Swept off your feet
Floor graphics played a key role in the battle against Covid-19. These adhesive applications promoted social distancing in shops and, during the height of the pandemic, helped direct consumers around stores in order to keep them safe while shopping.
However, floor graphics go much further than this and provide retailers and brands with an incredibly effective way of capturing peoples’ attention. This is one of many reasons why demand for floor graphics has rocketed in recent years, with all sorts of creative and eye-catching applications appearing.
Here, we speak with equipment and technology suppliers to find out about the expansion opportunities available to sign-makers, as well as the factors they need to consider before making a move into the market.
Flexible solutions
First up, Drytac provides a wide range of vinyls and films suitable for floor graphics work. Amanda Brown, global marketing manager at Drytac, says that what makes floor graphics so unique is that they can be used in almost any environment that you can think of and for all sorts of reasons.
Drytac offers a wide range of floor graphics for use indoor and outside
“Be it promoting new products in shops and supermarkets; serving as way-finding directions in hospitals and event venues; or even educating pupils and students in schools, colleges and universities, floor graphics are suitable almost anywhere,” Brown says.
She adds: “Floor graphics come in such an array of forms they are sure to have a major role to play in the post-pandemic period and beyond.
“This flexibility is also true in terms of the surfaces that floor graphics can be applied to, both indoor and outdoor. Films and vinyls, including those available from Drytac, are suitable for use on floor tiles, wood laminate flooring and short pile carpet indoors, as well as concrete, asphalt, tarmac and concrete tiles outside.”
Brown goes on to say that innovations in printing technology, inks, and materials now enable display and advertising potential to reach floor to ceiling and wall to wall, opening up a host of markets for sign-makers moving into the sector.
However, Brown also notes the importance of selecting the right material for floor graphics jobs, explaining that these applications are subjected to much more wear and tear than most other signage projects. As such, sign-makers need to select hard-wearing and reliable materials if they want an installation to succeed.
“When it comes to floor graphics, there is no single product that will work on all jobs; it is down to you to establish which is the most effective and suitable solution for each individual project,” Brown says, adding: “Test to ensure the adhesive is suitable for the surface. Leave a small, printed sample in the required location for 24 hours and check the adhesion.
“All floor graphic media will have a life span as recommended by the material manufacturer. Make sure the owner of the location is aware of the life span of the floor graphic material. This also leads us to slip ratings: what are they and why are they important? Slip ratings and certifications determine the suitability for a given product in a specific environment.”
As for the products Drytac can offer, the supplier recently added Polar Street FX, a PVC-free aluminium print media designed for durable floor graphics in outdoor locations without lamination, to its range.
O Factoid: Drytac Polar Grip polymeric self-adhesive PVC film is suitable for use indoors and outside for up to five years O
Another option is Drytac’s Polar Grip, a polymeric self-adhesive PVC film suitable for use both indoors and outside for up to five years. The high bond adhesive of Polar Grip means users can permanently apply graphics to any surface, such as metal, plastic, wood, glass and brick.
Range of options
Another materials supplier is Soyang Europe, whose sales director, Andrew Simmons, says floor graphics provides a great opportunity for sign-makers to increase revenue and turnover, in an area that has really been highlighted by the pandemic.
“There is so much floor space where products can be utilised,” Simmons explains, adding: “Both for long term and short-term graphics, indoors and outdoors. Retail floor space, offices, hotels, restaurants, gymnasiums, museums, advertising, promotional, wayfinding, health and safety, and exhibitions, there are so many options.”
Simmons goes on to say that before delving into the market, it is important sign-makers do their research to ensure they use the right product for the right application and that their material of choice has the necessary certification for the requirement.
Soyang Europe says floor graphics provide an opportunity for sign-makers to increase revenue
With this, he draws attention to some of the options available from Soyang Europe. These include G Floor, a product suitable for long-term projects where the image is printed on the reverse of the material to give it longevity in image protection.
Soyang Europe also offers Print Floor for shorter-term applications such as promotions and exhibition flooring, as well as Catwalk, a printable carpet with gel foam backing for anti-slip – an option Simmons says is great for promotional mats and exhibition stand flooring.
Also available from Soyang Europe, Alumigraphics is an aluminium-based durable media that conforms to texture, which Simmons says allows for easy installation both indoors and outdoors. In addition, Floor Wall offers a solution for short-term floor graphics with a R10 anti-slip certification.
Maximise opportunities
Another provider of floor graphics materials is Antalis. Mike Collins, product manager for visual communication at Antalis, agrees that floor-graphics is a key expansion area for display graphics, saying it offers all sorts of opportunities to sign-makers and similar businesses.
“The pandemic has highlighted the many uses of floor graphics for social distancing but also to impart strong effective messaging to spaces,” Collins says, adding: “At Antalis, we have seen the trend continue where specifiers are looking to maximise their messaging opportunities and the use of floor graphics has proved to be an extremely cost-effective solution to use space more effecting for branding and direction.”
The pandemic has highlighted the many uses of floor graphics for social distancing but also to impart strong effective messaging to spaces”
As to what sign-makers should be looking for when selecting floor graphics materials to work with, Collins explains that matching the correct material for the application is key to floor graphics, otherwise this could put the entire project at risk.
“Understanding the location and footfall will enable you to specify either easy to apply one-part printable floor graphics or two-part, more durable solutions,” Collins explains, adding: “All Antalis floor graphic materials have DIN 51130 anti-slip ratings to guide you regarding their suitability for specific indoor or outdoor applications.”
Looking at what Antalis has on offer in the floor graphics market, Collins says that as is the case with the display market in general, there is a move to make floor graphics more environmentally friendly and Antalis has a number of PVC-free materials.
These include Drytac Polar Street FX, a R12 slip rated – according to DIN 51130 – 100% recyclable aluminium that can be applied onto difficult exterior floor surfaces such as brick and asphalt.
Antalis also offers Coala Floor & Wall R, a one-part printable textured floor graphic (R10) with removable air release adhesive for easy application and removal on most flat internal surfaces such as wood and tile, and areas that might have potential for spillage such as warehouses or retail environments.
Coala products from Antalis can be used for both floor and wall graphics
In addition, Coala Walk & Wall (R12) is a printable, heavily textured one-part floor graphic with a reinforced textile backing and a more aggressive adhesive, which Collins says makes it suitable for firm application onto external flat surfaces such as concrete pavements that are more open to daily elements.
While much of the attention in the floor graphics market during recent years has focused on social distancing graphics and one-way system directions, as we move out of the pandemic, skills learned over the past two years or so will help sign-makers and wide-format printers alike access opportunities in all sorts of markets.
Be it producing colourful graphics for use in shopping centres, or eye-catching applications for the high street, working with quality materials and ensuring you have the right kit in place to produce these types of graphics will help ensure you get a piece of the action.
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