Dreaming of décor

If you asked somebody outside of the industry to imagine a typical sign business, the results would not be diverse. Most would think of road signs. Some may mention billboards. At a push, you might get a smattering of people with knowledge of lightboxes. Yet, the chances are, they are not picturing work that they consider ‘sexy’.

Ask them to imagine an interior designer, however, and the outcome is different. Images of Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen and the cast of Changing Rooms will spring to mind. ‘Feature walls’ and ‘mood boards’.Fashionable people devising fashionable approaches to improve your home. Very few would connect the two professions in any way.

Yet, of course, sign-makers are very much involved in the business of interior design. Indeed, talking to some of the key players in the wall and floor graphics sector, it seems it is an appetite for fashionable, easily-updated décor that is driving demand in the current market.

Writing on the wall

Ian Simister, sales director at Metamark, explains how this trend is particularly affecting the sales of graphics on walls: “Wall and floor graphics are specialisations that are diverging at quite a pace. Graphics on floors, traditionally, have been used to promote brands, with occasional use in decorative applications here and there. Graphics, or anything printed for that matter on walls, have taken off like a rocket.




“Décor defines it and sign-making companies have discovered that they have the means and the skills to enter a market that’s growing very rapidly, and that values design and quality. I would say that it’s the retail and restaurant sectors where the most exciting pace and creative development is to be found. It’s done a lot of our product definition for us. We’ve developed products expressly for this sector.”
 
With businesses in retail and hospitality increasingly aware of the importance of creating fresh and interesting environments for their customers, the ability to easily update their premises cost-effectively is a key selling point.

Simister continues: “The greatest demand seems to be in what I’d call ambient décor, particularly from restaurants and similar businesses. Customers tell us that lots of business owners seem to ‘get it’. They can transform their premises for very reasonable costs so they do. Interestingly, there’s a big up-tick in other materials we sell being used in the same application sector. An order for Décor Mark materials nearly always has an Etch Effect film on it too and, occasionally, floor graphics materials too.”

When asked what difference these products make for the sign-makers that use them, Simister claims the impact is profound: “We get calls from end-users wanting to know more having found us through our website. That I take as a positive thing. There’s demand out there that’s not meeting a response. We’re pretty quick to refer the interest to users of our Décor Mark range.




“Our technical support desk is taking more questions related to décor than it ever has. It’s typically things like whether special equipment is needed. Décor Mark prints and applies just like MD5 so it’s an easy conversation to that extent. In terms of commercial impact, end-users are getting more for their money and many people who would cast themselves in the role of a sign-maker are now interiors specialists too—exciting times for them.”

Mark Mashiter, managing director of Soyang Europe, explains what is exciting him most in the wall and floor graphics sector: “The wall and floor graphics market continues to flourish as creative and versatile new materials are developed and the wider industry increases its understanding of just how much can be achieved in this area.


“The exhibition industry continues to boom and with it the use of walkways and floor surfaces for promotion and marketing. We’re great advocates for getting print companies to look beyond traditional surfaces when offering graphic solutions to their customers and flooring is rightly becoming a ‘must have’ capability when serving retail and exhibition clients.

“Also, both wall and floor graphics are being embraced in interior décor and increasingly exciting and creative ideas are being used, such as decals on feature walls and printed wallcoverings.”

An inside job

Equally convinced of the importance of on-trend, interior decoration is APA; so much so, that the firm has named one of its latest product series Interior Design. Sales manager Francesco De Ruvo explains: “For APA, the greatest accomplishment is to offer our customers the opportunity to personalise walls, partitions and floors with cutting-edge materials, the ability to breathe new life into these types of surfaces.




“The Wall and Floor range, featuring films exclusively dedicated to the decoration of walls, partitions and floors, is part of the brand new Interior Design series, which includes four new lines for indoor and outdoor decoration. Such products are specifically designed for these surfaces, conceived to fulfil and meet the requests and specific needs of the market.”




Considering which products or services from this sector are generating the greatest demand for APA, De Ruvo simply identifies all products dedicated to interior decoration. He continues: “APA offers conformable and highly conformable films, suitable to cover not only walls and floors, but also windows, furniture and home accessories.

APA Interior Design films are meant to offer our customers the perfect combination of technological innovation and ground breaking materials that can ensure excellent results.”

Drawing our eyes downwards for a moment, John Davies, managing director of Fastsigns UK, is the first to specifically focus on the condition of the floor graphics market. He comments: “Floor graphics used as a wayfinding solution are currently in high demand; they are bold, eye catching and a shrewd use of space to help manage the flow of traffic around office spaces and events.

“The temporary nature of window and floor graphics means that they are relatively low cost, so customers can update their branding or messages frequently.”

Mashiter of Soyang Europe is equally as enthusiastic about floor graphics, saying: “It’s natural for people who enter a new environment to instinctively look down in order to find their bearings and so it makes sense to look at how flooring can be adapted to assist people with the process of finding their way. Here at Soyang Europe we have some highly innovative products that can be used to create graphics that can be applied to the floor, whether that be an internal commercial floor, such as at an airport where assistance with wayfinding is paramount, or externally, such as on entrance roads.

“Another impact that wall and floor graphics is having on end-users is that the capacity for personalising the interior space of their home is easier than it used to be. It’s possible to have quotes applied to walls, personalised carpets in children’s bedrooms, or create a feature wall with a blown up photograph of a special place, all of which add meaning to space.”

Mashiter goes on to comment on Soyang’s products: “Print providers now have a vast array of materials available to them that they can use within their existing print setup that will allow them to offer floor graphics without major investment in hardware.

“Alumi Graphics is a great example of this; a wide-format media made from pliable aluminium foil with a white finish that can be used with solvent, eco-solvent, latex and UV inks. It moulds itself naturally to practically any surface, rough or smooth, opening up a vast array of options for producing convenient yet striking wayfinding graphics. It’s easy to use on existing kit and will immediately encourage new areas of business.

“We also distribute Endutex Print Floor which has options for UV and sublimation printers at a variety of sizes, ensuring most print providers can create a route into this burgeoning area of the market.”

Mashiter says for wall graphics, Decal is the first manufacturer to combine AC Resin UV Adhesive Technology from BASF, with PVC film to make a series of printing films. He continues: “This coating method creates many advantages for the final products such as giving a higher tack system, and it has excellent durability with a high resistance to water which provides excellent adhesion under humid conditions or on moist surfaces, such as in bathrooms and kitchens, making it ideal for interior décor purposes.”

While businesses are undoubtedly requiring products and price points that allow them to regularly refresh their premises, they are also expecting tailored solutions designed specifically for their unique brand.

De Ruvo explains how APA tackle this specific challenge: “APA continuously studies and creates new solutions to offer the market a wide range of films for every kind of need. The main challenge is always related to the creation of ‘on demand’ films, that is targeted to the specific needs of each customer. Our laboratories develop new formulas every day, not only to create more durable and innovative materials, as well as adhesives, but also to make all of our products environmentally sustainable.”


He continues: “Over the next year interior design will boom along with vehicle wrapping (for both businesses and private customers), especially as concerns the demand for tailored solutions, ranging from new textures, colours and effects, to customised designs specifically printed for each customer.”

Back to the future

While it is always wise, as De Ruvo does, to keep an eye on the upcoming months, others spend their time with eyes locked on the more distant future. Now, it seems, what was once considered ‘futuristic’ technology is filtering down for the benefit of sign-makers and end-users alike.

Fastsigns’ Davies explains: “The increasing use of interactive wall and floor graphics is one of the most exciting changes in our industry at the moment. These engaging signs are made possible by the use of projectors and high-powered motion sensors that have the ability to make any logo interactive with different effects or gaming elements.




“Adding interactive features to floor and wall graphics provides a brand with the ability to immerse customers and employees in its offering and message. This could change and reinvigorate how people perceive a company.”

Soyang Europe’s Mashiter adds: “The market for wall and floor graphics is likely to continue to grow as material manufacturers continue to make technological advances and the materials available increasingly become printable on mainstream sign making hardware, making it possible to add a very profitable revenue stream without major investment.”

So, how can such high-tech products benefit sign-makers? Davies claims that interactive wall and floor graphics allow companies to offer imaginative solutions to their clients. He continues: ‘Sign-makers can be creative with any logo and explore ways in which they could bring it to life, in a manner that is relevant to, and represents, the customer’s brand, products, and service offerings.

“For the client and end-users, these graphics present an immense opportunity to seize the attention of their target audience using guerrilla marketing tactics. The portability of the technology means that it can be used at a number of events and the content can be easily updated.”

As the technologies for interactive floor and wall graphics continue to develop, Davies believes we will see more interactive and engaging moving signs: “Vinyl window and floor graphics will also develop using higher quality materials, resulting in the lifetime of the graphics extending,” he concludes.

Also looking to the future, Metamark’s Simister suggests we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the options for adorning walls and floors: “Without giving all our plans away, I’d say it’s a story of more products, more applications and yet more opportunities targeted at floors and at walls in particular.

“We never stop developing new products and our customers are really inventive and creative in their use of them.

The consequence is more growth. The sector has growth written all over it. There’s so much to do out there and those who choose to specialise can take it. It’s going to be a big year for décor and walls and, some are even calling it the new wrapping.”

O Factoid: The world’s most expensive wallpaper, ‘Les Guerres D’Independence’ (The Wars of Independence), was priced at almost £25,000 for a set of 32 panels, designed by Zuber in France. O

Indeed, Simister even suggests that the greatest challenge the sector will face will be to keep pace with its own potential: “Think of all the walls and floors that could be transformed and then how many actually will be. The industry’s shoulder needs to be behind this and promoting the availability of the product.”

He is, however, confident that the sign industry will be able to successfully capitalise on this potential, concluding: “We have ideas as to how we can help customers sell. Watch this space. Challenges are there to overcome and that’s something Metamark has a record of doing well.”

Protect your graphics

Drytac is another prominent name in the wall and floor graphics sector, which plans on showcasing its many solutions at the upcoming Sign and Digital UK exhibition, on Antalis’ stand. Making its European debut will be the new Protac Anti-Bacterial film, a 150µ textured polyester laminating film with an anti-bacterial additive to offer protection from mould growth and bacterial contamination. It is ideal for schools, nurseries, restaurants, and hospitals.



At this year’s FESPA, Drytac will focus on its Retac solutions—for applications such as wall murals, interior décor, and retail displays—and Spot On and Vizi Print Impress films. Drytac recently revealed its Polar Carpet film for indoor graphic applications was now available, a 100µ matte white monomeric PVC film.




Your text here...