Wave your flag
Like almost all other industries, the sports market has felt the full impact of the pandemic over the past 18 months or so, with many events being cancelled or postponed, while fans were unable to attend games and matches due to Covid-19 restrictions.
However, despite these limitations, there was still plenty to cheer about. From Team GB’s athletes’ heroics at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, to England reaching its first national team football final since 1966, we have been treated to many sporting highlights.
While fans were absent from events until recently, one ever-present feature in the sports sector throughout the pandemic has been print. Here, we pay tribute to some of the work done by printers in the sports industry and celebrate their success.
Knockout print
First up, Ringcraft Boxing Facilities, which has been manufacturing and hiring boxing rings for more than 25 years, produced a series of graphics for the December 2020 boxing match between Britain’s Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev of Bulgaria.
Joshua and Pulev went toe-to-toe for the WBA Super, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles at the SSE Arena in London, where only a limited number of fans were permitted due to Covid-19 rules. Keen to impress those in attendance, as well as the millions watching on television at home, Ringcraft used its Jetrix LXiR320 to print a range of graphics to be displayed at the venue.
Ringcraft Boxing Facilities used a Jetrix LXiR320 to print graphics for the Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev fight
Aside from the graphics and banners that were used for the fight, which Joshua won by knocking out Pulev in the ninth round, Ringside also produced materials for a number of other events that took place at the venue during December.
Mike Goodall, managing director of Ringcraft, comments: “We are known across the industry for producing the graphics for many of the boxing events across the country. In fact, during the course of December we produced the banners for five shows that were going on at Wembley Arena.
“Due to the pandemic and restrictions on audiences attending, the venue needed to be properly dressed with graphics to compensate for the lack of audience numbers. As a result, we probably produced in the region of 50 – 60 banners over the course of the month, some of which were 6.5m by 2m in order to fill the spaces.
Due to the pandemic and restrictions on audiences attending, the venue needed to be properly dressed with graphics to compensate for the lack of audience numbers”
“What was great was the Jetrix LXiR320 just got on with it. It’s awesome! It kept churning through the jobs, consistently producing fabulous quality and perfect colour vibrancy. Then when it was done, it was ready and waiting for the next project.”
Staying in London but switching attention to football, wide-format printing company, MacroArt, produced a series of graphics for use during the English Football League’s (EFL’s) Papa John’s Trophy Finals at Wembley Stadium.
The Wembley
Weekender in March saw the finals for both the 2020 and 2021 Papa John’s Trophy played at the stadium, with last year’s final having been put on hold due to the pandemic.
MacroArt produced more than 3,000sq m of graphics and signage for the double-header event, including over 2,500sq m of print for covering vacant seated areas. These graphics were printed on Kavalan, a PVC-free material produced by TAYA Groups and supplied by CMYUK, and after the two matches, the graphics were recovered and returned for recycling in the relevant waste streams.
MacroArt produced a series of graphics for use during the English Football League’s Papa John’s Trophy Finals at Wembley Stadium
“Sustainability is key to many of our clients and providing graphics that have a minimal impact on the environment whilst maintaining performance is a game changer for today’s events,” says Matt Guise, sales director at MacroArt, adding: “It was very rewarding to work with an organisation as committed as we are to carbon neutrality, and the team at EFL supported our efforts at every stage.”
Other aspects of the project included team-specific branding for each of the clubs playing in the finals, such as walls around the holding area and team dugouts.
Printed support
The absence of fans may have been felt by teams, but printers all around the world stepped in to help cover empty seats in an innovative way. Printed cut-outs replaced fans in many stadiums and arenas across a host of leagues, including the National Football League (NFL) in the US.
NFL team the Philadelphia Eagles joined forces with Ricoh to offer fans the chance to have their cut-out placed inside the franchise’s Lincoln Financial Field home stadium. Ricoh partner image360 Marlton printed the cut-outs in-house on its Ricoh Pro TF6250 flat-bed, while fans were able to personalise their images via the Eagles’ website.
The Philadelphia Eagles worked with Ricoh and image360 Marlton to print cut-outs of fans for inside its stadium
Cut-outs were priced at $100 (£72.90), with all net proceeds going to the Eagles Autism Foundation charitable organisation.
“Eagles fans mean everything to us and their presence at Lincoln Financial Field has always been a signature trademark of our game day experience,” Eagles’ senior vice president, revenue and strategy, Catherine Carlson, says, adding: “While unprecedented circumstances have prevented us from hosting fans in the stadium at this time, we still wanted to showcase their relentless passion and support in a unique way.”
Gavin Jordan-Smith, senior vice president, commercial and industrial print at Ricoh Americas, adds: “From graphics on grocery floors to wayfinding signs on reconfigured college campuses, print has been helping our society persevere at a time when so many fundamental aspects of it are changing.
Print has been helping our society persevere at a time when so many fundamental aspects of it are changing”
“These fan cut-outs are another way of persevering, of showing our customers, our partners and our people that we understand the value of community.”
Building for the future
Away from event branding and there are many opportunities for print companies when it comes to producing kit and equipment for players and athletes, be it shirts and shorts, sail boats or even surfboards.
In October 2020, sports kit and leisurewear provider Scorpion Sports won a new Ricoh Ri 100 direct-to-garment (DTG) printer in the ‘Win with Ricoh’ competition. As a supplier of sportswear and accessories for clubs, schools and colleges across the UK and overseas, the company says the printer will support its future growth plans in the sports market.
Scorpion Sports in Coventry specialises in sports kit and leisurewear
Marc Lord, manager of Scorpion Sports, says the machine will primarily be used for short runs of branded t-shirts and hoodies for sports tours, though the company is also looking at how it can use the printer to take on work in other segments within the wider sports industry.
“If we identify a product or certain type of service that would prove popular with our customers, then we will look to move into these markets,” Lord says, adding: “We had been looking at DTG printers for a while, so when I heard about competition, I thought i would give it a go.”
Another company looking towards the future is Canon, which recently secured a major contract to serve as the official imaging supporter for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
This wide-ranging deal covers the provision of on-site medical imaging services, dedicated Canon professional service support, and printing solutions that it says will help bring the Games to life to more than a billion spectators and viewers worldwide.
Canon Professional Services will give photographers and broadcasters behind-the-scenes support in the action, while dedicated on-site printing services will help the event organisers and venues to deliver an exciting fan and spectator experience.
In addition, Canon’s medical imaging services will support athletes’ performance during the Games. MRI, ultrasound and X-ray imaging services will be available throughout the athletes’ village and in diagnostic vehicles across the Games.
Yuichi Ishizuka, president and chief executive of Canon Europe, Middle East and Africa, says: “We believe that imaging can transform our world, and we look forward to using our full-range of innovative technologies to support the welfare of athletes, ensure the smooth running of the Games, and inspire sports fans across the globe.”
O Factoid: The record attendance for a sports event at the new Wembley Stadium is 89,874, when Portsmouth played Cardiff City in the 2008 FA Cup final O
Ian Reid, chief executive of Birmingham 2022, adds: “As well as inspiring fans and athletes across the world, Canon is using its expertise to work with us on our engagement programme across schools and communities. We are looking forward to working together to embrace and champion the youth, diversity, humanity and pride of the region and the Commonwealth.”
While the pandemic caused unprecedented disruption to the sports sector, print remained a constant throughout, and will continue to serve as an incredibly valuable media for the sport industry as it continues its recovery and fans return to events.
Print’s not coming home…it never left.
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