The future of signage lies at your feet
When you enter a store, a shopping centre, or even a museum much of the signage is above us, and yet we tend to look down as we trundle along.
Friday, 14 Feb 2014 10:12 GMT
Floor graphics: Soyang have entered the growing market with their G-Floor product
This simple observation has led to a new and growing area of signage: namely floor graphics. We are not talking about logos woven into carpets or even welcome home front door mats. Floor graphics can feature as much colour and variety of media as any free standing, wall hung, or fixed signage.
It is a market that is just beginning to happen, and as always with a new product, it will be a battle to educate potential clients and interior designers to how and where floor graphics can be applied. One company that has become one of the application’s new evangelists is Soyang Europe who are suppliers of an American product called G-Floor.
This product moves the game on from simply printing floor graphics to being able to produce Graphic Floors”
Andrew Simmons of the firm says: “We believe that the sheer durability and versatility of G-Floor will turn the industry on its head. No other product currently available has such a high level of durability, or is available in such a wide range of finishes or widths. The potential for retail outlets, restaurants, cinemas, vehicle showrooms, fitness centres, hotels, exhibition halls, stages, sporting venues and airports, is genuinely fantastic. This product moves the game on from simply printing floor graphics to being able to produce Graphic Floors.”
The obvious concern is how durable the product is. Will for instance become scuffed or damaged by clumpy boots and high heels? Apparently not, as the graphics are beneath the surface so they cannot be scratched or marked. Soyang says because the image is printed beneath the media, the thick wear-layer protects the image. They say that G-Floor is hygienic, easily installed and repositionable, as well as having excellent load-bearing capability, with low noise and sound absorbing characteristics.
A range of different finishes provides a safe, effective and hard-wearing grip surface for a wide variety of retail, business, and public space applications. There is also an option of a solid white media, suitable for surface printing in cases where print suppliers only have four colour process capabilities. The new media is based on a high density clear, flexible PVC substrate, capable of being printed to the underside using either UV curable or solvent inks on a grand-format printer.
