Earn yourself a Scooby-Snack

So, the cartoon starts with Daphne, Thelma, Scooby and the gang happily driving along in the Mystery Machine, confident that they are on their way to a nice ski-hotel where they will spend a comfortable night.

They do not spot the warning sign by the side of the road, nor do they realise that guests are being plagued by the ghost of a yeti—or something like that anyway. Skip through various ‘hilarious’ shenanigans and it usually ends with them catching the baddie, and the financial future of the hotel is secure. Much like with the kids from Mystery Inc, with soft signage it helps if you are aware of what you are letting yourself in for, as the rewards of solving the puzzle are well worth it.
 
While researching this soft signage article, almost every specialist I spoke with mentioned the pitfalls and what to look out for, so now I can set the scene: for the Mystery Machine, read your new printer; for the happy journey, read your thoughts of a smooth transition into the profitable soft signage market; for the ski-hotel, read a quality product that is cost effective to produce and value for money for your client; for the warning sign, read not enough research into the complete workflow and the demands of the market. And for the ghost of the yeti, read the various pitfalls you might fall into.

Tackling design

When I was asked to write about ‘soft signage design and software’, I also thought, quite frankly, that I would be focusing on design and software. As it turns out though, much as you never suspect the real villain in Scooby Doo. Until those pesky kids take his mask off, in soft signage the real things to watch out for are the external influences of production (pre- and post- treatment) and installation of your designed job.



I will start off by simply saying that as far as actual design goes, carry on as you were. You do not need any extra special design skills or software to work in soft signage as opposed to any other kind of signage, the main staples such as Adobe packages and Corel are still very much in play across the spectrum, but you do need to understand the implications of the inks you use, the media you will be printing on and the finishing processes involved.

However, when it comes to soft signage, if you enter this sector expecting everything to be within your comfort zone you might be in for a surprise.

Indeed, Mike Horsten, general manager, marketing EMEA at Mimaki offers us the first warning signs—but also underlines the opportunities offered by a move into soft signage: “The soft signage market in Europe alone is worth £400m, and in-store communications are set to grow by around 200 percent a year.

O Factoid: The soft signage market in Europe alone is worth £400m and in-store communications are set to grow by around 200 percent a year.  O

“The majority of the textile in-store solutions such as point-of-sale and retail advertising, are produced using sublimation, so it looks like a tempting growth area. But anyone looking to move into soft signage needs to understand that dye-sublimation is not easy.



“You need to consider the right production options for the applications and volumes you hope to produce, as well as the different options for finishing and sewing. You also need to really understand textiles and education for your operators is key. You can’t compromise on quality or under-estimate your customers own knowledge.”

Stewart Bell, managing director of MTEX Technologies agrees: “Printing onto textiles for flags, flexible signage or interiors can be complicated at first, so it’s important to choose your hardware supplier partner carefully. It’s not like buying a well-established inkjet printer. Fabrics are a whole different ball game and the main players are not yet necessarily house-hold names in the sign industry, but have roots in the textile world.”

So, the warning signs are there. Textile printing for soft signage, whether temporary textile or permanent, is different and should be treated with respect. But so should the potential growth in the market, which makes a bit of effort worth it.

Rob Goleniowski, business manager, Sign and Graphics, Roland DG (UK), says that the soft signage sector is being driven by ever more creativity, customer demands for ‘something unique that stands out’ and huge recent advances in substrate compatibility.

This led Roland DG to launch late last year their new Texart RT-640 dye sublimation printer, as  Goleniowski explains: “We believe this machine answers these market demands. And, judging by the response so far, our belief has been confirmed.”

Ripping yarns

Roland DG Texart users can choose from two professional, high-performance raster image processors (RIPs)—the ErgoSoft Roland Edition or Roland’s own VersaWorks platform. The company claims that ErgoSoft Roland Edition boasts excellent reliability and a well-deserved reputation for quality in the textile printing industry, and that Roland VersaWorks provides, ‘easy, intuitive operation even for first-time users’.

So RIPs are one piece of software you do need to consider when developing your soft signage workstream—all the manufacturers I spoke with agree on this point—and it is important for you too to discuss what your aims are with the reseller or manufacturer you may purchase from, to make sure you choose the one that is right for you.

Mutoh is also a key player in this area, stating its software policy is to, ‘deliver total but open solutions that allow customers to freely choose which software pack best fits their needs’. Indeed, the Mutoh Edition RIP solutions include platforms from Easy-SIGN, Onyx Graphics, and SAi. With cut and contour cut options included and other options available upon request, Mutoh states its software has been developed to ‘empower your workflow with efficient tools and features to maximise design, RIP, and print efficiency’. 



Rowan Bloemberg, marketing manager at Hollanders Printing Systems also says that one of the primary elements behind a digital textile printer is the software that is needed to drive it successfully: “This is a feature that goes far beyond the capabilities of the machine itself and is the vital ingredient that connects every aspect of the application and is key to successful productivity via an efficient end-to-end work-flow. A well-configured digital textile printing line is one that offers an integrated production process, providing consistency and high results with minimal operator intervention and the removal of any margin for error.


She continues: “As a truly efficient configuration is based on productivity, the key to this lies in the ability to have an effective digital front-end that is set up to bring practical benefits to the user. As well as data processing and handling incoming files, this should include lower running costs, less waste as well as reliable throughput that is right first time. These criteria should apply across all machines, from entry-level through mid-range to high-end and specialist printers so that, regardless of investment price, results are guaranteed and produced on time, every time.”


Because Hollanders only designs and manufactures digital textile printers they understand the materials, inks, droplet handling, sizes, and the specific types of profiling that is required for printing onto fabrics. As a result, all software they produce is optimised for the Hollanders ColorBooster to accommodate the idiosyncrasies of working with textiles. The company’s portfolio includes full pre-press, pre-flighting, colour management and proofing systems, all reportedly designed with the correct parameters from the start to generate the best results across different materials.

MTEX is the only other dedicated textile print solutions manufacturer that have developed a bespoke software platform for their full range of direct-to-textile digital print line, integrating a true turnkey textile printing line for digital processes. Their coating PAD, printer ranges, digital steamer and washer/dryer all use the MTEX Inter-face which is simple to use and optimizes productivity.



“All our printers are shipped with the MTEX Interface, a user-friendly system that incorporates the MTEX Rip. This is based on ErgoSoft TexPrint Pro, a full professional rip that will allow our customers to be in full control of their output. Of course MTEX train our customers in the full operation and offer full profiling solutions,” explains Stewart Bell.
 
Getting the touch

Getting the best results across different materials is also a key issue in the minds of media distributors like Antalis. Your design can be as good as you like, but if you use the wrong media it just will not work when it is reproduced in the real world.

“At Antalis, we’ve observed that soft signage is a rapidly growing market, including applications such as wall-paper and coverings, fabrics, canvas and films, which are all suitable to provide a fresh, bespoke look and feel to your home, office, hotel, and more. When combined with large-format digital print and design, the possibilities for soft signage are endless,” enthuses Mike Collins, sign and display product manager.

“Antalis has a wide range of materials available from the Coala product portfolio, and some things to consider when looking at the various options within soft signage include backlit fabrics to eliminate cracking, whether the substrate needs to be fire rated for a transport or retail environment, or if it needs to be water or dirt repellent.”

And it is not just about choosing the right media, it seems that when you are dealing with textiles they all respond differently. No two ‘ghosts’ ever had quite the same disguise in Scooby-Doo and no two mills weave, knit, or coat in quite the same way.

MTEX says that with the addition of the upcoming pigment ink option on the MTEX Vision they will then be able to offer a printer for every fabric type imaginable. But they also recommend that you do your homework on each new media you use, irrespective of fabric types such as polyester-based, naturals, or poly-mixes.

Bell continues: “Not one textile will behave the same as another when you put it through the printing and finishing process, so you need to test each media you hope to use before going into production.

“As well as allowing for shrinkage in both the length and the width, you need to plan for any potential stretching or distortion during installation, and knitted and woven textile will behave differently because of their structure.

“You also can’t presume that you’ll get the same results just because textiles are called the same thing, so if you buy what sounds like the same fabric from an alternative manufacturer, you’ll still need to test it again.”

Graham De Kock, commercial director at City and West End Solutions, a key player in the field of wide-format printing solutions, says that it crucial to use the right textile for the right application to understand how the material will be handled and the various finishing options.

He explains: “Most soft signage will need to be stitched, and your registration and cutting marks are key to ensuring you have the extra fabric you need without losing any of your graphic. For example, software such as Esko’s i-Cut Suite allows the operator to add extra pixel-by-pixel bleed for hems, as well as offering the facility to edit, remove or add new cutting marks.



“When you’re working with applications such as wallpapers, you’ll need to be able to manipulate images and create seamless patterns, which is where solutions such as the Onyx Textile Edition RIP with its step and repeat function come in.”


De Kock stresses that colour management also has its own particular challenges when working with textiles, as they can have very different ‘white points’, depending on whether your canvas is bleached or yellow, and the depth of the weave.

He continues: “We’ve recently taken on UK distribution of Barbieri Spectrophotometers and it is easy to see the impact of its ability to read textured structures like textiles. Not only does it give you excellent colour matching across different fabrics that behave in very different ways, it also guarantees precise measurement of densities, so crucial for effective and stunning lightboxes.”

I would’ve got away with it…

So when it comes to soft signage, not everything will behave as you expect at first, but the rewards are well worth it. If you can avoid the pitfalls, persevere, and get it right, you will be a key player in a growing market.

Everyone I spoke to reiterated that the rewards are big and the market is growing, so it is worth the pain at the learning stages to come out on top. So, recommendations are: remember what it is like to be a pesky kid and ask questions, do your research, and when you have solved the mystery, go treat yourselves to a Scooby Snack.


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