31/12/2007 by conrad.

A while back now we posted an article about a wallpaper restoration project we did. The client has kindly sent us a picture of the wallpaper hung in the lounge. The results of this wallpaper restoration project are awesome.

Ben Bowerman, Managing Director of Godlingston Manor Springs Ltd, says he is very impressed with the wallcoverings we did  and has allowed us to put this image on the blog.

We struggled with the colours on this wallpaper project because the original inks had a large content of lead in them.  This caused metamerism and was a nightmare.  Does anyone know what metamerism is?

Thanks Ben

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21/12/2007 by conrad.

A really good Rotary Screen Engraver in the UK is planbseparations Ltd. If you do find yourself with the need to engrave wallpaper you can still use us Concept Coverings.

planbseparations Ltd is based in the UK mainland and is not an offshore Rotary Screen Engraver. The advantage of being a mainland based ROTARY SCREEN ENGRAVER is that your screens never arrived damaged.

There are only I think 3 main Rotary Screen Engraver ’s based in the UK and 2 of them are mainland. One of them is on a little Island classed as UK, but the natives there like to see the country as a standalone one. The place has its own symbol that is depicted by 3 cut off legs??

If any one knows what the symbol means, by all means email Conrad or a member of our sales team to let us know.

The role of the rotary screen engraver has changed over the last few years and will continue to change over the next few years too. Firstly fabrics, those rotary screen engravers that could get it right, and lets face it Meshtex were probably the only ones, must see a change digital printing having over the overall business. Many Rotary screen engravers can ONLY engrave wallpaper, and they try and sell the separations again as co-ordinating patterns. This is totally rubbish and why most if not all wallpaper engravers are really not that good at engraving fabrics.

In time though, wallpaper will change and the birth of digitally printed wallpapers will finally come through, with the leaders, Conrad McKee and his team at ConceptCoverings showing the rest of the industry how wallpaper should be done.

Merry Xmas all you with Flair in the Decor industry.

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21/12/2007 by conrad.

Firstly, let me apologise for not writing any wallpaper for the last 2 weeks.  It is silly season at this time of year and everyone wants a piece of you.  No real exciting things to report on the wallpaper scene only that we installed a new large format thermal transfer printer last week.  We had previously been using the Mimaki, but the quality was poor to say the least as the machine was one of the older models.

Now we have an Epson 9600 using 3rd party inks and paper.  The results are unreal. Photo realistic images onto any substrate as long as it has a special carrier on it.  The printer is only in its early stages at the moment but looks very promising.

So what for 2008? Will wallpaper continue to make in roads to the paint industry as paint did in the late 80’s?  I think so!!!

People are using wallpaper more and more to make statements on one walls and feature walls.  I know what your thinking. One walls are so old hat. That is just the point, they are not.  And the best thing about digital wallpaper is that you never have to engrave a single printing roller.

Digital wallpaper is now becoming more and more feasible and I have mentioned it before, but will the tides ever change from traditionally engraved wallpapers to digitally printed wallpapers?  I can only hope the answer to that is yes and that the newer generation of wallpaper manufacturers are given the chance.  The trouble with the wallpaper industry is people are terrified of change.

The greatest place I ever worked was Crown Wallcoverings. Over 10 years ago we were attempting to be the first digital wallpaper border printer.  Back then we used a Xeikon print machine.  Looking back it was a great task as consumables were so expensive.  Things have not changed that much now. Consumables are still very expensive and printing times are very slow.  With time things in the digital wallpaper market can only get better.

Those that are in the digital wallpaper market now are very well placed to be established as leaders in it at some point in the future.

At Concept Coverings, we want to change the face of wallpaper and be able to offer every consumer the chance to have a piece of bespoke wallpaper on their wall without being ripped off by some fat cat engraver.

If you would like any more details on any of the wallpaper products on sale, be it wallpapers or wall murals, please call Conrad and he is always happy to have a chat with you.

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18/12/2007 by conrad.

Latest industry statistics, compiled by Whittle Industry Data, and presented at the British Coatings Federation Wallcovering Sector Council meeting at Graham & Brown’s India Mill factory, show wallcoverings continuing to thrive as 2007 draws to a close, with the fourth quarterly market increase in a row.

The UK market for wallcoverings is up by 15% compared to the same period last year. A strong showing by any means, but also reflecting the generally unpredicable UK economy and upbeat consumer sectors. This is still despite signs of possible slow times ahead in the property market
DIY sales have also grown with strong sales to superstores in sector 3, supported by improved consumer sentiment on the use of wallcoverings, which has been demonstrated by the fact that wallcovering sales are currently growing faster than those of paint.

There is more work for the industry to do, however, with the export recovery still having some way to go, and a sustained competitive presence of European wallcoverings making inroads into the UK market.

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05/12/2007 by conrad.

Yesterday saw the long awaited release of Gift Vouchers from Canvas Dezign.  The new service offered by the company allows users to buy a voucher and have it sent to an address of their choice.

It was also said that as an extra little touch, all gift vouchers are being sent out on a peice of A5 envelope size canvas to add to that personalised effect.

For more information of canvas print gift vouchers or having your photo on canvas,  visit http://www.canvasdezign.co.uk/canvas-print-vouchers.html

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