Canopy, how to apply artwork?

[kpipes22 0]

Want to put my son's photo, recently deceased, on a canopy, so I can "see" him. Is there a particular manufacturer--for canopy artwork process pre-build--or an after market artist that can help apply a black photo on a white canopy background? And, does fabric need to be zero-porosity, or can this be done on any fabric? Thanks.

"You can't overcome weakness by fighting it,
or by thinking your way out of it:
Evolution doesn't work that way . . .
You overcome weakness by leaving it behind you!" ~ Stuart Wilde ~

[LloydDobbler 2]

Quote

Want to put my son's photo, recently deceased, on a canopy, so I can "see" him. Is there a particular manufacturer--for canopy artwork process pre-build--or an after market artist that can help apply a black photo on a white canopy background? And, does fabric need to be zero-porosity, or can this be done on any fabric? Thanks.

Hey, kpipes -

First off, sorry to hear of your loss. Sounds like an excellent idea, provide ou can find someone who can do it safely.

There are lots of different ways to transfer and image to another surface, from "analog" image/emulsion transfers to digital printing. The dilemma comes in, what's going to be the easiest way to do it without f***ing up the canopy fabric to the point it's unsafe. (Lines, etc, also cause a problem).

That being the case, my recommendation would be to talk to the company that manufactured your canopy - tell them your situation, and ask what they'd recommend. Chances are, they have the most experience printing on their canopies...and most wll tell you if it's doable, or not, and can tell you what process to use. (Then you'll ust have to find someone who can print using that process, and get an estimate from them).

Best of luck,

KC

Signatures are the new black.

[PhreeZone 15]

Paint, Iron ons, and other most post production techniques tend to flake off ZP really quickly and only are good for short term solutions. If this is a canopy you are wanting to jump for a long time (hundreds if not thousands of jumps) then you will need to look at having the artwork sewn into a new canopy. They will build it out of ZP or F111 depending on the canopy you order, Something to keep in mind is that the cost for artwork usually starts at a few hundred for simple lettering and designs and for more complicated designs you will be looking at doubling or tripling the cost of the canopy. I've seen a logo that cost around $2500 for just the logo then another $1500 for the canopy. That was a $4000 canopy and its design was not lifelife but was still nice to look at. Talk to PD and Precision to get quotes but don't be surprised if you are not quoted for more then a $3500 canopy.

Another option to look at if you want to go a little more ecconomical is to have patches created to sew onto your jumpsuits, gear bags, etc. They will be able to do full color patches that are much more lifelife for less then probally $20 a patch for a batch of 10 or so.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[kpipes22 0]

Hey Kipp, and Erk, My nickname is Kit.

Thank you my brothers, for your advice, suggestions, and experience with this topic!

I do not, yet, own my own rig. My question was in a context of "when I buy used or new, how might I choose to go about selecting a canopy that will meet my needs for applying some artwork?"

I think Erk's advice is helpful, unless I have LOTSA money, and I don't, I need to be careful about my expectations for applying artwork to a future canopy, assuming I want that artwork to last through many jumps.

So, unless anyone else out there has other advice, and I welcome any/all suggestions, I am now thinking about the possibility of designing a four foot tall, three foot wide, photo-on-fabric and having a rigger sew it into the center of a canopy.

How might this concept affect opening, canopy flight, aggressive turns, etc? Thanks much! Blue skies.

Kit

"You can't overcome weakness by fighting it,
or by thinking your way out of it:
Evolution doesn't work that way . . .
You overcome weakness by leaving it behind you!" ~ Stuart Wilde ~

[LloydDobbler 2]

Quote

How might this concept affect opening, canopy flight, aggressive turns, etc? Thanks much! Blue skies.

Kit

Hey, Kit -

At this point, I'm totally out of my league, so I'll step back & let those with much more experience answer your question. But I'll keep following the thread to see what you figure out.

Best of luck.

Blue skies,

Kipp

Signatures are the new black.

[bodypilot90 0]

maybbe a cheaper idea would be his name on one cell. Sorry for your loss.

[cobaltdan 0]

there are large dotmatrix printers that can print onto fabric.

we have tested the process on ripstops and you can not print onto zp you can however print onto f111.

we manufacture large banners for towing behind helicopters and the company we work for sometimes has digital prints onto 1.8 oz ripstop.

You could have this done and then use the printed material for the bottom skin of the canopy, with zp for the top skin.

The manufacturer would need to provide patterns for the bottom skin panels to account for seam overlaps.

Daniel Preston <><>
atairaerodynamics.com (sport)
atairaerospace.com (military)

[DSE 3]

It also goes without saying that this substantially increases bulk. If you're putting light over dark, you often will also need a masking layer to keep the light colors visible. Best results are dark images/letters over light colors.
Having been waiting for a custom canopy since November, I've learned a lot about why the manufacturer moves so carefully at sewing logos on to ZP
It's not cheap, either.

[dragon2 0]

We have a lot of Triathlons with Tommy Hilfiger logos on them at our DZ. The logo was sewn on as an extra layer, on top of a white canopy. They pack about a size bigger. I think they're slightly sluggish for it, at least the hybrid Tri's we have, and those open slooooooow - constant problems with the slider staying up. Not sure about the effect of the logo on the comp Tri's, have never jumped on of those myself. They do look really cool in the air though

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[Eagle7 0]

A company/dropzone in Seville, Spain does artwork on canopies and might be able to help you out. You can find contact information on this site: http://www.sky-science.com/artwork.htm They did a canopy design for me. Good luck!

[Liemberg 0]

When it is about YOU seeing him (and not the rest of the world seeing him) You might consider artwork in the slider.

(I jump several different tandemcanopies with artwork in them on a regular basis. I tend to recognise wich one is wich - apart from openingcharacteristics - by their color, not by what is written / drawn on the bottom layer of the canopy, since the slider blocks my view... A former cameraflier that jumped at my place had "filmed by Crisp" written inside his slider; worked like a charm...)

"Whoever in discussion adduces authority uses not intellect but memory." - Leonardo da Vinci
A thousand words...

[PhreeZone 15]

An issue with printing like this is that the manufactor might not be willing to build certian canopies out of anything other then their original material. For example a Safire might not be built with F111 because the manufactor does not want it to fly differently then an all ZP. You might need to look at canopies that are already F111 bottom skin to find a suitable platform to have it built with.

Just having a big piece of fabric printed on then later sewn onto the bottom of the canopy is not feasable for a lot of reasons. The first is that the line attachments are going to go through the fabric so its going to have to be cut or the rigger is going to have to replace all the line attachment points and that is adding cost to the job. It has to be sewn into the canopy just right or else it will distort the skin of the canopy and will make it fly in undesirable ways.

Something else to consider is the possibility of resale. Down the road you may decide that you want a smaller canopy or even that you no longer want to jump. Having a canopy with a photo on it will eliminate any possibility of reselling it and then you will be stuck with a $2500 ball of nylon that no one else will want.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[pinkfairy 0]

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Something else to consider is the possibility of resale. Down the road you may decide that you want a smaller canopy or even that you no longer want to jump. Having a canopy with a photo on it will eliminate any possibility of reselling it and then you will be stuck with a $2500 ball of nylon that no one else will want.

Someone will definetely want it, I know that some paragliders are with sponsor logos, and get sold.

You might not get as much money for it as a canopy without a logo or image, or whatever.

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

[longtall 0]

Keith ; Sorry for your loss. As an alternative Ive seen 'dog-tags' that are etched with a photo to keep next to your heart.................J...............................

" 90 right, five miles then cut."---Pukin Buzzards

[bigway 4]

I just got a quote of putting a logo on a canopy for one of my customers. They could only do the simple part of the logo and it was costing over $500 to give you an idea.

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
.

[bigway 4]

Also when i was in talks with Jyro about getting our sponsors canopies made up with their logo on it for demo jumps he was telling us that they would use a whole new bottom piece sewen on to the canopy with the logo on it and this costs something like an extra $1200 USD

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
.

[PhreeZone 15]

Sponsor logos are one thing, lots of people would consider them just since then its a way to look like they are sponsored also. One of the phone companies made a commercial recently and open opening the jumper points at his canopy and on the bottom of it is says "Marry me?". An item like that probally cost $2500 at least and not many people would want to buy it if anyone since its message is so far out there. Logos like the PD or the Katana logo would sell with no issue, a personal picture of someone... not so likely.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[mandm 0]

I am jumping a Spectre 170 with a big logo sewn onto the canopy. It does pack sgnificantly bigger than the regular Spectre 170 my wife is jumping and I also think it flies a bit more docile but flares better. Of course, spectres open slow, even without modifying them. But the canopy was really cheap, got it second hand from a 4way team...