The Northern Irish signage company used Drytac SpotOn White M50 to create eye-catching ice rink board graphics for Belfast Giants games.
Signage and vehicle graphics specialist Signs Express Belfast recently used Drytac’s SpotOn White M50 monomeric PVC film to produce a series of stunning graphics for use at the home of leading Elite Ice Hockey League team, the Belfast Giants.
Part of the diverse Signs Express franchise family since 1999, Signs Express Belfast was established under the ownership of Brendan O’Donnell, who was joined by his daughter, Cathy Johnston, in 2000. Cathy took charge of the business in 2006 and has continued to lead it from strength to strength. Following Brendan’s passing in 2019, she has built on his legacy, working with clients across a wide range of printed & fabricated applications.
One such project came earlier this year when Signs Express Belfast was contacted by the Belfast Giants, a professional ice hockey team based close to the company’s location in Northern Ireland. This involved producing graphics for use around the side of the rink at the SEE Arena, where the team plays its home games.
The graphics were to be used during several games in the Champions Hockey League, the largest club ice hockey competition in Europe. This sees teams from across the continent compete to win the crown of Europe’s best ice hockey club.
Signs Express Belfast has been supplying rink side advertising solutions to the Giants since the team’s inception 25 years ago. For this project, the challenge was that the graphics were needed only for Champions Hockey League games, requiring a solution that could be easily overlaid on the permanent league graphics and removed afterwards without causing any damage.
“This involved flipping the full rink side dasher—over 165 linear metres (540 ft) of graphics,” Cathy explained. “We had two turnaround installations to complete approximately five to six weeks apart at the end of August & start of October. The Giants have local sponsor graphics permanently in place throughout the regular season, so it was crucial that their season signage remained undamaged when removing the Champions League overlays.”
Signs Express Belfast chose SpotOn White M50 for this project, a print media featuring a unique removable dot-pattern adhesive that allows for quick, clean installation and removal. Its light-blocking properties make it up to 50% more opaque than standard SpotOn White, making it ideal for overlaying graphics on existing surfaces without show-through. SpotOn White M50 was purchased from Premier GPMI, Drytac’s exclusive stockist in Ireland.
“We have used SpotOn M50 now for several of these turnarounds; the graphics are so easy to install and equally easy to remove after the event,” Cathy said.
Signs Express Belfast printed all graphics in-house on its Epson SureColor S80600. This, combined with the quality finish of the Drytac materials, resulted in high colour accuracy in each sponsor’s branding – something that was crucial given that the games were broadcast live on Sky Television.
“James Glover, Operations Manager for the Giants, was absolutely delighted with the end product, especially with how quickly we could install the full arena, which we now have down to just under three hours,” Cathy said.
“He was happy with how easy it was to remove after the games too as the arena is used for much more than just ice hockey and is constantly being flipped for events. It meant less downtime as the operations team at the arena could remove everything themselves and didn’t need any specialist training to do so.”
Signs Express Belfast is a long-time user of Drytac materials, working with its products across a whole range of similarly impressive applications. Cathy said that the company has experienced real value from its ongoing relationship with Drytac.
“Having been in the industry for more than 25 years, I am constantly impressed with the brilliant solutions that Drytac keeps innovating and bringing to market,” she said. “We also really value the efforts that Mark de Lancey, Drytac UK and Ireland Sales Manager, and Angus Murray, Sign and Display Manager at Premier GPMI make to visit us in Belfast and demo these products. Working with Premier GPMI, Drytac’s exclusive stockist in Ireland, ensures we always have access to the right materials when we need them.”
“I am a devotee of the Drytac brand and would thoroughly recommend Drytac products to anyone looking for products that solve real-world application problems, especially in the event and retail spaces.”
