Silicone-edge graphics

Silicone-edge graphics for textile frames

A silicone-edge graphic is a printed textile with a plastic strip stitched along its edges. That strip slides into a groove in the aluminium frame and pulls the fabric completely taut. The result is a seamless, crease-free image with no visible fixings — no eyelets, no tensioners, no edges.

We print and supply silicone-edge graphics for textile frames and light boxes, for businesses, shops, trade fairs, offices, care institutions and event organisers, both for existing frames and in combination with a new frame.

Why this system beats a conventional banner

A conventional banner is tensioned with eyelets and tensioners, and that tension is never even. Pull creases form around the fixing points, and the image ripples.

With a silicone-edge graphic the tension is spread across the whole perimeter. That gives a flat surface that looks high-end, even at large sizes. An added benefit: the fabric can be changed in minutes without tools. You pull the old one out and slide the new one in. For anyone changing by season or by campaign, that is the whole argument — the frame stays, only the fabric changes.

Materials

• Standard polyester textile: matt, light and colourfast. The choice for non-illuminated indoor frames.
• Backlit textile: translucent, designed for illuminated frames. The thickness and the fibre structure stop the LED modules behind it showing as individual dots. An ordinary fabric in a light box does show those dots.
• Blockout textile: with a blocking layer, for double-sided frames so the two images do not show through one another.
• Flame-retardant textile: with the necessary certificates. In publicly accessible buildings, exhibition halls and care institutions that is usually a requirement rather than an option. We supply the certificate with it.
• Acoustic textile: combined with an absorbent infill behind the fabric, so an image wall also dampens sound.

Artwork and finishing

The size of the fabric is not the same as the visible size of the frame. Perimeter is lost in the hem, and the fabric is deliberately made slightly smaller than the frame so that it comes up under tension. That undersize differs by profile type.

So always give us the profile type or the make of the frame, or let us measure the frame. A fabric printed to the visible size will not fit — it either sags or will not go in. We keep the dimensions on file per customer, so a reorder years later is right first time.

One more point: allow in the design for the zone that disappears behind the frame edge. Text or logos too close to the edge get partly swallowed.

Care and service life

Silicone-edge graphics are washable. A fabric that is dirty after a trade fair can be washed at low temperature and refitted slightly damp; the last creases pull out under tension by themselves. That is a real advantage over PVC banners, which cannot be washed.

Store fabrics rolled or loosely folded, not under other material. A sharp crease left under pressure for months stays visible.

What determines the price?

Silicone-edge graphics have no fixed price per square metre. The cost follows from the size, the type of textile — standard, backlit, blockout, flame retardant or acoustic —, whether it is single or double sided, the number of fabrics, because the set-up cost of the printing is spread across the run, whether we produce the design or you supply the file, and whether the frame is included or already in place.

Give us the frame size or the profile type and the quantity you need, and you will receive a quotation per specification.

Ordering a fabric

Send us the dimensions of your frame, or a photo of the profile if you do not know the type. We will work out the correct undersize and supply a fabric that fits.