The same large-format digital-printing technologies that have
created new forms of P-O-P and out-of-home advertising can now be
used to digitally decorate corporate lobbies and retail interiors.
One company working to stimulate demand for digitally customized
interiors is Lintec Corp., a Tokyo, Japan-based materials
manufacturer with about $1.4 billion in annual sales.
The company's US subsidiary-Lintec of America-has begun promoting
two integrated digital-printing systems that can be used to produce
digitally decorated solar-control window films. Both can help
brand-marketers extend their brand images to surfaces throughout
corporate headquarters and division offices.
Designers in Japan are also using the products to overcome
physical space constraints. By adding digitally printed dramatic
outdoor scenes and other aesthetics to enclosed spaces, office
designers in Japan are creating a sense of openness while at the same
time adding a relative sense of privacy.
These before-and-after photos illustrate how inkjet-printed Printerior
> wallcoverings helped create the illusion of openness in a small
basement
Printerior: The Printerior System uses Lintec's
flame-retardant wallpaper, a 6-color XES ColorgrafX X2 wide-format
inkjet printer with pigmented, oil-based inks, and a SEAL AquaSeal
clearcoater to produce customized wall murals, wallpaper, and border
treatments for corporate lobbies and hallways, restaurant interiors,
and retail stores. The flame-retardant, inkjet-receptive wallpaper
comes in three, embossed decorative textured surfaces and installs
like conventional wallpaper. The wallcovering material can be
embossed with the client's logo. The AquaSeal coater is used to apply
a water-based, stain-resistant, protective clearcoat.
Using digitally customizable, paper-based, textured
wallcovering materials can add a touch of elegance to retail
interiors and corporate lobbies. In addition to displaying the
client's chosen graphics, the Printerior wallcoverings can be
embossed with the company's logo. Lintec's Jim Halloran believes that over the long term, using
paper-based, textured materials for wall murals looks much classier
than adhesive-backed vinyl. The paper meets all building codes and,
unlike a vinyl mural, wouldn't release toxic fumes if the building
were to go up in flames.
Developed jointly with Olympus Promarketing, the Printerior system
can be used for custom wallpaper or as a print-on-demand system using
a digital library of over 300 background designs. In either case,
customers have the luxury of ordering wallpaper in the colors and
amounts they need.
Winco's digitally customized film dresses up the
windows at the entrance of the Silver Jar restaurant in a railway
station in Tokyo, Japan.
Winco's: These long-lasting “window cosmetic” films can add
privacy to glassed-in spaces, enhance office interiors, or extend a
firm's branding to glass surfaces throughout its headquarters.
Winco's films are available in several forms, including an
optically clear, solar-control film with UV-light blocking
capabilities for reduced building-energy consumption.
The Lintec films are specifically optimized for production-speed
thermal-transfer printing on the 36-in. or 40-in. Matan Sprinter B36
or B40. Graphics can be output with a choice of 20 spot colors, or a
“double-bump” white to provide extra-vivid graphics on clear films. A
high-opacity black is available for high-privacy requirements, and
specialty “fri ” ribbons can be used to simulate the look of etched
glass. To further expand creative possibilities, Lintec's textured
overlaminates can be used with the window films to improve privacy or
add depth and dimension to backlit graphics.
To enable designers and graphic producers to test various ideas,
Lintec of America has set up US operations to produce print samples.
A variety of ideas can also be viewed on the company's two websites:
www.printeriorusa.com or www.digitalwindowgraphics.com. (Lintec of
America: www.lintecofamerica.com)