Textures of the Trade

If you want to differentiate your offerings from the next shop, think texture, texture, texture. Vinyl will always look like vinyl, and most designers understand the basics of what vinyl can accomplish.

To get rid of vinyl’s telltale sheen, consider media, such as fabrics, that have some surface texture to them, but on which you can still print crisp, readable images at high resolution.

When is fake too much? According to Insel, “It’s case by case. Typically, if you are going to be able to touch it, we would want it to be a real material, especially in the age of millennials and the younger generation that appreciate authenticity. There’s something about that authentic experience.”

Think twice about trim pieces on fixtures or counter surfaces, which are within consumers’ reach. Outside that, Camilletti says, “You have the license to look at alternative solutions for that texture or those materials. It’s a hard sell to architects, but it’s a logical sell to a retailer who’s looking at putting up a beautiful refined wood veneer on a plaster or molding that’s 10, 12, 13 feet off the ground.”

Whether it’s printing faux textures on wood or adorning metal, acrylics, ceiling tiles – it seems unlikely that the possibilities are well-explored. Dip-Tech, which manufactures machines for digital ceramic printing on glass, recommends printing for wallcoverings, backsplashes, counters, flooring, stairs, and even ceilings.

Check out our full feature on interior décor here.