Creating a seamless design

By Maura Keller

Heimtextil, one of the largest and most important textile and home decoration trade shows occurs every year in Frankfurt, Germany. The 2013 event was HP’s first time exhibiting and was viewed as a key event because HP has identified the custom decor market as a key growth opportunity.

“The need for customized, personalized and localized designs is constantly growing,” says Asaf Lavi, decoration segment manager, Large Format Digital Printing at HP. “HP used the Heimtextil show as a platform to both announce a new, unique solution for digital wallcoverings, as well as to showcase the amazing possibilities for interior décor enabled by HP’s digital printing technology.”

 

As such, HP partnered with a renowned designer, Karim Rashid, to create an inspiring, colorful and fully customized lounge, all printed with HP technology. HP’s Heimtextil Lounge was a unique build-up to showcase the benefits of digital printing, used in a real environment as part of the exhibition space.

There were several key elements that made HP’s Heimtextil Lounge stand out at the event. “Among these was printing very vivid colors directly on the textile—no need for special treatment or transfer paper,” says Lavi. “Printing exactly the required quantity—no waste, no inventory.” There was no odor as HP Latex technology is water-based and produces odorless prints, so they were able to print, install and assemble the lounge immediately.

“Visitors were amazed by our ability to print directly onto tables, creating the lounge sofas from a cardboard material and the vivid colors used on the textile panels,” Lavi says. Also, having a fully customized setup drew a lot of attention from attendees. From flooring to ceiling all colors and designs had a perfect fit, even the coasters were customized to the tables.

“Visitors realized what a huge knowledge gap they have and by how much digital printing technology has evolved and progressed,” Lavi says. “They saw how digital printing technology offers so many new possibilities for the design community and interior décor applications.”

Maura Keller is a Minneapolis-based writer and editor.