Big Picture - September 2019 - 6

A DV E R T I S E M E N T

Printing United | BOOTH 7016 PREVIEW

Wallcoverings Are In, Big Time!

hey're brighter and bolder than ever and represent one of
the fastest-growing segments in digital printing. Growth
is projected to be 25 percent annually through 2023, with
revenue climbing from $2.53 billion to $7.74 billion.1
Several factors are fueling this renewed popularity for wallcoverings
after decades of being passé. These include the recovery of the
residential and commercial construction industry, the powerful influence
of social media, the advent of eye-catching, pop-up retail space, and
booming demand for customized murals and large-scale indoor and
outdoor décor elements in hotels, restaurants, stores, corporate offices
and conference rooms, apartment complexes, healthcare environments,
and educational institutions.
Designers and interior décor professionals have their eyes out for
fresh, affordable, and fast alternatives to traditional wallcoverings as a
way to creatively transform spaces, provide an interactive experience,
or express a unique brand image. From corporate meeting rooms and
executive offices, to hotel lobbies and campus dining halls, digitally
printed interior décor offers virtually infinite variety and options for
creatively personalizing and customizing surroundings.

CONVENTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES HAVE
LIMITED BUSINESS GROWTH POTENTIAL
Conventional print technologies may pose challenges for PSPs seeking
to gain a solid foothold in the wallcovering market, including:
Cost - It can be expensive to own and operate UV and latex digital
printers that meet exacting quality standards. Specialized wallpaper
offset presses have a giant footprint and price tag to match, plus costly
tooling and materials with limited shelf life.
Labor-intensive requirements - Set up is time consuming, and the
entire production process may require constant hands-on management.
Color - Accuracy and consistency can be difficult to achieve with
conventional processes and inks.
Production time - To be practical and profitable, analog processes
require high-volume production with generous timelines, making them
ill-suited for custom wallcovering projects.
Dimensional consistency - Media stretching or deforming can result
from heat-based evaporative technologies used for curing and drying latex
or eco-solvent inks, and inks containing water can cause media to swell.

Conventional digital and inkjet technologies can also force PSPs to
choose between quality and productivity. Décor applications demand
precision image reproduction, smooth output with no banding, and
excellent repeatable color and geometric consistency across the image
and across multiple panels. But using the higher-quality print modes'
top-caliber output substantially curbs output speed. That's because the
dot gain/coalescence limits of latex and eco-solvent inkjet systems limit
the volume of ink that can be laid down at one time.
Chuck Wingard, president and owner of Tree Towns Imaging & Color
Graphics (treetowns.com) in Elmhurst, Illinois, encountered similar issues
relying on latex technology to print wallcoverings and other wideformat materials. "In order to get a high-quality print, we had to run the
machine more slowly than we would have liked. Color consistency would
shift from panel over panel and so would consistency when it came to
dimension because you would get some stretching when it came time to
heat up a vinyl material," he says.

CAPTURING NEW OPPORTUNITIES
REQUIRES THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY
As with any new business opportunity, generating new revenue from
the burgeoning wall décor market requires strategic planning and
investment in the right resources. PSPs who rely on conventional or
outdated technology will find it difficult to compete successfully in today's
demanding wallcoverings marketplace. On the other hand, PSPs willing to
deploy next generation digital wide-format print technology will be ideally
positioned to meet customers' skyrocketing expectations for speed,
quality, color consistency, and durability - strengthening their capability to
stand out from the crowd, attract new business, and enjoy faster ROIs.

csa.canon.com
1. Digitally Printed Wallpaper Market by Substrate (Nonwoven, Vinyl, Paper, Others), by Print
Technology (Inkjet, Electrophotography), by End-use Sector (Residential, Non-residential, Automotive &
Transportation), and Region-Global Forecast to 2023, MarketsandMarkets, June 2018.

http://www.treetowns.com http://csa.canon.com

Big Picture - September 2019

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