GB2472101A

GB2472101A - Advertising and display structures

Info

Publication number: GB2472101A
Application number: GB0912954A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Boris Frederik Benjamin Pascal Wieser; Kaori Okano; Alexander Stuart Dowdeswell
Original assignee: NATURAL ADCAMPAIGN Ltd
Current assignee: NATURAL ADCAMPAIGN Ltd
Priority date: 2009-07-24
Filing date: 2009-07-24
Publication date: 2011-01-26
Also published as: WO2011010164A2; GB0912954D0; WO2011010164A3

Abstract

Advertising and display structures are disclosed which consist of a support which carries a suitable advertising or display material. This consists of a natural fibre textile material strengthened with a coated backing or a backing laminated thereto, and printed with the desired advertising or display message. The printing is preferably by way of screen printing or digitally controlled inkjet printing. By careful selection of materials, extremely ecologically friendly advertisement and display materials can be produced which are capable of rapid biodegradation without imposing unsatisfactory environmental load.

Description

ADVERTSNG AND DSPLAY STRUCTURES

ThFs nvention relates to advertising and display structures, for example external adverUsing signs, biUboards, posters and the ike, as we as internal displays, for example instore advertising banners or posters, pointofsale displays, and informational signage, particularly temporary signs and placards.

Although "high tech" advertising structures, such as large-scale electronic screens, back projection arrangements and electronicaHy driven displays, have in recent years secured a certain amount of the advertising and display market, by far the majority of advertising and display consists of some form of "message" which may be pur&y pictorial, verbal, or a combination of the two, applied to a paper or plastics-based structure by an appropriate printing method.

Much advertising and display material is ephemeral, and accordingly the advertising industry generates substantial quantities of display material which is needing to be regularly disposed of. Although paper and plastics materials can be recycled in appropriate circumstances, they are rarely designed to be so.

The present invention seeks to provide advertising and display media which are inherently more eco-friendly and, in particular, which are adapted fOr easy recycling or biodegradation.

According generally to the present invention, there is provided an advertising or display structure consisting of a support and one or more sheets of printed advertising or display material, wherein the sheet(s) consists of a natura fibre-based fabric and a strengthening material applied thereto.

The strengthening material may take the form of a coating designed to increase the tensUe strength and dimensional stabihty of the texthe fabric, where it may consist of a sheet of strengthening material am mated to the textUe fabric.

The natural fibrebased textile fabric is preferably exclusively made of natural fibre, for example jute, hemp, calico, hessian, cotton, bamboo, ramie, nettle or linen. Textile fabrics may be made from aH of these materials by a variety of known techniques, though, for the purposes of the invention, the preferred method of manufacture is by weaving. The thickness, basis weight, texture and other properties may be varied wid&y, with thinner, lighter, finer textured materials generaHy being preferred for relatively smaH displays, while heavier coarser texture materials are more suited to, for example, outside poster advertising.

n terms of the strengthening material, the preferred method is to apply a layer of rubbery material to the textile material, either from one side or both sides. Application may be by coating or spraying, and the rubbery material may be applied in the form of an emulsion or solution. The coating material should be one which bonds well to the fibres of the textile fabric and preferably is one which is absorbed between them to create a substantially more dimensionally stable and stronger sheet material.

Alternatively, as indicated above, the textile fabric may be strengthened by the application thereto, for example, using a lamination process, of a suitable sheet material. Preferred sheet materials are paper, plastics film and cardboard, but preferably in all cases made from recycled paper, plastics or cardboard. Such recycled backing materials are adequate to impart the necessary strengthening, but tend to be considerably more easily degradable than sheets not made from recycled material, Alternatively, plywood or MDF sheets may be used, or magnetic plastics sheeting, all of which, though not so easily decomposed, may be easily separated from the textile fabric.

The preferred lamination method is adhesive lamination using a biodegradable adhesive material.

Composite sheet materials consisting of a textile sheet and a strengthening or backing as just described tend not to be very white, but an increase in whiteness may be easily achieved if the backing material is itself rendered whiter by bleaching or by the appropriate admixture of whitening material, such as an environmentally friendly white dye or the composite sheet material may be subjected, prior to the application of the printing, to an overall whitening treatment, for example coating with a white reflective layer.

If desired, in certain applications, the support material may be coloured other than white, for example by dyeing or pigmenting.

The printing of the advertising message, pictorial display or design on to the composite sheet material described above may take place by any appropriate method. Preferred methods are screen printing and digitally controlled inkjet printing. In either case, the jet inks or screen inks used are preferably made wholly or predominantly of environmentally friendly rather than synthetic materials as this assists the biodegradability of the final advertising or display item.

If desired, other or further protective coatings may be applied, for example a fire-resistant coating and/or an overprint coating designed to render the viewed surface water resistant This is of particular importance in the case of outdoor advertising.

The advertising and display materials described above may be mounted in the desired position on conventional support for such advertising and displays, for example wooden hoardings or appropriate display stands or frames. Preferably the mounting is by means of fbdngs which are themselves biodegradable, for example biodegradable adhesives or biodegradable tapes.

A major advantage of the advertising and display structures in accordance with the present invention is that, at the end of the time for which the advertisement or display is allotted, the composite sheet material which has formed the advertisement or display may be simply removed and easily disposed of without constituting a substantial burden on the environment. n particular, in preferred embodiments according to the invention, the entire material is simply and rapidly biodegradable, which biodegradation process may take place rapidly and in an environmentally friendly fashion to leave little in the way of "carbon footprint".

The present invention may be applied over a wide range of sizes for advertising and display products. Depending upon the nature of the support and the size chosen, the degree of strengthening imparted to the natural fibrebased textile material may be adjusted so as to impart sufficient strengthening for the intended service life, but not to oveNstrengthen the material which would be pointless.

The following examples will serve to illustrate the invention.

EXAMPLE I

External Advertising Hoarding An external advertising hoarding was provided with an advertising message consisting of a standard number of standard size sheets by adhering each sheet to the hoarding (or to the previous advertisement carried by the hoarding) using a biodegradable glue (Auro� Natural Resin Universal Adhesive 380).

Each sheet consisted of a rectangular piece of finely woven hessian cloth of basic weight 305 gsm on to which a natural latex rubberising coaling, dyed to match the natural hessian colour) had been apphed at a coating weight of 108 gsm, using a spray or roller application followed by drying.

The individual sheets were then printed with part of the overall advertising design using a flatbed digital printer (type Vutek�) which was computer controlled and where the individual "tiles" of the original computergenerated design were printed on to the respective individual sheets.

At the end of the advertising campaign, the sheets were simply pulled off from the advertising hoarding and composted.

EXAMPLE 2

n:store Suspended QjpJays Sheets of 100% organic cotton fabric of basis weight 146 gsm were roller coated on one side with a strengthening solution consisting of a natural latex rubber dyed to match the fabric colour, at a coating weight of 212 gsm.

The resulting fabric could be silk screen printed, either on the side bearing the coating or on the fabric side with a high definition logo, legend or advertising message of pictorial, verbal or mixed pictorial and verbal nature.

The edges of the sheet were then adhered using a biodegradable adhesive (Auro� Natural Resin Universal Adhesive 380) to a rectangular card frame made of recycled cardboard 2mm thick. Two holes punched in the corners of the frame allowed the placard thereby created to be suspended from a ceiling in a supermarket or like store environment using the customary suspension apparatus.

Numerous variations may be made to suit particular circumstances, but, in all cases, the advertising and display material, once it has served its purpose, may be easily and rapidly biodegraded with minimal environmental impact.

Claims

CLAMS1. An advertising or dFsplay structure consisling of a support and one or more sheets of printed advertising or display materiaL wherein the sheet(s) consists of a natural fibrebased fabric and a strengthening material appHed thereto.
2. A structure according to Claim 1 wherein the strengthening material is a coating designed to increase the tensile strength and dimensional stability of the textile fabric.
3. A structure according to Claim 2 wherein the strengthening material is a layer of rubbery material applied to one or both sides of the textile material.
4. A structure according to Claim I wherein the strengthening material is a sheet laminated to the textile fabric.
5. A structure according to Claim 4 wherein the sheet laminated to the textile fabric is of paper, plastics film, cardboard, plywood or MDF.
6. A structure according to Claim 5 wherein the lamination is effected by adhesive lamination using a biodegradable adhesive material.
7. A structure according to any one of Claims I to 6 wherein the natural fibrebased textile fabric is made of one or more of jute, hemp, calico, hessian, cotton, bamboo, ramie, nettle or linen fibre.
8. A structure according to any one of Claims I to 7 wherein the textile fabric has been rendered whiter by bleaching or by the application of whitening material thereto.
S. A structure according to any one of Claims 1 to 8 wheren the printing of an adverUsing message, pictorial display or design on to the material is by screen printing or digitally controlled inkjet printing.
10. A structure according to any one of Claims I to 9 and including a fire resistant coating and/or an overprint coating designed to render the viewed surface water resistant.
11. A structure according to any one of Claims I to 10 wherein the support is a wooden hoarding or a standard display stand or frame and the one or more sheets are attached thereto by means of biodegradable adhesives or biodegradable tapes.