Special considerations need to be taken when wrapping an aircraft as the vinyl must withstand extremes of pressure and temperature. Nevertheless, the market in aircraft customisation has continued to grow steadily over the last decade as carriers, commercial and transit, look to gain a marketing edge
Out in all weathers
Seawater, ice, and re-entry to earth’s atmosphere can literally destroy some of the sign-maker’s standard material armoury in a few seconds. So what do you do when you need a material that can stand up to the extremes of heat, cold, fire, pressure, and pollution?
Product manager Paul Neale of Antalis is well versed in providing the right materials for some of the most challenging of jobs. Indeed, he points to a key trend where the construction sector is having more pressure put on it by developers to provide hoardings that are not just functional, but look attractive or advertise the sites purpose for the duration of the build. As such, he explains a huge effort has been put into developing materials that offer fantastic ink adhesion while shrugging of the vagaries of the British climate.
This disused listed building near the railway station in Bristol has been wrapped with a facsimile of the core architecture to preserve the look and feel of the area while it undergoes long-term restoration. The high pollution levels and weather means the mesh fabric used on it has to be able to withstand a real beating
As an example, he points to Stadur Sign SF: “It’s a low density, lightweight, but rigid board comprising of a polystyrene centre with two rigid PVC films. It is lined both sides with plastic to protect the smooth matt print surface.”
He continues: “Then there are aluminium composites such as Dibond and our own brand Print Bond. These are an aluminium faced composite sheet with a polyethylene core. So very good for boarding graphics for building sites so can you see nicely printed graphics around a new development. They will very often be sheets of plywood with an aluminium composite printed and pinned to the face. Many of these boards are suitable for long-term use and can withstand some serious punishment.”
Submarine signage
Heavy rain, wind, and frost are one thing, but what about fire, acid attack or a major explosion? One man who knows a thing or two about the extremes of sign-making is Eyal Meyers of Award crafters in Romford.
Eyal fronts up Award Crafters of Romford in Essex where they make anodised aluminium nameplates and panels onto which the graphics are permanently embedded. And for good reason as they are designed for the harshest of environments such as pylons, ships, submarines, aircraft, and heavy machinery. They include nameplates, control panels, and barcodes in applications where service life expectations exceed 20 years for the part. While government, the military, and aerospace extensively specify the products for demanding applications that require resistance to the effects of weather, abrasion, heat, and most chemicals. And it all started with the Korean War.
(Above & below) The BT Tower in London has become one of the capital’s biggest billboards and requires rope access engineers to install the gargantuan banners on its face
Meyers explains: “The signs are durable in salt water and the US Navy needed signs that wouldn’t come off in the sea and when exposed to salt water. That was how the original idea came about and from that a company was started and Award Crafters have come out of that. The company was started by me 21 years ago, but the process has a lot more history.
The US Navy needed signs that wouldn’t come off in the sea and when exposed to salt water”
The main system we use for black and white imaging was developed during the Korean War. It was for US Navy ships that came into port and found their signage was damaged.
“They put out a tender to find a product that wouldn’t curl, or peel or fade and this was what they came up with. There are also stories that it is was used for storing recipes for Coca-Cola and Heinz. The theory was if their building ever burnt down, the one thing that would survive are these recipes printed onto the metal products.”
Dazzling materials
Sea water is clearly a testing environment and although signage is often used on boats and yachts for Her Majesty’s navy, it is still paint that is used to cover the entire ship, but also for the name and number on the bow.
Around four million gallons of grey paint were used to cover the latest aircraft carrier the HMS Queen Elizabeth, while during the First World War even more was used to create the dazzle effect.
Then it was mainly black and white paint to create confusion. Was the ship large or small, sailing away or stationary? To recreate how the effect worked Chatham-based Press On was the firm behind a project to transform a ship of the line to mark the 100th anniversary of the Great War. Not by painting it but by wrapping it.
(Above & below) Press On grabbed headlines when it wrapped a World War One battleship in the Thames, having to use the toughest and most durable marine-grade vinyl on the market to make the wrap stand the test of time
London-based agency 1418 Now asked Press On to wrap the ex-Royal Navy warship, HMS President, in dazzle print camouflage vinyl. The HMS President’s design was created by artist Tobias Rehberger, who came up with neo-cubist come abstract design that blended optical art on a vast canvas. In total 192 panels were created for the port and starboard sides of HMS President’s hull and involved wide-format printing on 2,000sq m of polymeric Multi-Fix vinyl from All Print Supplies was printed on Press On’s HP LX 3000 printer.
“The most challenging aspect of the project though was the installation,” explains Press On managing director Andy Wilson, who continues: “Installing vinyl in the water of the Thames, with rising and falling tides was a logistical challenge with many 3am starts in the cold and dark water. A small vessel circled the HMS President during low tides enabling the installers to fit and heat the vinyl and smooth it across the irregular surface of the hull. Then the height of installation involved ropes and harnesses for the crews. Twelve installers took ten days to complete the job. From concept meeting to installation, the project took just three weeks to complete.”
The key importance of this commission though is that it proves the point that the ongoing development of ultra-tough sign materials has created new markets for sign-makers to get into. Who would have thought that someone would pay you to wrap a war ship? Or that it could look good and last seven years? It is thinking laterally and pointing your outward looking sales team to think about pitching for such work, or persuading current customers to push the boundaries, that new revenue streams can be found.
Sticky solutions
Sometimes sign-makers are faced with unusual jobs or one-off fixtures and fittings where only a use of a powerful glue will do. There are several brands available such as Everbuild’ Stixall, which will hold up in the rain, deep water, and intense heat. Others include Adiseal, Permabond, and Araldite, although there are a considerable range of products on offer designed for glass, metal, and plastics.
Rich Thompson of Ad Graphics in the USA has had considerable experience of wrapping aircraft and through trial and error has developed techniques that are unique in the business. One of the problems of wrapping aircraft is the obvious one of the huge pressures and speed that the wrap is put under, as Thompson explains: “Back in the seventies we perforated films for window tint shops. We wondered if that would be a good idea for digital printing.
One of the problems of wrapping aircraft is the obvious one of the huge pressures ”
So with the help of Avery we decided to perforate adhesive-backed vinyl. It was trial and error to begin with but necessity is the mother of invention, and before too long, we were successfully utilising perforated vinyl in conjunction with our vehicle graphic wraps. History was made. We were the first company to wrap a vehicle including the perforated window film. Now it is commonplace and found in all print shops that wrap vehicles.
“Some years ago, one of our salespeople came in and asked, ‘Can you wrap an aircraft?’ I naively thought sure, we have wrapped just about everything else out there. We can wrap anything. I told him, you sell it; we’ll wrap it. With check in hand, we fired up the printer, laminated the panels and stuck them on. It was beautiful.”
Rules and regulations
There was just one problem: rules and regulations about covering aircraft due to safety concerns. Thompson comments: “First and foremost, the liability issue is huge. We found out there are regulations that do not allow any modifications to an aircraft without official written documentation and approval. Now, before we commit to doing any graphics on an aircraft, there is a form we require the aircraft owner’s engineer to sign off on.
“Standard vehicle wrapping vinyl is not approved for aircraft graphics. The common film we use is not vinyl, but a specifically engineered product for aircraft. 3M makes such a film, which they regulate. There is a specific procurement process for the specialised aircraft films, including documentation like the aircraft engineers sign off letter, before the films can be released. What makes these films special? For one thing, the film must have micro-perforated holes similar to window perf.”
O Factoid: The Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon was the first hot air balloon to fly around the world non-stop and was manufactured in Bristol by Cameron Balloons. The manufacturer designed custom CAD software so that the graphics on the craft appeared readable from any angle. O
The reason for the perforated vinyl is that aircraft with pressurised cabins experience ‘seepage’ when they fly. Pressurised air in the cabin leaks out around the seams, and if the film does not have little holes in it, the air would not escape. This could cause large air pockets under the film that eventually might cause the film to pop off and get sucked into the jet engine. It means the film, ink, and coating also needs to put up with extremes of temperature from ice to high temperatures. So there is no wonder the authorities have a long list of regulations for safety reasons.
Another interesting application and growth area to look at is catered for by the likes of Mirage Signs in Warminster, which specialise in doing wraps to light aircraft and gliders. Mary Hudson, managing director, comments: “Vinyl graphics and decals are an excellent way for enthusiasts to dress up and add their own touch of personality to an aircraft, much easier to apply and more cost-effective than painting. Later, if they tire of the graphics and want to change, or if they sell the aircraft and the new owner does not like them, they are easily removed. For Aircraft Registration letters in the UK we would advise reading the CAA (UK) regulations CAP523 for aircraft markings, which outlines the specification for registration marks.”
Filthy weather
We have touched on sky high wraps and salt water, but what about good old British weather? Product manager Paul Neale of Antalis says one of the problems with all materials is they will expand and contract in small amounts as temperatures soar and fall. He comments: “All of the materials will have a degree of movement, so you need to be very careful in application and specification of the right products and when fitting you need be aware of the potential expansion of these materials. So, you need to be very careful with, say aluminium composites. It is advisable to leave a very small gap between panels, as they are living breathing things as they will expand and contract as the temperatures rise and fall.”
He says that if the installer fails to do this then the boards on a large outdoor hoarding will ‘pop’ out and potentially come away from the fixture. Neale says the key point for firms selling materials is to understand the application the customer plans on using as a good product salesperson can advise on potential problems and often find a better option for a particular job.
While massive billboards are now often taken for granted, the material science and frame tensioning systems are the product of decades of development to ensure the perfect print stays that way despite what the elements can throw at it
Those jobs can include the unorthodox such as vast banners held up at football matches to mark a particular player or an event. Another key area is building wraps, these can come as wire frame wraps, which can remove the need for scaffolding using a tensioned steel wire on brickwork, concrete, and cladding. Then there are extended frame systems, which can be attached to scaffolding and steel structures. Another option are vinyl graphics, which are attached to glass covered buildings where no fixing is required and there is no damage to the building.
Hard shoulder
Another key growth area for extreme materials is that of health and safety. With increased awareness and a wide variety of hazardous working environments legislation has increased the levels of warning signage in a number of areas with one objective: to cut the number of deaths and injuries involving workers. Sarah Beckingham of Chevron Warehouse in Sandhurst says: “Chevrons are stuck onto vehicles with either magnetic or adhesives and they will hold their own and are built to last. The reason why so many vans and cars have chevrons is due to legislation under Chapter 8 while in Scotland it is now the law. I think is a really positive thing as it is about safety and preventing deaths, especially on motorways where vehicles have to stop on the hard shoulder. It’s about protecting people.”
Growth area: chevrons are required on emergency and service vehicles and are amongst the toughest sign-making materials on earth
For those unaware of this growth market Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual (Traffic Safety Measures and Signs for Road Works & Temporary Situations) was issued by the Department of Transport. It provides guidelines for companies operating on public highways on a range of issues— including High Visibility Markings. Section five (5.2 and 5.5) outlines what conspicuous markings are required on vehicles that stop for work purposes or inspection purposes on all public highways. In addition to the specifications regarding the colour of the vehicle, Chapter 8 also sets out the requirements for rear reflective markings on all vehicles stopping on high speed roads.
If there is one rule of thumb that all sign-makers will agree on, that is the amount of variety of requests that customers will make. Over the years sign-makers will be asked for signage within a zoo’s aquarium to what materials can be used on an airship or a ferry. From space to submarines and from aircraft to agricultural trade show stands, the list is endless, and fortunately with today’s manufacturers, there is an extreme material to match each request.
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