CASE STUDY


Flying the flag for finishing


In the second Sign and Digital UK case study, we are focusing on finishing products in the large format print industry – and in particular banner and textiles finishing


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arge format finishing is often overlooked, yet the soft signage and banner market is growing rapidly with almost all soft signage and banners requiring some sort of finishing, whether its hemming, eyeleting or welding. As a result, the ability to control quality and increase the overall profit margin by bringing finishing in- house is becoming more commonplace. One company helping signmakers and print businesses make the transition from 'printer' to 'print solution provider' is Solent Sewing and Welding Solutions. The company specialises in sewing and welding equipment for technical textiles. It manufactures its own industrial long arm sewing machines as well as supplying standard sewing machines and a range of hot air, hot wedge and impulse welding machines from Miller Weldmaster.


Marketing director of Solent, Melanie Jenkins, explained: “Our emphasis is on improving the customers’ production times and finish quality by finding the best sewing or welding solution. The range of welding equipment we offer means customers can weld PE and digital textiles as well as PVC. The technological developments of


printers with increased speed and print width has dictated faster finishing solutions. This can be a real issue and that’s why our range encompasses standard machines for joining and hemming graphics through to custom automated systems.”


There are many needs for soft signage today and demand is growing for high quality tested graphics for building wraps, flags, banners and scaffold mesh. All require finishing to the highest standards due to potential health and safety risks, so reliability is paramount. For the smaller banner maker, bringing this in-house offers increased quality control, quicker turnaround times and increased profits. For example, a 1.8 by 1.2m banner can be hemmed on all four sides in under one minute with no consumables using the Weldmaster T300 Extreme Edge.


Hampshire Flag Company, a past exhibitor at the show, first saw Solent Sewing and Welding solutions three years ago at Sign and Digital UK. As a result of the equipment's ease of use and build quality, Hampshire Flag purchased its first


Printers with increased speed and print width dictate faster finishing solutions


finishing machines, which it now uses to create banners, bunting and burgees to café barriers, ceremonial equipment and custom flags for local, national and international clients. Graham Wilkinson of Hampshire Flag Company said: “Three years on and we are still happy with the machines. They have been reliable, economical and cost effective. Over the last five years, advances in digital textile printing have led to quicker production speeds in addition to demand for greater design complexity and full photographic design with UV resistance. We have responded equally and our production facilities achieve this.” A recent project undertaken using these machines was the production of a 12 by 3ft PVC banner created to encourage people in Portsmouth to join the bone marrow register in a bid to find a match for a baby who needed a transplant. Hampshire Flag also manufactured a 40 by 20ft banner for Portsmouth Football Club ahead of the FA cup quarter final win against Birmingham City.


Hampshire Flag created a 40 by 20ft banner for Portsmouth Football Club ahead of the FA cup quarter final


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Jenkins concluded: “Solent has exhibited at Sign & Digital UK for a number of years. We have found it to be the best show of its kind in the UK to meet potential customers with a need for our products and we look forward to meeting them all again in 2011.”


llll www.solentsew.co.uk January/February 2011 l SCREEN PROCESS AND DIGITAL IMAGING 9


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