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Capabilities / SEG & Tension Fabric

SEG and tension fabric: frameless, backlit, reusable.

Silicone edge graphics (SEG) and tension-fabric displays: dye-sublimated polyester pulled drum-tight into an aluminum extrusion so the graphic reads frameless. Frontlit, backlit, and blockout, single- or double-sided, from retail light boxes to trade-show walls and lobby brand environments.

FRAME HEIGHTSI EDGE · GROOVESECTION A — SI EDGEDYE-SUB FABRICALU EXTRUSIONBACKLIT LEDSIGNAVERO® / SEG FABRICTYPE: TENSION FRAMESCALE NTSDWG 03.H-01REV A
Overview

Frameless fabric, tensioned in aluminum.

SEG is short for silicone edge graphics. A thin silicone strip gets sewn into the edge of a dye-sublimated fabric print, and that strip presses into a groove milled around an aluminum extrusion. Push it in all the way around and the fabric pulls tight like a drum skin, so the finished piece reads frameless with no visible hardware. Signavero coordinates the print, the frame, and the install, then the same frame gets re-skinned the next time the campaign changes, which is most of why brands move to fabric in the first place.

Common applications

Light boxes, exhibit walls, lobby environments.

  • Backlit light boxes. Retail and lobby boxes where the graphic has to glow evenly, edge to edge, with no visible lamps or hot spots.
  • Trade-show and exhibit walls. Large frameless backdrops and towers that pack into a tube and get re-skinned for the next show instead of reprinted whole.
  • Corporate and hospitality. Brand walls and environmental graphics where a vinyl print would read too retail and fabric reads softer and more premium.
  • Double-sided hanging blades. Ceiling-hung signs with a blockout core so each face shows its own graphic without the other bleeding through.
What we typically specify

Fabric matched to how the piece is lit.

Frontlit fabric
Default

Dye-sub polyester for graphics lit by room light. Washable, creaseless, and packs flat in a tube.

Backlit fabric
Glow

Engineered to diffuse an LED box evenly, no hot spots, for light boxes and exhibit towers that have to be lit from behind.

Blockout fabric
2-sided

Opaque center layer so a double-sided display shows two independent graphics with zero bleed-through.

Aluminum extrusion
Re-skin

Frame disassembles and travels flat; the same frame accepts the next campaign's graphic.

Frame depth
Lit / unlit

Shallow profiles for wall-mount graphics, deeper boxes where LEDs and a backlit skin live inside.

How it goes together

The silicone edge does the work.

The graphic is printed a hair larger than the frame opening, then the silicone bead is sewn on so the finished fabric ends up slightly undersized. That tension is deliberate. When a crew seats the bead into the extrusion groove and works around the perimeter, the slight stretch is what removes every wrinkle and holds the face flat. Get the print size or the bead placement wrong and the fabric either sags or won't seat. So the print file, the sewing, and the frame all get cut to one spec, and we keep that spec on file so re-skins years later still fit the original frame.

Installation considerations

Frame first, fabric second.

  • Mounting. Wall-mount, free-standing, or ceiling-hung, each needs its own backing and hardware confirmed at survey before the frame is cut.
  • Power for backlit. Lit boxes need a circuit and, often, an electrician for the final connection. We coordinate that the same as any illuminated sign.
  • Re-skin handling.Swapping a graphic is a few minutes per frame once the hardware is up, so campaign changes don't mean a new install.
  • Care. Fabric is washable and ships in a tube. We label each skin to its frame so a multi-piece program goes back together right.
Cross-links

SEG in context.

Fabric displays pair with wall graphics when a space mixes printed murals with tensioned panels, and with custom fabrication when the SEG piece is one element of a larger brand environment. For a rollout, the frames and skins ship through national rollouts. Not sure fabric is the right call versus a banner or a rigid sign? The Product Finder walks the trade-offs.

Materials & capabilities used

Related across the network.

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FAQ

Frequently asked.

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Specify SEG and tension fabric with Signavero.

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