Artistic Signs & Graphics

Research firm iSuppli boldly proclaimed last month that 2008 will be known as the year flexible active matrix displays coalesced into a global market.

According to the El Segundo, CA, -based market research group, market for flexible displays worldwide will climb from $80 million last year to $2.8 billion by 2013 –a whopping 35-times increase.

Applications for the flexible displays will range from the way-out-there clothes made out of wearable displays to more conventional display applications like digital signs, electronic display cards and digital shelf labels and end caps.

If you’re not familiar with flexible active matrix technology, here’s what they are in a nutshell. After much research and development, electronics giant Philips developed a technique for producing super-thin, rollable active matrix (i.e. pixel addressable) display that can be wrapped around objects –-for example, a pillar in an airport concourse or a human body in a shirt.

Just this month, a paper in a nanotechnology journal laid out work of researchers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, Northwestern University in Chicago and the University of Southern California who had successfully developed the first nanowire transistor-based active matrix display. The organic light emitting diode (OLED) display reportedly is every bit as bright as a flat LCD screen or CRT but has the added benefit of flexibility.

Think for a moment of the countless new applications there will be for digital signage based on this sort of flexible display. Architectural structures, such as pillars, supports and hand rails and even entire buildings; vehicles, such as tractor trailers and automobiles; personal items, such as apparel and umbrellas, all become potential homes for new flexible digital signage. While some surely will fail as appropriate homes form digital signage along the way, these sorts of applications are sure to contribute to the 35-fold growth iSuppli envisions.

As this technology matures so to will its performance characteristics. Tighter curves and smaller bends surely will follow with successive generations of these flexible displays. That in turn will lead to a whole new class of objects upon which the displays can be mounted. Eventually, it might even be possible to wrap a flexible active matrix display around a sphere to transform a ball into a globe displaying a computer graphic representation of the Earth –complete with landmasses and oceans. Or, 21st century equivalents of sandwich-board men, could don head-to-toe body wear to display unique promotions and ads. Imagine how that approach could be used to advertise the popular, traveling museum exhibit of plasticized human bodies.

As these applications unfold, there will be a need to address the problem of mapping a two-dimensional image onto a 3-D surface. Here too technology can conquer the challenge. Software applications, such as X-WARP, exist today to correct for such geometric distortions. In fact, such software is being used today to correct geometric distortions created by projecting an image with a video projector onto oddly shaped objects.

However, for the time being it’s enough to know that 2008 will be the year flexible active-matrix displays make it out of the lab and into the mainstream. If iSuppli is right, it’s entirely possible that before the end of this year we all will have wrapped our heads around the notion that video, graphics and text no longer must be confined to a flat display technology. Where that leads will only be limited by our imaginations.

About the Author:

David Little is a digital signage enthusiast with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to expand their marketing messages with alternative media. Visit http://www.keywesttechnology.com and find how you can expand your marketing horizons. For further insight, download my free white paper Six Basic Applications for Digital Signage. This paper focuses on applications for the hospitality industry, which are applicable to every industry. And while you are browsing our web site, sign up and take advantage of our free weekly Webinars that give you hands-on experience with our digital signage software.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Digital Signage: Wrap Your Head Around This – Flexible Displays!

Sign Design

RETAIL GRAPHIC Art Design Merchandising Display Signage $12.99

1,000 Retail Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everyt $15.68

NEW 1,000 Retail Graphics: From Signage to Logos and... $26.09

AGELESS Street Sign ~ Custom Aluminum Street Signs $15.99 6"x24" .040 thick Aluminum street sign with 5-7 year outdoor vinyl. Great decoration and gift idea. Want another color lettering including reflective Contact US. We also make these in the smaller 4"x18" if you do not see listed contact us and we''''ll get it listed....

No TWO ARE ALIKE ~ Snowflake ~ Vintage country signage $12.00 ...

Victorian Powder Room Plaque ~ Great Wall Picture and Decor ~ Gives That Feeling of Elegant Times of the Past.... $10.99 Vintage Expressions add flair to any space. Designed with laminate fiberboard and accented with decorative cord hangers. "Great Home Decor Item or as a GIFT"...

Stand-Offs: (Quantity of 4), 1.2 Diameter, 1.2 Long; Architectural quality, satin aluminum finish; Project your pictures, graphics and other signage out one full inch from mounting surfaces $38.86 (Quantity of 4 Stand-Offs) - Stand-Offs project your signage a full one inch out from mounting surface providing a sharp, professional, 3-D look. These Stand-Offs are 1.2" long and 1.2" diameter and will hold material up to ½". Includes 2 vinyl sticky tabs to protect and seal. Architectural quality, satin aluminum finish. To explore more products from this manufacturer, please refer to Hang-Ups U...

Stand-Offs: (Quantity of 4), 3/4 Diameter, 1 Long, Architectural quality; satin aluminum finish; Project your pictures, graphics and other signage out one full inch from mounting surfaces $21.88 (Quantity of 4 Stand-Offs) - Stand-Offs project your signage a full one inch out from mounting surface providing a sharp, professional, 3-D look. These Stand-Offs are 1" long and 3/4" diameter and will hold material up to 3/8". Includes 2 vinyl washers to protect and seal. Architectural quality, satin aluminum finish. Stand-Offs include externally threaded base plugs with a (1/4 inch - 20 thread s...

Stand-Offs: (Quantity of 4), 1 1/8 Diameter, 1 Long; Architectural quality, satin aluminum finish; Project your pictures, graphics and other signage out one full inch from mounting surfaces $30.58 (Quantity of 4 Stand-Offs) - Stand-Offs project your signage a full one inch out from mounting surface providing a sharp, professional, 3-D look. These Stand-Offs are 1" long and 1 1/8" diameter and will hold material up to 1/2". Includes 2 vinyl washers to protect and seal. Architectural quality, satin aluminum finish. Stand-Offs include externally threaded base plugs with a (1/4 inch - 20 thread...

Serif Desktop Publishing Suite $28.99 DESKTOP PUBLISHING SUITE 2009...

Kinemac 3D Real Time Animation Software for Mac $269.99 KINEMAC 3D REAL TIME ANIMATION...

Extensis FONT RESERVE 2.6 WIN STAND ( FRE-14500 ) $79.95 Can one product really have it all? We think so. Font Reserve has all the right tools to serve the diverse needs of designers, IT professionals and even the most demanding production managers. Provides individual, professional-level font management. Makes it easy to find and activate the right font fast. All the tools you need to manage a complete library of fonts. Features auto-activation, on-s...

For Sale Sign - Static Cling $1.49 Static-Cling Vehicle "For Sale" Sign mounts inside a vehicle. Non-adhesive static cling - can be removed and reapplied. Sales info is easily applied with a felt tip permanent marker. 8 x 12...