And while no one truly expects a butterfly to emerge, the cocoon itself is a remarkable example of bright and beautiful print, painstakingly applied by specialist wide-format printer Embrace Building Wraps.
What was produced?
Embrace was tasked with covering several distinct components on the building’s massive facade. In all, 1,245sqm of print was produced, divided between mounted fabric panels, self-adhesive vinyl, and rigid boards.
The fabric, mounted on Keder rail, was to cover 15 existing backlit panels above the bus station, with 750sqm of fabric then printed over nine separate faces on an angled glazed wall.
Embrace was likewise tasked with wrapping the shopping centre’s glass atrium – achieved with 120sqm of self-adhesive vinyl – and protecting the bottom section of the walls against vandalism, achieved with rigid ACP panels.
What did the job entail?
Embrace’s fabric substrates – DPM Vision 440gsm for the angled wall, and DPM Vision Ultimate 610gsm – were both printed on the firm’s Durst Rho 512R roll-to-roll UV printer, before being mounted in place.
The team selected Mactac’s WindowView perforated window film, with a 60/40 hole ratio for the atrium, printed one-way on an HP Latex 3600 dual roll water-based printer.
Greg Forster, Embrace’s managing director, explained: “It brought bold colour to the exterior, but still allows plenty of light into the centre.”
The Latex likewise tackled the ACP panels: printed onto Metamark’s MD5 flexible substrate with matt laminate, the design was then pressure applied onto 3mm panels.
The team cut all materials on its Kongsberg iXP24 cutting bed, or by hand.
What challenges were overcome?
Working in a high footfall location, working day and night with restricted access, and a bus station open all hours, as well as taxi rank and delivery bay was no mean feat.
“The main challenge,” Forster said however, “was that on completion, the whole install needed to blend together and achieve the desired colour. The client was after an almost seamless effect,” he explained.
“Try doing that using five different substrates on two different machines.”
What was the feedback?
Delivered on time and to budget, the project has been a real success, with the shopping centre transformed and fulfilling its fuchsia future.
Leanne Hudson, Savills project manager for the Merry Hill centre, said: “I’m delighted with the impact of the sizeable façade wrap installed by Embrace, it has significantly added to the feeling of Merry Hill as a retail destination with a bright future.”
