Escape 2 The Sands required a redesign of its booking office reception area and tasked fellow Scarborough-based business Adverset with a brief to make the plain white breeze-block walls more attractive to customers.
“We’d already previously produced some personalised wallpapers for their boardroom and customer corridor entrance suite, which they were delighted with,” said Adverset managing director John Easby.
“Being directly on the seafront gave us the inspiration and vision to create a vibrant, tropical underwater theme, revamping a breeze-blocked, tiresome wall to exude the five-star atmosphere of the apartments.”
Adverset looked for a substrate that would properly adhere to the outline of the breeze blocks and were introduced by Antalis UK to 96 micron satin white polymeric high-grade calendered ‘high-tack’ vinyl Coala Supertack.
“We’d previously tested out Supertack on a wall in our offices, but this was our first live installation,” said Easby.
“We did originally consider a cheaper alternative, however Supertack had a longer lifespan (five years) and during initial tests it was clear that it was a much more durable substrate and less prone to shrinkage.
“Antalis provided us with a trial sample, and we quickly came to the conclusion that the quality of the substrate was too good to pass up. The increased cost was easily overshadowed by the reduction in application time and ease of use.”
Adverset designed and then printed the imagery onto 30sqm of the Coala Supertack vinyl using an HP Latex 360 printer. There was no need for any additional varnishing or finishing techniques.
The vinyl was then installed on-site to the wall over the course of two days using a heat gun and a rubber squeegee to mould it into the shape of the brickwork.
“Many substrates would struggle to cope with being applied to a breeze-block wall, however, (using heat methods) Supertack effortlessly moulded into all of the curves,” said Easby.
“It sank deeper into the brickwork channels without splitting, unlike cheaper substrates we had considered using.”
Escape 2 The Sands director Rachel Dean said: “Adverset have carried out a superb job on our office feature wall. From the initial design process through to installation it was a first-class job. The feature wall looks amazing and makes the office feel like a really unique place to work.”
Alongside the HP Latex 360, Adverset Media Solutions also operates a Mimaki CJV30-160 wide-format printer, a five-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster 52 with coater, a two-colour Speedmaster 52, a Linoprint C751 digital printer and finishing kit including booklet makers, trimmers, folders, cutters and laminators.
The business, which has 22 staff, serves B2B and B2C customers as well as the entertainment sector. Alongside Adverset Display, the company also has a standalone wallpaper operation called Pictowall.