Alan Noble – Managing Director of Cameron Balloons.

Cameron is the world’s largest manufacturer of hot-air balloons and the only company to have built manned balloons that have circumnavigated the globe non-stop. He is a qualified hot-air balloon, gas balloon, hot-air airship, gas airship and fixed wing pilot.

Approximately six years ago Cameron Balloons experimented with printing the nylon it uses to build its balloons. “Solvent inks were employed and staff complained bitterly at the smell when the fabric was unrolled in our factory.” And he adds: “When our main supplier advised they were going to retire the large format printer on which our work was produced I decided it was time to bring the process in-house, and that we would go UV.”

Alan spoke at the FESPA Digital Textile 2010, and stated the only reason he agreed to speak at FESPA was in the hope that somebody in the audience will be able to help him solve his one remaining but rather important difficulty: “How do you persuade UV ink to stick to nylon?”