Today, we have a bonus episode for you. And it’s all about Tyvek. Yes, that wondrous paper-like, fabric-like material, that is actually neither paper nor fabric, that our industry uses to make race bibs.
Well, that wondrous material is now in a bit of a supply freeze. That’s right - the owners and exclusive manufacturers of Tyvek, DuPont, have informed printers that no more printing-grade Tyvek shall be made available until the end of the year, in an effort to divert production to medical-grade Tyvek, used in PPE and medical supplies, which, not surprisingly, is in high demand lately.
So what is to become of Tyvek race bibs? I sat down with Marathon Printing President and third-generation bib printing specialist, Ryan Zirk, to find out.
In this episode:
- Tyvek's special properties making it ideal for race bibs
- Tyvek's (many) other industrial uses: PPE, packaging, weather barriers
- Printing on Tyvek bibs: from bulk Tyvek sheets to finished bibs
- Printing Tyvek at home: can it be done?
- Recycling Tyvek bibs: where and how you can recycle your Tyvek bibs
- DuPont's announcement of halting production of printer-grade Tyvek
- Alternatives to Tyvek for printing bibs, if printer-grade Tyvek inventories are exhausted
Thanks to GiveSignup|RunSignup for supporting quality content for race directors by sponsoring this episode. More than 22,000 in-person, virtual, and hybrid events use GiveSignup|RunSignup's free and integrated solution to save time, grow their events, and raise more. If you'd like to learn more about GiveSignup|RunSignup's all-in-one technology solution for endurance and fundraising events visit runsignup.com.
You can find more resources on anything and everything related to race directing on our website RaceDirectorsHQ.com.
You can also share your questions about race bibs or anything else in our Facebook group, Race Directors Hub.