When EnduraFab™ Textiles hit the market last year, the line of fabrics was one of the first latex-compatible options available to the industry. Throughout the year, print service providers have told us that EnduraFab™ not only offered a much-needed latex solution in the market, but it also outperforms its competitors.

We caught up with Dustin Batson, the Color Lab division manager at TPM, Inc. in Greenville, S.C., where his team produces a wide variety of event displays, banner stands, site signage, interior décor printing and more. The market demand has changed in recent years, he says, to soft signage, rather than rigid display boards that were used in the past.

“We use EnduraFab™ Stretch for trade show pop ups and the EnduraFab™ Frontlit Premier for all of our backdrops,” Batson says. “There’s less cost in shipping, and easy changability with SEG panels — you just simply pull out the insert from the frame and replace it. For trade shows, it makes more sense and is less cumbersome.”

For Eduardo Aceves Hernandez, electronic publishing specialist at the Document Solutions department at the University of Texas at Austin, the ease of travel with EnduraFab™ is a huge win. “People kept asking for things they could fold and take to conferences,” Hernandez says. “In response, we shopped around, and EnduraFab™ was the solution. Customers have been really happy so far.”

Hernandez prints EnduraFab™ on an HP Latex 360 64-inch printer for his university customers, which include everyone from the athletic department to school administrators who need event signage, trade show displays, thesis exhibits and banners. When these items were printed on vinyl media, they had to be rolled up and shipped or carried in tubes to avoid creasing — “they were really a hassle to carry on a plane,” he says.

EnduraFab™, however, can be folded and stowed in a suitcase. “It just hangs really well, and displays well,” Hernandez says. “And it’s not going to crinkle. So you get simplicity with good quality.”

Batson says the ease of use is definitely a bonus, and the print quality is strong, too. “It holds very vibrant color,” Batson says. “And the color tends to hold better and you get less crocking than other materials.”

Finishing EnduraFab™ is easier and more reliable, too, Hernandez says. “With thicker fabrics, fraying was an issue,” he says. EnduraFab™ finishes so cleanly, he says they don’t have to sew the edges. “We even mounted one graphic to a foam board and it looked good, too.”

The EnduraFab™ Textiles line is available exclusively through LexJet, and includes six options in a variety of sizes:

• EnduraFab™ Frontlit: Lightweight fabric with excellent drape for table skirts, SEG frames and soft signage.
• EnduraFab™ Frontlit FR: Frontlit fabric that meet the flammability standard for NFPA 701, 2015 Edition (Test 1, Small Scale) and require heat set for desired print durability.
• EnduraFab™ Frontlit Premier: Heavyweight fabric for retail signs, SEG frames and indoor banners.
• EnduraFab™ Frontlit Premier FR: Frontlit Premier fabric that meet the flammability standard for NFPA 701, 2015 Edition (Test 1, Small Scale) and require heat set for desired print durability.
• EnduraFab™ Stretch: Lightweight fabric with one-directional stretch, providing installation flexibility and ease particularly for SEG frames and geometric trade show displays.
• EnduraFab™ Stretch FR: Stretch fabric that meet the flammability standard for NFPA 701, 2015 Edition (Test 1, Small Scale) and require heat set for desired print durability.