Companies such as Adidas use wide-format solutions in their in-store presentations.
SMC: What innovative uses of magnets have emerged in the sign industry in recent years, and how have they impacted design and installation?
HB: Customers are looking for different trends. Many applications have been done with a steel sheet as a background, printed with a four-colour process on wide-format. It can be installed as a display, and then you can use stronger magnets in combination with the wide-format magnetic sheeting to create something you can modify to your needs. Some hardware stores are using panels with magnetic tape in the back, which is good, but now you can really get creative with those. In corner stores, you can create super nice visual displays with a wide-format solution and add some stronger magnets on top to create shelves and other applications customers need. This is an application that is trending upward and needs to be seen by signmakers.
SMC: Some of today’s advancements have allowed magnets to stick to non-magnetic surfaces such as glass. Does this material have the ability to stick to these types of surfaces, or do they have to be magnetic?
HB: The base needs to be a ferrous surface. Sometimes we think stainless steel doesn’t have any magnetic properties, when in reality, it depends on the grade of the steel. There are other components available for wide-format—especially for car signs—which are not magnetic, but they could be used as magnets. Micro-suction material has the same effect as a magnet, but it can be used on glass, or a stainless steel or aluminum car. Those solutions are starting to become more available and trusted by signmakers.
SMC: Do you have anything else you would like to add about the use of magnetic solutions in the sign industry?
HB: What I’ve learned over the past month, especially from being at trade shows, is signmakers may have put magnets aside in the past—because in their mind, they were solely for applications such as car magnets. However, for the new generation of signmakers, when they look at their equipment, they’re looking for more out-of-the-box applications. Magnetic materials have many components that could be used to satisfy these needs. They could be used to develop many repeat orders, if signmakers took the time to look at what is available. With our displays and presentations, we encourage customers to think a bit further than just car magnets. There are many different applications, and if they really want to look deeper, they can ask magnet companies to help them develop those products.
