Ultraboard News Feed

SSP lightweight card literature stand

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:08:52 GMT

This lightweight card literature stand has been made for Finnish technology company SSP Net to display their product and services literature in-store or at trade shows. The shelves, though narrow, can also be used to display product, as one of the several benefits of Ultra Board is that it can support a load many times its own weight.

The unit, made from 10mm Ultra Board GR, displays simple, straight and unfussy lines, so prospects focus on your marketing message, and not what it’s standing on. A stand like this can enhance the look of your display space, while your competitors may just stack literature unseen on a counter top. The graphics were printed direct to the board which were then cut out on a CAD table. There are several fabrication methods which can be employed on a unit like this, which is not only light and portable, but is also delightfully simple to assemble. With an assembly time of only a few seconds, this leaves the user extra time to get on with other tasks.

The benefits of using Ultra Board for such an application are in the combination of Dufaylite honeycomb’s exceptional strength-to-weight ratio with recycled material. This means that you can create a literature stand with load-bearing properties, without the need to utilise a heavy alternative made from metal or acrylic – Ultra Board uses the least amount of material to maximum effect.

Not only is this unit practical and eye-catching in use, but it is also easy to dispose of. It is made from recycled and recyclable fibres, so at the end of its useful life, it can be recycled via standard cardboard recycling routes.

If this application has tickled your creative taste buds and has got you thinking of an application, please feel free to contact the office and we can help you bring these ideas to life.

Urban View Podium

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:15:25 GMT

This very simple yet highly impressive podium has been manufactured from 18mm Dufaylite Ultra Board GR. The unit is simplicity personified : the body is made from one board cut and folded into a U shape with the two Ultra Board shelves simply sliding into it. The shelves perform a dual function of providing shelf space to support a laptop, lecture notes, samples or literature while also holding the whole unit together and providing stability.

This podium can be assembled within seconds and after the event can be folded away and packed up, ready to be taken to the next event. Not only has the podium been made from recycled material, it has been printed direct using UV-cured inks and is 100% recyclable via standard cardboard recycling schemes.

If this application has stimulated your creative mind and has got you thinking of an application, please feel free to contact the office and we can help you bring these ideas to life.

Kikkoman POS Unit - lightweight honeycomb card

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:39:38 GMT

This lightweight honeycomb card POS unit has been made for Kikkoman to display their Soy Sauce in-store. Not only does the unit display examples of the product itself, but it also has literature holders so the display can deliver more information to consumers.

The designer has incorporated a curvy feel, echoing the lines of the sauce bottle, in what could otherwise be a flat display and has chosen 10mm Ultra Board GR as the medium. The graphics were printed direct to the board which were then cut out on a CAD table. There are several fabrication methods which can be employed on a unit like this, which not only create a shopper-stopping display, but also one which is delightfully simple to assemble in-store.

The benefits of using Ultra Board for such an application are in the combination of Dufaylite honeycomb’s exceptional strength-to-weight ratio with recycled material. This means that you can create a POS unit with load-bearing properties, without the need to utilise heavy, solid materials such as timber, mdf or plastics – Ultra Board uses the least amount of material to maximum effect.

Not only is this unit practical in supporting the weight of product on the shelf, but it is also easy to dispose of. It is made from recycled and recyclable fibres, so at the end of its useful life, it can be recycled via standard cardboard recycling routes, which retailers already have in place.

If this application has tantalised your creative taste buds and has got you thinking of an application, please feel free to contact the office and we can help you bring these ideas to life.

John Lewis Window Display

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:33:08 GMT

John Lewis Plc used Ultra Board for their Make a Difference eco window displays across the UK. The Make a Difference campaign was intended to promote the range of energy-efficient products available from the chain, from lightbulbs to white goods, under the slogan of “environmentally friendly products which don’t cost the earth”.

What better medium to use than Ultra Board, offering a combination of lightweight, rigidity, printability and recyclability ?

The lightweight nature of the material provides ease of installation. The green circles, for example were simply velcroed direct to the wall or onto spacers, to give the display more depth. Ultra Board is no lightweight when it comes to strength, however, as the supporting plinths are also made from the material, chosen in place of traditional material, such as MDF. If the design had gone ahead with MDF, it would have weighed a lot more, costing more in transport and probably taken more time to install, to say nothing of being less environmentally-friendly than Ultra Board.

The bright printable surface of Ultra Board was printed on a direct-to-media flatbed printer with water-based, UV-curing inks. Not only were the Ultra Board components of the window display recyclable, but the whole lot was delivered on a Dufaylite honeycomb pallet, so the whole display and packaging could be recycled after the promotion.

Science Museum Hanging Signs

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:01:56 GMT

Ultra Board featured as eco hanging signage for the Futuristic Living exhibition at the world-renowned Science Museum in London. The boards were printed both sides in vibrant colours and cut to a range of novel shapes, such as hearts, clouds and apples.

An obvious advantage of using Ultra Board in place of traditional alternatives is that the board is 100% recyclable via established card recycling routes.

A further benefit lay in the ease of installation, thanks to the low weight of the material. The Museum had previously had such signs manufactured from MDF, a sturdy but heavy product. A square metre of Ultra Board at 18mm thick will weigh just under 1.5kg : compare that with MDF, at roughly 720kg/M³, which will weigh 13kg for the same size piece – over eight times the weight ! This means the installer has to give extra consideration to issues involving lifting, working at height and the robustness of any fixings. This was particularly relevant in the case of Futuristic Living, which subsequently went on tour around the globe.

The selection of Ultra Board provided a solution that was eco-friendly, easy to use and met expectations in terms of performance.

If this application has stimulated your creative mind and has got you thinking of an application, please feel free to contact the office and we can help you bring these ideas to life.

Wella POS - eco floor stand

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:25:40 GMT

This eco point of sale stand, produced for Wella, is a taller version of the Urban View podium and follows the same simplicity of design. In fact, so easy was it to put together, that the printer claimed it could be put up in no less a time than 30 seconds !

The flat, smooth faces of Ultra Board GR provide a clean, white surface to receive graphics printed direct – in this case via a digital inkjet printer. You will know by now that Ultra Board is more than just a print substrate, as the compressive strength of the honeycomb board means the shelves can take a considerable weight. The three shelves, which slide quickly and simply into place, perform a dual function of providing shelf space to display product samples while also holding the whole unit together and providing stability.

As well as its speedy assembly time, this unit can also be dismounted within seconds, ready to be folded away, taken on to the next promotion or to be sent for recycling. As Wella would say : Passionately Professional.

If this application has stimulated your creative mind and has got you thinking of an application, please feel free to contact the office and we can help you bring these ideas to life.

Shell scheme panels using recycled honeycomb paper panels

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:43:04 GMT

Shell scheme panels using recycled honeycomb paper panels are pre-erected rows of trade stands, where the exhibitor simply turns up to decorate the stand, rather than being involved in the build-up. Typical shell schemes are constructed from aluminium framework into which are fitted the back and side walls to create the required exhibition space. Traditionally these infills would be plywood, foamboard or white painted HDF/MDF.

The organisers of the show at Manchester’s Central Convention Complex (formerly GMEX), however, opted for a more environmentally friendly option and chose 6mm Ultra Board to fit into the slots of the modular system. These Ultra Board panels were all printed to display the exhibitor logo particular to each stand and CAD cut to suit the necessary dimensions.

Having your company name and logo clearly visible on your shell scheme panels enhances recognition among your prospects and makes it easier for you, too, when setting up, as the logo is easily seen from a distance compared to the smaller name hiding away up on the fascia.

As the panels can be easily recycled after an event, this proves to be an eco-friendly way to exhibit.

Danish Embassy free-standing display units

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:50:22 GMT

A novel use of Ultra Board, if ever we saw one : the rigidity of the board is usually employed to create free-standing display units, but in this case the boards were used horizontally in stacks. Dufaylite cut over 1000 large boards to suit the client’s wave shape which, when formed into stacks and joined together, created an undulating perimeter wall for the exhibition. As the space itself was an underground car park, the Ultra Board walls ( as well as providing a soothing non-fussy environment) also served to cover up and soften the stark concrete of the structure.

The event was the ‘sust-DANE-able’ exhibition, hosted by the Royal Danish Embassy as part of the London Festival of Architecture and was intended to showcase the work of 18 Danish architectural practices and their approach to achieving sustainability in design for the 21^st Century.

The exhibition was designed by Wayne Hemingway, of Red or Dead fame, completely remodelling the display space in Ultra Board along with some other recycled paper and card materials, which were used for seating. The stacks of Ultra Board had a series of holes drilled in predetermined points to receive sections of spiral wound tube, which allowed for use of less material and also broke up the solid visual impact of an unbroken 3M high wall of honeycomb board. Dufaylite also had to cut channels at the rear of the boards to allow for cabling as the display incorporated plasma screens secured into the board along with audio speakers. As well as the perimeter walls of the exhibition space, the sections of 36mm Ultra Board R were used to create large diameter floor-mounted plinths for displaying architectural models.

Karhu lightweight display booth on recycled material

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:28:27 GMT

This Karhu lightweight display booth has been manufactured from Dufaylite Ultra Board GR and employed a variety of the fabrication methods developed by Dufaylite for Ultra Board. All the components of the unit were printed on a Vutek direct to media printer and cut on a Zund cutting table.

The booth has been made for Karhu as a re-usable and portable promotional display booth so, as would be expected with Ultra Board, it is very simple and quick to put together and take down. Surprisingly, for a large 3m x 2.4m unit, it packs away into no more than four simple cardboard carry boxes for transportation.

Not only does the display booth offer high visual impact graphics, it is made from recycled material, so although the unit can be re-used several times, it can be recycled via traditional cardboard recycling schemes at the end of the promotion.

If this application has connected with your creative mind and has got you thinking of an application please feel free to contact the office and we can help you bring these ideas to life.

Department of Health printed display unit

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:03:30 GMT

One of the great things about Ultra Board is that its rigidity allows you to create free standing displays with just a couple of panels. This example shows a two panel unit made from 10mm Ultra Board GR, providing an economical static display system ideal for conferences, exhibitions or retail outlets. The boards are held together at the back by a simple joining technique.

In this case, a portable display was created for the Department of Health’s campaign aimed at helping people to quit smoking. The printed panels provide a large, colourful backdrop while the same material is cut and folded to form the end columns. These columns not only provide a bit of extra stability on uneven floors but, in this case, display the web address for the campaign, enhancing awareness.

The campaign aimed at motivating smokers to go smoke free and directed them to the resources available from the NHS to do so successfully, which includes posters, leaflets and factsheets, calendars, employer resource packs and other collateral. To tie in with individual contact using the portable display, the public will have been aware of the wider broadcast of these messages via direct mail, tv and radio ads, door drops and newspaper inserts.

When considering campaign costs, this Ultra Board display is a cost-effective alternative to other display systems but is also far less complicated to erect. Not only this, but the light weight of the honeycomb boards make it easier for the user to carry to and from the point of use : at well under 10kg, this weighs much less than a pop-up system of comparable size.

Julian Mayor honeycomb angle chair design

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:32:53 GMT

Julian Mayor is an artist/designer based in East London, whose work has been exhibited in London, Paris, Milan and Brussels – even as far afield as New York and Tokyo. He chose Dufaylite’s Ultra Board GR in 10mm sections as the basis of his honeycomb design Angle Chair, which was on show during London Design Week.

Julian has worked in many materials, designing seating from plywood and aluminium and likes to create the effect of a 3D graphic model realised in solid form. He describes his 2010 Angle Chair as a vast improvement on the 2008 version, which was made from corrugated cardboard.

The designer invested a lot of time researching the right material for his later chair and plumped for Ultra Board as it was not only environmentally friendly and lightweight, but offered advantages over corrugated cardboard in terms of stability and robustness…it also looks more aesthetically pleasing.

Julian was able to work directly with Dufaylite on his design, created from the map of a person’s seat that had been digitised and sliced into sections on a computer, cutting all the pieces extremely accurately to his specification in the manufacturer’s CAD-cutting facility. Not only does the Angle Chair demonstrate the versatility of what can be done with Ultra Board, but is practical in supporting the weight of anyone sitting on it. To see more of Julian’s designs, go to www.julianmayor.com .

If this application has tantalised your creative taste buds and has got you thinking of an application, please feel free to contact the office and we can help you bring these ideas to life.

Vetonaula POS Stand

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 08:54:28 GMT

This FSDU POS stand, made from Ultra Board GR, incorporates a simple method to enhance the strength of the shelves.

All forms of honeycomb sandwich panels are renowned for offering stiffness and strength combined with low weight. As an example, outside the Ultra Board range, Dufaylite manufactures a building panel called Clayboard – this is easily laid by one person yet can take the weight of wet concrete poured up to 1M in depth. Increasing the thickness of the core can enhance the flexural strength and stiffness for minimal weight gain.

While Ultra Board already has an exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, taking a static load of up to 25 tonnes per square metre, the client had a concern that the 10mm shelf looked a bit thin. To beef it up, the board which forms the shelves was folded over to double the thickness – not only did it achieve the desired effect of appearing bulkier, but it more than doubled the strength of the shelf.

To find out more ways of working with Ultra Board, why not ask for our Fabrication Manual?

V&A Museum display, using our recycled honeycomb board

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:12:18 GMT

When most Ultra Board applications use the board as a print substrate for large format graphics, this installation in the tunnel entrance to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is certainly out of the ordinary. Designed by Studio 8’s C J Lim, whose innovative designs focus on environmental sustainability programmes, in collaboration with structural engineers Techniker, the giant installation was inspired by the scene from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, where she comes across some gardeners painting the roses on a bush.

The V&A gave Lim an entirely open brief to transform the tunnel entrance, but with certain restrictions – because the tunnel is listed, nothing could be fixed to the walls or ceiling and because of the museum's artefacts, materials had to be approved by the V&A and water-based glue was to be used. Their only other prerequisite was that it had to remain in-situ for one year.

What the structure depicts is a “cartouche-shaped topiary, bejewelled with rose blossoms that taper to a crown before sprouting an array of forked branches, whose shadows fence around the grand vaulted ceiling”. This imagining of a mythical underground rose garden was realised by constructing the whole from 18mm Ultra Board MR, (containing 100% recycled paper and board with a protective coating to provide moisture resistance ) as the trunks and branches, with the roses made from rolled up recycled cotton garments. At over 10M long and just under 3M tall, this structure is an arresting sight, but didn’t just have a visual impact, as rose oil created a sensory experience of a flowering garden out of the Ultra Board structure and music from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons was broadcast to the immediate area. To emphasise the seasonal nature of the installation, Lim proposed to later switch the t-shirts for scarves to suggest winter.

Dufaylite were provided with the drawings for this piece across 14 designs and hundreds of sections were cut to the precise sizes and profiles in the St Neots factory on the company’s bank of cutting tables.

Feta Cheese Stand - using our environmentally friendly board

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:17:06 GMT

Simple but effective – this environmentally friendly exhibition stand was built using a combination of 10mm and 18mm Ultra Board GR and comprised some plinths around the perimeter to provide worktops to display information and samples, a free-standing tree as well as the back wall and store. The intended effect was to create the setting of a Greek taverna – the perspective view up the street through the arch evokes the sunny climes of the region, achieved by a direct print to the Ultra Board. The window shutters are a similar optical effect, simply printed direct to the board.

The versatility of the product allows for various set building opportunities as this exhibition stand incorporated a back room, where staff could store and prepare their samples without being in the way of visitors. Far from this making assembly a tricky operation, the lightweight nature of the Ultra Boards, even at 18mm thick, means the installers can handle and connect quite large sections of board with relatively little effort.

It was made even easier for the end users as the supplier, Green Graphics, the eco-friendly print specialists, enhanced their service by inviting them to their factory in Bedfordshire. Here they could see how it all went together before taking it across to the Continent. The campaign was financed with aid from Greece and the EU and Ultra Board was selected for its versatility in use, lightweight for transporting abroad and the fact that it could all be recycled when finished with.

If this application has tantalised your creative taste buds and has got you thinking of an application, please feel free to contact the office and we can help you bring these ideas to life.

Welcome Break and Morrisons Displays

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:20:42 GMT

As will be well known by now, one of the great things about Ultra Board is that its rigidity allows you to create free standing displays with just a couple of panels. The examples here show what can be done with slightly larger units : a three panel unit used in motorway services and a four panel unit used in a supermarket promotion.

Because of the simple joining technique for fixing panels together, there is pretty much no limit to how many panels you can have in a single run. The longest we know of was a 12M run down the length of a corridor.

For these two units, 10mm Ultra Board GR was used, providing an economical static display system ideal for conferences, exhibitions or retail outlets. In the case of the supermarket promotion, the 2M tall by 4M wide display uses bold eyecatching colour printed direct to the board, but with a very simple message, promoting the buy one get one free offers. This was printed on one side only but the juice bar unit, situated in a cafeteria area, was printed both sides and acted more as a screen to demarcate the juice bar from the seating. The edges of the panels were covered by Dufaylite’s edging strips in black and white, made from recycled polypropylene.

When considering campaign costs, this Ultra Board display is a cost-effective alternative to other display systems but is also far less complicated to erect and lighter to carry. Don’t forget that Ultra Board is also 100% recyclable when finished with and the plastic edging strips can be kept for re-use on the next display.

Free-standing signs using honeycomb display board

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:08:38 GMT

The white-faced GR variant of the Ultra Board range was developed with the then new breed of flat-bed direct-to-media printers in mind. This does not rule out other forms of printing such as screen and litho mounting as demonstrated by these free-standing signs examples.

As well as supplying Ultra Board in large sheets up to 3M x 1.5M, Dufaylite offers a cut-to-size service for clients and the boards shown here, on use in well-known high street stores, were cut at close tolerances to the specific sizes and profiles requested. Thirteen hundred of the board with the trimmed corners were supplied as well as several thousand (and counting) of the rectangular board. In both cases, the Ultra Board received the image via litho lamination, rather than printing direct.

Rather than use any fancy fixings, the boards in both cases are leant against the wall, as the material is stiff enough to stand up under its own weight and light enough that any one can lift it into place with little or no effort. At the end of the promotion, Ultra Board can be recycled down the established paper and card recycling routes.

The Dufaylite honeycomb core imparts the strength of the board but not everyone wants to see it – to cover the edge, therefore, Dufaylite has developed a range of edging options which include plastic, wood and card. The card edging is affixed by a self-adhesive backing and so is recycled along with the board but the other edgings push on and pull off so can be kept for re-use on subsequent jobs.

To price up your own cut-to-size requirements, our sales office is happy to help, but you can also get an instant quote by visiting the price calculator page on our website.

Click here to go to Price Calculator

Fabric Covered Exhibition Stands

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:14:26 GMT

Although much of the focus of Ultra Board has been for use as an environmentally friendly print substrate, this example shows how the board can be used as a lightweight exhibition board, and fabric covered exhibition stands.

In this case, the client already had all their graphics and messaging printed and were looking for an exhibition stand on which to mount it all. There were many samples and brochures to be stored on the stand, with limited space available, so Ultra Board was proposed to create cupboard units.

The Ultra Board team at Dufaylite designed and built the units from 10mm Regular board incorporating double doors, all clad in velcro-friendly loop nylon. The worktops were covered in a woodgrain pattern vinyl with the edges finished in woodgrain effect push-on edge extrusion. Setting up for the exhibition was made less onerous for the end user, as Ultra Board weighs much less than melamine faced chipboard, which had been considered as an alternative.

Standees - Weetabix Oaty Bars displays

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:18:10 GMT

Ultra Board, being a rigid flat product, lends itself to a whole range of opportunities for the marketing of your product or service. By attracting the attention of customers and prospects to new products and ranges, highlighting improvements within an existing range, encouraging impulse purchases or simply boosting the profile of an established brand, you can create a quick, lightweight and recyclable solution with Dufaylite Ultra Boards. See our Standees - Weetabix Oaty Bars display above.

The graphic board variant GR, has a specially coated surface for laying down ink, so you will get the sharp vibrant colours you want and is available in three stock thicknesses of 6mm, 10mm and 18mm which means you have a choice of ultra slim standees or something with a chunkier feel. As with many Ultra Board solutions, these can be supplied flat-packed with an easy foot attachment for speedy assembly.

Until relatively recently, standees may have been available only in large quantities but advances in digital photography and print-on-demand technology have made them more generally available, even as one-offs, bringing them within reach of individuals as well as companies and venues. They are also easily recyclable down established paper and card recycling routes.

If this application has connected with your creative mind and has got you thinking of an application please feel free to contact the office and we can help you bring these ideas to life.

Eco Rocker - flat pack honeycomb board Rocking Horse

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:26:09 GMT

We’ve all heard the adage that genius is 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration and we’ve now seen it in practice with the realisation of the Eco Rocker, a flat pack honeycomb board rocking horse, created by Shell Thomas. Working with a concept in mind, she spent many hours making and tweaking prototypes until happy with the final design.

Shell only graduated in the Summer of 2010, but launched straight into making a name for herself, giving the Eco Rocker its international debut at the Maison et Objet show in Paris, shortly followed by a stand at the Tent show in London, during which she launched the Eco Rocker website.

Shell chose Ultra Board for a combination of reasons, mainly to challenge the traditional ideas about rocking horses – that they are expensive, heirloom items, that they take up quite a bit of space and are material greedy. The Eco Rocker, by contrast, is described by Shell as “a modern sustainable alternative to a traditional treasure”. Ultra Board’s honeycomb construction provides Eco Rocker with a balance of strength with low weight, is made in the UK and requires no adhesives to assemble. Shell reckons the rocker can be assembled in 15-20 minutes. Using the Ultra Board GR version with white facings means the rocker can be customised by kids with their own poster paints, combined with Shell’s ‘sticky accessories’ kits providing eyes, nostrils and facial expressions.

If this application has tantalised your creative taste buds and has got you thinking of an application, please feel free to contact the office and we can help you bring these ideas to life.

Max Factor point of sale display - POS

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:57:45 GMT

The Ultra Board variant chosen for this unit was the regular Ultra Board R at 18mm thick. This board has brown recycled faces both sides and was used for its bulk and strength, rather than for any print requirement.

As can be seen in the picture, the unit comprises fourteen shelves. Only three of them display any product, while the others are present to provide rigidity to the skeleton. Previously this function had been carried out by using sheets of B flute corrugated card, but at only 3mm in thickness, 6 pieces were required to make up each 18mm shelf – a time-consuming process to cut each piece to the required template and hold them all together while fitting in place.

This is where Ultra Board came into its own as the board is rigid enough to provide the required strength in just one piece and provided a solution by reducing the cutting to shape by 80%.