According to Linetsky, dye sublimation helps diversify his product line and profits his bottom line. Therefore, he sees it as a vital component of his production going forward.
Supporting the community during the pandemic
Early on, PosterTech Group recognized the need to rapidly pivot its production in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and began manufacturing face shields, safety signage, and sneeze guards.
Linetsky partnered with a local hair salon to prototype some of the COVID-19 safety designs.
“We approached them and said we’d like to experiment with designing a safety system for them—at no cost,” he says.
The shop’s technicians designed, produced, and installed a protection system and invited other hair salon owners to see it. Later, they produced a sample custom safety system for demonstrations in their showroom.
“As sneeze guards will be needed for the foreseeable future, they must be solid and robust, without taking away from the overall décor. However, they must also be easy to remove when this is over,” says Linetsky.
The shop has installed its custom sneeze guard systems in casinos, barber shops, hospitals, schools, universities, labs, and other businesses.
Giving back to the community has always been important to Linetsky. Over the years, PosterTech Group has been a consistent supporter of Edmonton’s art community. In addition to serving as the exclusive supplier for a local arts festival, the company supports the Citadel Theatre and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Last year, the Telus World of Science requested PosterTech Group to “adopt a dinosaur,” and the shop assisted with producing graphics and signage for the educational exhibit.
In addition to trade-show and presentation graphics, the shop supplies land developers, construction companies, and builders with dye-sublimated graphics for flags in different configurations and shapes, such as wind or rotating flags and banners.
The future of dye sublimation
According to Linetsky, dye sublimation helps diversify his product line and profits his bottom line. Therefore, he sees it as a vital component of his production going forward.
“Those of us in the industry know the same graphic display can look very different depending on the production method and substrate,” he says. “Many of our clients are choosing dye sublimation as it offers vibrant, luxurious prints, and the versatility of lightweight fabrics makes it even more appealing.
“The role of this production method in our business is actually increasing, and overall that part of the industry is slated for continuous growth,” he adds. “With stretch, backlit, and block-out fabrics, the range of dye-sublimated applications is also on the rise.”
Linetsky expects the next hurdle for dye-sublimation printer manufacturers to be the size of the prints they can produce.
“We’ve always tried to present choices to our customers,” he says. “If you only have one thing to offer, it’s easy to say ‘no.’ When four different options are available, the client may say, ‘I don’t like A, but I like B, or C, or D. The more possibilities you can suggest, the better your chances of securing the business.”
Ginny Mumm is a freelance consultant for digital inkjet printer/cutter provider Roland DGA. For more information, visit www.rolanddga.com.
