TEXTILES.ORG
By Gail Nickel-Kailing
Wanting to “wow” their best management staff, T-Mobile asked Rainier Industries for colorful, creative and flexible graphics and displays for a staff appreciation event at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
The challenge. What do you do when you’re working with a marketing partner who has a concept and knows where the event will take place but doesn’t know exactly what to put in the space? You get on a plane, visit the venue, measure everything in every direction and come home to the drawing board
Displays for the three-day event included a welcome arch, banners and flags, and installation of some window graphics. Nothing could be hung from the ceiling or attached to the walls, and the arch had to be picked up and relocated quickly and easily.
The solution. Rainier’s structural designers and project manager created a welcome arch that would be printed on Spandex using dye sublimation. Because attendees would see the structure from both sides and underneath, the arch was fabricated to enclose the frame. Except for large banners that could be hung from a second-story railing, all the banners and flags had to be free standing, so dozens of stands were constructed.
Printing on Spandex required careful fitting to allow for weight and shrinkage during the sublimation process. Using Velcro™ and yards of zippers made it possible to anchor sections to support the fabric’s weight.
The result. The aluminum frame was constructed in six-foot-long sections with marked connection points so installers could put it together like a puzzle using pushpin technology. The hallway flags, seen from both sides, slipped on the banner stands. Display banners were hung on custom stands between halls and meeting spaces. The large banners hung from the railings, which were heavy and needed to be safely anchored, were the most critical install.
The benefits of fabric graphics. Displays made of dye-sublimated fabrics present especially crisp and vibrant images on a substrate that can be handled easily and even laundered. Because fabric and aluminum are very light, shipping and drayage from the dock to the display floor is far less expensive than traditional hard-sided displays and banners. Free-standing units can be easily rearranged, giving fresh views every day.