Wide-format Graphics: The advantages of magnetic applications

by all | 2 November 2015 10:54 am

By Peter Saunders
Magnetic and magnetic-receptive materials are becoming popular in the wide-format printing of point-of-purchase (POP) graphics because of their adaptability to a broad range of retail environments and, perhaps most important to store staff, their ease of installation for ongoing promotional updates. No special hardware, drill holes or brackets are required, as each graphic is essentially a giant refrigerator magnet.

From fridges to signs
As it happens, today’s magnetic graphics actually have their roots in the refrigerator industry—though not in the magnets stuck to their doors.

“After the Second World War, the U.S. government asked refrigerator manufacturers to find alternatives to the latches that sealed fridge doors too tightly, making it easy for children to get stuck inside,” explains John Kanis, president of MagX America, a flexible magnetic sheet manufacturer celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year. “This led to the development of co-extruded magnets—which continue to keep fridge doors closed today—and those in turn gave rise to flexible magnets.”

MagX’s own labs reportedly produced the first flexible magnetic sheeting in 1965, when the company was founded. The signmaking market was significant from the start.

“Signmakers used to emboss plastic letters with a magnetic strip around the edges,” says Kanis.

One of the keys for printed graphic applications was to make the material sufficiently wide (in printing area) and thin (in thickness). Soon, it was being screenprinted, hand-lettered and plotted. Today, it is frequently digitally printed—and with the rise of wide-format presses has come the demand for wider substrates, so larger seamless graphics can be attached to metal walls and other surfaces.

“For a while, the standard width in North America was 0.6 m (24 in.),” Kanis says, “but our parent company at the time was based in Japan, where printable magnets were already 1 m (40 in.) wide. So, we were the first to bring that size to the U.S. Today, we’re up to 1.2 m (48 in.).”

Compatibility and durability
Flexible magnetic sheeting has also come a long way in terms of compatibility with various print technologies. Different formulations of printable surfaces have optimized the material for solvent-based, eco-solvent, ultraviolet-curing (UV-curing) and durable aqueous ‘latex’ inkjet printers, along with flexography, screenprinting and offset printing.

“There’s now a diverse range of sheets that can be direct-printed, rather than needing a laminate,” says Jim Cirigliano, marketing manager for Magnum Magnetics, “so it’s important to ask suppliers about which material will work best with your printer.”

Another advantage of magnetic signage has been durability. A printed magnetic sheet fused to a multi-purpose laminate offers strong ultraviolet (UV) resistance outdoors in sunlight.

“There are outdoor-rated magnetic materials that can be used where paperstock would never hold up,” says Cirigliano. “Magnetic sheeting is a perfect way to attach large-format outdoor signage to the side of a building, such as quick-service restaurant (QSR) menu boards at a drive-thru.”

“Indoors, the material is even more durable,” says Kanis. “How can you damage it?”

Changeability
As mentioned, the sign industry has long represented a major market for magnetic sheeting. It has endured due to innovations in configurations and applications. At one point, for example, the most popular use for magnetic graphics was to attach them to vehicles.

“This made it easy for a vehicle to have two different personalities,” says Kanis, “and it’s a lot easier afterward to remove a magnet than it is to strip off a pressure-sensitive vinyl wrap.”

Only in the past decade have POP displays become the predominant application for magnetic graphics. One driving force in the retail sector is the increasing frequency of promotional campaigns, where graphics must be changed out quickly.

“Studies show consumers’ attention is drawn to things that change, so it’s in retailers’ interest to refresh their graphics regularly,” says Cirigliano.

Another factor has been the rise of magnetic-receptive systems, whereby graphics are adhered to a magnetic base material, rather than being magnetic themselves.

“Some stores cover their walls with magnetic sheeting, so magnetic-receptive graphics can be placed anywhere,” Kanis says. “It’s not uncommon to change them every four to six weeks. The staff can easily take them down and put up new ones. In fast-food restaurants, the same guy who flips the burgers is installing the graphics! That’s why magnetic-receptive signage is one of the hottest things in the market today.”

“Magnetic-receptive materials tend to be lighter and may be easier for some presses to print than magnetic sheets,” says Cirigliano. “I used to work for a fast-food chain and I know what a chore it used to be for restaurant staff to change the graphics. Now, if you run out of a special promotional item, you just pull the poster down. These are the kinds of situations where magnetic-receptive graphics really make a difference.”

Going mainstream
Today, mainstream graphic substrate manufacturers are helping meet the increased demand. Ultraflex, for example, began offering magnetic-receptive print media about a year ago.

“There’s a growing market for new and interesting ways to digitally print retail graphics,” says Kylie Schleicher, Ultraflex’s marketing manager.

The company also works with another original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Xcel Products, to source rolls of magnetic sheeting to serve as a base for changeable graphics.

“Some retailers keep a magnetic base in place on their walls,” says Schleicher, “but there are also rigid display boards available with a magnetic layer or, for that matter, magnetic paint that contains iron filings, so those are other options for coating the walls. Then, shipping the graphics themselves, which are printed on light, rollable magnetic-receptive media, costs less than it would to ship rigid graphic boards.”

With files from MagX America, Magnum Magnetics and Ultraflex. For more information, visit www.magxamerica.com[4], www.magnummagnetics.com[5] and www.ultraflexx.com[6].

Source URL: https://www.signmedia.ca/wide-format-graphics-the-advantages-of-magnetic-applications/

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