Editor’s Note: In part 1 of our digitally printed wallcoverings series, “Wallcoverings Emerge as Sizable Opportunity for Digital Printing,” industry leaders discussed the growth on the wallcoverings segment. Part 2 looks at the advantages driving that growth, and challenges that need to be overcome to further inkjet’s expansion.

Regardless of the market, digital printing offers some inherent advantages, most notably the ability to customize products, faster turnaround times and producing smaller runs more effectively. The biggest hurdle is reaching higher run sizes cost-effectively.

The market for digitally printed wallcoverings is fairly similar in those regards.

David Lopez, product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America, pointed out that digital printing offers several advantages to the wallcoverings market, including customization, versatility, and productivity.

“Digital printing allows for highly customizable designs on a variety of compatible substrates and eliminates the need for traditional setup processes, like plate making or screen preparation, which have higher high setup costs,” said Lopez. “Unlike traditional printing methods, digital printing is more cost-effective and offers quicker turnround times for short print runs. This makes it practical for producing small quantities of customized wallcoverings without the need for large minimum order quantities.”

Kitt Jones, business development and co-creation manager, Roland DGA, noted that there are many advantages that digital printing brings to the wallcoverings market.

“This technology requires no inventory, it allows for 100 percent customization by design, and it allows for lower costs and better control over production and turnaround time,” added Jones. “The introduction of the Dimensor S, one of the most innovative products available for such applications, is ushering in a new era of customized texture and print-on-demand production that allows for not only unique output, but also a high return on investment.”

Michael Bush, marketing communications manager, FUJIFILM Ink Solutions Group, noted that inkjet and the wider digital technologies are highly suitable for producing short-run and bespoke wall covering prints.

“Themed and bespoke wallcoverings are popular in the decoration of hotels, hospitals, restaurants, retail and offices,” Bush added. “Important technical requirements for wallcoverings in these interior environments include odorless/low-odor prints; resistance to physical abrasion from scuffing (as for example people scuff against walls in corridors, furniture touches walls in restaurants, or suitcases scuff on walls in hotel rooms); washability and lightfastness for long-term installation. For these type of print applications, the gamut of digital process colors and there is a growing trend to include embellishment processes.

“Eco-solvent, latex, and UV technologies are used widely and are all suitable for wallcoverings, each with their own advantages and limitations,” Bush pointed out. “For example, UV has excellent abrasion and chemical resistance, but it is more challenging to achieve very low odor prints with UV. Latex can be very low odor but can have poor scuff resistance and may require a second process of lamination for abrasion critical applications. Hybrid UV/aqueous technologies could address the requirement for low-odor prints and durability.

“When it comes to industrial mass production of wallpapers by single-pass production, the technology readiness of digital to match the productivity and cost of analog methods is a significant factor,” Bush concluded. “The ability to produce very wide color gamuts, spot colors, special effects, and finishes such as metallics, pearlescents and glitter, often required in wallpaper design, is also a challenge for digital printing.”

“Digital printing brings several advantages to the application,” said Paul Edwards, VP of the digital division at INX International Ink Co. “First, you can print anything up from one copy of an image at the same cost as 10,000. The variety of images you can create is vastly greater than in the analog process and personalization is possible. With digital printing, you are not restricted in terms of repeat length of an image as you would be with analog. You can have better control of inventory and print-to-order is possible.”

Oscar Vidal, HP large format global director of product portfolio, said that digital printing has revolutionized the wallcoverings market by offering several key advantages.

“One of the most significant benefits is the ability to customize designs, patterns, and images on demand. This level of personalization is highly desirable for interior designers, architects, and homeowners looking for unique wallcoverings,” Vidal said.

“Additionally, digital printing enables quick turnaround times, eliminating the lengthy setup required by traditional printing methods,” added Vidal. “It is also cost-effective for small production runs, making it an ideal choice for businesses and individuals who require limited quantities of wallcoverings. The high-quality printing achieved through digital technology ensures vibrant colors, sharp details, and intricate patterns, enhancing the overall visual appeal.

“Furthermore, digital printing offers versatility, as it can be done on various materials suitable for wallcoverings,” Vidal noted. “This versatility allows for a diverse selection of textures, finishes, and durability options. Lastly, digital printing reduces waste by eliminating excess inventory and minimizing the risk of overproduction, as wallcoverings can be printed on demand.”

Challenges in Inkjet for Wallcoverings

Vidal observed that digital printing had to overcome several challenges to establish its presence in the wallcovering market.

“Initially, it struggled to match the quality of traditional printing methods like screen printing or gravure printing,” Vidal pointed out. “However, advancements in digital printing technology, including improved color accuracy and higher resolution, have enabled digital prints to meet and even exceed the industry’s quality standards. Speed was another challenge, but thanks to automation and smart printing solutions like HP Print OS, print firms can unlock previously unseen efficiencies – such as data analysis of operations or removing repetitive and time-consuming processes.

“Another challenge was ensuring durability, as wallcoverings need to resist wear, tear, and fading,” added Vidal. “Innovations in ink formulations, like the HP Latex inks – which use Aqueous Dispersion Polymerization to produce more durable prints – have addressed this challenge, making digital prints more resistant to fading, water damage, and abrasion. Additionally, digital printing had to ensure compatibility with a wide range of substrates used in wallcoverings, which has also been achieved through advancements in ink formulations and printer technology.

“Lastly, digital printing has become more cost-effective over time, especially for short-run or personalized projects, making it a viable option for the wallcovering market,” Vidal concluded.

Roland DGA’s Jones said that the main challenges have been creating awareness of the printers and the materials, ensuring that prospective customers understand the overall print process, and making sure users have the right combination of printer, ink, and media to support the needs of their clients.

“While these same challenges still exist to some extent with interior designers, architects, and builders, we are seeing a growing interest within this market to bring digital printing in house for the reasons mentioned previously – unique production capabilities, lower costs, better control, increased profits,” Jones said.

“There are several challenges,” Edwards noted. “Not all substrates are suitable for digital print. The surfaces may be too absorbent, and wicking the ink away into the structure may not allow drops to spread correctly.

“The real challenge is the choice of materials/coatings used for digital print must be carefully selected,” said Edwards. “Wallpaper can be a bit dusty with loose fibers, and these need to be kept away from the printing equipment to ensure reliability. Different methods can be applied to address this before it reaches the printer. Inks must have sufficient low odor to work in this application, and the ink surface itself must be sufficiently scratch resistant to ensure good wear and tear characteristics.

“Sometimes a varnish coat is applied to enhance the resistance of the ink itself,” Edwards added. “It should be noted that handling of the output after print must be considered. The rolls of material of different image types also need to be controlled and collated, making it a bit more complicated for digital due to the larger number of print variants.”

“Digital printing has faced several challenges to get where it is today; one that stands out is output durability and longevity,” Lopez said. “Initially, digitally printed designs weren’t always maintaining their appearance and there were concerns about fading, smudging and scratching, especially on wallcoverings placed in the elements or in high foot traffic areas. Over time, technology advanced and today, these concerns are minimal.

“Manufactures have developed durable ink and hardware to combat these issues,” added Lopez. “For example, the Epson SureColor R-Series printers leverage Epson UltraChrome RS resin ink, an ink set developed by Epson to work with the Epson PrecisionCore MicroTFP printhead, to produce durable, scratch resistant output. Resin ink has highly resistant scratch properties that makes it an ideal solution for wallcoverings in high traffic areas.”