Digital Printing Interior Decoration: The Rise of Wallpaper and Wall Coverings

Digital printing for interior decoration is becoming increasingly popular, with wallpaper and wall coverings being a major component of this trend. This can encompass everything from company logos and marketing messages to graphics adorning public spaces (such as hospital waiting rooms) or children's bedrooms. Our approach to defining wall coverings allows for some flexibility, indicating that most large-format service providers have ample space to offer services in this domain.

This may include images printed on textiles or canvases, combined with frames or some form of mounting, which most wide-format printers should be able to produce. Dye sublimation should yield the best results for textiles, especially for home decor purposes, as these prints will have a pleasant feel and be odorless. Even better, these prints can undergo flame retardant treatment and are also washable, which are useful factors for home use.

In terms of wallpaper, HP Latex printers are highly favored by wallpaper suppliers, primarily for meeting the demand for customized wallpaper. Water-based ink is considered environmentally friendly and lacks the odor associated with UV-cured prints. Latex printing is easier to wipe clean than fabric printing.

In recent years, many other suppliers have also begun offering latex printers. It's worth noting that these inks actually do not contain latex, but are a form of resin ink. Some suppliers choose to label their products as resin rather than latex, despite there being little practical difference between the two. Therefore, Epson, Roland, Ricoh, and Brother all offer latex or resin printers, and also target the wallpaper market.

Fujifilm has just launched an alternative to latex/resin ink, called AquaFuze. This is a hybrid ink that combines water with UV-curable latex components. The foundation behind AquaFuze ink lies in the emulsion dispersion technology originally developed by Fujifilm for the photo industry, which ensures that all different elements remain suspended relative to each other. The accompanying 1.6m wide roll-fed printer, developed by Mutoh, is equipped with a UV LED array and a heater with an air knife to direct heat. This heat causes the latex to melt, forming a thin film and fixing the pigment to the substrate. Then, the LED lights react with the UV elements, causing the film to cure and bond with the substrate. No primer or optimizer is required, and the ink is suitable for the most common wide-format materials.