Ynot Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 I've been asked to look at the option of having our panto backcloths custom made this year and one of the producers found this place - Banners of China - who seem to fit the bill, sort of. The cost is about 4 times that which we normally hire in for a fortnight's run, but we obviously get the pictures that we want on them rather than having to hunt around for something suitable. BUT I have a few concerns. First of all I can't find anything yet that states the cloths have any fire retardency. The quote that this producer had from a basic enquiry listed the following:"Material --- 8oz/240gsm wrinkle resistant poplin fabric. Washable, ironable, scratch resistant, lightweight, UV & water resistant, fold up to store in a small bag easily, fully recyclable." There is also no obvious mention of delivery costs, nor anything I can see as yet regarding import taxes to the UK from the Far East. Finally, China is a LONG ways away if there's anything not quite right with the product, and investing over 3 grand in cloths does make me twitch (on their behalf) a little... So - has anyone had any direct dealings with this company, or indeed any other similar cloth printing operation? Either in the FE or even UK/Europe? Update:Had a very speedy response from China! Carriage would be around £300 GBP for 4 cloths, and they say all VAT and UK import taxes would be included in their price!And they advise that the cloths are FR to "DIN 4102 B1", which would appear to be a European standard. Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth A Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Well I am sure someone will mention projection instead?! Ill ask some of my chinese technicians, they are involved in theatre over here in places, so might have come across them at some point. If they were in Shanghai, I would have popped down and looked myself for you but they seen to be a little far away! Can you ask them to supply references for companies in the UK that have used them and contact them and ask?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 Well I am sure someone will mention projection instead?!You can mention projection, but quite honestly that's not really a viable otion at all. Projected images do have a place in performances, but not in traditional theatrescapes for many obvious reasons.Can you ask them to supply references for companies in the UK that have used them and contact them and ask?!Yes, that is also one of the questions I've asked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth A Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Dont worry - I wasnt going to mention it. None of the guys here have heard of this company, but being Chinese, they know people who know people so will try and enquire and get any useful information. Will let you know how I get on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 None of the guys here have heard of this company, but being Chinese, they know people who know people so will try and enquire and get any useful information. Will let you know how I get on.Thanks. Or indeed any other companies offering similar. I'd also be interested to hear how such printed cloths stand up to being rolled, folded and creased durin g show use and storage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Sunbaba are a great UK company who offer this as a servicehttp://www.sunbaba.co.uk/products/theatre.html Never used them for backcloths but I've had a lot of PA scrims and large scale advertising stuff made by them. Always helpful and able to produce stuff at the very last minute... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 Sunbaba are a great UK company who offer this as a servicehttp://www.sunbaba.c...ts/theatre.htmlThanks - fired a mail to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Theres no mechanism for the senders in china to pre-pay the uk import duties / vat etc. they're clearly confusing the EXPORT taxes at their end with uk import costs so be prepared for that extra cost.Before you confirm your order make sure you have the terms and specifications (dimension, retardancy, etc) all written on the actual invoice (you're dealing with a sales rep who will say anything to get the job) and make it a,condition of the order that they send you high res photos of all the cloths BEFORE they dispatch them so that you can ensure the artwork is correct and the colours consistent.T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfmonk Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I would imagine you and / or the LA would have to do their own flame tests on these. So always perhaps worth insisting that the company provide an offcut of the same material for you to test? Sometime's LA inspectors are happy with that and so you donm't risk scorching your lovely new printed backdrops. The only people I know in the UK who do this are Rock Drops (http://www.rockdrops.com/) , G is the chap in charge there and might be worth asking to quote. Cheers, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 To be honest I can't see us buying into this as an option simply because of the costs involved as well as the questions that occur to me, and those that have been raised here also.But it's always interesting to see what others think or may have experienced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerry davies Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 There are now loads of large format printers around. Xtreme Graphics do those huge flags and banners that cover half a stand at Wembley, Geoff Hills at Roustabout Tents has his own printer for marquees and circus tents which should be able to print on anything, GCB and Rockdrops can organise anything and of course Sunbaba, though not exactly cheap, are top dogs (and good people). All the above can sort out fire certification of some kind. All of them will happily talk you through precise details without hard-selling you into penury so a few calls and chats might offer knowledge for the future, if not this particular project. GCB should be out from under Hyde Park and Geoff should be at home but Sunbaba and Xtreme are always available. Google is your friend otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Ynot Hollywood Monster in Birmingham are who we use for our large format printing, I will dig the number out and PM it over for you Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grum Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 +1 for Rockdrops, all their drapes come with a fire cert stitched to the drape at the bottom so you never lose it and you can see it when the drape is hung. All their drapes are printed using a process called dye sub which actually dyes the fabric rather than paints colour on top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_R Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 No direct experience, but a couple of years ago I was talking to a company at the abtt show which might be of interest;http://www.imagefabrication.co.uk/index.html Regards,Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 Thanks for the feedback guys.As expected the idea is well and truly off the table (and I suspect it was never really ON the table to be honest!).It may be useful to bear the options in mind for future possibilities though. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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