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Northcott Banner Corp. in Minneapolis, Minn., was one of the first banner shops in town to do dye sublimation printing. Owner Millie Northcott says her business focus and printing method have changed, but the dye sublimation process remains a cornerstone of her business.
One of her more recent pursuits is a line of banners with inspirational messages for cancer patients. This sprung from the personal experience of losing a good friend and bicycling partner to ovarian cancer. LivingBanners launched as an online store, but Northcott is also selling the banners wholesale and at gift shows.
“It’s kind of matching my talents with my passions. It’s a very creative outlet for me,” she says. “I started making these for people with messages of hope and courage, and they were taking these into their chemo appointments. Based on the feedback, I’ve now branched out to a faith-based [market] and I started a line of children’s banners and holiday banners.”
Northcott does all the design, printing and finishing in-house. The banners come in two sizes, 19-by-31-inch and 19-by-42-inch, and are printed on Fisher Textiles poly poplin. The combination of the fabric and the dye sublimation process create a colorful and vivid end result. Northcott is also printing more apparel products with this method, including bike jerseys and team uniforms.