A feature wall is usually the first thing people notice in a room, which also means it is the first place wear shows. Murals are large, they sit at body height, and they are often in busy spaces: reception areas, cafés, gyms, playrooms, garden walls. The material you print on and the way you protect it decide how well the image holds up.
Two routes to a printed mural
Coated wallcovering
For permanent installations, many printers produce murals on wallcovering media and then coat them. Landor Liquid Lamination adds a protective layer for durability and lightfastness, and Colourjet helps the surface resist water, chemicals and abrasion while its UV inhibitors help guard against premature fading. That makes it suitable for murals indoors or outdoors, depending on the substrate.
Phototex self-adhesive fabric
Phototex is a printable self-adhesive woven fabric. It can be repositioned during installation, and when the mural is no longer wanted it removes in one piece without damaging the wall. It does not suffer from edge curl, weakened adhesive or peeling, and it is easy enough to install that you do not need specialist installers. See Phototex for more detail.
Which suits your project?
- Long-term, high-traffic interiors: coated wallcovering, for a tougher surface.
- Seasonal or campaign walls: Phototex, so the design can be swapped without redecorating.
- Rented or listed premises: Phototex, as it comes away cleanly.
- Garden and courtyard walls: an outdoor-suitable substrate with a protective coating; talk to us about the specific location.
Getting the wall right
Whatever material you choose, the wall itself matters. Clean, dry, sound surfaces give the best results. Textured, freshly painted or damp walls can affect adhesion and finish. If you are unsure about a surface, apply a small test piece first and leave it in place for a while before committing to the full mural.
For coated murals, test the coating on the actual media and ink combination too. Solvent coatings do not suit every substrate, and a short test prevents problems on a large, expensive print.
Producing murals in-house
Landor has more than 20 years’ experience supplying and installing large format printing systems and RIPs, along with liquid lamination machines. If murals are becoming a regular part of your work, our equipment pages show what is available.
Have a mural brief in front of you? Send us the details via our contact page and we will suggest the most practical way to produce it.