Industry Insights: Bringing Interiors to Life with Print

Over the past few years print has made substantial inroads in the realms of architectural design and interior décor.

Today's designers need to realize creative ideas flexibly and affordably, and their clients expect design elements to be more readily interchangeable as tastes or practical requirements change. In commercial spaces, décor needs to be flexible to changing seasonal or functional requirements. As print techniques, substrates and inks improve the ability to replicate the look - and in some cases feel - of traditional materials, print is becoming an increasingly attractive method for designers to achieve the effects they are aiming for. What is more, as clients seek more individualized interiors, digital print in particular makes bespoke design reproduction practical and affordable.

This creates a tangible opportunity for graphics professionals and one that our community is already actively embracing. Respondents to our FESPA Print Census so far state that they expect textile printing for décor to grow by 66 percent and work for wallpaper and interiors to grow by 68 percent over the next two years. Interior decoration was also the second highest trend that visitors to our last international wide format print event, FESPA Digital 2014 in Munich, Germany, specified they’d like to see more of at FESPA events.

Printeriors

In recent years we’ve addressed this trend with presentations and case studies at our Global Summit leadership events. Now, listening to this feedback from our global community, we have launched Printeriors, a new showcase event celebrating the power of print for interior decoration. The aim of Printeriors is to illustrate the creative potential of print to interior designers, architects and other specifiers of interior design.

The first Printeriors event will take place alongside FESPA 2015 from May 18-22, 2015 at Koelnmesse, Cologne, Germany. This new application focused event will primarily target the interior design community, highlighting the creative possibilities when using print to realize interior design concepts for retail, residential, corporate and hospitality settings. Printeriors will offer visitors a visual and tactile experience by means of a physical showcase of printed interior applications, presented through room sets representing commercial and domestic interior environments. The concepts will be designed by printing industry suppliers and/or their customers with the emphasis on creativity and innovation over technology. Printeriors will set out to inform, educate and inspire the design community increasing awareness of print’s capabilities and stimulating demand for printed interior decoration.

Printeriors will also offer delegates a focused one-day conference covering interior applications, materials, designs, techniques, trends and case studies lead by European designers who are actively using print to bring their ideas to life.

Of course, printers will also benefit from the event which gives them the perfect environment for graphics professionals to explore the scope of interior décor as an avenue for possible diversification. The opportunity to hear directly from designers in the conference will also help PSPs to understand these customers’ creative and commercial drivers and adapt their services accordingly. As Printeriors is positioned alongside FESPA 2015, printers will have the opportunity to visit the suppliers who have the equipment, substrates and inks to make these interior designs possible.

Four Events, One Location

The inclusion of Printeriors means that there is even more on offer for visitors to FESPA 2015 than ever before. This year we have four focused events all under one roof: FESPA Global Expo addressing screen and digital wide format printing, FESPA Fabric for garment printing and decoration, European Sign Expo for non-printed signage and now Printeriors.

This content rich combination of events and educational content under one roof makes FESPA 2015 a not-to-miss event, which will reward an extended visit for any North American printer. To help you make your travel plans FESPA has partnered with Lufthansa Group airlines, which offers connections from over 100 US cities, to offer discounted rates on flights into Cologne, as well as Frankfurt and Düsseldorf, which are just a train journey from the host city. For discounted prices visit: www.lufthansa.com/event-booking_en (visitors much quote GBZEQFD)

Our hotel partner Avantel is also offering special rates on Cologne hotels, either in the city center or by the exhibition center. To make the most of these rates, visit: www.avantel.de/Fespacologne2015

So, if you’re interested in screen, digital and textile wide format print, garment decoration, signage or printed interior decoration or see these areas as potential business growth areas, FESPA 2015 Global Expo definitely has a place in your calendar in May 2015.

I hope to meet many of you in Cologne, May 18-22, 2015.

For more information on FESPA 2015 and to register to attend is www.fespa2015.com