County Durham-based Geordies Signs has expanded its services into tension frame graphics and single-piece wallcoverings.
The business – started in 2009 and which acquired an exhibitions company during lockdown – is committed to printing onto green materials that offer responsible end of life solutions. As such it has chosen PVC-free Kavalan and Blackback roll materials – supplied by CMYUK – for the venture.
“It’s all about making the change, reducing the number of materials used for jobs and doing our best to stop our print going into landfill. We’re not 100% PVC-free but we’re trying to do our fair bit,” said Bryan Bell, co-owner.
Geordies Signs has just completed a job for a school using Kavalan PVC-free Gecko. This is a grey backed polyester-based textile. With B1 and EN13501-1 fire ratings, it also meets stringent environmental standards being EN-71, 33P, ROHS, REACH, and Life Cycle Assessment approved (LCA). It is available in widths up to 5m and is suited for use with both UV and Latex inks.
Bell printed and tested samples using Gecko and an equivalent, and said: “Kavalan Gecko was a lot more vibrant, which is a big selling point because when you’re installing graphics in schools, colleges, and the like, the colours need to really pop and be in your face. It’s now up on the school walls. It was great to print, easy to install and nice to use.”
Bell has used Pongs Softimage Contrast Blackback textile material to create the company’s first tension frame graphic – for a green energy supplier that is exhibiting at the Caravan Show.
“A lot of the historic exhibitions work has been printing, mounting onto Foamex, and laminating but we want to use single piece stretch frame graphics. We’ve just sampled Pongs Softimage Contrast Blackback textile and we’re really impressed with it. We’re using it for our very first tension frame graphic. By using this we’ve immediately saved using six panels of 8 x 4 Foamex, vinyl laminate, and magnetic tape,” said Bell.
The Pongs material is compatible with all sublimation processes and UV inks, has stretch properties, has an anti-scratch black block out backing, is PVC-free, recyclable, fire rated and REACH compliant.
Geordies Signs – founded by father and son, George, and Bryan Bell and now with a staff of five – is keen to push forward on surface textile production and is looking to collaborate with CMYUK to explore its Arkutex range of architectural material solutions
