July 2006:
Be Supportive, Use an Easel

Products as diverse as POP displays, menus, teaching manuals, calendars and marketing presentations benefit from a properly-designed easel. Easels come in two main flavors – tents and wings – that are ideal for different types of products. Custom-designed easels that fall outside these two styles are also possible if your project requires it. Here are some quick details about each type of easel:

Tent easels can be designed to fold flat for economical storage.

Tent Easels
A tent easel is typically used to support a mechanically-bound product. For example, on a Wire-O table menu, a tent easel can be formed by punching both ends of a single piece of cover stock. The cover is then scored three times in the center, which allows the easel to fold flat when not in use. Other tent easel designs call for two separate pieces of cover material to be die cut to create interlocking tabs.

Wing Easels
Wing easels offer excellent support for POP displays, standees and other single-piece, mounted products. Single-wing and double-wing easels can be created by either die-cutting a wing into the back of the piece, or affixing an easel that’s been crafted separately. Both methods allow wing easels to fold flat until they’re needed, allowing for economical shipping and storage.

Custom Easels
If the size, weight or usage requirements of your products call for more substantial support, a custom-made easel may be required. A custom easel can be crafted from a wide range of materials, so let The Riverside Group help you design and create one that meets your specific needs.

Planning Tip - Regardless of the style easel you choose, its design and construction will be dictated by the size and weight of the product it supports. While a tent easel supporting a small menu may require only a cover-weight paper, a large-format chart may call for one that’s much more substantial. Also, the span of a wing easel must in proportion with the height of the piece, which may influence its design for some projects.

The Riverside Advantage
The Riverside Group can help you incorporate an easel into almost any product. Our die cutting, collating, folding, gluing and hand assembly capabilities can be combined with our collating, mechanical binding, mounting and film laminating services to create an end-to-end workflow for easels and display products.