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Interview with Printing News - LOVIN LATEX

0016702570 — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 15:23:02 GMT

Big "L" or Little "l"

“Wallpaper” can include a wide variety of substrates, including domestic grade non-woven wallpapers, foils and lenticular wallpapers, commercial grade vinyl wallpaper, natural wallpapers such as Grasscloths, cork, and raffia. (Image courtesy John Mark Ltd)

When HP launched its Latex series of wide-format printers in 2008, it offered a highly flexible alternative to solvent printers, as Latex units could print on a wide variety of materials, including textiles, in the days before dye sublimation was demystified. The ability to print on vinyls and other rollfed media as well as fabrics gave shops a lot of versatility in the kinds of applications they could produce, and in my interviews with display graphics providers over the years, it was not uncommon to hear one or more Latex machines referred to as a “workhorse.” At the same time, the odorless, water-based inks provided a greener solution to solvent and UV inks.

Last winter, when HP updated its Latex line, they identified the primary Latex application areas they track, notably décor, packaging, soft signage, fleet graphics, retail, events and PVC banners and billboards. So…most everything.

Big or Little “L”

A point of clarification when it comes to terminology, and the difference between “Latex” and “latex.” Wikipedia defines “latex” as the “stable dispersion (emulsion) of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium.” Latex can be natural or synthetic and many plants exude a natural latex. Synthetic latexes are used in gloves, balloons and many other products—like inks. Most readers probably know this by now, but just for the record: latex inks are perfectly safe for people with latex allergies.

Latex printing is virtually synonymous with HP’s Latex (capital L) line of printers, and HP does have the most extensive portfolio, including a relatively new flatbed unit for Latex printing on rigid materials. Mimaki and Ricoh have also long offered latex (small l) wide-format machines, and last year Epson launched its SureColor R Series which uses what it refers to as “resin-based” ink, which is a water-based “latex-like” ink. The launch of the series was meant to offer the same substrate flexibility as latex. Whether the term “Resin” will resinate (resonate) the way Latex did remains to be seen.

Off-the-Wall Ideas

One of the earliest “killer apps” for latex printing was wallcoverings and décor, and many wall décor producers still predominantly prefer latex. One such company is the UK-based John Mark Ltd ( https://www.johnmark.co.uk ).

“We have always used digital printing HP Latex technology to produce luxury wallcoverings for the design community,” said Matt Fletcher, commercial manager for John Mark. “Since opening, we’ve worked closely with HP to develop the presses that are on market today.”

Founded in 2012 and based in Leyland, Lancashire, in the north of England, John Mark Ltd. specializes in digitally printed wallpaper. Founder John Mark Watson comes from a family that has been making wallcoverings in Lancashire since the 1800s, and he recognized in 2012 that digital printing was ready to compete with legacy processes.

At present, the company is a virtually all-Latex shop, with six HP1500s, one HP800 W and two HP 570s for sampling and short-run work. They have orders in for additional Latex units, “including the large-format spot white machine, which will supersede the HP800 W once HP releases this new model, which is due to be available spring 2022,” Fletcher said.

John Mark works with a wide variety of end clients, from world famous home décor brands, interior designers, graduate designers, textile designers, hobbyists, crafters and artists.

“Anyone can try out wallpaper printing, as the costs to have designs produced start from approximately £35 per 10-meter roll,” said Fletcher.

And what they mean by “wallpaper” can include a wide variety of substrates, including domestic grade non-woven wallpapers, foils and lenticular wallpapers, commercial grade vinyl wallpaper, natural wallpapers such as Grasscloths, cork and raffia, and more recently peel-and-stick wallpapers for the rental market.

“What drove John Mark Ltd to HP was the print mark, color gamut, eco-friendly properties of the water-based ink system, and most importantly reliability,” said Fletcher. “Back when John Mark Ltd opened in 2012, the only digital printing options available were UV-cured and ecosolvent machinery which didn’t have the decorative finish of the HP Latex inks, so HP Latex was the only option considered.”

And the company hasn’t looked back since.

The Nose Knows

Although substrate flexibility is perhaps the biggest advantage of Latex, Fletcher cites another asset

“HP’s eco-friendly water-based inks don’t have an odor/de-gassing like UV-cured and ecosolvent,” he said.

An interview with Printing News :

https://www.printingnews.com/wide-format-signage/article/21154748/lovin-latex

John Mark Ltd continue ‘game-changing' HP Latex investments

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 08:43:28 GMT

Interview with Large Format Review - 3rd September 2021

Leyland-based digitally printed wallcoverings specialist John Mark Ltd. said the innovative results it has achieved with its HP Latex 800W have opened up expansion opportunities in a host of markets.

Digitally printed wallcoverings specialist John Mark Ltd . has praised the impact its "exciting" HP Latex 800W printer has had on business, saying it is planning to invest in more technology from HP to support its growth plans.

Based in Leyland, John Mark Ltd. is a leading provider of wall coverings, using digital print to produce a wide range of applications for customers both in the UK and markets around the world.

Due to a significant rise in demand for its expert services, John Mark opted to invest in new equipment to bolster its production setup and - as a long-term user of HP printers - it once again turned to the digital printing technology market leader for assistance.

John Mark selected the HP Latex 800W printer and while the Covid-19 pandemic led to a short delay in the machine being delivered, it was installed by approved HP reseller Papergraphics at the company's facility in Leyland in February of this year. The company has spent the last few months testing out the printer to see how it can support its plans to move into new markets and grow its customer base.

Matt Fletcher, Commercial Manager at John Mark Ltd., said that the company has been "over the moon" with the high quality of output it has achieved during testing, to the point where the business is already looking ahead to its next investment from HP.

"We have trialled printing onto silk, linen, grass-cloth, cork, vinyl, foils, metallic leaf and non-woven materials so far, and it has been great to create exciting new finishes," Matt Fletcher said. "We're constantly innovating, using unusual print bases to push the limits of this new process and create beautiful home décor products.

"We are over the moon with the new possibilities that this new printer offers us and our designers. In fact, so much so that we're ready to buy the full scale 3.2m version once it is available."

Matt Fletcher was also quick to praise the innovative white ink option on the HP Latex 800W, saying that while the company is yet to run major production with white ink, this feature has opened up all sorts of exciting and profitable opportunities.

"We have used the white layer to block out areas of the background and then print on top to create unique finishes not seen in wallpaper printing until now," Matt Fletcher said.

"The feedback we've had on this white layer process from our customers is that it's a game-changer - and one that will enable them to stand out in a crowd. We are sure this new white layer print process is here to stay and will transform the way we design and print wallpaper. We can be even more creative with future collections."

The addition of the new HP machine has also proved a big hit with Kit Miles , a leading designer of high-end wallpaper and fabrics, who works closely with John Mark Ltd.

Kit Miles explains: "The HP Latex printer has opened up a world of possibility, and with it comes the added opportunity to think about digital print in a radically new way,"

"The world around us has variety in terms of shade, tone and texture as well as surface finish. Now we can begin to look to reflect that in some of our new design work.

"Having trained as a textile designer at the Royal College of Art, I feel a great sense of happiness returning to a method akin to that of silk screen. Through this technology one can think in layers and opacity; we simply could not have done that previously."

The new HP Latex 800W is running alongside John Mark Ltd.'s existing arsenal of HP printers, which includes no fewer than six HP Latex 1500 machines dedicated to its main production processes, as well as two HP Latex 570 printers which are primarily used for sampling and bespoke one-off pieces.

Matt Fletcher said that based on John Mark Ltd.'s incredible success of using HP printing technology over the years, there was no hesitation in once again returning to the manufacturer for new investment.

"We've been with HP from the very beginning and the support we receive and the level of training our staff has been provided with has been second to none," he says.

"This has helped us grow organically, and HPs water-based ink system, and planet partners programme further deepens our commitment to becoming the most sustainable wallpaper manufacturer on the planet."

For more information on the HP Latex 800W printer, please click here

Interview with Surface Design News - July 2021

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 16:06:15 GMT

Interview with Surface Design News - July 2021

John Mark Watson - Managing Director (Pictured Above)

1.) Tell us a little about the history of John Mark Ltd and the scope of what your company provides?

John Mark Ltd are world leaders in digitally printed wallcoverings at an industrial scale. We specialise purely in the digital print process and have pushed the boundaries of the technology to develop beautiful, innovative luxury wallpapers and a print mark that is second to none. The company was born from years of experience in the wallpaper printing industry by its founder, John Mark Watson, who identified back in 2012 that digital technology was ready to compete with the traditional legacy processes.

2.) What process do you use for printing and how is it different from traditional wallpaper printing?

We print wallpapers digitally, utilising HP Latex technology to produce the most spectacular luxury wallpapers. The main differences between digital printing and the more traditional processes are that, with digital print, there are nominal set up costs (£30.00 which is approx $42 USD to sample a design on our papers) compared to having plates or rollers engraved, which can then only print one design in multiple colourways. The traditional routes require a large financial commitment upfront before you get to put ink on paper, which in the modern world of print on demand is fast becoming redundant for a new breed of up-and-coming designers. The development in HP Latex technology has meant that anyone, whether that be a designer at university, a home crafter or a design professional, can use the same production process to produce as little as one roll of wallpaper upwards. This has fundamental in the transformation, helping designers of all sizes scale their businesses, and with no minimum order quantities (MOQs), designers can create new innovative designs and get them into the marketplace quickly.

3.) What is non-woven paper and why is it superior to traditional papers used in the wallpaper industry?

Non-woven wallpapers are now the industry standard, as they are manufactured sheets of directionally or randomly orientated fibres, bonded together by chemical or other means. Fibres may be manmade or natural in origin. There are different non-woven production technologies: Dry-laid, Spun-laid, Wet-laid & other techniques but the main technology used by our manufacturer to produce our non-woven wallcoverings substrates is the Wet-laid technology. When compared to paper, non-woven wallcoverings have a higher tensile strength, they are more tear-resistant particularly when wet, easier to cut, show no seam separation on the wall, are easier to install and remove from the wall and are much easier than paper to install as you always paste the wall, not the paper. Finally, non-woven wallpapers also have a thicker feel than paper and appear to have a more ‘textile’ feel and appearance.

4.) If a designer wants to have their own designs printed on your wallpaper, what is the process for doing so?

Firstly, we would recommend that a designer get in touch and request a sample pack with our wallpaper bases, so they can choose which base they would like to use. We then offer them the option to sample the design from £30.00 for a single colourway (sampling prices vary dependent on the number of colourways) which would give them a full-scale sample of the repeat at either 520mm or 700mm square. We always recommend sampling as it means there is a hard copy for the designer and one for us to keep in our design library for future work and colour matching. Alternatively, a designer may decide that they would like to go ahead without sampling and get the roll/s of wallpaper printed which we are also happy to do but would always recommend sampling designs first.

5.) If a designer has trouble getting their files ready for print, do you offer assistance in file preparation?

Yes, we have a skilled team in our artwork studio who can help a designer if they have issues with an artwork file due to colour, repeat or pixilation. We also work closely with and recommend A & A Graphics Ltd, based in Deeside, whose work involves separating files for the biggest names in the industry should there be a lot of work involved.

6.) Do you provide proofs for approval before printing?

When an order is placed with us, we request various information in our purchase order template. We then create the quotation which is emailed to the customer to double-check we are printing the correct design/colourway and then send a further confirmation email as a final pre-flight check. We do not print or provide visual proofs prior to printing as this has normally been done prior to placing production orders in the sampling process.

7.) What is the turnaround time, and do you ship internationally?

Our standard lead time is around 10- 15 working days, but in most cases, our deliveries are much quicker. We also offer a drop shipping service within the UK, so a designer can request that we deliver the goods directly to the end customer, under plain or designer branded labels. We also offer international shipping, but a designer would need to arrange their own collection using their own courier.

8.) What trends are you currently seeing in wallpaper prints and patterns?

The current trends we are seeing are that more and more of the smaller up-and-coming ‘Instagram’ designers are purely printing on demand and using our drop shipping service to their customers. We are seeing a huge uptake in natural wallcoverings, especially grasscloth and cork, so we have recently signed an exclusivity deal with Greenland Natural Wallcoverings, based in China to be their sole supplier within the UK and Europe of over 500 bases, offered as plains or printed. And the final trend we are seeing in 2021, is our ‘peel and stick' wallpaper, which is targeted at the rental market, which is now a major line for us, however currently more expensive than normal wallpaper due to the cost of the base material.

9.) Where do you see John Mark Ltd. having an advantage over other wallpaper manufacturers?

Firstly, we only produce designers designed wallcoverings. We do not manufacture our own wallpaper brands or have any association with any company that manufactures its own decorative products. This means that we only ever prioritise our designers’ work and not our own collections, which is why we are the fastest to deliver in the industry. The second is that we currently have nine HP Latex machines in the company, so can be running multiple wallpaper bases at any one time which offers us and our customers complete flexibility. And finally, we have a purpose-designed facility with space to test the latest digital print technologies before they hit the mainstream market, so always one step ahead of new innovations.

10.) Do you have plans to expand your business into any other areas of printing?

We have some ideas for the future, but at this stage would not want to give anything away.

Thanks to Matthew Fletcher

Commercial Manager at John Mark Ltd for facilitating this interview, Surface Design News.

https://www.johnmark.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/john_mark_ltd/

https://www.surfacedesignnews.com/

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#SilkWallpaper

Hitting the Mark By Melissa Donovan - Digital Output Magazine

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 15:56:04 GMT

Unrivaled Potential with Digitally Printed Wallcoverings

Above: John Mark uses printers from HP and media from Ahlstrom-Munksjö to create custom wallpaper designs for clients like Madeaux Ltd. Photo credit: Anders Gramer.

Wallpaper was traditionally manufactured using conventional technologies such as flexography, gravure, screenprinting, surface printing, and traditional block printing. Flexography and rotary screenprinting are still used today, especially for long runs of one design, however digital print is disrupting the wallpaper industry.

Specifically, it creates an opportunity for more affordable options. This in turn expands the customer demographic from perspective buyers like interior designers and architects purchasing one-of-a-kind patterns for corporate offices and retail spaces to homeowners looking for bespoke designs once only accessible to the wealthy.

Unrivaled Potential

John Mark Watson, managing director, John Mark Ltd., realized the “unrivaled potential that digital print offers” when he started John Mark in May 2012. A fourth generation wallcovering manufacturer, Watson was aware of the established history behind conventional wallcovering printing methods, as he began his career in his family’s analog wallpaper printing company.

“I’m passionate about producing top quality, innovative wallcoverings and am very hands on in the production side of the business as I particularly enjoy the process of turning stunning designs into beautiful wallcovering products,” explains Watson.

The passion shows right down to its geographic location. Lancashire, England, home of the company’s 11,500 square foot factory, is the birthplace of rotary printed wallcoverings. A staff of 12 serves customers in the European, U.K, and U.S. wallcovering markets.

Client requests range from one or two wall murals to orders of up to 120,000 printed square feet. These larger customers are what Watson refers to as “editors” with in-house design teams that create full wallcovering collections that match or complement their fabric designs. The editors carry their own stock of wallcovering rolls, storing it in warehouses and distributing to customers worldwide.

On the smaller end of the spectrum, John Mark works with hotels on bespoke commercial projects that may include single or multiple wall murals. Watson says a new customer has emerged via social media, specifically Instagram. “These customers receive orders, send us the details, and then we print the order and dispatch it to the consumer. Again, this is where digital really comes into its own, since these orders tend to be smaller and might only equate to around 150 square feet.”

Close Relationships

John Mark focuses on digitally printed wallcoverings, both standard and wide width printed product. The printing is completed with HP Inc. devices. Six 126-inch HP Latex 1500 devices and three 64-inch HP Latex 570 printers. Watson notes he has used HP printers since beginning the company back in 2012.

Part of providing its customer base with high-quality print involves the media selection. Watson formed a close relationship with its primary non-woven supplier, Ahlstrom-Munksjö.

“Ahlstrom-Munksjö partners with us to provide the product and the quality that we are seeking with their sales and marketing team, which is always looking to innovate with sustainability and quality in mind,” notes Watson.

Particularly, John Mark uses WallStar Digital from Ahlstrom-Munksjö. The brand includes a range of PVC-free non-wovens optimized for digital printing with variations in structure and surface effects. Watson points to two products in the portfolio as ones commonly used—Satin 180 and Matte 147.

Satin 180 is a 180 gsm semi-gloss media. Much of John Mark’s work is printed on this because it features a smooth, semi-glossy coated base with a good basis weight for high-end wallcoverings. “It gives an excellent color gamut and particularly good depth of color on very dark grounds,” adds Watson.

Also part of the WallStar Digital collection is Matte 147, which is a 147 gsm uncoated non-woven with an ultra-matte surface aspect. Since the material is uncoated, it absorbs more color, resulting in a very flat, matte final print.

According to Watson, the company’s customers create designs with the non-woven texture in mind and it is up to the staff at John Mark to take those designs and ensure they appear exactly as the client intended. “It is important that regular color calibration and profiles are carried out to maintain the color consistency from one order to the next.”

Made to Order

One customer that trusts John Mark with replicating its design intentions is Richard Smith, a well-known designer in the textile and wallcovering space who owns internationally recognized brand Madeaux Ltd.

“When Richard started designing wallcoverings four years ago, he realized that the cost of print cylinders was far too high to make conventional analog printing a viable option for someone designing and selling his own wallcoverings for the first time. He wanted to ‘dip his toe in the water’ to begin with and didn’t want to carry any stock. By going down the digital route, he was able to get started by supplying clients on a ‘made to order’ basis,” explains Watson.

Madeaux Ltd.’s wallcoverings are printed on HP L1500 printers. Each design in the finished collection uses a specific material from the Ahlstrom-Munksjö WallStar Digital portfolio depending on its aesthetic needs.

For example, Satin 180 gsm is used to provide the richness and depth of color required for Aviary Midnight Forest. Stones of Venice Endpaper resembles a polished marble, so Satin 180 was chosen for this design too since the features provide the printed product with a marble-like finish.

Two designs, Pivoine Aqua and Rose Trellis Cream, are commonly used in bedroom settings. Here, Antique 147 a light, fibrous matte 147 gsm material was selected to provide a soft, traditional feel. “Since this substrate is more absorbent, it allows the ink to soak into the base, resulting in subtle, muted colors,” explains Watson.

When design files from Madeaux Ltd. are sent to John Mark, it usually takes a few days to print and send out. Typical order sizes range from one feature wall to a number of hotel bedrooms that total several thousand square feet. Without advancements in digital printing, designing and selling the Madeaux Ltd. wallcoverings would be difficult. “The service we offer means our clients are able to produce wallcoverings without the high initial cost outlay of print cylinders, prohibitive minimum order quantities, and long lead times that are associated with analog printed wallcoverings,” shares Watson.

Smith is quick to agree. “I wish I had gone into designing and selling wallcoverings much earlier with Madeaux Ltd., it is so much easier than producing fabrics. Working with a company like John Mark has made my life much more enjoyable because it allows me to do what I am best at doing—designing,” he exclaims.

Full Advantage
Watson leverages his knowledge in the analog world to use digital printing technologies to the full advantage. The company’s success is illustrated by satisified customers like Madeaux Ltd. that thrive thanks to advancements in digital printing.

Mar2021, Digital Output

https://digitaloutput.net/hitting-the-mark/