Vinyl Wrapped Chairs (Adobe PDF, 142K)

Making Your Advertising Stick


Graphic printers are constantly on the lookout for new products that will make potential clients stop and engage in a brand or logo for longer than a perfunctory glance. It’s why one company recently jumped at the chance to be one of the only known suppliers for a promotional graphics chair in the United States.

Popular in parts of Europe and Asia, vinyl-wrapped chairs encourage consumers to rest and take a longer look at a particular advertisement. The US supplier’s principal said he spent a good 20 minutes examining a digitally printed chair the first time he saw it in Europe.

The wrapped, promotional chairs are made of polypropylene and designed as smooth and bendable as a couch. The US distributor of the chairs notes that printing shops do not print directly onto the chairs. Instead, they print on vinyl, over-laminate the vinyl and stick it on the chair as they would with a vehicle.

Areas well-suited for the chairs include:

• Trade-show booths
• Conventions/seminars
• Corporate lobby/waiting areas
• Retail point-of-purchase
• Special events (such as promoting an upcoming exhibit at a museum)
• Daycare centers/play areas

The biggest market to latch onto the chairs has been the trade-show industry, suppliers say. Digitally printed chairs have been a hit for trade show booths, both as seats for people working in the booths and reinforcements of a particular brand or logo.

For companies that want to change out their advertising, suppliers advise them to use removable vinyl or apply graphics on portions of the chair.

A blank, large chair at 81 cm (32 inches) high with the carrying case costs roughly $190 (the chairs also come in small and medium). The US supplier plans to soon release a starter kit that includes a set of chairs, table and child’s chair, giving customers all the staples they would need to set up a promotional sitting area.

Additionally, the chairs feature a couch kit accessory that can help turn several chairs into a long couch or tower.

Print shops can use a host of digital devices to print on the vinyl, which include thermal, solvent and even aqueous-based inkjet printers. However, distributors advise not to use UV-curable inks because they aren’t as flexible on the vinyl and have a tendency to crack. Once the image is printed, it should be over-laminated with any assortment of finishing options to give it outdoor durability.

The US distributor provides the graphic printing or at least a graphic printing template that helps print shops lay down the graphics so they fit properly on the chair.

Then, applicators lay down the vinyl pieces by hand or using a laminator, making sure to trim off the excess material. Chair distributors say the application takes on average 20 to 30 minutes each, depending on the graphics being applied.

And while there is no official weight capacity, suppliers say the chairs can comfortably handle up to 350 pounds without collapsing. With posters and signs becoming normal fare in the advertising world, chairs serve as a new venue for marketers to promote their message.

A main supplier of promotional chairs is SGIA member Graphics Gallery (Glen Allen, Virginia), a large-format graphic printing company. For more information about Graphics Gallery’s SitOnIt chair, visit the company’s Web site at www.graphicsgallery.com or call 804.270.5300.