Substrates: Building a better material sandwich
标识材料的定制化需求
Many popular substrates for the sign and graphics industry are not simply base materials, but rather ‘sandwiches’ that combine multiple layers of different materials to create new composites. Over time, these materials have continued to be customized for signmakers’ changing needs.
在标识图文行业中，许多流行的底材不仅仅是基材，而是多层材料组合以创建新复合材料的“三明治”。随着时间的推移，根据客户对标识牌不断变化的需求，这些材料被定制成各种不同的样式。
Stained glass via foamboard
彩色玻璃泡沫板
By way of example, when artist Calley O’Neill of Waimea, Hawaii, designed a new 15.8-m (52-ft) long forest-inspired stained glass mosaic mural for Maui’s Pukalani Elementary School, she decided to experiment with a new process she had developed with fellow artist Lamar Yoakum, using a heavy-duty graphic display board.
例如，夏威夷怀梅阿的艺术家Calley O'Neill为毛伊岛Pukalani小学设计了一个绿野仙踪彩色玻璃壁画，长达15.8米长（52英尺），她决定与艺术家Lamar Yoakum一起开发新的体验，他们首先使用了重型图形显示板。
Titled ‘Na Wao A’O Pi’liani’ (The Life Giving Forests Of Maui), the mural was commissioned by the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, as part of its Art in Public Places collection, for installation on an exterior wall of the school. Measuring (14 ft) tall at its peak, the mural would involve the work of nearly 260 Pukalani community members, including teachers and some 185 students from the school’s Grade 4 and 5 classes.
主题为‘Na Wao A'O Pi'liani’（毛伊岛森林的生命）的壁画是由夏威夷州文化艺术基金会委托制作的，将其作为公共场所艺术收藏品的一部分，安装在学校的外墙。14英尺高的壁画将由近260名Pukalani社区成员共同完成，其中包括教师以及学校四年级和五年级的185名学生。
O’Neill and Yoakum turned to a composite material consisting of polystyrene (PS) foam bonded between two layers of a wood-fibre veneer laminate, both to create a detailed mosaic pattern and to work on with the glass pieces. Three full-sized cartoons of O’Neill’s master plan were printed. The first of these numbered clear pencil line drawings was preserved as a blueprint and base pattern, upon which to place the actual mural each time it was fitted to a floor. The second was adhered to (0.5-in.) thick white panels of the graphic display board and jigsaw-cut into a puzzle of 75 segments, which were sandwiched with light cement-based building panels and complemented with an additional 95 graphic board segments for the border. Finally, the third—printed on thin polyester sheets—was hand-cut with pattern shears into 3,350 pieces to guide the glass cutting, leaving 3.2-mm (0.13-in.) spaces between the pieces.
O'Neill和Yoakum最开始使用一种由聚苯乙烯（PS）泡沫组成的复合材料，其原理是将聚苯乙烯放置于两层木纤维单板层压板之间，在玻璃片上形成细密的图案。O'Neill的三张全幅漫画被喷印出来以后，在这些编号清晰的铅笔线图中，第一个漫画保存为蓝图和基本图案，每次将其贴在地板上时，都会先将壁画放在上面。第二个是将漫画粘贴在图形显示板0.5英寸厚的白板上，将其细分成75个部分，夹在轻水泥基建筑面板上，并附加95个图形板作为边界。最后，将第三个聚酯薄片用模具切成3,350块，以辅助玻璃切割，在两块压板之间留下3.2毫米（0.13英寸）的空间。
“This way, we were able to create the design and check it on the school’s gym floor twice before installation,” O’Neill explains. “While the 3,350 completed stained glass pieces on the cement building panels were heavy, we were able to construct the design on the foamboard panels, which are very light, rigid and water-resistant, so we could easily carry these pieces around our shop and to the wall. We’re very happy with the results and the technique we developed.”
O'Neill解释说：“这样我们就可以在安装前设计并检测学校健身房地板上两次。虽然水泥建筑面板上3,350个彩色玻璃碎片很重，但我们能够在泡沫板上构造出轻型刚性防水的设计，因此我们可以容易地将这些作品放在我们商店周围的墙上。我们对这项技术的开发和成果非常满意。”
After the stained glass pieces were shipped from O’Neill’s studio by truck and barge to the school, they were covered with mosaic tape, lifted and installed into thin-set mortar on the wall. The installation was completed in one week by a four-person team, directed by Isaac Homza of Higher Standard Tile and Stone.
彩色玻璃片从O'Neill的工作室通过卡车和驳船运送到学校后，用马赛克胶带覆盖，抬起并安装在墙上的薄型砂浆中。在一个星期内，该装置的工作由四名人员组成，来自Isaac Homza高标准来管理公司。
A process of evolution
演变过程
Specifically, the school mural used Gatorfoam boards from 3A Composites, which also manufactures Dibond aluminum composite materials (ACMs), Fome-Cor clay-coated paper-faced foamboards, Sintra polyvinyl chloride (PVC) boards and Smart-X recyclable foamboards, which combine an expanded PS (EPS) core with two layers of high-impact PS (HIPS).
具体来说，学校壁画使用的是3A复合材料轻质泡沫板，它还生产铝型材复合材料（ACM）、粘土涂层纸面泡沫板、辛特拉聚氯乙烯（PVC）板和Smart-X可回收泡沫板，这些组合成了两层高冲击性PS（EPS）核心产品。
“We have batch processes that allow us to take dissimilar materials and sandwich them together,” explains Douglas A. Twitchell, 3A’s vice-president (VP) of marketing for the Americas. “We closely monitor product developments by wide-format printer manufacturers, so whenever new models become available, we’re ready with tried and tested materials that are compatible with them.”
3A公司副总裁（美洲营销副总裁）Douglas A. Twitchell解释道：“我们的间歇性制作流程可以采用不同的材料，并将其组合在一起处理。我们密切监视宽幅打印机制造商的产品开发情况，所以每当有新的型号可以使用时，我们都可以使用经过验证过的材料。”
When new inks are formulated, for example, it is important for substrates to be able to receive those inks effectively, which may call for a composite approach.
当配制出新的油墨时，需要考虑的是，基材是否能够有效地吸收这些油墨，这可能需要一个复合型方案。
“You want a bright white substrate to ensure colours ‘pop,’ but it can be difficult to make the surface more ink-receptive while maintaining that white point,” says Twitchell. “Beyond the core material, it’s a question of which coatings you add to the surface. Some ultraviolet-resistant (UV-resistant) coatings, for instance, will add a yellow cast, reducing the whiteness of the surface. The goal is to provide the highest-quality printing surface possible.”
Twitchell说：“你想要用一个亮白色底层来确保颜色的潮流趋势，但是，保持白点会使得材料表面不易吸收墨水。除了核心材料之外还有一个问题是，在基材表面添加了哪些涂层。例如，一些抗紫外线的涂层通过增加黄色铸件来降低表面的白度，从而提供最高质量的打印面。”
For the sign shop, meanwhile, the choice among various composite substrates will depend on the intended application and its environment. A foam core with paper faces may be appropriate for temporary indoor signs and point-of-purchase (POP) displays, while rigid boards with a wood-fibre veneer skin offer a wider variety of thicknesses and levels of durability.
其间，对于标识商店来说，各种复合基板之间的选择取决于预期的应用和环境。具有纸面的泡沫芯可能适用于临时室内标识和购买点（POP）显示屏，而具有木纤维单板的刚性板具有更多种类的厚度和持久性水平。
The most durable options are ACMs. Brushed finishes are available for interior use, but their primary applications are outdoors, including larger monument signs that must cope with wind loads. Similar materials are even used for cladding buildings.
最耐用的是铝型材复合材料。刷漆表面可用于室内使用，也用于建筑物外墙，但主要用于室外，包括应对风荷较大的纪念碑标识。
“We can mix and match substrate cores and surfaces both for the architectural market and for signs and displays,” Twitchell says. “It’s a process of evolution for existing technologies.”
Twitchell说：“我们可以对建筑市场标识显示的基板芯和表面进行混合和匹配，这是现有技术的进步。”
By way of example, 3A is developing lighter foamboards with balsam plywood veneer panels, as well as custom colour-matched panels for more visually creative fabrication projects.
举个例子，3A公司正在开发比胶合单板更轻的起泡板，以及用于制造视觉创意项目进行颜色定制的面板。
The versatility of ACMs
铝型材复合材料的多功能性
There has also been a process of diversification specifically for ACMs, given their versatility across various industries.
考虑到铝型材复合材料在各个行业的通用性，它们经历了一个多元化的发展过程。
“There can be very significant differences, depending on the type of skin on the product,” says Ted Isbell, a graphics specialist for Piedmont Plastics, which distributes sheet, rod, tube and film products across North America. “It can range anywhere from 0.08 to 0.5 mm (3 to 20 mil) in thickness.”
皮埃蒙特塑料的图形专家Ted Isbell表示：“由于分布在北美地区的片材、棒材、管材和薄膜不同，造成的产品类别也会存在很大差异。它可以在0.08至0.5毫米（3至20密耳）的厚度范围内浮动。
Piedmont’s most common option is a 0.2-mm (8-mil) skinned standard-grade ACM for flat sheet applications, but the company also recommends a 0.3-mm (12-mil) version for bending, three-dimensional (3-D) forming and V-grooving, as well as applications with wind loads.
皮埃蒙特公司最常见的产品是用于平板应用的0.2 mm（8 mil）标准级铝型材复合材料，除此之外，公司还建议使用0.3毫米（12 mil）的卷材、三维（3-D）成型和V形槽，以及风载应用程序。
“If you go as thin as 0.15 mm (6 mil), there will be durability issues, as the material will dent fairly easily and won’t stand up to a lot of abuse,” Isbell says. “There are also varying grades of aluminum. Some are harder than others. We test them in the field and gather customer feedback.”
Isbell说：“如果你把材料切成0.15毫米（6密耳）的厚度，将会出现持久性问题，因为材料会变得容易凹陷，经不起多重摧残。铝型材也有不同档次<span style="FONT-FAMILY:
