It might seem strange to see an IT company like Hewlett-Packard at a textile and wall coverings show but make no mistake at Mood Fair of Brussels, September 10-12, 2013. With this initiation the HP stand brought a new perspective to the concept of Mood, Meet only Original Designs.
The HP booth inspired interior designers with its extensive display of high quality, innovative digitally printed furnishings and graphics that reflect the latest market trends. As a first comer to Modd and second of such an exhibition after Heimtextil Frankfurt, HP presented a range of innovative digital printing solutions for wall coverings. The display included wallcoverings, floor graphics, canvases, and other furnishings printed on glass, textiles, wood, vinyl and PVC. “We can print on all kinds of different surfaces and textures”, said Terry Raghunath, Business Development Manager of Hewlett-Packard.
To demonstrate the many possibilities of the digital printing technology, Hewlett-Packard joins forces with several well-known designers such as Karim Rashid. But in addition to this portfolio, consumers are even able to print a picture of their own on wall coverings. Specific software allows them to get an exact look at what the final result will look like.
“Digital printing on wall covering has everything going for it to become huge”, Terry concludes. “We’re already able to print on textiles, paper and nonwovens but also on glass and metal. The creative possibilities are virtually endless.”
Wall decoration – HP has it covered
In addition to canvases, textile soft-furnishings and graphics, HP Latex Technology and associated solutions are ideally suited to print bespoke wallcoverings that capture an individual’s personal tastes or a brand’s unique commercial identity.
HP Latex Inks, used in the HP Latex 260 Printer for example, hold a number of indoor air quality certifications, such as GREENGUARD Children & Schools CertifiedSM. These inks produce odourless prints and, unlike solvent technologies, produce no hazardous emissions. The prints can therefore be finished and installed immediately, making them ideal for residential, hotel, healthcare facilities, and other sensitive environments, including restaurants and schools, and provide a strong competitive advantage for meeting quick delivery times.
Digital printing for wall coverings works is done using two different techniques. On the one hand, there is a solution with latex ink. “What’s so amazing about this”, says Terry, “is the fact that this ink does not contain diluents. This makes it an excellent choice for living rooms and bedrooms. On the other hand, the ink can be dried using UV rays. This particular technique enables us to print on tiles with a thickness of up to six centimeters!”
“One of the biggest trends in the commercial, retail and residential markets at the moment is wall design,” explained Raghunath. “Demand for customised interior design is rapidly growing as both consumers and designers seek new ways to reflect their tastes, values and experiences in their homes and businesses. The solution provided by HP and our industry-leading partners makes delivery of customised wallcoverings easy for designers and print service providers, simplifying the entire process from design to installation and removal.”
HP WallArt Solution offers an intuitive and easy-to-use design tool that allows print service providers (PSPs) to either design themselves or work with customers through the cloud to produce customised wallcoverings. The HP WallArt Solution enables the user to enter precise room dimensions and easily work around windows and doors, giving designers more time to spend creating with an automated measurement process. Customers can also render realistic visualisations of wallcoverings using their own content for backgrounds, objects and text with advanced image quality as well as scaling features.
HP partner AVA’s design and file preparation software, designers can work easily with repeated patterns. The software solutions can also improve colour management with accurate screen-to-print colour matching, accuracy between layers and the ability to match digital prints to analogue in a hybrid print environment.
The AVA RIP gives customers increased colour control, faster ripping times and a seamless workflow from file preparation to printing.The RIP increases colour saturation and gamut for high-quality wallcoverings as well as helping achieve realistic colours on nonwhite media. As part of the fully integrated solution, the software also automatically generates cut marks for the Fotoba cutter, a HP partner solution providing automatic, accurate panel cutting.
Once the wallcovering is designed, customers can choose from a range of over 25 compatible wall décor substrates from HP and industry-leading media providers.
Wallcovering is just one example of the many inspiring products designers can imagine, create, customise and print using digital printing technology. To learn more about the creative and businessenhancing opportunities for interior design enabled by HP digital printing, don’t miss HP’s daily seminar in the Xchange Platform at 12:00. Terry Raghunath Business Development Manager, Hewlett-Packard Terry Raghunath, a Dutch national has been working for HP for 16 years. He has held several functions in his career, including marketing, product marketing and sales. Now, Terry is responsible for developing the market of interior decoration. He has collected a wealth of knowledge in how HP technology can add value to Designers and Architects, print service providers, and wall covering manufacturers. HP stand at Mood Fair aroused great interest from professional visitors