Does anyone have experience with printing their own backdrops and can recommend a good company which can do it for me? I’m looking to print some of my digital backdrops I designed as physical backdrops. Ideally they would be printed on fleece or muslin material, with a pocket for easy slip on the backdrop stand. Anti-wrinkle and easy storage properties would be a huge bonus :) I will be looking forward to hearing your recommendations. Thank you!
While I can’t comment from personal experience, Kate Backdrops do reasonably priced custom printed backdrops that meet all the criteria you specify. (Pockets, anti-crease, easy storage). I used to use their pre-printed ones, before I moved to (much more expensive) hand painted ones and they worked well.
https://www.katebackdrop.co.uk/pages/custom-backdrops
Edited by JonC
Thank you for replying JonC I really appreciate it. I wanted to stay away from Kate Backdrops specifically, because I heard they steal from designers.
Yes, it’s a real pity as otherwise it would have ticked all the boxes :(
At first I wanted to hand paint the fabric backdrop myself with acrylic paints, but I realised I wouldn’t be able to fold it once the paint dries, so I would have to permanently hang it somewhere, hence my idea of custom printing.
Darkpurity's Art said
Yes, it’s a real pity as otherwise it would have ticked all the boxes :(
At first I wanted to hand paint the fabric backdrop myself with acrylic paints, but I realised I wouldn’t be able to fold it once the paint dries, so I would have to permanently hang it somewhere, hence my idea of custom printing.
You can get flexible acrylic paints, though, and plasticiser additives I think?
Unfocussed Mike Wow, I have never heard of these! Thanks for the info and link :)
I used to use a company called macroart close to st Neots they could print on vinyl and a range of fabrics and they could customise them for hanging on exhibition stands. I used them for backdrops on exhibition stands, fabric light box covers They didn’t mind small one off jobs.
Looks like they may have changed hands though, but worth giving them a call.
Darkpurity's Art said
Unfocussed Mike Wow, I have never heard of these! Thanks for the info and link :)
Rosco supersaturated appears to be an acrylic/vinyl copolymer, but I doubt it is particularly shiny when painted on fabric.
Rosco are the daddy when it comes to stage stuff generally so I suspect this stuff is good.
https://spectrum.rosco.com/index.php/2019/01/supersaturated-vs-off-broadway-a-comparison looks like potentially worth your time to read?
Just found this too:
Someone there says they mix Rosco Flexbond (which is a PVA) into acrylic paint:
https://emea.rosco.com/en/product/flexbond
A bit more googling has people using it on Worbla that way, to make the paint layer on top flexible:
So there might be some options here for you to experiment with?
One of our customers recently did a magazine shoot with a custom background from Backdrop Source - I can't comment on the pricing, but the quality was excellent and the colours beautifully saturated.
Alternatively, we've got several backgrounds from Click Props which are excellent quality - they can custom print designs to vinyl or their own ProFabric which is less reflective. Charlie Kaufman FSWPP Hon. is your man there.
Saracen House Studio Thanks for your reply! I would love to see these magazine shots. I heard a lot of good things about Click Props Backdrops, but I cannot find if they do custom printing on their website.
Darkpurity's Art said
Saracen House Studio Thanks for your reply! I would love to see these magazine shots. I heard a lot of good things about Click Props Backdrops, but I cannot find if they do custom printing on their website.
They're not mine to show I'm afraid.
But I have ordered custom printed ProFabric BGs from ClickProps and they are very good. Drop Charlie Kaufman FSWPP Hon. a line and I am sure he'll be happy to help.
Saracen House Studio said
Alternatively, we've got several backgrounds from Click Props which are excellent quality - they can custom print designs to vinyl or their own ProFabric which is less reflective. Charlie Kaufman FSWPP Hon. is your man there.
Seconded for Click Backdrops! We did a few brand activations in the summer and used Click Backdrops. All bespoke backdrops and customised with bespoke floor drops, and they all looked great!
