31 Jan 2024

New possibilities for building surfaces with 3M

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Many textured building surfaces have hitherto proved ‘off-limits’ for promotional signs and graphics because there has never been a graphic film that could effectively be applied to them. Now, however, these frequently bland and architecturally uninteresting surfaces can be dramatically brought to life with eye-catching and photographic-quality graphics following the introduction of 3M™ Scotchcal™ IJ8624/8624ES Graphic Film for Textured Surfaces.

This highly conformable 50-micron cast film has been developed specifically to allow colourful promotional graphics to be applied to moderately textured flat or curved surfaces as diverse as concrete block, brick, tile, poured cement and stucco. The film will conform and mould over indoor and outdoor textured, painted or unpainted surfaces and is sufficiently flexible to wrap around columns. A wide range of textured surfaces, found typically at sports venues, within inner town and city locations and throughout selective retail outlets and public buildings, can now be dramatically transformed to accommodate a wide range of graphics requirements and to thus generate valuable additional revenue streams.

3M IJ8624/8624ES, which includes the dimensionally stable 3M Scotchcal 8524 Luster Overlaminate, can be used to create photographic-quality images in any size, shape or design that can be easily, cleanly and purposely removed by the application of heat at the end of any tactical marketing campaign without any impairment of the underlying substrate and at a much lower cost than conventional painted graphics. The film has a high level of resistance to the effects of weathering, chemicals and other pollutants and provides outstanding hiding power on any substrate colour due to the incorporation of a powerful and application-sensitive grey pigmented adhesive.

The removable white graphic film can be printed using either solvent-based inkjet or electrostatic printing processes and has a predicted outdoor life span of up to six months and a minimum two years’ durability when used internally. 3M IJ8624/8624ES is available from 3M’s primary distributors William Smith and Spandex.