Antalis UK helped wall decoration manufacturer Graham and Brown with its stand at the Heimtextil exhibition in Frankfurt this year to eye-catching effect.
Proof to production coordinator at Graham and Brown, Julian Kellett, explained: “Our range of wall covering designs certainly speak for themselves in terms of attracting attention, but it’s always a challenge to think of new ways to present our products and this year was no different. We wanted to create something unique that would communicate the versatility of our designs. We finally developed the perfect concept, but then needed help when it came to delivering our vision and turning our concept in to reality.”
It was early on in the design and planning stage that Kellett turned to Antalis for input on selecting substrates that would help convert the company’s creative ideas into something that would present a show-stopping exhibition stand. Central to the design was the need to create a complete home environment using illustrated furniture in bold black and white designs to represent different parts of the house, and hard wearing printed graphics on the floors, all against the backdrop of its vibrant wall papers and wall graphics.
Kellett added: “Essentially, our challenge was how we were going to ‘draw’ on hired furniture and cover the floor with a special wallpaper design created by one of our famous design friends Hemingway Design. What we needed was something that would enable us to apply printed graphics to furniture, that would not only look good and stand up to the wear and tear of the show, but would also be easily removed once the show had finished. As we only rent the furniture for the duration of the event, it was imperative that it wouldn’t leave any marks or damage on the surface of the furniture.”
Having heard the specific requirements of each application, Joe Kennedy, sign and display product manager at Antalis UK suggested covering the furniture using YupoTako, a UV 1270mm self-adhesive film that uses micro-suction to adhere to surfaces. Not only did the film work well with the company’s Oce Arizona 360 GT flatbed printer, its suction properties eliminated the need to use adhesive, allowing for easy removal without leaving any sticky residue or markings on the rented furniture.
For the floor graphics used a two-part Drytac system comprising Drytac Floorprint, which was also printed in-house on Graham and Brown’s Arizona 360GT, then overlaid with Drytac Interlam Pro Emerytex to create a durable, non-slip floor covering.
Kellett, said: “Heimtextil is the largest exhibition of its kind attracting over 66,000 visitors from some 134 countries, so competition is always fierce amongst exhibitors, and it was therefore essential to stand out from the crowd – which we certainly did!”