When one hears the phrase “,” images of printed wallpaper, throw pillows, and artfully arranged accents likely come to mind. One probably doesn’t envision ink applied directly onto a wall.
Direct-to-wall printing may sound like a joint TV project between the sci-fi and home décor channels, but this idea may not be as far-fetched as it seems.
When VertiPrint, a PSP out of Australia, took on a job printing wall murals for 90 rooms in the new Peppers Docklands luxury hotel, it seemed like the perfect time to put this technology to the test. The shop has a partnership with Zeescape, an Australian manufacturer of printing technology that has released a device capable of vertically printing directly onto walls made up of plaster, render, glass, wood, tile, and steel, as well as canvas and blinds.
The designer for the project envisioned wall murals depicting Melbourne scenes composed of “millions of little dots,” says Niv Amir, Zeescape director and CEO. VertiPrint used a mobile Zeescape Vertical printer to print directly onto the hotel walls with a custom-made eco-solvent ink, imaging almost 2500 square feet of wall space total. The resulting murals brought the distinctive dot design to life. And, the hotel has “something permanent that is not peeling off the wall,” adds Amir. As we move toward 2018 and the seemingly unprintable becomes printable, even the walls are now our canvases.
Read more from Big Picture's November/December 2017 issue featuring the first-ever :