Over 1,500 comments of support from Watford Football Club (nicknamed ‘The Hornets’) fans have been captured in a 4m x 1.3m banner produced for the playoff final with Crystal Palace on Monday 27 May. The messages were compiled over four days last week via Twitter, Facebook and the club’s official mailing list, with the subsequent banner produced in collaboration with audio and video-embedded print integration company Talking Print and printed by Watford-based Stylo Graphics.
The 4m x 1.3m banner was digitally printed onto a matt fabric using a dye-sublimation process to give it a metallic and high quality finish. Smaller replica versions were also created and displayed in acrylic frames for Gianfranco Zola, manager of Watford FC, and the Pozzo family, investors in the club, as a memento of the season.
David Hyams, co-founder of Talking Print, said: “As a supporter of Watford FC and print enthusiast, I first supplied a similar banner in 1999 and a second in 2006. Watford won both times. So seven years on and another playoff final, I thought it would be a great way of showcasing the Watford FC supporters online messages of support from digital platforms, using a traditional form of print that can be kept for years in the Watford Museum alongside the previous banners.”
After its debut appearance at a Watford FC press conference and as a Sky Sports feature yesterday, the banner will be on display at Wembley stadium for a short time and then be housed at the Watford Museum.