Museum Exhibit Durability When Exposure is High
Experience is the best teacher and I’d like to share some things we’ve learned from our experience as exhibit fabricators with a focus on materials suggested for dependability and durability. Today’s museum design firms do an outstanding job of designing engaging, innovative and attractive exhibits. Perhaps not at the forefront of every designer’s mind, are the concerns about which materials are most durable for the job. Aesthetics and design are the first consideration, but durability is also key to a successful exhibit. With materials and printing technologies are changing all the time, it may be challenging to know which one performs best “out in the field.”
Discuss with your exhibit builder and exhibit printer the specified conditions of the display area. This discussion will bring clarity as to which material will be most suitable for the exhibit conditions. If your exhibit will travel or if the exhibit is planned to have a longer than typical exhibit schedule, facts like these should be discussed before production begins. Functional integrity is key if an exhibit is going to take a beating from heat, humidity, or sun exposure. If your exhibit will be shipped and handled frequently or if it has lengthier than usual schedule to endure, then the durable performance of the exhibit should be addressed upfront. Sometimes materials decisions need to conform to performance requirements rather than just pure aesthetics. Exhibit performance is key to having a successful exhibit.
5 Tips

1. If you are going for a fabric graphic, such as fabric banners, you should know that a heavy or warp knit is snag-resistant. Although a finer material, such as ‘bannerlux’ might give a more refined look; materials such as this will snag and best reserved for areas where traffic will not come into direct contact with it.  2. UV cured inks tend to adhere better and create a more durable bond on Polycarbonate plastic than on acrylic plastic. Polycarbonate is all around more durable material than acrylic plastic. Depending on any given flatbed UV printer light source and  ink sets, adhesion factors can vary. It is best to directly discuss the concerns you have with your selected PSP (print service provider) to confirm how their particular UV printer + ink set combination performs with the preferred substrate. Transparent substrates are highlighted because often they are choice material for museum exhibits.        3. Digital images printed on wood using flatbed UV printing are an excellent solution for durability. Suitable for historic and natural world exhibits, printing on wood can produce a variety of effects.  4. For exterior exhibits, use solvent printed vinyl (as used with fleet graphics). It is the most durable outdoor solution within its price range and so you will not need to  resort to the more expensive pressure laminate solutions for added protection. Vinyl banners stand up to wind, sun, and fade resistant and is good for full color photographs.
  5. Ultra-chrome inks on ‘fine art paper’ is the best solution for case graphics. This is the most archival solution for printing digital imagery. Full color gamut and 1440 DPI resolution are available with this.
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