Exhibitions seem to happen in a little world all of their own. Whatever our line of work or area of interest, there is an exhibition for us. As I write this, Coach and Bus Live is the current main event at the NEC. There is also a Christian Resources show and a Recruitment Expo—and this is just one venue. Yet what do all these events have in common? They are all, in one form or another, heavily dependent on signage to be the peacock’s tail that attracts visitors to their stand, over and above all the others.
It is therefore interesting that some exhibitions are designed for companies that produce and supply exhibition signage themselves. Rudi Blackett is the event director for Sign and Digital UK, which has been running for more than 25 years.
“I find it particularly interesting to see how companies market the very products that they are using to create their own displays and exhibition
stands,” says Blackett, who adds: “This exhibition is unique in that it features working demos of the very latest machinery needed to produce a broad range of signage and display systems, as well as many examples of the sort of output this technology is capable of producing.”
He continues: “There is always plenty of advice on offer covering the best use of substrates, as well as effective colour management and display build. Soft signage, created using digital textile printing equipment, is just one example of where there are a wide range of uses in event signage, which can be coupled with major savings in delivery and ease of application. Many of the people visiting the show are looking to purchase products that they will use to produce the sort of signage and display systems they can see at the show. This is a great opportunity to show what these machines can do.”
Soft signage, created using digital textile printing equipment, is just one example of where there are a wide range of uses in event signage, which can be coupled with major savings in delivery and ease of application”
One of the companies that did a very good job of showing off its own products at Sign and Digital 2013 was Sihl Direct UK. Operations director, Ian Turnbull explains: “One of the key products we wanted to promote was our new Persomural wallpaper material. We wanted to show how easy it was to print, get to the show and apply.
“Anyone around during the set up will have seen me and my colleagues putting up the paper ourselves, and, if I say so myself, we did a pretty good job. The positive comments we received about the stand were very encouraging and it gave us a great opportunity to talk to visitors about the product in a very real and practical way.”
Sihl’s Persomural can be printed using virtually any wide-format device, including aqueous, solvent, UV and latex-based inkjet printers. “It hangs like a normal wallpaper, but is designed to be easy to line-up and easy to remove after use,” explains Turnbull.
“Its high opacity and tight structure enables a perfect covering, even when faced with small cracks and uneven walls. This makes it an ideal solution for exhibition graphics. Low cost, flexible and easy to apply, we have already seen this material proving popular with many exhibition signage companies.”
I see our exhibitions as an opportunity to demonstrate this live on the stand, not only by building the stand using these techniques, but also producing meaningful give-away items that demonstrate exactly what these machines can produce”
Signage, of course, is not just about the graphics on the walls of the stand. Shaun Thompson, general manager at GPT, explains how he would like to use the company’s new relationship with Esko Kongsberg to demonstrate an exciting new concept in stand design.
“Exhibition stands are very short term,” he states, adding: “This means that with the right equipment, stand designers can produce low cost, recyclable products specifically for a show. With a flatbed UV printer, like the Mimaki JFX-500 or Agfa Anapurna, sign-makers can print directly onto products such as the recyclable board materials from Amari’s direct-to-substrate range, including Falcon Board and SmartX. With an advanced digital cutter, such as one from the Kongsberg range, they can then build furniture, brochure stands and just about anything else required on a stand.”
He continues: “I see our exhibitions as an opportunity to demonstrate this live on the stand, not only by building the stand using these techniques, but also producing meaningful give-away items that demonstrate exactly what these machines can produce.
He concludes: “It’s all about encouraging visitors to think about the products on show and showing them how they can use them for their own business development.”
Signage evolution
Fujifilm showcases that graphics framing systems, combined with its Euromedia
range, create high-impact displays that can be used in a wide array of applications.
Pictured: This mock up of a hairdressers shows how a small space can be lifted to
new visual heights
There are plenty of factors that suggest exhibition signage has recently gone through an evolution. René Bourgeois, manager of export sales and adminis-tration, Fujifilm Sericol Deutschland GmbH, explains: “Nowadays different types of media are regularly employed in a single sign’s design. For example, wallpapers and textiles are becoming increasingly popular. This is partially thanks to the advances made in hardware technology.
“Take Fujifilm’s Acuity LED 1600 as an example. This wide-format printer does not just provide fast printing speed, high-quality output and a shorter curing process due to its UV inks; it also allows users to realise creative signage thanks to the inclusion of white ink and spot varnish. This increases the print value significantly. For all these reasons, the Acuity LED 1600 helps the user stand out from the competition.”
Nowadays different types of media are regularly employed in a single sign’s design. For example, wallpapers and textiles are becoming increasingly popular”
Bourgeois continues: “Euromedia’s WonderTack range has been quite a hit in the signage market. A series of self-adhesive films for indoor usage, WonderTack products can stick by using micro-porous sucker technology. This makes the product easy, quick and bubble free when applied, plus it can be re-used several times. Furthermore, the introduction of Euromedia’s non-woven wallpapers has provided the market with an alternative solution to more ordinary products.
“The range allows users to apply the wallpaper paste to the surface and the dry wallpaper directly onto this paste. This process eliminates the need to paste the wallpaper on a table, folding it to let the paste soak into the wallpaper and then applying it half an hour later. It’s clear that this will save time, which is crucial, especially when you have to set up a stand or produce graphics for an exhibition.”
While image quality is a priority, durability tends not to be a major issue for exhibition signage, because of the short running time of shows. Exhibition designers are particularly keen on trying materials featuring a unique look and feel, with textures that are different to vinyl.
“Our wallpapers, SmoothWall FR and StarWall FR, or textile media, such as FlowTex FR and DreamTex FR, all fit the bill,” says Bourgeois, adding: “Time is money for constructors, so products that offer an easy, quick and clean application are an important asset.”
Good choices
Exhibition signage specialist, Ultima Displays, made innovative use of fabric
tensioning systems
Regular readers of my features will know that I like to talk about the options available for print providers, to increase potential revenue by adopting technology that can meet a broad range of applications. With exhibition sign-age, this is particularly broad.
Mike Lewis, industrial products manager at Mimaki’s exclusive UK distributor, Hybrid Services, comments: “Many of Mimaki’s printers are ideal for exhibition signage producers because they are so flexible and versatile. In particular, our UV-based products can print directly to display boards or to wallpaper media or even textiles. Apart from changing the profile in the RIP, a single UV-based printer can deliver all these print capabilities using the same general set up. This not only saves time and effort, but also increases the potential for incremental business and increased profitability.”
An exhibition stand gives companies lots of opportunities to promote their products and they don’t want to be limited by the printing capabilities of their stand designer”
He continues: “An exhibition stand gives companies lots of opportunities to promote their products and they don’t want to be limited by the printing capabilities of their stand designer. A UV-based printer, such as the Mimaki JFX500 or UJV500, is versatile enough to allow the designer to put a stand together without fear that it can’t be built. For example, they can print directly to acrylic to create graphics on a see through area housing a meeting room or onto lightweight boards that can be hung from the roof.”
The future
SignLink’s exhibition stand uses the latest developments in modular exhibition
system design. The structure is created using a click and lock aluminium frame and
magnetic vinyl panels
David Bearman from Digital Print Media believes that the exhibition signage market is going through an interesting transition. He explains: “Width has become very important for print providers. Most exhibition stands are 2.4 metres high, so if they have a printer that is 2.6m wide, like the new Mutoh VJ2638, they can produce continuous prints rather than strips that need to be spliced together. We are also seeing a steady but noticeable increase in the amount of textile materials being used for exhibition stands.”
He goes on: “Textile printing has a lot of advantages in terms of the ease of transporting signage to exhibitions and being able to stretch out creases or imperfections during installation. They are also easy to apply, and can be left on the boards if they are to be folded up and moved around. The complexity of textile printing, however, comes in the finishing. Print providers need to have the equipment and capabilities to finish the signage, whether through additional hemming, stitching or other processes.”
The cost of investment in a textile-only solution is relatively high compared to an eco-solvent printer”
The increased popularity of textile printing gives print providers a dil-emma. Some printers can print direct-to-textile using solvent or UV inks and there is also the option to acquire a dye-sublimation printer and heat press for a dedicated textile solution.
“The cost of investment in a textile-only solution is relatively high compared to an eco-solvent printer,” adds Bearman. “Yet I am seeing more companies that are prepared to make this investment because of the potential growth they can see in this market area. In addition, manufacturers like Mutoh have a broad range of machines that can deliver solutions appropriate to the requirements of my customers, including direct-to-substrate solutions and textile-dedicated dye-sub systems.”
It is subtle, but exhibitions appear to be beginning to shake off the effects of the recession. If that is the case, then providers of exhibition signage could soon be seeing a marked increase in work. With this in mind, having the equipment in place to provide a broad range of high-quality, flexible, recyclable signage could prove to be a very sensible investment.
