Wall-Graphics Providers Discuss Materials and Methods

The previous two Vinyl Apps columns featured insights into optimizing vehicle-wrap production. This month, we shift our focus to wallcoverings. Over the past decade, material enhancements, such as air-release channels, greater conformability and stouter heat tolerance, have enabled vinyl application to an ever-increasing range of walls. And, as customers look to transform their corporate, retail or institutional environments into marketing assets, interior wallcoverings have been in increasingly high demand.
Over the next two Vinyl Apps columns, wall-graphics providers will divulge insights about how they ply their trade, and how they see the market evolving in the coming years. This month’s edition includes responses from Off the Wall Signs’ Mariela and Rocky Faith, and Superior Signs and Graphics’ Scott Hoffman.

Mariela and Rocky Faith, Off the Wall Signs (Las Vegas)
How has the work evolved over time? Have new materials opened new types of applications and markets?
Printing quality has evolved the most. Seven years ago, all of our prints were done with solvent inks. Now, we print either with UV-cure or latex inks only. We’ve always specialized in grand-format building wraps, and have worked hard at perfecting the art. We have a procedure for everything, starting from design and ending with a specific installation technique, to allow for our wraps to have more longevity or minimal repairs when it’s time for maintenance. There are so many new materials on the market, but, for us, it’s always been about finding the right product for the right application to meet our client’s expectations.

What materials do you typically use for wallcoverings? What factors influence the choice?
We use Arlon products for 90% of our applications. We have a longstanding relationship with Arlon, and we believe they’ve shown a commitment to very high standards of customer service and industry knowledge. Also, they sell products for every need. We just wrapped a few walls in our new facility using their DPF 6000XRP vinyl.

How do you prep the wall surface for printing?
In an ideal setting, you’ll work on a flat wall with a semi-gloss, interior paint. As most people in this industry know, that’s never the case. Typically, there will be protrusions, a rough surface and a flat paint with a rough, primer-like quality. For us, prepwork simply involves choosing the right material for the surface, and removing dirt or debris from the wall.

What types of printers and ink systems do you use? How does the type of installation or material dictate this?
We operate an HP 3000, which uses latex inks, and the HP XP5100 and HP700 flatbed, both of which use UV-cure inks. Almost all materials we use can run on all three machines, except for boards that require the flatbed.

Do you typically print wall graphics in one contiguous piece, or do you print in panels?
It depends on the design, but, because most materials we use are 54 to 60 in. wide, we print in panels.

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What hardware and tools do you use to install? Do any of your installations require post-heating? If so, what type of heatsource do you use, and at what temperature?
Some of our installs require some heating, especially rough-surface applications. For those, we’ll use a torch’s high-heat setting, and disburse it gradually over small areas.

How do you see the wallcoverings market evolving over the next several years?
With technology changing, I believe wallcoverings are beginning to be used more for decorative applications, and replacing traditional wallpaper. There’s now a market for 3-D applications, and, as 3-D printers become more affordable, these printed products may replace plastic- and fiberglass-cast products.

Scott Hoffman, Superior Signs and Graphics (Buena Park, CA)
How long has Superior been in business? How much of its business do wallcoverings represent?
Superior Signs and Graphics has been in business for approximately three years. Wall wraps and graphics represent roughly 10% of our total business, with an emphasis on interior wall graphics.

What materials do you typically use for wallcoverings? What factors influence the choice?
We mostly use calendered vinyl for wall graphics, but conformable cast vinyls with aggressive adhesives, such as Arlon’s DPF 6700, have made it possible to wrap unpainted rough, exterior rough surfaces that couldn’t be done with other materials. We did extensive pull-testing on the Cal St. Univ.-Fullerton (CSUF) soccer facility’s wall surface before agreeing the material would hold. For interior projects, we often use 3M’s Controltac® IJ40 repositionable material, with a matte laminate to prevent glare. We also use PhotoTex removable, adhesive-based fabric at times.

How do you prep the wall surface for application?
For CSUF, we had to remove foam letters before installation because the wall is right next to the soccer field, and gets very dirty. We pressure-washed the wall at 5,000 psi two days prior to installation, which allowed it time to dry completely. For interior walls, we typically just wipe dust off with microfiber towels if our pull-testing shows good adhesion. If adhesion is poor, or inside walls are very dirty, we wipe them down with 70% isopropyl alcohol.

What types of printers and ink systems do you use? How does the type of installation or material dictate this?
We use an HP L250 printer because of latex inks’ advantage of better lifetime print quality due to the greater number of ink nozzles. Also, the ability to print immediately, because latex inks require no drying time, is another huge advantage. For a 44-panel wall wrap, such as the CSUF soccer-stadium wall, that makes a huge difference in production turnaround.

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What hardware and tools do you use to install? Do any of your installations require post-heating? If so, what type of heatsource do you use, and at what temperature?
We use 3M rough-surface rollers and heat guns whenever possible on textured walls. An outside installation will sometimes require a torch’s higher heat, but we try to avoid using torches on matte laminates because it creates a shine that ruins the finish.

How do you see the wallcoverings market evolving over the next several years?
I don’t think most consumers understand the wall graphics they see every day are not painted, but are digitally printed vinyl. The more mainstream wall graphics become, the more the market will grow. Every business has walls, and typically a wall graphic is less expensive than printing onto a substrate and mounting the substrate to a wall. The potential scale of wallcoverings also exceeds what can typically be accomplished with substrate-mounted graphics. Finally, removability makes changing out wall graphics for different events routine.