Rob Kelly and Ben Moss have bought into 3D display graphics business StackaWraps. Both investors have decades of experience in large format graphics counting Service Graphics and St Ives as prior employers.
Kelly is now director of south London high end large format printer Displayways. He was impressed when first seeing a StackaWraps display. “When I saw an image of a six-foot-high drinks bottle that looked like a solid object I thought well I’ve seen this before, so what? Then I realised that it was made up of a photo realistic graphic wrap zipped around a frame that flat packs.
“The products look real, not like a 3D printed and painted version or a 3D model and they have all the shadows, curves and features of the real thing. In fact if you look at a photo of one in isolation it looks like a normal product shot until you realise it is as tall as a person.”
The technology builds the information to create the skeleton of the 3D object from a single photo. This is used to create the engineering drawings to cut out the spine and ribs that will make up the frame of the final object. A dye sub printed fabric sleeve is then stretched over the frame to create the giant realistic looking bottle or can. At the forthcoming Retail Design Expo in London, StackaWraps will display a model of Elvis Presley and says founder Richard Peter, another recent project has included a life-sized car. “We are just starting to get into America,” he says. “We are now getting some massive orders, more and more from bigger companies, and the guys getting involved has really helped.”
The alternative techniques for making promotional objects of this nature involve 3D printing and model making, both of which can be more expensive and slower than this product. “This has been a personal investment,” says Kelly. “Both of us think that this is something completely new – we haven’t seen the likes of this since the first pop up banner was introduced.”
Moss has been equally enchanted. “I have been working in the graphics and display markets for three decades and have not seen a product as clever as this one since the invention of the Pop Up display system. It genuinely made me excited to see if I could get involved,” he says.
The target use is marketing activity around events and other forms of experiential marketing. Once the event has finished the display is taken apart to be stored ready for its next event. StackaWraps will appear at the Retail Design Expo at Olympia in London on 8-9 May where it has been shortlisted for the innovation award.
Peter is one of the founders of StackaWraps and has spent three years working with co-founder Natasha Leigh. “The clever part is the method to convert a 2D image into a 3D image and at the same time create a set of construction drawings for the manufacture of the framework that make up the displays.”
The software converts the flat image into a file that includes realistic representation of shadows when applied to the MDF skeleton. The positioning of seams to ensure best possible representation of the product is crucial and part of the software. The finished produce collapses for ease of transport, allow StackaWraps to deliver to customers across the world. Currently StackaWraps produces everything itself from its Manchester location, but future licensing deals are not ruled out.
Kelly and Moss will be able to open doors with marketing agencies and corporates. Kelly explains: “Ben and I got involved because we know the market and distribution channels and ways to sell and market this.”
This giant coke bottle is typical of the applications that StackaWraps targets. Inkjet printed fabric is applied to a laser cut MDF skeleton produced from a single photograph. It will pack away for ease of transportation.
