Sport & Venue
Procura Unistretch fabric graphics for a travelling fan event
Tensioned fabric graphics on Procura Unistretch, produced for Taylor Group at NHL Fanfair. A touring fan event is built and struck repeatedly in different buildings, by a different crew each time, and the graphics package has to survive that cycle without needing rework or replacement between cities.
What the job demanded
A travelling event is a logistics job with a graphics component. Everything in the kit is loaded, freighted, unloaded, built, struck and loaded again, often within days, and every one of those handling steps is an opportunity for damage. Rigid graphics fail this test twice over: they take volume in the truck, and once a panel is creased or scuffed there is no repairing it on the road. Floor plans change from venue to venue, so elements need to work in more than one configuration rather than only in the layout they were designed for. Crews are local and different every time, which means assembly has to be legible without a briefing, and anything that can be built the wrong way round eventually will be.
How it was produced
Procura Unistretch is a tensioned fabric system: the printed skin is stretched over an aluminium frame and held by tension rather than glued to a substrate. That single decision solves most of the touring problem. The skins come off, fold and travel in soft cases at a fraction of the volume of rigid panels; creases from packing relax out under tension or with a steamer; and a knock deforms the surface momentarily instead of denting it permanently. Frames break down into components that assemble on keyed connectors, so a crew can put a run together by hand and cannot easily join the wrong parts. Because hardware and graphic are separate, a damaged skin is replaced on its own, and the same frames accept new artwork for the next leg without any change to the structure.
