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S I G N & D I G I T A L G R A P H I C S • June 2017 • 41 can be folded up smaller and is cheaper to ship. Its also easier to handle and you can throw it in a washing machine if it gets dirty. Vinyl on the other hand is very stiff and if you fold it, it creases. However, there are still many applications where vinyl is king such as with pole banners and other outdoor uses," he adds. Freeman says they specialize in dye sub fabric, which is well suited for short- term use for outdoors such as with tear- drops and outdoor flags. "It's a product that's in huge demand. Event banners are another big area and ideal vehicles for promoting concerts and festivals. Lastly, the trade show market is still big for us with retractable banner stands and hang- ing banners," he explains. Freeman reports that the banner market today is being driven by the web. "Clients need everything faster than ever before. The bottom certainly has dropped out on pricing over the years and it has gotten tougher to compete on larger jobs with some of the bigger shops turning out vinyl super cheap." Trending Upward Michael Compton, product mar- keting manager at Top Value Fabrics, a Carmel, Indiana-based distributor of banner materials, says the current state of the banner printing market is trend- ing upward with explosive growth. He reports that while the vinyl banner print- ing market continues to show steady growth, there is rapid growth in digital banner textile printing for many types of soft signage, banner applications and increasing creative applications. "Current trends show rapid growth in the textile banner market for environ- ments such as in-store retail, tradeshow graphics, backlit applications, banner stands, backdrops, pop-up displays as well as stretch frame systems and inte- rior décor," Compton points out. "High quality digitally printable textiles offer printers and end users tremendous vari- ety in look, texture and feel and provide designers the ability to create brilliant graphics for a multitude of applications," he adds. Double sided, lined fabric Teardrop style spinning flag for outdoor or indoor use. Made with 4 oz. woven flag material. Two prints, sewn back to back with an opaque liner. (Image courtesy of Beautiful Displays) Midnight Blockout is a knit polyester from Top Value that is engineered with a durable black back. (Image courtesy of Top Value Fabrics) Steven L. Kaplan says they offer the Miller Weldmaster Digitran, a complete digital transport sewing system for high volume production with a variety of automation options. (Images courtesy of S. Kaplan Sewing Machine Co., Inc.)