Fabric Graphics Reduce Restaurant Noise!

Fabric graphics are art panels custom printed onto fabric. The colors are extraordinary and vibrant. The artwork doesn’t just ride on top of the fabric, but rather its gassed and encapsulated into the very fibers of the fabric when you print them via the dye sublimation process. This process makes your graphic washable. The process is also a fabulous way to get a single panel of art or designer fabric of your favorite pattern, design, art or even corporate branding. Size restrictions are wide open, and limited only by the resolution capacity of your digital file.

There are a variety of methods for hanging and displaying, such as stretching it like a canvas when a silicone gasket is sewn into the edge. The silicone gasket can then glides into a special channeled  frame called an SEG frame. A fabric graphics with SEG framing can provide a diverse variety of solution sets for many industries, but today we are just going to focus on the restaurant industry.

It has been fairly evident, even in the small city of Charlottesville, that there has been a big change in the interior design of restaurants. There has been  an influx of what I view as the urban style interior design. It seems to be a perfect blend of transparent function and organics. Exposed beams and materials are following the success of the Chipotle’s design with corrugated metals, beams, and natural wood. This ambiance paired with this a growing  appreciation of homegrown organics seems to foster the perfect business model.

Often the spaces are laid out as one cavernous open area with high ceilings and cement floors with a kitchen you can now peer into. But what is happening to sound in these newly designed spaces? You won’t see carpeting in these newly designed restaurants. You won’t see heavy velvet curtains on the windows either. And you may not even see white table linens, but rather use of the sleek stainless or cement table tops. (Who needs the laundry?)  It can have one continuous back bench on one side of the table and art noveau chairs made of transparent molded plex on the other. The carpet, the curtains, and the cloths, with all their sound absorption properties, are now missing in action!

All the sights, sounds, and easily-accessed smells in this new design creates a positive dining experience which is exciting and stimulating. Imagine being hit with an intense blast of garlic saute’ing in butter, the hum of lively conversation, and clouds of steam rising. That low roar of sound, sometimes referred to as ‘hububub’ has the positive effect of energizing the crowd. And it can be quite contagious. In larger restaurant spaces you will notice the added feature of sports bars, with a minimum of two high definition screens. This setting is design intentional, but are all the factors under control? Like what happens when the decibels get too loud?

Imagine being an aging baby boomer walking into this setting. Granted, boomers likely have gone to one too many a loud rock concert, but this occupied cavernous space can become quite loud. It often has ceilings as high as 20 ft or more, with black painted over the functional parts, giving it the feeling of the infinite sky. Glancing around the room one might notice eye-catching drama with one or two spot-lighted pieces of big wall art. Among this darkened background, pops of color gain extra attention.

Adding a few more pieces of strategically placed fabric graphics with acoustical properties could be just what this setting needs to shave off the excess restaurant noise! Seek out fabric graphics which are printed on acoustically transparent fabric, to allow the passage of sound. This alone will impact sound travel in a room. Putting additional acoustical materials (like acoustical foam, cotton, or even natural insulation called acoustical mineral wool )behind the graphics panel will further provide noise reduction or partial absorption. Remember, you don’t wish to deaden the excitement, you just want to soften it up a bit! Here is what I found out about concerning restaurant noise on restaurantnoise.com: the average restaurant attains decibel levels of 80, and can potentially be as high as 110. This is the equivalent sound to a power mower, which is at the point, where I personally get to  apply my lip reading skills and hope that I’ve done so correctly!

Now the softened sounds will become like background music to the ears, as you experience this energized space with great smelling food and beautiful art. Positive energy, good vibes, and delicious smells are all your senses need.  You might ask “where do I get fabric graphics with noise reduction properties?” Here is what you need to do: Choose a high resolution digital file of your favorite image file. If not yours, there are image banks such as iStock or perhaps you could have a high res file shot of your original artwork.  Your interior designer should assist you in choosing the best look for your brand or image you want to convey. Locate a well-rounded provider of large format fabric graphics (preferably dye sublimated fabric graphics) to discuss what options are available. If an on-site visit is not possible, at least send some quick snapshots on your phone of your space to assist in describing the space.

As one provider put it, “acoustical functionality concealed with decorative printed or custom printed fabrics in commercial fabric stretch systems” is a perfect solution. If you were to choose dye-sublimated fabrics, you would additionally have the ability to wash the art panel from time to time. The hanging system called SEG or silicone edge graphic means you’ve purchased a system which will allow easy change outs of the artwork (and for a reasonable cost). The ability to change out your art panels might enhance the POP branding of your space, according to each season or special, for whatever suits you.  People are creatures of habit who bore easily. How exciting would it be to be able to easily change out the fabric graphic image, and do it without requiring a special installer to make that change out for you? All you need to do is submit the same size specs as your first order of fabric graphics in an SEG frame. Place your order with  a fabric graphics print provider, and voila’ when the graphic arrives, you can switch it out.

How Does One Go About Changing Out Fabric Graphics? Assuming the frame is mounted to the wall, the fabric graphic is held in by the silicone gasket sewn to the perimeter of the fabric. Simply pick a corner and gently ease it out of its frame. You then just pick a corner, and start pressing in the silicone corner at one of the corners of the fabric graphic.  This frees you to wash the removed fabric graphic (on gentle in a cold wash cycle) while you admire your newly installed fabric graphic. Want to know more? Call 1800-829-4562