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 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.
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.
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. AlumiGraphics 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.
For wall graphics, DECAL is the first manufacturer to combine a revolutionary AC Resin UV Adhesive Technology from BASF, together with high grade PVC film to make a series of excellent value printing films. 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.
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.
