Trends in Digital Printing

We have been singing the praises of digital printing for years now. Although it took hold in the interior design market slower than in the apparel industry, seeing more digitally printed products available to interior designers is exciting. According to Texintel, several factors contribute to this growth, including a broad shift in consumer opinion of online shopping, increased concerns over sustainability, and the benefits digital printing extends to the global supply chain.

So, where is digital printing trending?

Wallpaper

Wallpaper seems to be the gateway for a lot of designers into digital printing, as well as the gateway for a lot of printers into interior design. Quality has improved exponentially in the past few years and will only continue. This makes it much more feasible to offer consistent products instead of just one-offs, something important to designers.

Upholstery

Many designers were underwhelmed when digitally printed textiles first came on the scene. The hand of the fabric was stiff, and the prints weren’t as crisp and clear as their traditionally printed counterparts. However, the technology has improved, and textile designers have begun designing patterns specifically for this technology. At the same time, the quality of the base cloths has improved dramatically. This combination provides a new opportunity for printing on fabrics for both residential and commercial interiors.

Custom Art Pieces

Digitally printing photographs was an easy access point for incorporating digital printing in commercial interiors. Now, designers are using digital printing for much more than just photographs, but also murals, art reproductions, or client branding.

What’s lacking in digital printing?  

While we see wallpaper, upholstery, and custom art growing in leaps and bounds, we’re surprised by some of the areas lagging behind. There are so many opportunities to print on nearly any material you can imagine. Yet, some of those possibilities seem to have gone unnoticed. We’d love to take a minute to shine a spotlight on some printers and products we love.

Rainbow Leather, based in Queens, New York, has the capability to print on leather and cork. Ceiling Scenes can print on both ceiling tiles and light lenses. Imagine leaning back at the dentist, and instead of a plain white ceiling, you had art to look at. What a pleasant distraction that would be from the drill.  

As we’ve seen at NeoCon over the past few years, acoustic solutions are increasingly important in commercial interiors. After all the excitement for open offices, people realized these open spaces were quite loud. Also, after the pandemic, people found the offices they returned to very loud. One of the newest suppliers we work with is FabricTRAK Systems. Their unique acoustic track system lets people change out the fabric easily and have any image printed on it. The same is true for the acoustic panels from Fabric Images.

We’re also excited by the different options for window films, such as those by NuVision Window Film and Graphics. These films can be printed with a pattern and added to windows or glass walls. We also love the new veilish window film by Graphix Unlimited, which has a subtle woven texture. This, combined with a pattern, creates a slight softness for a space.

It’s definitely an exciting time to design with digitally printed products. If a designer can dream it up, it can become a reality! We’re confident we’ll see even more digitally printed products in commercial interiors this year.