Signs Express Belfast plays it cool with Drytac

Signs Express Belfast and material supplier, Drytac, have collaborated on a project for the Belfast Giants, an Elite Ice Hockey League team based at the SEE Arena.

The team at Signs Express used Drytac’s SpotOn White M50 monomeric PVC film to create ice rink board graphics where the Belfast Giants play their home games. The graphics were used for several games in the Champions Hockey League, which is the largest club ice hockey competition in Europe.

A part of the Signs Express franchise, Signs Express Belfast has run since 1999 under the management of Brendan O’Donnell, who was later joined by his daughter Cathy Johnston in 2000. Johnston took over the business in 2006 and ensured she built on her father’s legacy after his passing in 2019.

Signs Express Belfast has been providing rink side advertising to the Giants since the ice hockey team was formed 25 years ago. For this latest project, a solution was needed that could be easily overlaid over the permanent league graphics and removed afterwards with no damage.

Speaking about the project, Johnston says: “This involved flipping the full rink side dasher – over 165 linear metres (540 ft) of graphics. We had two turnaround installations to complete approximately five to six weeks apart at the end of August and start of October.

“The Giants have local sponsor graphics permanently in place throughout the regular season, so it was crucial that their season signage remained undamaged when removing the Champions League overlays.”

SpotOn White M50 was purchased from Premier GPMI, Drytac’s exclusive stockist in Ireland. The material features a unique removable dot-pattern adhesive and features light-blocking properties that make it 50% more opaque than standard SpotOn White.

The graphics were printed on an Epson SureColor S80600 which resulted in high colour accuracy for the branding of sponsors, which was crucial due to the games being broadcast on Sky TV.

“James Glover, operations manager for the Giants, was absolutely delighted with the end product, especially with how quickly we could install the full arena, which we now have down to just under three hours,” Johnston says.