ‘must have’ installation. A backlit graphic can transform a shop or exhibition stand with a striking image that at the same time, creates an ambient light source.
It’s important to remember that print providers may already have the capability to produce these attractive systems. We’re seeing a further trend in printers using existing technology to output to textile and improvements in ink technology as well as the coatings used on the fabrics mean a range of LED UV printers with flexible inks can generate a fantastic finish.
Our DHJ (Senfa) Pearl fabric, available in 3.2m and 5m widths has a white pigmented acrylic coating that delivers a strong colour yield and works with all lights sources. With lightboxes often using a combination of edge mounted and rear backing strip LEDs; an even light dissipation is crucial to the end result. Thanks to its M1 fire rating, the Pearl backlit is also finding use in airports; an area where the uptake of the technology by premium brands has been substantial. Seeing prestige brands using backlit textile to promote their wares rubber-stamps the technology. The print quality of an advertisement can make or break a consumer’s perception of the brand, so for these high-end companies, it’s never been more important to get the promotion right.
Available in rolls up to 150m in length, Pearl backlit is well suited to companies looking to deliver large print runs; as minimal time is spent preparing or webbing up the printer. The size of some of the lightboxes we’re seeing customers installing in public spaces is getting bigger and bigger. With the latest grand format machines, it’s possible to produce mightily impressive seamless graphics that really stop people in their tracks.
The Pearl backlit is just one of Soyang Europe’s substantial range of printable textiles, which includes products suitable for a variety of ink technologies in widths from 1.6m up to 5m. As end users reap the benefits of fabric graphics, more and more of our customers are purchasing fabric to print to. With the many benefits of using a textile, there’s no indication this will decline, so we’re constantly looking at what else we can offer our customers to keep them at the cutting edge.
