The top outdoor prints in the UK

Rob Fletcher showcases examples of the best outdoor print in the UK that are uniquely innovative.

Working in print, very rarely is each day the same. Customers are always testing their print partners with new ideas and concepts that requires printing companies to think outside the box and come up with something creative and, often, unique.

This is certainly true when it comes to the outdoor print market, where brands, retailers and other clients have to do something a little bit special to capture the attention of modern consumers. From smaller-format applications to large-scale projects, there is plenty of food for thought in this market.

Here, Rob Fletcher celebrates some of the most recent outdoor print applications that meet these criteria, paying tribute to the companies behind this work and taking a closer look at the methods used to create these innovative pieces.

Sporting success

Up first is Embrace Building Wraps, which produced a large piece of print for this year’s edition of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Working with the racing circuit, Embrace created a printed grandstand wrap for Santander - Silverstone’s official sustainability partner - for use on the seating area at the new Luffield Corner Grandstand.

Measuring 105m wide and 6m high, the piece was produced as two separate wraps, making it easier and more practical for the Embrace team to install. However, Embrace created the illusion that the wrap is just one piece, printing a vertical Velcro cover strip to hide central ties and fixings. In addition, the two sides of the grandstands are wrapped with Santander’s messaging.

As an extra element of this project, Embrace ten folded the total number of race laps at the Grand Prix - 52 - and funded the planting of 520 new trees into its global forest. On removal, Silverstone has the option to use the wrap again next year or have it sent to waste to energy or waste to recycle with FESPA Certification.

Embrace Building Wraps created large-scale graphics for use at this year’s British Grand Prix

“We are delighted to have been invited back to Silverstone to deliver such a high-profile grandstand where the wrap will be seen for the first time at the Formula 1 British Grand Prix,” said Greg Forster. managing director of Embrace. “The British Grand Prix is so much more than a race with lots of action on and off the track, so on-site branding is a dynamic way to connect with the fans.

“As one of Silverstone’s key visual solutions partners, Embrace delivered the complete project management service from running the engineers’ calculations for the wire frame system, print, install of the frames wrap.”

Remembering a legend

Staying with a UK sporting theme, FaberExposize UK, a wide-format print business based in Leeds, recently printed of a set of large memorial banners for Leeds Rhinos rugby legend, Rob Burrow, who passed away in June this year.

Commemorative crowd banners, each measuring 35m by 20m, were held aloft by fans at this year’s Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. The team at FaberExposize UK were able to work around the clock to produce the banners in time for the game, which took place just a few days after Burrow’s passing.

Burrow played almost 500 games for Leeds Rhinos before retiring in 2017. He was diagnosed with motor neurone disease just two years later, after which he spent most of his time raising awareness of the disease with fellow rugby player, Kevin Sinfield. He passed away on 2 June this year at the age of 41.

Iain Clasper-Cotte, managing director of FaberExposize UK, said: “As a Leeds based business, it was an honour for FaberExposize UK to be asked to print these memorial banners for Rob Burrow, a true Leeds legend and we are proud to have played a part in celebrating his legacy at such a prestigious event.”

Graphics on target

Outside the UK, another example of impactful outdoor print - and coincidentally another project with a sporting - Edmonton-based Pivotal Signs & Imaging produced a clever set of floor graphics for Canada’s WestJet Airlines at the 2023 edition of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Heritage Classic.

Created for a fan activation area near to the host venue, this was based around a small version of an ice hockey rink. However, the twist was that instead of the usual cold ice surface, this was transformed to mimic a sandy beach. Fans could take part in a scoring game on the surface by shooting pucks into a cut-out hole in a hockey goal.

Pivotal used Drytac Polar Grip to create the floor graphics, with the sandy beach graphics, along with the slogan ‘Love Where You’re Going’, were printed onto the vinyl using an HP Latex 700 printer. Graphics were matched with Interlam Pro Emerytex slip-rated overlaminate to protect the graphic and ensure the safety of those shooting pucks.

Canada’s Pivotal Signs & Imaging produced floor graphics mimicking an ice hockey rink, with sand replacing the traditional ice surface

“The vinyl was chosen to stick to a hard plastic surface that had low surface energy,” said Pivotal president Jody Gough said. “We needed it to stay down for two days, and the textured laminate was to insure no one slipped while shooting pucks. Over 2,000 people shot pucks off this with no slips and very little damage to the vinyl!”

Extreme conditions

Rounding off this article with an extreme endurance challenge featuring former HP manager Nick Hollis. PressOn used its HP Latex R2000 and HP Latex 3600 to produce specialist decals for use on a boat that Hollis used to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Decals on Nick Hollis’s boat remained intact despite facing the Atlantic Ocean for 50 days

Hollis spent 50 days at sea aboard “Kraken”, rowing more than 3,000 miles from the Canary Islands to Antigua in the Caribbean. He overcame strong winds, rough seas and extreme weather systems, leaving him one trial short of completing the 721 Challenge. An intense test of human endeavour and endurance, the 721 Challenge comprises 10 extreme trials: scaling the seven largest peaks in the world, ski to both the North and South Poles, and row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

The decals installed on the boat featured the names of the many sponsors that backed Hollis during his challenge. Graphics were printed on HEXIS THE190EUO vinyl and laminated with HEXIS PCI90G2 - with all decals remaining intact throughout the challenged despite facing extreme conditions.

“When I arrived in Antigua, Kraken, having endured 50 days of rough seas and intense UV exposure, still looked great,” Hollis said. “The exposed ropes and plastics had faded in the sun, but the HP Latex graphics looked brand new!”

HP is now set to provide decal for the specialist sledge that will accompany him on his solo trek to the North Pole, which, in doing so, will see Hollis complete the 721 Challenge.

“Given the dramatic loss of summer sea ice in the Arctic during the past 50 years, I intend to use my journey to the pole to showcase the impact climate change is having on planet Earth,” he said. “I’m delighted that HP will provide the decal for my expedition sledge. The conditions in the Arctic will be the complete opposite to the Atlantic, with temperatures dropping below negative 30°C.”

These are just some of the many, many examples of eye-catching, impressive outdoor print projects in recent months. Thinking outside the box and exploring new application ideas with your customers and clients could open doors to all manner of work.

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