Explanation

The process of producing the balloons has a number of stages. Production starts with the design team passing on the detailed design of all the panels. This will often be in the form of templates that have been cut on the plotter. The cutters then cut the cloth according to the templates. This is done on the cutting tables and as the cutters pull the cloth from the reels, it is drawn in front of large lights. This is to try to spot any imperfections in the cloth. It is much cheaper to correct these at this early stage, than to re-build a finished balloon!

The cut panels are then passed on to a team of sewers. A team is usually made up of around 5 machinists with a team leader. This team will usually follow through the production of the whole envelope . They sew all the panels together and sew in the tapes that carry the loads of the balloon down to the stainless steel frame around the basket.

The artwork will be put onto the balloon either before or after this stage. Sometimes the artwork may be dyed into the fabric before sewing using a dye-sublimation technique (this is done by outside contractors), though more often it is done by the artwork department at Cameron's. Sometimes it is airbrushed on
and sometimes it is stuck on.

Meanwhile, all the rest of the balloon has to be produced as well. There is the basket , the burners and all the rigging to be done, as well as many of the ancillary items. The baskets are made by an outside contractor but finished by Cameron's. This means putting on the padding and fitting all the internal pieces.

Finally it is all put together by the engineering department, and passed over to the lucky customer.