There’s just something about pennants flapping in the breeze at a new home community that gets the attention of passersby and helps to welcome newcomers. Debbie Fisher of Marketshare Inc., in Roseville, CA, wanted the effect of windblown fabric, but she and her client wanted something more durable. So Fisher, whose company manufactures signs and displays for new housing communities, selected Dibond Material, two sheets of .012″ aluminum bonded to a thermoplastic core. That solved the durability problem, and with some fabrication ingenuity, Marketshare was able to create permanent waves in the material — to simulate the effect of fabric in the wind.
“Dibond material was cut on a table saw, then spray painted, and screen printed graphics were applied. Next, we bent the pennants manually, using a jig made from two pipes. The jig had been covered with furniture blanket padding to prevent scratches.”

That was two years ago, and the 50 Dibond Material pennants that were attached to light standards still look good, according to Fisher. “They need occasional pressure washing to freshen them up, but that’s all,” she said. “They were bolted to the light standards using custom aluminum brackets.

“These pennants have worked so well that we have printed an additional group of 50,” Fisher said.

Dibond Material is domestically manufactured by the Benton, KY, plant of 3A Composites USA Inc. The product is available in thicknesses of 2mm, 3mm and 4mm and prefinished colors of white, silver, bronze and black.