New Ottawa company brings custom-built Italian signs to Canada

A new Ottawa-based company wants to bring images to life.

Iridance Image Systems Inc. recently opened its doors in a location off of Leitrim Road to create colourful custom signs. But the company does not bill itself as a traditional digital sign company, as the images are printed on fabric and then backlit by LED lights in a custom-built aluminum frame. 

“We create a beautiful kind of sign with a particular kind of construction that can bring images to life,” said the company's president and CEO, Filippo Gallino. 

The new company started moving into its space at 2784 Fenton Rd. in June, but opened in December. The idea for the products came from an Italian company, which Iridance shares know-how and materials with. 

Gallino and co-founder Marie-Josee Begin said they chose Ottawa as the company's manufacturing base because of its location between Montreal and Toronto, which could both be sizeable markets for them in addition to the nation's capital. 

“So we can serve the three major cities in this area,” said Begin.

The company uses high quality UV printing to create its vibrant images. Begin said the signs could have many applications, from stores for retail stores, airports, and museums to pieces of artwork in homes. 

The signs have rubber bands sewn into their sides so that they can be easily replaced with another image by just tugging at the band, said Gabriele Barbero, the company's marketing and production manager. A new piece of fabric is easily installed on the same frame once the old one is pealed away. 

The company also has no limitations in terms of the size of the images it creates. Barbero said the company is set up to make signs as big as three-metres tall and 50-metres wide, but the company can also order bigger fabric. He said the company's Italian counterpart has made signs as large as 250-square-metres. 

The company has already made a sign for its showroom that spans the height and length of a wall. 

“We don't have a dimensional limit,” Barbero said. 

Anyone interested in purchasing a sign will need to get in contact with the company, which is employing ten people and uses custom quotes for all its products at the moment. Barbero said the company is working toward getting some standard sizes with pricing on its website. 

The company is also already working on a next generation product that will involve a combination of still images with movement.