A very tricky business

Unsightly weld and sew marks, ripped seams, torn eyelets, and bunched edges are all the hallmarks of soft signage gone wrong. Affecting products from feather and teardrop flags, to mesh building wraps, and outdoor stretched PVC banners, it would be nice to say these issues are few and far between, but they are unfortunately all too common sights across the UK.

The reason behind this trend is that demand for soft signage products grew steadily on our shores for many years, before beginning to grow steeply over the last two. This is testified too by dye-sublimation and digital textile printer suppliers alike, which have seen their order books grow consistently. The problem is that the boom in demand has made many sign-makers see an opportunity to diversify into this area, without necessarily the skills and equipment to do so. And while the print end of the equation is relatively straight forward, it is the finishing side of things on non-PVC soft signage where so many start-ups have run into trouble.

This is because unlike heat welding together normal PVC-based products, getting a product such as a polyester tear drop flag to hang perfectly when tensioned with its pole support, and then withstand all that the elements have to throw at it, is a comparatively skilled business. 

A fool proof solution

The key issue at the root of the problem is knowing which machine to use for which application. While PVC-based materials can be used for soft signage on certain applications and is perhaps the simplest ‘fabric’ to finish, when it comes to canvas, knitted polyester and textile-based fabrics, then there is a wide range of kit that is especially suited to individual applications.

The key question this raises is whether it is worth the hassle of investing in all the correct tools to do the job right from the start? Or sacrifice some of your profit margins and go to an established trade supplier who is setup to print and finish fabric-based products to the correct standard. Once you have a sizeable turnover in this area, then there is always the possibility of setting up your own production lines to start bringing work back in house.

“We own a 3.2m-wide Hollanders dye-sublimation printer with a fixation unit and washer, which sits alongside a 20 x 5m Blackman and White laser cutting table which seals the fabrics as it cuts them,” says Tom Clark, director of Dominion Screen and Digital Print, one of the UK’s most well-established trade suppliers of soft signage.

This is one of the largest soft signage finishing systems in Europe, and allows Dominion to achieve some impressive economies of scale, and thus low product prices. It sees the company produce everything from feather flags, to free flowing back drops on display fabrics to dress exhibition stands, roll out branding on fence scrim, and even tailor-made promotional table cloths. The size of this operation gives you some idea of how sophisticated producing soft signage can become.



Another key player in this area is Hampshire Flag Company, who is a dedicated trade supplier to sign-makers for all things soft signage. Having invested in a number of industrial textile printers, in-house washing plant, Zund cutter, and with a compliment of Brother sewing machines, it has focused on removing bottlenecks from its finishing department. Chief among these is simply employing more seam-stresses, according to managing director Graham Wilkinson. Indeed, he agrees with Clark in describing the skills of his seamstresses as an ‘art-form’.

“There is a massive difference bet-ween finishing things like PVC banners and fabric-based soft signage,” says Wilkinson, adding: “We do trade latex and UV printing, and we only need two people to run the machines and do the finishing. And although we do have a larger throughput on the textile side of the business, we still have two printer operators, but ten people doing the finishing.”

Wilkinson says another consideration is that his seamstresses need to be able to quickly adapt to producing new designs and bespoke requests from customers at the drop of a hat. This is an important consideration for those moving into the market. Although you may be able to train current staff to finish a handful of designs, they may not be able to quickly adapt to new products.

“We consistently revaluate our operational efficiency, and so once we had removed bottle necks with software, printing, baking, and cutting, the area that always needs the most work is the finishing department. And as there is no automated system to finish items such as flags, then it means employing more people and the machines for them to use. As a result we now have 20 Brother industrial sewing machines, with a variety of models that suit different applications, such as single stich, walking foot, twin needles, straight stich, and zigzag stitch.”

O Factoid: Needed for finishing heavier textiles, multiple layers, or cushioned materials, a walking foot sewing machine uses a mechanism which feeds the fabric as it is being stitched O

People power

This point about there being ‘no automated system’ for textile-based soft signage is one that Dominion’s Clark also emphasises. As although machines such as the Miller Weld-master Extreme 112 will let you pump out reams of cut and seamed PVC banners, the delicacy of fabric-based soft signage work means it is still universally finished by hand. Wilkinson goes onto explain that on top of this, each sewing machine has its own niche. For example five of the machines are for straight stitch hemming, the twin needle units are for when increased speed is needed, and the zigzag comes online when a product will have to withstand heavy usage and weather conditions.



He goes onto stress that several of his sign-maker customers who attempted to setup their own in-house operation did well until they stumbled on major bottlenecks in their finishing department: “Getting a return-on-investment on the machinery investment itself with even a couple of big regular customers is not the issue. It is maintaining margins once you realise you need dedicated and expert staff to deal with the finishing of fabric-based soft signage that is the issue. The other consideration is we do 70 percent of our work during three months of the year in summer, so you have to think about ways to utilise your staff for the rest of the year.”


Looking to Hampshire Flags extensive finishing operation, Wilkinson stresses that the choice of equipment was made with cast iron reliability as the foremost deciding factor. He cites the example of Brother sewing machines bought ten years ago that are still in full operation today with only the need for normal servicing. Similarly, he candidly says that they should have invested in their Zund flatbed cutter four years ago, as it removed a huge finishing bottleneck for the company and actually drove growth at the company.



Dominion’s Clark picks up on this point, highlighting that even the simplest of fabric-based soft signage needs a certain level of skill: “A big growth area for us, and one of the simpler finishing operations, is fabrics which are tensioned using an aluminium channel frame. And even this requires careful sewing of beading around the outside so when it comes under tension it lays completely flat.

“Once the textile is laser cut to size, there is no real way around quite difficult manual hand finishing. And thus it is all about the sewing machines and the art of the operator to finish the hems in a certain way. For each flag there are different specifications and so for each there is different type of finishing required to accommodate specific loops and toggles, different lengths of webbing, and so on. It is very complex, with a range of finishing options, compared to banners where there is just a straightforward hem and eyelet.”

Riding the waves

One of the main players in the UK market when it comes to supplying the equipment needed to finish products such as polyester-based soft signage is Solent Sewing and Welding.

While it stocks a wide range of equipment in this area, one of its first stand-out products that balance cost and productivity for the average sign-maker is the Seiko LSWN-28BL-3, which uses a dual needle system and can handle heavy-weight materials. With a maximum stich length of 10mm it is designed for industrial high speed applications.

Another key string to its bow is the Solent Texsew Pro, which is designed to service light- to medium-weight materials such as polyester and features feet and guides to attach latex strip onto digitally printed fabrics for use in tensioning frame systems. The system has an auto thread trimmer, backtack seam start and end, footlift, and an LED work area light.



Solent highlights that the decision to bring finishing in-house, although a big step for many, is worth it in the long-term if you want to offer it as a serious service. The company highlights the experience of Horizon Graphics, which made the leap, as proprietor Declan Kelly explains: “We were outsourcing the finishing of our banners until we took the decision to install the Miller Weldmaster T300 three years ago. In terms of reliability, since then we have had no major problems and made massive financial savings by hemming all our PVC, PE, and Mesh banners on the T300. It is easy to operate and once you get to know it, even the largest banners can be handled well.”

Banner bound

Talking of banners, a key staple for many sign-makers and suitable for use with a number of applications that require ‘soft signage’ is trusty PVC. Its strength, as with its textile-based counterpart, is that it can be rolled up for transport, flexes to its environment, and can be wrapped around and attached to curved areas such as building sides. In addition to this it can be a more durable solution if processed correctly.

Listening to Mark Hobbs, commercial director of nine-year-old Welwyn Tool Group—distributor of the Swiss-made Leister hot air banner welding equipment—he highlights that for those sign-makers looking to diversify into fabric-based soft signage, then producing properly finished PVC-based products is a good proving ground. He highlights some of the company’s key technology: “Our entry-level range, the Uniplan, can be run a long a desktop or floor to weld materials at 2m/min. Its bigger brother the Variant T1, will weld at twice the speed and is more robust and industrial.”

Hobbs adds: “A really interesting technological development has come recently as Leister has bought an American company called Seamtek. And it has developed a bench-mounted machine, the Seamtek 36, which can run really big volumes”



Hobbs continues: “Traditionally sign-makers would always finish banners using sewing or tape. But these methods do not have the durability or cost-effectiveness of heat welding PVC-based materials. If you want to produce a quality finished product then welding is the right choice. It creates a perfect seal where the weld is as strong as the material and doesn’t introduce any foreign bodies into the product that can fail, as with tape, or weaken the structural integrity of the material by repeatedly piercing it, as with stitching.”


 
A complex issue

Moving back to fabric-based soft signage finishing, Dominion’s Clark agrees with the findings of Wilkinson in regards to the complexity of finishing soft signage. He explains that once the dye-sublimation print is washed to fix the colour in an additional Hollanders unit, it is laser cut on the Blackman and White, before moving to the manually operated sewing machines.

“You need to use a specific type of sewing machine for the type of stich needed,” says Clark, who adds: “A small hem will be created on the outer edges of the flag, and there are a number of different ways to finish feather flags for instance. Some customers will also want the sleeve to be the same colour as the flag itself. As we have the laser cutter we can accommodate for this by cutting out a further strip of cloth using the laser that was previously printed in the bleed area of the flag. 

“There are obviously simpler processes to get to the same end by hand, finishing with just white or black elastic for the pocket. There are also considerations such as the different laces that go at the bottom of the poles.”

It is this very complexity that has created the lucrative niche in which Dominion and Hampshire flag finds themselves, as many sign-makers will be more than happy to sacrifice some margin to a trade supplier and save the hassle of creating the products themselves. That said, those who do make the leap and invest in training, equipment, and product trials will be able to fully capitalise on what seems set be a sector that will continue to experience long-term growth.

“When we made ourselves from just doing banners as a trade product, we already had some qualified seams-tresses who were able to transfer their skills to soft signage production,” continues Clark, who adds: “So it wasn’t such a big leap. But for someone who has no skilled staff, then it needs careful consideration. Printing is easy as it does all the work for you, but the finishing side of soft signage needs quite a high-level of manual dexterity.


“It’s much harder to get a finished product that hangs nicely with fabric. With PVC it is quite rigid and so you can just stick it in your sewing machine and will stay in shape even without a lot of user skill. Fabric is always fairly unstable to work with and so requires really accurate feeding and just the right amount of tension.”  

Clark outlines that in order to set yourself up from scratch to a decent standard to produce soft signage and be competitive, an investment of around £50,000 is needed. Indeed, in addition to the aforementioned cutters, printers, and washing units, then his own operation has invested far more, as it also boasts a large number of both single and double sewing machines and a large automated PVC hemming and eyeleting machine from Solent Sewing and Welding. So, before you join the soft signage gold rush, it is perhaps worth considering the level of commitment needed to make a success of an in-house production setup. But that said, with the right machines and know-how, you could be laughing all the way to the bank.

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