In this article, as shops begin to reopen their doors Mike Horsten takes a closer look at SEG’s which have become a key element of retail displays.

First, what does the acronym SEG stand for anyway? It stands for “Silicon Edge Graphics” and not like the Wikipedia page says the “Society of Exploration Geophysicists”!

SEG for short has been a display framing technology that has been around for some years. Nobody really knows who invented or created them. There where multiple players in Europe that started with the frames all around the same time. The search was for an alternative to the then common heavy weighted Tarpaulin frames from graphic supply companies around the world.  For SEG frames I know that at least 4 companies in Europe were at the forefront of this revolution including my own company at the time, Corporate Solutions in the Netherlands.

When I made my first SEG frame it was at the end of the 1999 beginning 2000. So, we are talking about something that has been around for over 20 years. Why is it only now that we really start seeing them in the Americas and everybody is talking about them. Well, you have to look a bit back in history to understand the importance of its development. 

When the first PSP’s started playing with textiles it was a very special proposition. Most of the print service providers were printing their posters and banners with Solvent, water-based pigment or this new ink called UV-Curing.  The problem with some of these inks is that the color was not really poppy on textiles, it looked great banners and posters, but not on fabric.  The reason for this was simple, the inks would penetrate into the fabrics and it would look really dull. Also drying of Solvent inks and/or water-based inks on fabrics was an accomplishment, to say the least. The only technology left that worked was UV ink, as it would dry directly on the fabric after curing. The disadvantage for UV at the time was that it was not very flexible, so cracking of the ink on fabric was something you had to live with.  Hence the adoption factor was low because the benefit of using fabrics was not big enough.

UV-Inks could be used for canvas or other pre-mounted media and it was fine, but not for the flexible fabrics to put in frames. Please remember that Dye sublimation technology was just starting to become digital and there was still a lot of experimenting in those days. 

At the end of the century cardboard, paper, banner and vinyl were the dominant carriers for most of the retail outlets. So why use a new technology, new equipment and new workflow, it would only complicate things! Also, in the USA the volumes of retail prints were a lot bigger than the European counterparts where making. Europe has 17 languages, different cultures and over 35 countries to supply to. So local country-based PSP’s could work faster with smaller orders in textiles and there where in the country.

Although Dye sublimation looked nice, you needed new equipment and knowledge to succeed in the three steps. 

• preshrinking the fabrics

• print on paper and then 

• transfer them to the fabric. 

A lot of investment and work for a new market, right. 

There was however a problem. The placement of these vinyl murals and banners was very labour-intensive and expensive. The staff of most stores had no clue how to mount such a big piece of sticky plastic. Even if they could, bubbles, scratches and deformations were something you had to accept as a retail outlet. Banners were easier to work with, but how to hang a banner straight, walk into any shopping mall and you see what I mean. All those rings and tunnels did not look very nice in a store and I’m not even talking about all the reflections of the store lighting system. Last but not least, the paper posters where always a hassle not to get wrinkles in them or even get them placed correctly was a challenge.  The result, installers had to come in and place the new images, a huge cost factor.

The dilemma of the retail marketing departments was not only the cost but also “how to get our message out and mount it in the stores in a professional but easy way?”

This is where fabrics came in, they are easy to transport, as you need no big tubes or containers to carry textiles. Sending a small box with the fabric via UPS or Fedex, should do the trick. SEG Fabrics are lightweight and they are cheap to send to the stores across the country. The added benefit was that it was mountable by the local store staff and all stores would get the new promo items at the same time. 

This means that the installation cost would dramatically go down and sending mounting/installation teams around the US to customers is now part of the past. The beauty of all is the added benefit of the amazing amount of color coming off the images. There is no glare or shine reflections like tarpaulin. The matt fabric finish is so nice that it could be used at any location in the store without the ugly lighting reflections.  The local TV stations understood this benefit very fast, TV backdrops were made with textiles, IDOLS, X-Factor and The Voice all use textile backdrops in their shows.

Back to the big retail companies in Europe. H&M and Mexx Clothing where the first ones to start using this new technology in their stores. It really was a joint venture at the time, the brands invested in the aluminium frames in the stores and the PSP’s could deliver the content in textile with this silicone edge for mounting. A WIN-WIN situation. As an example, in 2004 I was already producing 2400 banners a week for Mexx, to be distributed around Europe.

So how does it work?

Well its easier than you might think, although if you want to do it right you need to own the whole workflow, from the aluminum extrusion lengths that you can buy externally to the sewing of the silicon edge on the fabric. In the early days you really needed all in house. Today there are many solutions that will make your live a lot easier.

Let’s take you through the process step by step.

The colouration of the fabric can be done in two ways with dye sublimation. Direct printing in the fabric or via paper transfer. Today most soft-sign SEG fabrics are printed directly on the fabric with the dye sublimation inks. This does mean that the fabric has to be pre-treated so that the ink will not run/bleed at the time of printing. If you want to use uncoated fabrics you have to go via the transfer process. Remember you can use only polyester fabrics (min 60% PES) with sublimation inks. The fabrics have a natural stretch of 1-10%. You don't want this stretch but you get it for free. The stretch comes from the knitting machines that make fabrics. Check with your local fabric supplier what the options are. In the USA Companies like Fisher textiles, Aurora, Berger and others can help you find your perfect fabric for your front-lit or backlit frame. There are many different fabrics, back / front-lit, flame retardant, glossy, stretchy and all with bold names and numbers. You soon will be familiar with names as Mambo, Samba, Mojo, Galaxy and more.

After the print is made you need to calender it. This means it needs to go thru a heat press at 385F or 195 Celsius for a certain time mostly 30-45 seconds. This is needed to fixate the inks to the fabric. The disadvantage of heating it up is, again shrinkage. Yes, it shrinks and it can shrink 3-5% and that is a lot!!  So now we have the next dilemma if it shrinks it will not fit in the frame. The trick it to know why and how the shrink is happening. Fabrics shrink differently in the running side of the roll and the width side. So, if there is 6% shrink in the running length and 2% in the width then you just add this to the original size. Say 106% x 102%, Yes even if the print looks deformed, it will end up ok after the heat press.  There are many small tricks for you to ease the process, like if you get a little stretchable fabric you can put a bit more tension on the fabric when mounting it on to the frame. The best way to test the stretch is to make a box of 3x3 feet, just the line and measure the box after it is pressed.

Now your print is finished and the silicon edge needs to be mounted on the fabric. There is a 13-15mm extra material needed around the image for the mounting the silicon edge. This edge will disappear into the cavity of the aluminium extrusion once mounted. 

There are a few options which have been introduced since the first days.  

• • Sewing by hand, with a Professional machine like Brother, Adler or Yuki Sewing machine. With one or two needles.

• • Fully automatic Sewing machines with a conveyer belt from Matic, Meevo or Digitran

• • Easy peel and stick adhesive keder tape from Easytape

• • A Keder that you can hammer into place by Roffelsen

All of these can be found in Silicone, PVC and even Bio Plastics.

Once the keder edge is mounted on the fabric it’s time to mount them into the cavity of the aluminum extrusion. These extrusions can be found at all the large sign & display hardware vendors like SignComp, MEA, Global Imaging or get them exactly sized for use at Dandreavisual. There are many more to list but that's why we have google. 

The most important tip here is how to mount the image correctly and straight. You need to start on the correct side of the frame. 

If the frame would be labeled Top A&B and Bottom C&D for each corner, then you would start in mounting about 4-10 inches on side TOP-A to the right, make sure there is no tension. Then move over to the TOP-B side and do the same 4-10 inches to the left.  If the Frame is really large expand your reach to approximately 25% of the total length.  Now do the same for the TOP-A and Top-B going down to C&D corners.  Now apply the same principle to the bottom, starting with C Bottom and then D Bottom corner.  

After this is done you can slowly push the silicon edge from both sides to the centre and finish it off with the last little part in the middle.  You will see that if you did not put tension on the fabric it will look great. If you have wrinkles just pull it out and try again.  Just remember you never end in the corner but always at the longest side of your frame.  

Complicated? You will get the feeling really quick and if it goes wrong the first time don't panic just try again.

If you only occasionally make frames then there is a new solution in the market where the silicon grip is already in the frame. For example, there is a keder-less frame from Signcomp called Easitex. As the frame has the silicon grip inside the frame the only thing you need to do is push the fabric into the cavity with a credit card or special tool. Super easy for that one-off frame.

What type of frames are available for you to use and sell. When I started we had only 2 frame types, thick or thin. Today we have so many different types, it’s impossible to list them all. It ranges from a single side to double-sided, curved, LED lightbox one side & two-sided, cubes and many more choices.

As frames become more evolved so did the application arena. Today frames are no longer used only in retail, but in exhibition graphics, home decoration and sporting events. The textile SEG frame is here to stay. Even, I have some frames in my house today and they are great.

The biggest benefit for any PSP entering the market is that you already have the sales contacts, stores like Office Depot and others are interested in lowering their cost structure all the time, Supermarkets like to make special area’s for fresh food, coming up with a frame and structure that work for them, means you will have a long-lasting relationship with them.

Last but not least textiles are popular with PSP’s due to the fact that you can make a nice margin on these products, they are recyclable and easy to transport. Production cost, is now a lot better than before and with all the tools you have at your disposal like the automated sewing machines you can become a pro in no time. Remember that most corporates a have Sustainability high on the agenda and Textile SEG frames contribute to this goal.

Selling SEG frames and the fabric content makes it a product you will love to make and love to sell. 

Contact Mike

TexSmart.nl