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Flex Face questions
we done a few flex faces over the years, in Devon we dont get to do many but question came up about how long they last.
So, how long under sunlight would you expect a decent quality flex face banner to last before it fails? I seen some banners in the past start cracking after several years.
How about tension, i know u can tense it up but would it sag over 3-4 years time?
Wonder if anyone who’s in a more built up area let me know a few tips on this, what would you say is a lifespan of these signs considering we could use ali and get away with no maintenance.
p.s. no lights in this one.
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2 Replies
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I have done a few large ones and they are holding up well. I had them liquid laminated as well. Well worth the extra expense. They have been up at least 5 years now. I can see a bit of fading purely because I know what to look for but the customer wouldn’t even notice unless I point it out to him.
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Dave
Depends what you’re doing with the flexible skin
If you’re decorating with vinyl you should use a specifically designed skin with a top coat to protect from plastisizer migration – We’ve used Seemee IV from Verseidag for years …… never had a problem. Products such as Seemee IV or Panaflex 945 they will normally carry a 8 to 10 year warranty if decorated with a cast film such as 3M 3630 or 100 series or Avery 5500 or 900 series. If you use a polymeric calandered film then warranty will only be good as the film, typically 5 to 7 years. Both Seemee and Panaflex work with standard vinyls … no need for banner films. If the skin does not have top coat designed for vinyl you will experience plastisizer migration, the plastizers will escape from the flex skin and attack the PVC film creating an effect of wrinkling or crazing of the vinyl. Saw this not so long ago on a famous American fried chicken franchise …. looked horrendous …… the flexible skin not the chicken !
You can also print directly through ink jet with these products and you should get up to 5 years but as Mike suggested you may experience some fading as the pigments in the ink won’t last like a good quality self coloured film.
Watch out for some of the Asian imported flexible skins, we’ve tried some and experienced inconsistency in top coats and difficulty with adhesion of film or ink – Also some of these products are more likely to yellow over time as their UV stability may not be as good.
Regarding the tensioning question, again if using a good quality flexible skin look for a weight of at least 680 g/sq m and it must be scrimmed. Most of these products are designed to be held under tension for years.
Hope this helps
Stuart
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