At Sign & Digital UK 2011 William Smith will be providing signmakers with the opportunity to get first-hand experience of a whole range of equipment and materials, with the aim of helping them to identify new opportunities and directions.
Hardware
It is now more than five years since William Smith first introduced the RollsRoller Flatbed Applicator at Sign UK and its popularity with signmaking companies of all sizes shows no sign of diminishing. It continues to have significant impact not only on large sign manufacturers but also on smaller businesses, which are finding it an invaluable asset. The RollsRoller has enabled signmakers to increase profitability, discover new ways of working, and even opened up new business opportunities. Eleven different models of RollsRoller are available.
The HP Designjet L25500 latex inkjet printer can also be seen in action. The HP Designjet range of latex inkjet printers is attracting increasing interest from signmakers of all sizes, largely due to the vast improvements in turnround that can be achieved as prints are dry and ready to display, laminate or finish. The affordable L25500 60” model is proving particularly popular for both indoor and outdoor applications.
Other hardware products on show will be a cutter from Graphtec, which offers the highest cutting force and speed available; and Easymount laminators offering a choice of models from those suitable for hand mounting and laminating to professional heavy duty systems for more experienced print finishers.
Materials
Among the wide range of materials on show will be 3M’s new electro-cut, cast solid colour film 80Series, some of the most popular choices of material for vehicle wrapping, Optically Clear View Graphic Film 8150, IJ8624 textured wall surface film; and Contra Vision® Performance™ window film.
3M™ Scotchcal™ 80 Series Opaque Graphic Film is a new range of economical cast films for both indoor and outdoor applications. Available in 84 colours, including matt white, matt black and 8 metallic tones, with 33 Pantone matched colours, this cast PVC film has been specially developed for knife cutting on electronic systems as well as hand and die cutting. The construction of the film, together with its lay flat liner also makes it suitable for cutting and weeding of small letters and complex graphics
Vehicle wrapping continues to be a popular choice for customising both commercial and other vehicles, and materials on show will include:
3M™ Controltac™ IJ180Cv3 Series is a short to long term removable film for inkjet and screen-printing. It offers great conformability and can be applied in extreme hot and cold temperatures, so that workshop temperature is less critical. It is suitable for vehicle wraps, vehicle livery and advertising wraps and comes with 10 years durability and 6 years MCS warranty. IJ180Cv3 is suitable for curved surfaces but not deep recesses.
3M™ Controltac™ 85Cv3 Series is a cast solid colour film that give a paint-like finish whilst protecting original paintwork and minimising the appearance of scratches. It is suitable for full vehicle wraps and ideal for application to flat or curved body panels, but not for recessed or corrugated areas. 85Cv3 Series offers excellent weather resistance and comes with 8 years durability and 5 years MCS warranty on vertical surfaces, and 5years durability and 3 years warranty on horizontal surfaces.
Both films feature Comply Version 3, an enhanced version of the successful Comply adhesive, which now incorporates deeper invisible air channels with a new structure that increases the efficiency and consistency of air bleeding, resulting in faster installation and an improved finished appearance.
3M™ Controltac™ Plus Graphic Film IJ380 is specifically designed for applications such as vehicle graphics, with deep recessed and corrugated surfaces. It has been developed for perfect 3D conformity, and stays in position even in the most difficult application areas with no need for cutting to relieve stress. This not only enables valuable time savings to be made, but also eliminates many of the risks involved in full vehicle wraps.
As well as a vehicle featuring 3M wrapping films, visitors will have the chance to try their own hand at wrapping a door panel.
3M™ Scotchcal™ Clear View Graphic Film 8150 is specifically designed for architectural, graphic and decorative applications. It is a clear highly conformable cast film that opens up a wide range of design possibilities. Its excellent image quality enables eye-catching graphic images to be created, especially where high transparency is required in unprinted areas.
3M™ Scotchcal™ IJ8624 Graphic Film for Textured Surfaces is a unique conformable cast film specifically designed to give clean photographic quality images on moderately textured flat or curved surfaces. Bricks, breeze- block, tiles and poured cement can now all have full-coloured graphics applied. It comes with a 3-6 months outdoor durability and a 2 years indoor durability and offers a fast, clean and inexpensive alternative to painted graphics. There is no need to create expensive smooth surfaces and it is removable with heat, leaving walls undamaged.
Visitors to Sign & Digital UK will have the opportunity to get first hand experience of applying this material themselves.
Contra Vision® Performance™ window film is a comprehensive range of materials, providing flexibility of choice for the production of see-through graphics, for internal or external window applications. All Contra Vision® Performance™ perforated window films also feature Contra Vision’s unique Grayliner™ technology, a significant improvement to other perforated window materials. The Grayliner™ colour, which is visible through the perforation holes, enables printers and end users to see a close approximation to the effect of the applied graphics.
As always, William Smith’s technical sales team will be on hand for one-to-one discussion and advice about the whole range of products and services available from the company.
