Custom canopies are fabricated using various methods, both physical and digital. Below are some key processes on how we make our tents.
Design
Custom tents are initially designed on a computer program such as adobe illustrator. This is where we come up with a design or two. Here, we can add logos, text, walls, table covers, etc. Once the client approves the design, we then send the art files to the printing department.
Printing and Coating
Commercial grade vinyl and polyester materials are printed using large format digital printers. Once the ink fully dries, the tent sections are then coated with a protective U.V. coating that will help protect the graphics from fading. The coated sections are then hung to dry.
Cutting and Heat Seal
Once the protective U.V. coating has fully dried, the tent patterns and templates are manually cut. These cut pieces will be joined together to form the canopy using RF welding, or what we call “heat-sealing.” Large machines press and melt the pieces together, creating waterproof seams each time. This technique of merging material pieces together is what makes our tents 100% waterproof.
Sewing:
The last step in production is sewing. Once the tent and walls are formed using our heat sealing machines, we then do the final touches by sewing and reinforcing the valance edges and corners.
The final product is a heavy duty tent which we inspect for quality control. We double check a whole slew of things including the printing, tent fitment on the designated frame and an overall checklist of the manufacturing process to ensure that every step in our manufacturing plant was performed in accordance to our standards.