Lightweight FR Booth Panel (180gsm FR)

Lightweight FR Booth Panel (180gsm FR) — The all-rounder of the range — light enough to move, dense enough to hold a photographic print, specified for trade-show graphics.

Warp-knitted polyester is the fabric most people picture when they think of a printed flag or backdrop. The loops in a knit give the cloth a little give in every direction, so it hangs without hard creases and recovers its shape after being folded into a shipping box. Dye-sublimation drives the colour into the filament itself, which is why the image reads as part of the cloth rather than a layer sitting on top of it.

Trade-show graphics travel. They get packed into a case, flown or driven across the country, assembled by whoever is on the stand that morning, and taken down again three days later — repeatedly, across a season. Fabric earns its place in that cycle because it folds without permanent creasing and pulls flat again under tension.

Best for

• SEG tension-fabric walls
• Pop-up and curved displays
• Backlit lightbox panels
• Booth headers and hanging signs
• Retractable roll-up banners

Key advantages

• Dye is absorbed into the fibre, so the printed image cannot crack, flake or peel away from the surface
• Folds down small and shakes out with very few creases — practical for teams who ship and re-hang often
• Open knit structure lets air pass through, so the panel moves in a breeze instead of fighting it
• Soft matte surface diffuses light and photographs cleanly under flash and continuous lighting
• Cuts and sews readily into hems, pole pockets and sleeves without fraying at the edge

Specifications

Choosing the right specification

Measure your frame system before anything else. SEG extrusions differ between manufacturers, and a graphic cut for the wrong groove will not seat cleanly, so tell us the frame make and model when you order. It is also worth checking your venue's own exhibitor rules early, since they can set requirements on materials and rigging that are easier to design around than to fix on site.

How ordering works

• Send your artwork — Upload print-ready artwork at any stage — we check scale, resolution and bleed before anything goes to press and come back to you if something needs adjusting.
• Made to your size — Every panel is cut and finished to your dimensions. Tell us the finished size you need and how it is being fixed, and we will allow for hems and fixings correctly.
• Printed by dye-sublimation — Colour is transferred into the polyester fibre under heat, so the image becomes part of the cloth rather than a layer sitting on top of it.
• Finished and shipped — Hems, eyelets, pole pockets, silicone edge and other finishing are applied before your order is folded, boxed and dispatched worldwide.

Related specifications

This is the 180gsm version. Other sizes and weights in the same fabric are made to order — tell us the finished dimensions you need and we will quote them.

Technical detail

How dye-sublimation colour behaves. Disperse dyes are driven into a gas phase at roughly 190-205 °C and diffuse into the polyester filament, where they are trapped as the polymer cools. Because there is no layer sitting on the surface, the printed image cannot crack, flake or peel. Colour is also wash-stable: disperse dyes on polyester routinely rate 4-5 on the ISO 105-C06 wash-fastness scale. Indoors and away from sustained ultraviolet, printed polyester holds its appearance for five years or more.

What to expect from service life. Indoors and out of direct sun, printed polyester holds its appearance for five years or more. Outdoors, published ranges for dye-sublimated polyester run from roughly six to twenty-four months depending on how exposed the position is, with the shorter end applying in high-ultraviolet regions such as the Southwest, Florida and the Gulf Coast, and in coastal or high-wind locations. Sheltered and north-facing installations reach the longer end. Coated and tarpaulin-grade constructions extend beyond that band because the coating carries the UV load.

Best suited to

Indoor and sheltered outdoor work where you want a light panel that moves with the air — flags, backdrops, promotional banners and anything that ships folded and re-hangs quickly.

Also in this range

For fully exposed permanent installations, our Oxford and coated ranges carry the weather; for a completely opaque back, see our blockout range.

Not sure which fabric is right? Order a free swatch pack and see the weight, texture and finish in your own hands before you commit to a full run.