22
Jun
21
What is vinyl wallcovering?
What is vinyl wallcovering? Here is a brief overview of the advantages of using vinyl wallcoverings, the different types and backings, maintenance, technical info, costs, manufacturing, and sustainability considerations.
What is vinyl wallcovering – Why Wallcoverings?
Vinyl wallcoverings are available in endless textures, colours and designs, from tactile textiles and geometric prints to surfaces made specifically to be durable and hygienic. The advantages include being flame retardant, sustainable, light and colourfast, cleanable, durable, easy to install and maintain, resistant to scratches and impact, and protection against stains and chemicals, with a long lifespan of up to 15 years.
What is vinyl wallcovering – All about wallcoverings
Grounds and Substrates – there are three backings we use in manufacturing our wallcoverings:
- Paper Backings – used on paper-backed vinyl, vinyl-coated papers, and specialty products.
- Woven Fabric Backings – commonly referred to as scrim or osnaburg. Scrim is used mostly in light construction areas while osnaburg is installed in medium to heavy usage areas such as commercial corridors.
- Non-woven Fabric Backings – in different grades these offer improved printing techniques while maintaining the tear strength qualities necessary for commercial installations.
Types and Usage
Wallcoverings can be used in virtually any residential or contract environment. Since there are many different types of wallcoverings on the market, it is important to understand the qualities of each type and in what type of environment the wallcoverings will be used.
- When selecting wallcoverings the first variable to consider is the amount of traffic the area will receive.
- Paper and natural wallcoverings are most appropriate where traffic is minimal. They are more delicate than their vinyl counterparts yet offer ample durability and a special style to a variety of placements.
- Vinyl and synthetic textiles, with their maximum durability and ease of cleaning, are especially appropriate for hospitals, sporting arenas, schools, and other high-traffic situations.
- While wallcoverings are categorized by residential and contract segments, it is not uncommon to use residential wallcoverings in contract settings, like assisted living facilities for a homey feel, for instance, or to use contract wallcoverings in homes.
Categories of vinyl wallcoverings include:
- Type I (Light Duty) – is designed to be used in areas of light to moderate traffic. Typically the weight is between 12 and 19 ounces per linear yard.
- Type II (Medium/Heavy Duty) – is for use in high traffic areas, such as corridors, public spaces, schools, etc. Typically the weight in this category will be between 20 and 28 ounces per linear yard.
- Type III – is for use in most heavily traffic areas where greater wall protection is needed. Typically the weight in this category will be between 33 and 36 ounces per linear yard.
What is vinyl wallcovering – Maintenance
General Cleaning – Ordinary dirt and smudges can be removed by using a mild soap, warm water, and a bristle brush if necessary to remove dirt from the crevices of deeply textured patterns.
- Clean from the bottom of the wall upward and allow to soak for several minutes
- Rinse thoroughly from the top of the wall down using clean water and a clean sponge
- Dry wallcovering with a soft cloth or towel. Repeat, if necessary.
Special Cleaning Conditions – For more difficult stains that are only surface deep, the use of a stronger detergent such as a non-abrasive household cleaner or isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol is recommended.
- Scrape off as much as possible and rub gently from the outside edge of the stain to the center to prevent spreading the stain
- A commercial cleaning solution can be used on all Newmor Wallcoverings
- The use of a dilute solution (5%) of chlorine bleach can be used for sanitization purposes
- Never use abrasive cleaners or steel wool as they can mark the surface
- Do not use solvents such as nail polish remover as they will remove the topcoat finish.
What is vinyl wallcovering – Pattern matching
All wallpaper has a pattern match which is integral to the design. The repeat is the vertical distance between one point on the pattern to the identical point vertically.
- Random/free match – the pattern matches no matter how the adjoining strips are positioned. A good example of this would be vertically striped designs. We generally recommended reversing every other strip to minimize visual effects such as shading or color variations from edge-to-edge.
- Straight match – This match has design elements that match on adjoining strips. Every strip will be the same at the ceiling line.
- Drop match – Either half drop or multiple drop matches. The design elements match straight across every other strip, or more.
Size of wallcoverings – Contract wallcoverings are manufactured specifically for commercial use and are 48 or 54 inches wide and are sold by the linear yard. A linear yard is any width by the length of 36 inches.
What is vinyl wallcovering – Products
Vinyl wallcoverings – We stock thousands of paper-backed and fabric-backed vinyl wallcoverings for next-day dispatch. From silks and textile effects to geometrics and metallic effects.
Digital wallcoverings – We welcome one-off projects and our friendly in-house design team is on hand to help with every aspect of your project. Print any design onto any of our wallcovering bases, including textures, metallics, and window films.
Newmor Custom – Showcasing our design expertise, our Newmor Custom collection is a range of trend-led custom printed wallcoverings created in-house. The designs can be recoloured, re-scaled, and printed onto any of our wallcoverings including textures, metallics, and window films.
Newmor Designer – We are committed to bridging the gap between craftspeople and commercial interiors and to do this we have introduced a series of designer collaborations. Our current designers include 2LG, Leigh Bagley, Ptolemy Mann, Patternistas, Iona Crawford, and Stephen Walter.
Write ‘n’ Wipe – Write ‘n’ Wipe is a dry erase wallcovering that is supplied by the meter and installed as easily as any wide-width wallcovering. It can be installed vertically or horizontally and is perfect for full walls, curved walls, in a frame, and on folding doors. Write ‘n’ Wipe is stocked and available for 24-hour dispatch.
Window film – We can print custom designs onto clear, frosted, opaque, or Demiview film.
What is vinyl wallcovering – Technical
Fire ratings – Our products are manufactured to exceed all relevant European and US fire standards for commercial installations.
Other ratings –
- We hold full ISO 14001:2015 certification. ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard that helps organizations improve their environmental performance and sustainability.
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We are ISO 9001 certified, demonstrating our ability to provide high-quality products consistently. We also have an Arrêté A+ rating, indicating a very low level of VOC emissions.
Antimicrobial – Our Healthcare range contains Ultra-Fresh, an antimicrobial technology engineered to provide highly effective, broad-spectrum activity against bacteria, fungi, and algae.
IMO – From cruise ships to ferries, we understand the unique demands of the marine sector. All our products have the option of full IMO marine certification.
What is vinyl wallcovering – Costs
Installation of vinyl wallcovering is efficient and during the first 15 years of use, there are no additional costs to be expected. Painted surfaces need to be refreshed and repainted regularly meaning that over 15 years wallcoverings are more cost-effective.
What is vinyl wallcovering – Manufacturing wallcoverings
Our products are engineered to withstand the most demanding commercial environments in hospitality, healthcare, marine, retail, and aviation. We have pioneered many of the manufacturing processes in producing commercial standard textured vinyl wallcoverings. Being in control of the manufacturing process is key, we design, manufacture, and distribute pretty much everything from our specialist facility in Welshpool.
Gravure – We use the gravure printing method to manufacture our wallcoverings. Gravure is the costliest manufacturing process since the cylinder used requires copper plating and a special photochemical engraving or etching process. Printing is accomplished via tiny cells or ink reservoirs that are engraved into the surface of the print cylinder. The deeper the cell, the darker the tone printed. By varying the size and placement of each cell, varying amounts of ink can be deposited onto the wallcoverings. Because you can provide various tones of colour and the inks are transparent, you have an unlimited amount of colors and shades.
Digital – Digital printing creates an image or pattern using electronic systems and printed by a computer-controlled printer. We can create designs for you, use your own artwork, find an image on a stock image library like Shutterstock, or you can choose something from our Newmor Custom or Newmor Designer collections.
What is vinyl wallcovering – Installation
Installing wide-width vinyl wallcoverings is quicker and more cost-effective than paint or standard wallpaper. Watch our video to learn about the process:
What is vinyl wallcovering – Sustainability
We hold full ISO 14001:2015 certification. ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard that helps organizations improve their environmental performance and sustainability.
Our objective is to minimise any impact on the environment through:
- Preventing pollution, reducing waste, and ensuring that measures are implemented to protect and preserve natural habitats.
- Considering the effects that our operations may have on local society.
- Promoting environmental consciousness among our suppliers, contractors, and partners through the implementation of operational procedures and a supplier code of conduct.
- Seeking to work in partnership with the community by behaving in a considerate and socially responsible manner.
- Ensuring effective and expedient incident control, investigation, and reporting
- Committing to the usage of raw materials from sustainable sources where possible
- Using recycled materials and fully recycling waste, therefore reducing the amount of waste going to landfill
- Sourcing materials from suppliers with similar levels of environmental commitment
- Conserving valuable resources such as water and energy.