Blog authored by Dennis Leblanc, Senior Business Development Manager – North America at Drytac.

With the chill of winter now very much in the air, the minds of print service providers, sign-makers and specialist installers begin to turn to how they are going to cope with installing graphics in cold conditions.

While keeping themselves warm in often-sub-zero temperatures is one thing, ensuring that graphics are installed properly and do not fail is a different matter altogether. After all, the last thing you want is a graphic installation failure that could have been avoided with proper research.

Traditionally, pressure-sensitive print media has a minimum application temperature of 5˚C (41˚F), which in cooler climates only allows for graphic installation for half of the year. When choosing a print media, it is important to select one that has an application temperature to match your climate.

Drytac has several solutions that are cold weather install rated down to as cold as -20˚C (-4˚F). In fact, the aptly named Polar range features products that are all designed with low temperatures in mind, from installation, throughout the life of the graphic, and its removal.

The Drytac Polar range comprises a full selection of media for almost any graphics project need including:

• Polar Grip
• Polar Premium Removable (North America)
• Polar Premium Clear
• Polar Premium Air P
• Polar Dynamic Clear R
• Polar Blockout
• Polar Street FX
• Polar Smooth 150
• Polar Smooth 150 Air
• Polar Transit
• Polar Transit Air

Polar Transit, for example, is often used for NHL rink board advertising across the US and Canada, demonstrating its durability in low temperatures during action-packed ice hockey games, just as much as for bus graphic applications.

The entire Polar range is extremely versatile; Polar Smooth 150, Polar Smooth 150 Air, and Polar Grip also fit the bill for the lifespan required and ease of application for rink boards, as well as multiple other cold weather applications.

Then there is the Drytac Air range of products – Polar Premium Air P, Polar Smooth 150 Air and Polar Transit Air – all of which have an air egress release liner with bubble-free technology allowing for easy-to-apply graphics without the need for wet installation. This is absolutely key in cold weather environments as it eliminates the need for messy or frozen wet graphic installations, making the whole process much easier for installers.

Crucial to the success of a cold weather application projects is selecting the perfect combination of film, laminate (if necessary), and adhesive. If you’ve got any queries, Drytac’s knowledgeable experts are able to advise which products will best suit the application you are working on.

Authored by Glen Fitzgerald, Technical Sales Manager, at Drytac; and Daniel Farias, Technical Engineer, at Drytac.

Wide format is regarded as one of the most exciting areas of the print industry, with one of the main reasons for this being that every day is varied. Each customer you deal with will want something different; every project will have unique specifications; and, to some extent, every surface has distinctive properties that will affect how a graphic film can adhere.

One of the main, stand-out trends in the current market is short-term branding for special events, pop-up stores and other promotional activities. This has led to a spike in demand for films with removable adhesives – products that adhere well to most surfaces, but are only required to do so temporarily.

While traditional removable adhesive technologies are proving popular with printers, once these materials are applied to a substrate, they don’t always offer a good option for repositioning or re-use if desired, thus limiting their use.

Then throw in the fact that the removable adhesive will provide an increased bond over time and can turn permanent after six months. This may result in difficulty removing the product, excess adhesive residue that needs to be cleaned up, or even worse, damage to the substrate, which might be a display window, painted wall surface or high-end flooring.

For situations like this, Drytac ReTac repositionable adhesive technology offers the perfect solution for printers, providing excellent adhesive qualities, with the ability to both reposition and reuse the graphics.

So, what is ReTac adhesive technology? What makes such a unique process possible? When Drytac formulates the ReTac adhesive, it uses larger spherical particles which, although individually invisible, together they have a noticeable effect.

When dried, these spherical particles will break up the continuity of the surface of the adhesive since contact is limited to the tangent point of the sphere. As such, this limited contact results in low peel adhesion levels, as well as removability and stable peel adhesion over time.

Comparing these products with typical removable adhesive technologies, the more traditional materials are produced using smaller adhesive particles, which, when dry, form a continuous film. These products create a larger surface area over which an adhesive bond can form, so peel strength will be initially higher and will increase over time.

While these products may indeed be removable, they are not intended for continual re-adherence, and as a result will limit the user to what they can achieve with their printed graphics.

So, what are the benefits of Drytac’s ‘microsphere’ adhesive technology over traditional options? First and foremost, Drytac ReTac is low peel and offers high removability with no residue. The fact it can be repositioned and reused means less waste over time.

As these materials are suitable for use across a wide range of substrates and surfaces, they make an ideal choice for use in short-term graphics projects such as wall graphics, temporary signage and repositionable notes.

Add in that they are friendly to the environment since they are water-based, and it is easy to see why ReTac is fast becoming the product of choice for many print service providers.

To further support customers with their choice of product when applying wall graphics and similar applications, Drytac has produced a dedicated Wall Surfaces Guide. This easy-to-digest guide sets out how the type of surface will have an impact on the adhesive bond of materials, and offers expert advice on the different types of surfaces and how these may impact performance.

To access Drytac’s Wall Surfaces Guide, please click here.