A new soft signage paradigm

There can be no doubt that we are on the crest of a new wave that seems set to crash down upon the shores of our industry in a big way. Although the market for textile print and soft signage took off in 2007, its potential and growth was stunted by the global recession and meant that equipment sales stopped, and diversification into this area also ground to a halt. Further to this, marketers were unwilling to risk their now tiny budgets on risky ‘new media’ and instead stuck to the old tried and tested faithful’s of backlit posters, rigid board graphics, and vinyl banners to transmit their messaging. But times have changed.

Growth is now very firmly back on the agenda and the demand for textile-based signage and graphic products is growing rapidly. Indeed, such is its growth that almost every wide-format inkjet manufacturer has now launched dedicated solutions to cater for this sector.
 
Why? Well, it is simple. If you stretch a piece of printed polyester into a light box its colours pop more than any other type of graphic and create a high-quality visual impact. It is also by its very nature a flexible solution, meaning that it can be far more creatively used for bespoke applications. Finally, it is both lightweight, easy to store, and recyclable.

Before this current fashion trend took off though, there was one key player who had long seen its potential, Hollanders Printing Systems. Its textile printers are renowned as the best on the market, and although not cheap, deliver cast iron reliability and pretty unmatched levels of quality.

The peak of its portfolio is the Color Booster DS, which is a completely unique solution as it can print double-sided graphics simultaneously and features an integrated fixation unit.
 
“Whether it be a spun polyester flag, deco-style banner, back-lit media for retail frames, front-lit POP/POS material; the Color Booster DS can print similar or different images on each side of the fabric,” explains the company’s chief technology officer, Peter Hollanders.

He adds: “The result is a print with the highest quality with the best UV resistance. As with all Hollanders systems, the Color Booster DS has on-board climate control, the renowned Hollanders media transport and remote support system. It also allows 24/7 print production with rolls of up to 60cm in diameter.”

In addition to the base CMYK colour range, Hollanders offers specific colours to extend the gamut such as violet, red, and grey. In addition, it offers an integrated humidifying and dehumidifying system, low energy disperse (sublimation) ink or high energy direct disperse dyes, and a modular construction and upgrade choices to suit end-user requirements. The Color Booster is also capable of hitting 80sq m/h double-sided printing and uses up to 16 Seiko 508GS to drive its productivity.


With 1.2 and 3.2m options, the Color Booster DS certainly is an impressive piece of machinery, and is the top of Hollanders’ range, with models below it that are designed for the mid and entry-level productivity segments that would suit the demands of most medium to large sign-makers. But as the adage goes, ‘if it is worth doing, it is worth doing properly’, and that is why this system has seen sales across Europe into sign and graphics houses that want to make a serious move into the soft signage market.

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