Flexible working

When used in the context of signage materials the word ‘flexible’ has taken on new meaning. Not only are the products themselves flexible in nature but, with the application of a little creativity, they have become flexible in the variety of ways in which they can be used, either alone or in combination with other media.

Nowhere is this more evident than in window and wall applications.

Windows of opportunity

Window film specialist Contra Vision is in the business of transforming glass to offer a range of possibilities for design, branding, solar control, heat gain, and security considerations and its products can be seen on buildings, public transport, and in retail environments.
 
Roger Hill, managing director of Contra Vision, comments: “The company has been leading the market in see-through graphic films since registering the first patent for this technology in 1984. “Now Contra Vision can transform glass into opportunities for advertising, branding, architectural expression, one-way privacy and solar control, and with 30 years of pioneering inventions, the company has developed an unrivalled range of seethrough graphic products suitable for all locations.


“And this focus on innovation has just been rewarded with The Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Innovation, one of only 21 awarded in the UK in 2015 and the only award to the print, graphics, design or architecture field,” he adds with pride.

“Our well-established Contra Vision Performance perforated window film is suitable for inkjet, latex, and UV cured ink as well as screenprinting and our films provide the ideal solution for any marketing or promotional message with excellent durability, ease of application and removal.”

An extension to Contra Vision’s product portfolio is Contra Vision Backlite, which creates opportunities for 24-hour visibility. During the hours of darkness, conventional see-through graphics suffer from ‘burn-through’ where the lights inside a building or vehicle sometimes reduce and may eliminate the impact of the graphics, if there is no or inadequate external illumination. However, Backlite graphics, which still allow daylight in and a view out, comprises a perforated translucent white film and uses existing in-store lighting to ‘back-light’ the graphics during the hours of darkness.

A significant advantage is that it increases the advertising impact during the hours of darkness without increasing the energy consumption of the store, which makes it particularly suitable for use on windows of convenience stores, retail outlets, and transport hubs which operate during the hours of darkness.

In addition, while Contra Vision Performance offers an ideal canvas for digital projection onto glass—as it provides a projectable surface for the graphics, without losing the natural daylight or the view out of the building during the day—Contra Vision Back-lite Performance, enables the projected image to be seen externally and internally at the same time.

A good example of this was seen at Media City Salford, when a glass-fronted building was transformed into a silver screen to project powerful, moving images of World War One during a commemoration event to mark the centenary of 1914. Backlite enabled powerful images to be projected onto the building which could continue to be used, as normal, during the day.

Hill adds: “Advantages for sign-makers of using the Contra Vision range of products is that they extend the scope of what is possible in see-through graphics, offering new opportunities for clients and adding to income streams. Contra Vision offers a full consultancy service and application support, ensuring that the right products are chosen to achieve the desired effect.”

The inside story

The skill-set, hardware, and materials found in the sign and display industry has much broader application than making signs. Metamark has observed a growing trend for sign and display producers taking flexible materials to new markets and making imaginative use of the creative potential.

O Factoid: Flexible (adj.) - capable of bending easily without breaking; able to be easily modified to respond to altered circumstances; (of a person) ready and able to change so as to adapt to different circumstances. O

One area that continues to benefit is interiors, where Berkshire-based Creative Signs and Graphics has built itself a reputation for innovative work and exemplary quality standards. The company works with Metamark etch effect materials to deliver superb ambient decor that transforms plain expanses of glass into attractive and functional surfaces that admit light and yet divide open plan spaces.

Etch effect films closely simulate the appearance of chemical or mechanical etching but are cut and applied just like everyday self-adhesive vinyl. Metamark designed its etch effect films to be print receptive too, so adding graphic detail, a blush of colour or other creative elements is possible.



Steve Green and his team at Creative Signs and Graphics use the potential to impressive effect. With open spaces in offices still in need of surfaces to divide them, partitioning is very popular.

Paul French, chief executive officer of Metamark, comments: “Creative Signs and Graphics apply printed Metamark Etch Effects and achieve an effect that lifts ambient decor and functions brilliantly.


“These materials, being originally designed for windows, are very resistant and durable with a particularly effective adhesive that never discloses its presence, and this popular flexible material from Metamark creates the potential for business. Cost effective refurbishment work can be undertaken as the material can be easily applied to existing glazed structures. Unlike other means of etching glazing, the applied Metamark product is not disruptive to install during fit-outs and builds. Something Creative Signs and Graphic claims as a very accomplished speciality,” he adds.

Leon Watson, UK and Nordic general manager for industry supplier Spandex, agrees: “Printed interior decoration is a huge potential growth market in the industry currently. For sign-makers and printers already producing POS or signage for commercial companies such as retailers, restaurants and hotels, there are exciting prospects for them to diversify into the printed interior market.”



Watson expands: “The opportunity for sign-makers to make the move into interior décor is huge as it covers a diverse range of products from wallpaper, floor coverings to textile etc. Any sign-maker or graphics producer with experience of decals and self-adhesive films can now produce interior graphics using innovative printable and coloured materials to achieve amazing effects. Developments of products like self-adhesive flexible substrates mean that graphics professionals have decorative applications at their fingertips, and potential customers are everywhere, possibly already in their existing customer base.

“There is potential for sign-makers to work with designers to increase their awareness of the effects that can be achieved using signage and graphics materials both plain and printed.”

The latest products from Spandex can be used for applications on walls and doors meaning that these products can provide opportunities for sign-makers to diversify into the interior décor market. ImagePerfect Wall Textile in particular is suitable for wall coverings for applications in retail outlets, offices, hospitality, and residential locations.

Watson adds: “This is due to its self-adhesive, opaque and water-resistant fabric which offers high print quality, remarkable text definition and a broad colour gamut to ensure colourful and vibrant images.

ImagePerfect Wall Textile, launched in January this year, is specifically designed for printed wall papers, wall graphics and decals, and can be used for both indoor and outdoor applications.

Avery window films also present another opening to break into interior décor, as they can transform ordinary glass walls, doors, and windows into something out of the ordinary.

Watson notes: “These window films can quickly and cost-effectively transform indoor architectural walls, doors and partitions while providing longer lasting results.”

Spandex’s range of Avery Dennison window films has recently been upgraded to offer extended durability.

They have got it covered

Many other manufacturers and suppliers, including Fujifilm, Innova Art, William Smith, and Amari Digital Services, also offer a wide range of flexible materials to enable print suppliers and sign-makers to provide creative solutions for a broad spectrum of customer requirements.

The extensive euromedia range offered by Fujifilm includes SmartTack Ghost, Brick Vinyl, and Power Vinyl.

SmartTack Ghost is a crystal clear, PVC-free polyester film with a transparent, repositionable adhesive that can be removed after up to three years without leaving a residue. It is perfect for window graphics and can be used in conjunction with eco-solvent, latex, and UV inks.

Nigel Briggs, product specialist, Fujifilm euromedia, comments: “It’s ideal for indoor use, and is more reliable than self-clinging materials due to the non-stretch/shrink characteristics of the polyester, and will not fail as a result of hot or cold conditions.”



Brick Vinyl is a self-adhesive vinyl for short-term advertising outdoor that has been specially developed for rough surfaces and can be removed within six months without leaving a residue. It is weather resistant so does not need to be finished with an additional laminate. The flexible nature of the material adapts to the contours of the surface and is optimised for vertical application to concrete, thermal insulation rendering or bricks.

PowerVinyl is a semi-permanent, monomeric 120 micron self-adhesive vinyl with a block-out grey adhesive that gives full opacity. Available in gloss or matt finish, due to the thickness of the film the material works especially well with print and cut devices.

Briggs adds: “It’s an easy to handle and stable material and has the advantage over permanent or removable adhesives in that it can be removed and repositioned several times.”

In addition to its well-respected fine art papers, Innova Art has developed a range of display products and new, novel printing materials, to meet the needs of the signage and interior design markets.

Window Film Clear ES IFA 100 features an eco-solvent latex and UV compatible coating that has been formulated with a specialist wet-cling characteristic that makes for easy installation.

Kirsty-Anne Ward, marketing and design at Innova Art, explains: “Just spray the inside of your window with water, place the printed side of the film over it and use a squeegee to remove excess water and any air bubbles, and you have ‘wow factor’ graphics that can be changed whenever you like, at home as well as for advertising.”



Wallpaper Smooth Paste Up 180gsm IFA 98, for interior wall applications, has a scratch resistant coating and is compatible with PVA based wallpaper adhesive. In addition to indoor advertising applications, it offers printers and sign-makers the opportunity to expand into the lucrative home décor market, creating custom designed wall-paper.



JetMaster Image Display Systems offer a range of possibilities for displaying short or long-term signage. The Direct Print Photo Wrap and JetMaster Direct Print Photo Panel can both be used with UV flatbed printers to create multiples of a single sign or design that can be easily installed in any location. It is particularly useful for large retail chains looking to roll out a consistent brand image but reliant on retail staff to install window displays or sale graphics. An even simpler option is JetMaster Direct Print Photo Panels, a lightweight alternative to solid MDF display blocks.

YouTac Textile is a fully repositionable aqueous or latex/eco-solvent/UV compatible textile with an intelligent adhesive for both short- and long-term displays, temporary signage, and wall coverings.

Ward adds: “This polyester based fabric is great for creating custom graphics for the office or home, because it is so flexible it can also be used around curves or to cover furniture – no heat gun required.”

Also to be launched imminently from Innova Art is YouTac Vinyl for temporary signage such as special events and short-term wayfinding applications. YouTac Vinyl’s repositionable micro-sphere adhesive will stick to all non-porous surfaces, rough or smooth.

As the largest UK stockist and distributor of 3M materials, William Smith offers a wide range of flexible graphic films for signage applications. In addition to a wide choice of etched glass-effect window and glass decorative films that provide a cost-effective alternative to mechanical or acid etching on glass surfaces, the company offers the optically clear 3M 8150 flexible film that enables the creation of visually striking special effects in applications where a high level of transparency is required on unprinted areas of a glass surface.

Meanwhile, 3M Textured Wall Film IJ8624 is designed for photographic-quality imagery that can be applied to textured and/or slightly curved solid surfaces as diverse as brick, breeze block, tiles and cement, thereby enabling surfaces that would otherwise appear dull and uninteresting to be converted into eye-catching special effects or advertisements.



Chris Bradley, marketing manager at William Smith, comments: “In addition, two particularly impressive flexible films from 3M are Dichroic and DI-NOC.”

3M Dichroic is a colour-shifting film which is available in two versions to allow different colour permutations and which faithfully replicates hugely expensive genuine dichroic glass surfaces but at a fraction of the cost. 3M DI-NOC Architectural Finishes is a range of flexible films that comprises 700 distinctive self-adhesive vinyl films that similarly faithfully replicate the appearance and feel of a wide range of traditional films but again at a fraction of the cost.

Bradley adds: “DI-NOC films, which simulate traditional materials as diverse as wood in its various forms, metals, marble, leather, carbon fibre, stone and stucco, to name just a few, have been used in a series of recent high-profile new build and refurbishment projects.”

The extensive range of flexible signage materials available from Amari Digital Supplies (ADS) has been sourced from a number of Continental Europe manufacturers and includes options from MACtac, for which ADS is a major UK stockist and distributor, Stafix, RTape, SIHL, Kernow Coatings and Decal Think Green.

Peter McCann, sales manager for Amari, observes: “Many of these flexible materials enable sign and graphics producers to diversify into new markets including, for example, the architectural and interior design sectors.”

Selective products for these markets include the MACtac MACal and MACcrystal series of transparent and translucent glass decorative films, all of which offer complementary as well as individual design characteristics to accommodate a wide range of glass and window decorative applications.


Complementing these is the MACtac GlassMovie translucent rear projection film, which can be applied to natural or synthetic glass surfaces, and which provides a high-contrast, high-resolution colourful image that is visible through a 100 per cent viewing angle.

McCann continues: “Another product that has a special appeal for architects and interior designers is the MACtac PERMAfun range of flexible special effect films for application to flat or gently curved surfaces.”

The films replicate the appearance and feel of a host of natural materials and include options such as Crystal Gloss, Brushed Metal, Coarse Grain Wood, Fine Grain Wood and simulated Leather texture.



McCann adds: “These are supplemented with the MACtac Deco-Satin/Deco-Mural wall covering and interior graphics material that is ideal for the decoration of, for example, conference suites, reception areas, hotel interiors, exhibition stand back-drops and for shop fitting applications.”

Flexibility is certainly the name of the game and the combination of innovative materials and creative ways of using them is clerly opening up a whole gamut of new opportunities for print suppliers and sign-makers to diversify or enhance their offerings.



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