If you have done any rental and staging over the last several decades, chances are you’re extremely familiar with Da-Lite‘s Fast-Fold Screen System.
The folding screen is so widely used and embraced that Fast-Fold has become “almost the Kleenex of the industry,” says Da-Lite senior marketing manager Melissa Rone.
“People use them every day. They’re workhorses. They get beat up. They get abused. They withstand the heavy use.”
However, Da-Lite decided it was time to give the beloved Fast-Fold a refresh. After all, a product that is as heavily used as it is and has been around for as long as it has is bound to generate some feedback.
“We took a holistic approach, talked to business owners, product managers, set engineers, technicians who set up and take it down, end users who hire AV companies, owners, buyers,” Rone says. “And we just listened.”
The new Fast-Fold, unveiled at InfoComm 2016, is three years in the making.
A big difference that users will see right off the bat is that its extrusion is less industrial looking than its hinge- and rivet-heavy predecessor. The new look is more slick and boasts many changes, some subtle, some dramatic – all of which are based on the extensive search for feedback.
Here’s a look at what’s in and what’s out with the new Da-Lite Fast-Fold:
New Extrusion— There’s a reason why the original Fast-Fold was very industrial-looking boating lots of hinges and rivets. “It’s a folding screen that needs to be set up quickly and thrown on trucks,” Rone says. “Everything is exposed and you put a surface on it.”
But Da-Lite determined that there was room for improvement. It added more aluminum for a slightly larger frame and more strength. Ribs add to that strength where needed. Users will notice a change in shape that is designed to improve aesthetics and streamline accessories by centralizing the location of all attachments.
“It’s a unique shape, not square,” Rone explains —”a slight rectangle with two ribs on each side which creates a universal channel on each side of the excursion. So you have these two ribs that take more strength and completely changes the shape. It gives it a very clean look. Everything is now internal. We got rid of the rivets. There are very, very strong; hinges inside the extrusion. It’s great because it allows us to have a lot of things internal. Instead of snaps and a lot of snapping, now there is a plastic clip that wraps around and into the universal channel.”
Da-Lite Fast-Fold’s new extrusion
New Hinge— This internal hinge is designed to improve durability and aesthetics. It also adds strength in design using epoxy inside instead of exposed rivets.
Da-Lite Fast-Fold’s new hinge
New Corner— With a push-button release for easy tear down, the new corner is interchangeable and designed for easy set-up. A fixed corner design eliminates rivets that can loosen over time. There’s a welded insert for additional reinforced strength.
Da-Lite Fast-Fold’s new corner
